1/27/13 Rev. David McArthur
The feeling when you are right with the world—the awesome feeling of being at peace—relates to the 2nd form of “purpose”: how am I to be?
This is the most marvelous time the Earth has ever had. We are free to walk through all the forms of spirituality. Jesus’ consciousness of peace was given from the Christ-self, our oneness with the divine. Lao Tzu saw the flow of spiritual energy through life, and said to empty the mind of all thoughts; enter the heart; return to Source, to pure love. Mahatma Gandhi walked us through peace—not the turning away from things, but in the midst of things finding peace. It was not about non-violence, but active loving.
Martin Luther King, Jr. knew peace not as withdrawal, but as a state of consciousness in the middle of what’s going on. As a very young man, he was asked to engage in the Montgomery bus boycott. Violence asserted itself against the black community and it’s leaders. With very real threats against himself and his family, he awakened in the middle of the night, and was afraid. Not knowing how to deal with it, he prayed. He heard a quiet inner voice say, “Martin Luther King, stand up for peace. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth. I will be with you even unto the end of the world.” From a place of great fear and anxiety he went to a place of peace and strength. He did it by prayer, by quieting the mind and focusing on the heart, finding the peace which is given by the divine. It is in you. This is not an experience of being unrealistic. It’s an experience of being in the world when what’s going down is going down.
You can use the “I Am” to identify that state of being. Affirm, “I am peace.” “I am peace.” “I am peace.” You don’t have to make that choice. If your family is in turmoil, you can get into it—you can always find someone to blame. But is your purpose to be part of turmoil or part of peace? This isn’t about good or bad, right or wrong. You are the presence of peace if you choose. “I am the presence of peace in my world.” “I am the presence of peace in my world.” “I am the presence of peace in my world.” As we are the presence of peace in our world we are creating a world of peace. For that I thank you!