Judgment

April 24, 2016 – Compassion Connects Us All

by

Rev. David McArthur
“Compassion Connects Us All”

Our harmony with the Earth can be no better than our harmony with ourselves, as it goes from self to the outer world. There is a force within us: compassion. It creates harmony.

A lady came to a seminar I was teaching. Her marriage had become toxic and was ending. Quite depressed, she had only come to my seminar to get out of the house. I had stepped everyone through some HeartMath, having them remember the feeling of a time when the heart was full. That’s when Spirit is present. In that moment our heart is open and we are connected to Spirit. The beautiful wisdom of our divine self is there. That’s when she felt real compassion for her husband. She understood how he felt. He had lost a good job and was working since then in a job where he was not appreciated. She saw that he needed simple validation from her, and she saw that she could do that, and that they could heal. What that woman’s heart gave her was compassion. It has the power to overcome reaction and separation.

An uncomfortable teaching from Jesus, in Matthew, is, “Do not judge, or you too will …be judged, and with the measure you use. …Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? …You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Until we remove our judgment we cannot connect. We are separate.

I remember the story of the man who freed the whale trapped and dying in a huge net. Imagine dropping into the water with this huge creature. A slight movement could kill you. But there was a connection. For 5 hours the man sliced netting. When the diver needed to remove ropes embedded in the whale’s skin, he placed his hand on the whale and told him it would hurt, and the whale did not harm the diver! The man worked upon the tail, where one flip of it could kill him. There was a great connection. The whale understood!

Then the whale was free! It swam around and around, diving and jumping. It rose from the depth to within 6 inches of the diver’s face as he watched! On the surface it rolled to look at the man. They connected eye to eye.

On vacation in Italy a teenage boy fell overboard. He couldn’t swim. He was drowning. A dolphin appeared and lifted him enough to get his breath. The boy held on to the dolphin, which carried him to the boat and lifted him high enough for the father to grab him. We’re not the only ones with this divine spirit within!

Connection comes with compassion. This is the choice we have. I choose compassion! As we make it we are new. I choose compassion! It is an expression of the flow of the divine in and through our awareness. That’s why it is so powerful. I choose compassion! It is my belief that with our great challenges there is a way to get to balance and harmony. The way is compassion!

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April 24, 2016 – Compassion Connects Us All

by

Rev. David McArthur
“Compassion Connects Us All”

Our harmony with the Earth can be no better than our harmony with ourselves, as it goes from self to the outer world. There is a force within us: compassion. It creates harmony.

A lady came to a seminar I was teaching. Her marriage had become toxic and was ending. Quite depressed, she had only come to my seminar to get out of the house. I had stepped everyone through some HeartMath, having them remember the feeling of a time when the heart was full. That’s when Spirit is present. In that moment our heart is open and we are connected to Spirit. The beautiful wisdom of our divine self is there. That’s when she felt real compassion for her husband. She understood how he felt. He had lost a good job and was working since then in a job where he was not appreciated. She saw that he needed simple validation from her, and she saw that she could do that, and that they could heal. What that woman’s heart gave her was compassion. It has the power to overcome reaction and separation.

An uncomfortable teaching from Jesus, in Matthew, is, “Do not judge, or you too will …be judged, and with the measure you use. …Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? …You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Until we remove our judgment we cannot connect. We are separate.

I remember the story of the man who freed the whale trapped and dying in a huge net. Imagine dropping into the water with this huge creature. A slight movement could kill you. But there was a connection. For 5 hours the man sliced netting. When the diver needed to remove ropes embedded in the whale’s skin, he placed his hand on the whale and told him it would hurt, and the whale did not harm the diver! The man worked upon the tail, where one flip of it could kill him. There was a great connection. The whale understood!

Then the whale was free! It swam around and around, diving and jumping. It rose from the depth to within 6 inches of the diver’s face as he watched! On the surface it rolled to look at the man. They connected eye to eye.
On vacation in Italy a teenage boy fell overboard. He couldn’t swim. He was drowning. A dolphin appeared and lifted him enough to get his breath. The boy held on to the dolphin, which carried him to the boat and lifted him high enough for the father to grab him. We’re not the only ones with this divine spirit within!

Connection comes with compassion. This is the choice we have. I choose compassion! As we make it we are new. I choose compassion! It is an expression of the flow of the divine in and through our awareness. That’s why it is so powerful. I choose compassion! It is my belief that with our great challenges there is a way to get to balance and harmony. The way is compassion!

April 12, 2015 – Initiation In Love

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04/12/15 Rev. David McArthur
Initiation In Love

Florence Scovel Schinn wrote that whatever your problem, it is a test through love. If you meet it with love, your problem is solved. If not, the problem continues. Your problem is your initiation in love.

The first sign we have a problem is criticism. We define someone or something as “not ok” and put energy into confirming that. Catherine Ponder says that when you run down others’ problems or affairs you open your consciousness to become run down. It’s fear that constricts us, and then less good in health and finances flows into our lives.

But even where we feel powerless, we do have power. In this community we know we have the power to hold the consciousness to transform. Then we all are strengthened.

A man was seriously depressed and wasn’t working. At the same time, the 19 year old son was on the verge of losing his college career, and the emotionally disturbed 13 year old’s anger was becoming increasingly violent. Their 12 year old sister’s teachers reported she was withdrawing from the world. Additionally, the mother had only one kidney, and it was diseased. Then the lady heard “Love has the power to overcome any problem.” Desperate, she committed to find out if it were true. She had no options. Every time she found herself being critical of someone, she would write in a notebook, “I behold you with the eyes of love and I glory in your perfection.” Every time. Thought after thought, day after day. Within six weeks her husband got out of bed, bathed and cut his hair and started work! He opened to a flow. The 19 year old got a job that covered his tuition! And in the last three weeks the 13 year old had not had a single violent episode. The girl’s teacher called to say she was now making friends. The woman’s kidney healed and she got a job!

With our fear we feed the negative energy. But we do have a choice. Charles Fillmore said, “The more we talk about love the more it comes into our experience… You may trust love to get you out of your difficulty.” It’s a universal truth and an application of Jesus’ teaching about loving your enemies. The Tao teaches to love the world as yourself. Then you can care for all things. It’s the basis of the Ho’o pono pono practice that “when I change, the world around me changes.”

I’m betting there’s someone in your life you feel is in need of your criticism. (And the most difficult one is yourself.) “I behold you with the eyes of love and I glory in your perfection.” “I behold you with the eyes of love and I glory in your perfection.” “I behold you with the eyes of love and I glory in your perfection.” It’s a sacred spiritual assignment because we have chosen to step into the initiation of love.