By Rev. Glenn Neil Stocking
September 11 occurs this week and for all of us old enough to remember, the date is seared into our collective memory. The events of that day in 2001 evoke shock, rage and incomprehensible frustration. Shock and rage over the events themselves and frustration because our instinct to strike back was inhibited by inadequate intelligence.
Historians continue to examine the politics leading to the heartbreaking events, the failures of that day, and our subsequent choices. Tragically, conventional investigation is unlikely to ever address the root causes or recommend actions to right them. Our basic school of thinking is mis-directed. We are struggling to swim when our objective is to fly. We are looking for human solutions to human conditions as if more of the same could produce different results.
Science of Mind teaches us that we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience. The only thing forced upon us as human beings is our freedom to choose. After that we are on our own. We are free to live in harmony and we are free to deny our Spiritual nature.
We redoubled our intelligence efforts in the wake of 9-11. We scoured the planet looking for a target for our guns. Eventually in our frustration we determined it was better to strike at anything rather than do nothing. Historians will be sorting out that decision through political lenses for decades to come, and we are no closer to the answers we seek.
Imagine the possibilities if instead of seeking revenge we refused to take the bait. How would it affect our world if we sought justice without malice, dialed back on rhetoric and focused on our commonalities worldwide instead of our differences? Perhaps recognizing our Spiritual nature is a first step toward resolving our human challenges.
Our Spiritual nature is fueled through love. Love provides us with creativity, prosperity, healthy minds and bodies, and healthy relationships. Our Spiritual nature is to build and interact with each other as though we were one. Spiritually we are one, joined seamlessly with each other even as we experience our human selves individually.
Imagine the possibilities if instead of throwing our resources into upgrading our military intelligence we redoubled our efforts to rejoin the Universal Intelligence that is the source of our collective existence. Very few of us are unaware of our Spiritual nature. It shows up in many guises, but to the observant eye it shows up all over again and again.
During the World Cup games a television commercial featured four men forsaking their own comfort to line up like soccer players defending their goal in front of a bus bench to shield a woman seated there from a splash kicked up by a passing vehicle. The commercial was promoting the sport, but employed the basic Spiritual principle of working jointly to serve anonymously toward a common good. It was effective because we all recognized that Spirit within us. It was a “feel good” moment.
On September 11, 2001 passengers on United Airlines flight 93 acted anonymously toward a common good. They knew they were thrust into a horrible situation and chose to join their fates in a last ditch effort to thwart the hijacker’s mission. We rightfully honor these people as the heroes they are and wonder whether we would have done the same.
Do we collectively have the courage to act with love instead of reacting in fear? Can we nudge humanity back toward Its Spiritual self by rejecting generations of conditioning? Spirit, God, the Universal Intelligence is neutral on our choice. We can live in harmony or continue to deny our nature. Stars will continue to be born and continue to burn out, planets will form and be destroyed. Life will flourish and flounder. Our decision affects only ourselves and the experience of life we enjoy.
Of course, as each one of us decides to stop adding to the disharmony of our shared existence, a shift will occur. The retreating ice sheets at the end of every ice age lift great weight off the continents and a general uplifting of the Earth’s crust occurs. The continents rise without thought and the world changes and experiences possibilities never imagined under the ice.
It is a difficult decision to step away from tradition, conditioning and training. It is difficult to turn toward a perceived enemy and extend empathy and understanding. It is difficult to forsake comfort and safety to act anonymously toward a common good. It is human to turn difficult into doable because Spirit rises to the occasion without thought and it is our nature to explore possibilities never before imagined.
Learn more about Spirit, Universal Intelligence, and your unimagined possibilities at a Center for Spiritual Living near you or through online education. Visit CSL.org, and CSLFTL.org to see you are not alone in believing what you have always suspected is True.