"Inner" & "Outer" ; Religious & Secular

November 21, 2016

From my last blog entry:  "I acknowledge my own lack of experience of being anyone besides a minister's daughter having grown up in white, evangelical Christian America.  It was a great place to grow up except for the fact that it obviously did not include a lot of other people."

Some things really started bothering me about those two sentences.
1.  I grew up in white middle-class America and my position within that group was in white, evangelical America.  The great place I grew up was, more specifically, in white, middle-class America which failed to fully include a lot of Americans.
2.  Evangelical Christianity wanted to include absolutely everyone at least for "salvation".  But evangelical leaders could not agree on the nature of this inclusiveness in regard to economics, education, places of worship, etc.
3.  I want to make it clear to myself that I first learned the value of being inclusive from my dear Daddy who respected and, at least, desired to include people of all races.

So back to the political climate in which we seem to find ourselves.  Picture the tangle of cords behind your electronic devices and think about the daunting task of untangling and then figuring out which cords and connections are currently relevant and which are completely outdated and useless.  This is how I feel about my religious background and the current world I perceive at this bewildering time; a time in which I perceive serious economic imbalance, climate change, fake news, hateful rhetoric, and some really horrifying wars and conflicts here in America and throughout the "world."

I have been a diligent practitioner of a course that has served me well for many years and has influenced all aspects of my life.  This course is taught through many sources, including all world religions.  Though its universal truth can never be adequately expressed through words. it is also impossible for this course to be completely suppressed.   It is a message of love and of the heart and it is always flowing around and through absolutely everything.  It transcends all "outer" stories and transcends all religious doctrine.   I offer a glimpse now from a link which was forwarded by a dear, sister journeyer and which reminded me of the peace and joy that is always present.  The youtube is produced by James Twyman, another dear journeyer whom I have never met in person but who offers many blessing to me through his sharing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuQnRvP7GGY&sns=em

I respect all pathways to truth.  Because truth reaches my mind most clearly through A Course In Miracles, I am compelled to offer it specifically.  My heart offers this out of openness and love and not out of the "evangelism" of trying to convince others of some doctrine or dogma.  I have not mastered the course of love. This is demonstrated by the fear I observed in myself aroused by the US election presidential election. This fear is a personal invitation to myself to dive once again into the course of Love and apply the course more broadly.  In the youtube link, James Twyman reminded me of three things:  Surrender, Trust, and Gratitude.

Let me offer an additional link that came to my attention right after I listened and meditated upon James Twyman's youtube.  This link is www.fromanxietytolove.com, hosted by Corinne Zupko.  I look forward to sharing in this group in the near future. She also has  a video on youtube about the US election.  Perhaps more about that in another post.

"Love is the way I walk in gratitude."  (Lesson 195 from ACIM)