Learning From My Nephew

In preparing this week's discussion guide for The Disappearance of the Universe, I was particularly struck by the quote, "You never hate your brother for his sins, but only for your own. Whatever form his sins appear to take, it but obscures the fact that you believe them to be yours and therefore meriting a ‘just’ attack."

In my life dream I have been struggling internally with a 20-something nephew who is staying with us for a period while he gets back on his feet. I realized after several weeks that I was walking around with under-the-surface anger at him (i.e., seething rage) because he wasn't making all the effort I felt he should be making in finding a job. (I'm sure none of those words indicate my ego is involved, right?)

I realized that I needed to change my mind about the situation because I was feeling like the victim of his situation and the apparent lack of effort he was making to change it. While my "right" mind was attempting to see him as whole, my wrong mind was upset at him.

The action I took to help change my mind was to give him two weeks to find a job and let him know I was available to help but that it was on him to make the effort. Of course I am still seeing the problem as outside of myself....so the situation is yet to be resolved!

So I affirm, I have projected this for my healing. This is MY dream. This situation is just an outward manifestation of the lack of forgiveness I have for myself when I don't make a full effort to change. I thank my nephew for helping me to see an area for healing. And so I forgive myself and my nephew and see us both as whole and innocent. It's funny, isn't it...how some of our most important forgiveness lessons seem to be right in front of our faces?

Stay tuned...

President-Elect

We are waking this morning to results of last night's presidential election. For some, this morning may bring a happy dream: a dream of a historical moment, of anticipated change, of hope for what the future will bring. For others, this morning may bring an unhappy dream, fa dream of disappointment, of undesired change, of fear of what the future may bring.

In either case, let us take part in the conversations today while remembering --
• To see as our Creator sees: a dream and nothing more;
• To love as our Creator loves: loving spirit for that is all that there is and there is nothing else;
• To make real the only thing that this is real: the truth of our oneness.
Live today in joy - especially today,