Guiding Thought
The Peace of God is stronger than our self-constructed obstacles to it. We open our mind to holy communion with the Divine. Brought to union with God, obstacles crumble. Peace stands victorious. We are that Peace.
Reflection
Mary
Today a very precious friend stopped by for coffee and a chat. As we were chatting, I realized that the connections I have with different people fulfill different aspects of my Self. There’s my life-long best friend who lives in a different state. We share so much history and are often making new memories by traveling together or reading books in common. Conversations with her are never interrupted by time and space. We just pick up right where we left off, no matter how long ago our last conversation or visit was. There’s a local friend with whom I share a passion for a particular hobby. We have a play date about once a month, fulfilling a desire for “girl time” and play. There is a friend in Hawaii that has been a kindred spirit for something approaching 50 years. We were once co-workers. We’ve been through birth and death together, in this life and probably in many other lifetimes as well. Sometimes he’ll stay with us for months. Sometimes we won’t see him for years at a time. Yet, every minute of every day, we KNOW we’re connected. There’s a cherished friend who was my “boss” well over 50 years ago in Wisconsin and somehow we both ended up in Washington State and we share huge love and respect for one another. But, back to that precious friend who stopped by for coffee today. We connect on a spirit/heart level in such a special way that I’m moved to tears of gratitude, love and joy just sitting across the table from her and taking a moment to reach inside to touch on what her friendship means to me. THIS is holy communion with the Divine. Each of these friendships, and many, many others, ARE holy communion, are union with God, are the manifestation of the Peace that WE are. Sometimes I try to imagine what life on this planet would be if WE could consciously share this communion, not just with those we perceive as our precious friends, but with ALL our brothers and sisters. All I can say is…..
Imagine THAT!
SusanWithPearls 
The Peace of God is stronger than our self-constructed obstacles to it. We open our mind to Holy Communion with the Divine. Brought to union with God, obstacles crumble. Peace stands victorious. We are that Peace.
Reflection
It’s the obstacles which are brought to union with God.
Or, rather, it’s my consciousness which is brought to union with God. Only in consciousness is anything ever separated from God, for God is All (omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent). It’s my consciousness which must embrace obstacles, rather than alienating them as something “other”–for, if All is already God, then even obstacles are already God, and it is I who have defined them otherwise.
Obstacles, brought to union with God within my consciousness, crumble. For what else stands but God?
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Journey of Peace – Day 27 – Lita
The Peace of God is stronger than our self-constructed obstacles to it. We open our mind…
As I write today, my 97 client of 10-15 years whom I have had weekly visits, the one from my day 17 musings, is either actively dying or has already transitioned to the other level of Holy Communion. I wish her God-speed.
My 20+ year work in hospice has shown me quite a variance in “open mind” as well as the “self-constructed obstacles” related to Peace. Regardless of obstacles, that Holy Communion, Peace is always available. I get reminded of this all the time.
But the “we” part of this reminder, I think, comes during those times when a family, a community, the collective is impacted by something big. Yes, there is the individual work of waking up, but a group shift is something amazing to witness.
My parents’ deaths were about 40 years apart from each other. What I remember after my father died was the emergence of an easier pathway to express love and kindness in my family. Somehow saying, “I love you” wasn’t so strained. It was more up front in the conversations with my mom or with my siblings. We were extending peace in a very raw place. Somehow the obstacles in our minds (and hearts) were moved.
Of course, time and has a way of whittling away at our wakefulness. We return to our day to day routines and small mind returns, hiding the path to Peace. But the path, albeit hidden, is still there
I notice this phenomenon now amongst my siblings in our communications, given the passing of our mother almost a year ago. Phone conversations end with a genuine, “I love you”. We are all older and more mature, or so I hope. For me, at least, the petty obstacles of personality, identity, belief, etc., are transcended by something greater than what my small mind clings to. The path to wakefulness is still open. I hope it stays open beyond the phone calls and the return to routine.
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Journey of Peace – Day 27
Guiding Thought
The Peace of God is stronger than our self-constructed obstacles to it. We open our mind to Holy Communion with the Divine. Brought to union with God, obstacles crumble. Peace stands victorious. We are that Peace.
Journey of Peace – day 27 Reflection – Steve
Sometimes I feel that others say what I want to express in such cool ways:
I love Mary’s reflection on Holy Communion with her friends. Imagine if we could share that communion around the world with everyone.
Imagine – by John Lennon. This song runs through my brain. “Imagine all the People living for today. Imagine all the people living life in Peace. Imagine all the People, sharing all the world. You may say I’m a Dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world can be as one”. Imagine That.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (by Richard Bach) – for friends across time and space, Jonathan says to his friend Sully, who is concerned about missing his friend Jonathan, as they are about to part: “Sully, don’t be foolish! What are we trying to practice every day? If our friendship depends on things like Space and Time, then when we have overcome space and time, we’ve destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome Space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don’t you think we might see other once or twice?”
Friendship is like that, time and space are no obstacles. The Peace of God knows no boundaries.
And sometimes, children say it the best:
What Love means to a 4-8 year old (source unknown)
.
‘Love is like a little
old woman and a little old man who are still
friends even after they know each other so
well.’
Tommy – age 6
‘Love is what’s in the room with
you at Christmas if you stop opening presents
and listen.’
Bobby – age 7
‘If you want to learn to love better,
you should start with a friend who you hate. ‘
Nikka – age 6
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