September 2005 ~ Learning

I remember a moment when a woman, who was attending a class I was teaching, said, “I’m so tired of the way you Unity people call everything in life a ‘lesson!’ Why does everything have to be about learning? Why can’t we call it something that sounds like more fun?” As I recall, I encouraged her to call it by whatever name she liked, refraining from reminding her that “a rose by any other name…”

Learning is a good word. It is especially good for this “jotting” since September has traditionally been “back to school” month. Learning, however, does not require a formal teacher or a classroom. Many of us have discovered that Life is our finest teacher, as well as our best classroom.

When Michelangelo said, “I am always learning,” he was not talking about going back to school. He was talking about the learning that comes from living life consciously and creatively. Eleanor Roosevelt said, “All of life is a constant education.”

Education is another good word. Coming from the Latin root “educare,” it means to “draw forth” or “lead out.” This, as opposed to the long held idea that education was about “filling empty heads with information.” When the Fillmores began the work that became the Unity movement, they saw it as a work of spiritual education. A drawing forth of the “hidden splendor” that Robert Browning wrote about so beautifully in his poem “Paracelsus:”

Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whate’er you may believe.
There is an inmost center in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; and around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect, clear perception ~ which is truth.
A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it, and makes all error; and to know
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendor may escape,
Than in effecting entry for a light
Supposed to be without.

Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed… for, in fact, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20,21

The values of learning are many, not the least of which is expressed so well by Henry Ford. He said: “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The important thing is to keep your mind young.” There are many ways to do this, but there is one way that, in my opinion, lies at the heart of all learning. This one way is to keep your mind open to new ideas.

From time to time I meet a person who has already made up their mind about everything! Anything outside the structure of their own opinions is immediately dismissed. A new idea cannot find a crack to wiggle through!

Having an open mind does not mean being gullible or without convictions. It does mean being willing to entertain fresh ideas and information as you might entertain a guest, with attention and grace and with a willingness to become friends!

Entertaining new ideas implies the presence of new ideas in our lives! Many of us meet new ideas by reading, attending church, classes and workshops, engaging in interesting conversation, or listening to tapes. Another way is by choosing television channels that offer new ideas… for example: the Discovery channel, the History channel, the Wisdom channel, and yes, even the Cooking channel! There are book reviews, news interviews, home decorating and arts and crafts… all at the touch of a button. And, of course, for those who are “computerized,” the offerings of the Internet are endless!

Happily, there is a way to freshen our ideas that does not require anything outside of ourselves. It is the simplest and at the same time the most profound learning method of all. The Fillmores called it “the Silence.” Mostly, we call it prayer and meditation. Turning within, to the place of the hidden splendor, the Christ Mind, is turning to the source of all ideas. It is here that we find what is real and true, what will never change and at the same time, will always be ever new, ever creative, ever refreshing!

It’s September! Let’s affirm with Michelangelo: I am always learning!

jbm

August 2005 ~ Trust

Among the songs and parts of songs that have taken up residence in my brain, there is one that comes to me often. It is a Sunday School song from my youth and the words go like this: “When we walk with the Lord, in the light of his word, what a glory he sheds on our way. When we do his good will, he abides with us still and with all who will trust and obey.” (These words were written before God became a s/he and so I sing them in their original form, masculine pronouns and all!)

Trust and obey, the song says. Let’s talk about trust. What is it? My friend, Noah Webster, defines trust as “reliance on the truthfulness or accuracy of someone or something; belief.” When I read these words, I think of a trapeze artist, suspended high above the crowd, swinging from side to side. Then the moment comes when another swing is set into motion and the artist must release the first one, in order to catch the bar of the new one! Relying on the truthfulness and accuracy of oneself and of the partner who sets the oncoming swing in motion. You’ve seen it… that split second of free fall when “what was” is gone and “what is yet to be” is not yet in place!

Christina Baldwin might have been speaking to this when she wrote, “Trust is the decision to keep seeing the deeper path of life and committing ourselves to it, in active partnership with guidance. Trust is the only way to release ourselves from fear. And trust is not a permanently granted position, it is a choice, made constantly, over and over again.”

Ed Rabel, a longtime Unity minister and teacher, often likened faith to the engine in a car. He would say, “Because faith is one of our divine powers, we all have it! But faith, like the engine in your car, will not take you anywhere until you turn on the ignition! Trust is the ignition and trust expresses as belief!” Faith may be the substance of things hoped for, but trust is the key to bringing forth the manifestation we seek.

Someone once asked me if I believed God would always take care of me, no matter what. I answered “Yes.” My friend asked for my reason. I said, “Because of what I believe about God. I believe is God is intelligent, responsive, and benevolent… this is why I trust God, why I love God.”

Trust and love seem to go hand in hand. Perhaps they are synonyms. Imagine, if you will, the time when Jesus was asked, “Master, what is the greatest commandment?” Suppose Jesus had said, “You shall trust the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. And there is a second that is equal to it: You shall trust your neighbor as you trust yourself.” Would the commandment be diminished by replacing the word “love” with “trust?” Or would it be the same? Can there be love without trust, or is trust an expression of love?

It occurs to me that the Great Commandment is somehow easier to understand when “trust” is the operative word. Many find it difficult to know what it means to love God, equating love, as we often do, with warm, fuzzy emotions. But trusting God is different… we know what that means , or we think we do, until God fails to come through with something we thought we had a right to expect! This is often our experience in human relationships, as well. I remember a time when I made a life choice that a friend found very upsetting. She screamed at me, “I trusted you!”

If I say to someone, “I trust you,” what does it mean? Does it mean that I trust that you will only make choices I agree with, that will cause me no discomfort? I hope not, for if this is what I mean, it is not only unfair to you, but dooms me to disappointment. Perhaps I come closer if “I trust you” means “I believe in your truthfulness and good intention. I trust you to include me in making decisions that affect our relationship. I trust you to seek the highest good for all.”

At the level of human life, there will always be risk, always be change. Hence the old saw: The only things you can count on (trust) are death and taxes! And even these have their variables! So, perhaps it is better to say: The only thing you can trust is that which does not change, that which is sure. I love the way David Steindl-Rast puts it: Faith is the courageous confidence that trusts in the Source of all gifts. Courageous confidence… that’s the kind of radical trust that allows us to live with the risk of change that each day holds! Notice I did not say “live without fear.” Trust does not mean never feeling afraid. It means stopping in the middle of fear and remembering what we believe about the Source… to say with the psalmist: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in God.” Psalm 56:3

jbm