“The Choice is Ours” Rev. Christine 9/24/2023
Today my talk is titled “The Choice is Ours.” Its about the choices we are making in our daily life. Moment by moment is a choice in what we choose to think about and do. But most people don’t think of it that way. Instead they think thoughts just happen to us. I’m here to say that we do have a choice that we are to have dominion over our thought process.
The following is a story I heard years ago: “A minister was traveling by air to a capitol city, and when he landed was met by a fellow minister who sincerely asked him, ‘Can you see the heavy darkness that is covering our city?’ ‘No!’, said the visiting minister. ‘Don’t you feel the evil of darkness of suffering and misery that is hovering over our city?’
‘No I don’t feel anything, all feels great to me,’ replied the visiting minister. ‘What’s wrong with you? Have you lost all your senses for seeing evil?’ And the visiting minister replied, ‘I see only the Light, for I am walking in the Light. Wherever I go I am surrounded by the light, and all I see is beauty, joy, peace and goodness everywhere and it is glorious.”
We have a choice to have a dark cloud hanging over ourselves, complaining and seeing the worst in situations and people. Or to let our light shine and see the good and feel good. As Jesus the Christ said in Matthew 5:14-16, “You are indeed the light of the world; a city that is built upon a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, so that it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Then in Matt. 6:22-23 he said, “The eye is the lamp of the body; if therefore your eye be bright, your whole body is also lighted. But if your eye is diseased, your whole body will be dark. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how much greater will be your darkness.”
Interesting that Jesus mentions the eye being diseased causes our whole body to be dark. Some people have experienced glaucoma or other eye conditions that interfere with vision making their world dark. But Jesus is referring to something else. Here the eye is more than sight, it’s how we think, feel and perceive things that affects our whole body.
What then is this body of light that Jesus is talking about? You may remember from my prior talk on Our Seven Energy Centers, metaphysically in the Bible they are referred to as candlesticks and these are the body’s Chakra system. When all lit up our light can shine ever so brightly. But if our candles have no light then we are in darkness to experience suffering and misery.
Let us take a moment to visualize our body filled with light and radiating brightly, and now affirm: “I am a radiant being of light.”
Then in Mat. 7:3-5 we are told, “Why do you see the splinter which is in your brother’s eye, and do not feel the beam which is in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take out the splinter from your eye, and behold there is a beam in your own eye? Oh hypocrites, first take out the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to get out the splinter from your brother’s eye.”
We cannot see something without it first being part of our own consciousness. If we see something to criticize about another person, then that must first be something within us to some degree or aspect of it. Otherwise we would never have seen or known of it. It just wouldn’t have been part of our consciousness.
The choice is ours to see through the light of truth or through the dark heavy fog of illusion. We can be the candle that is burning brightly – shining love, beauty and goodness everywhere. When we turn on the light then there is no darkness to overcome. We are then as Jesus spoke in Mat. 5:14, “You are indeed the light of the world; a city that is built upon a mountain cannot be hidden.” And, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.” Mat. 5:9.
Just imagine if in our White House that we no longer have a War room but instead a Peace Room. And when challenges of conflict arise that the President calls forth America’s Peace advisors. Or maybe this room could be called the Light Room. Where we just behold the light of peace, and love, and beauty. A room dedicated to the light of love, where thoughts of fear, anger or hate are not allowed in. And, in here the greatest work is done through the power of silence – the Christ within witnessing to the Truth then speaks through each one, and it is done.
No longer with any long deliberations, negotiations, or plans of attack. “The Christ goes before us making the crooked roads straight.” Divine Adjustments take place and it is done. We truly are then the peacemakers.
We are each being called to be the witness of Truth, from our own dedicated Light room. And, as Nona Brooks said during troubled times, “The world, as never before, needs you and me. It needs our unwavering faith in God. It needs our positive certainty of God-in-man – the Christ. It needs our steadfast love.”
Then let us be the gatekeepers of our thoughts, our vibration. We are like a receiving station that can tune into the wide range of the collective unconscious and the higher spiritual realms. Like a radio we can tune into a channel and listen, and if we don’t like that station we can change it. We change our channel by changing our frequency of vibration.
That mindless mind chatter is at a low frequency, and lower yet is all the criticism, judgement, anger, hate and shame. Fearful thoughts that just pop into the head are from the collective unconscious mind. Meaning all people’s thoughts are part of the collective unconscious mind, and can be tuned into by a matching frequency. To reach the higher spiritual realms we must raise our frequency to that vibrational state of peace, love, and goodness.
Raising our energy’s frequency is the first step. We start with conscious breathing. First we acknowledge every breath as the life and breath of God or Spirit, love and light. Then take a slow deep breath and exhale. That is like hitting the pause button to our streaming thoughts. We take several more deep breaths with the intent to raising our energy’s frequency - to be a light. Now we have a choice, and we can choose the quality of our thoughts.
Affirmations repeated periodically are a great tool to lifting our frequency and the quality of our thoughts. Another practice is throughout the day to take a short timeout to focus on God and Truth, or just be in the silence.
I remember a minister saying, before you enter the sanctuary to leave your problems in a bucket by the door, and on your way out you can leave them behind or pick them back up and take them with you - it’s your choice.
Some people seem to not have a filter between thoughts and speaking. They just blurt out whatever comes to mind, and many times it is hurtful. To have a filter means to stop and reflect on what is going to be said prior to speaking. Pausing before we speak is a choice we learn to make.
When I know that a conversation is going to be challenging or confrontational, just prior I take a deep breath, and silently say “The Christ in me speaks to the Christ in you” and wait until I feel centered - at peace. I never stop feeling amazed at how effective this is.
The following is from Faith and Works by Anna L. Palmer: “What happens to you when you make your positive declaration that only good can come to you? There is a vibration that passes through your consciousness and carries with it a force and generative power, a vibration that brings into expression the quality of that which you have asked for in the silence. In other words, your soul is singing itself forth with its eternal, abundant consciousness into visible form.”
Let us affirm: “Only good can come to me.”
It was the 1996 Spring Equinox. I was teaching a class in the Fireside building and a meditation was going on in the Sanctuary. Suddenly, the meditation leader came running in screaming fire. She and I walked over to the Sanctuary, and just prior to opening the door I calmly said, “Only good can come out of this.” Then I quickly grabbed the fire extinguisher and put out the small fire. Much good did come out of it, so much more than we could have ever imagined.
So let our soul sing and be the joyful song of life. Think of every word as a musical note or a vibrational frequency that we radiate forth through our body and soul as light. We are God’s instrument playing our unique melody, each being part of the orchestra of life.
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