ON TURNING TO GOD FIRST

By your acceptance or rejection of these universal beliefs, you determine what governs your life. -- Joel Goldsmith, "The Heart of Mysticism" at p. 898

I understood this from a different angle this morning. Previously, I've considered "these universal beliefs" to be whatever spiritual principles find a home in our heart, that we therefore make ours and follow...meaning that, in general, our heart and our head live at peace.

It was the thought that followed my reading the above that set me thinking. I flashed on the lives of Gandhi, MLK, Jr., Jesus...all of whom advocated for peace, for love, yet all were murdered.

I thought of how we try to find the gold in every event, action, happening that comes to us...with the possible exception of human relationships...the bumps, the ruptures, the tears.

Have we ever been willing to find the gold asap then...like, in the midst of the petty spat? Or immediately after since sometimes we don't even know we are in a petty spat! The only requirement is that we turn to God before our ego-victory reasoning mind connects and determines why the other person is wrong.

We learn to keep our big mouth shut...most of the time. (I personally have learned to share the happening with one other person just to keep me honest. If I don't share, I will explode in anger, after which my story will prove I am an angel straight from heaven and the other one is an agent from hell.)

All of that is staying in the reasoning mind...and I don't fault it entirely. That way has saved more than one friendship...but there is no spiritual growth there.

Yet, I have dealt with...or been dealt with by...the IRS, my anxieties, the deaths of loved ones, and more. I know, therefore, that if we will consciously look for and find the gold in each situation, we can know and show each situation was our angel. There is our spiritual growth.

Yet, I cannot recall ever looking for the gold in petty tears in the fabric of friendships. And a great many of those dinged friendships simply went begging, faded away. Not from hate but from lack of love...lack of caring enough to find the gold in the dispute. Just another I'd rather be right than loved.

I wonder if the easy cop-out for not immediately turning to God in the midst of our spat is that we're just too fearful (read "self-willed") to stay. The pop-psychologists claim that fright demands fight or flight so we grab flight and figure God'll be there tomorrow, we can check with him then.

The gold in this is: If we sincerely desire still more spiritual growth, this is the golden goose for going for it.

Thank you.