Crisis of Belief

I am facing a crisis of belief.

In his book Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby coins the phrase "a crisis of belief" to describe the time when your spiritual development and experience get you to the point where you recognize that your beliefs are out of align with your actions. In essence, you find yourself not "walking the talk." And you recognize that to continue your development, you have to...oh my...change.

A Course in Miracles calls it a period of unsettling, where you begin to recognize the valuable from the valueless. And, you know you want the valuable, but you seem to be continually making decisions for the valueless.

I am facing a crisis of belief.

Arten and Pursah in the Disappearance of the Universe underscore the point that by our ongoing practicing of forgiveness, we remember on a daily basis that we are spirit, at home with God. Yet my bodily-addicted ego would have me do otherwise. My ego wants me to continue to think I AM the body. And I can readily see that I have behaviors that continue to reinforce the importance of the body, or certain bodies, or certain body parts, or certain behaviors that glorify the body, or give pleasure to the body.

Let me not confuse the point. Enjoyment of the body is great! And Arten and Pursah make it clear, that we don't have to GIVE UP anything. The goal is to enjoy the body while seeing the complete unimportance. This means being willing to let go of all addictions when you are ready, being willing to see all bodies as the same when you are ready, and so on. And when I look at myself, I can see...I am still getting ready! And when I find myself giving high importance to the body, and not just enjoying it, I see the need for forgiving myself. I see the need for recognizing that in this moment I am still learning to let go. Yet that twinge of guilt is still present. And that too will have to be let go. Just the fact that I am reluctant to specifically identify my own addictions reminds me of the forgiveness needed.

You may also have behaviors that are getting in your way, behaviors not aligned with what you know to be true. You may be having your own crisis of belief. Please join me in knowing, as my father - a former Unity minister would say, "it has come to pass." As we continue to join with God, all that is unlike love will pass away!

In Joy,
Michael