“Everyone who is
seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is
manifest in the laws of the universe – a spirit vastly superior to that of man.”
– Albert Einstein
“This we know: all things are connected like the blood which unites one
family.
Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons and
daughters of the earth.
Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a
strand in it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. “ – Chief Seattle
As the author of this
monthly blog, I write in the hope of helping to improve the world. I know that I probably can’t, but I also know
that the world changes based on how people see it, and if what I write can help
alter that view, then I can change
it.
When I was a child, I
wondered about all the miracles I heard about in my Sunday School classes, and
why they were so common in ancient times –
while so few miracles were talked
about in modern life. By the time I was
11 years old, I had decided to leave my unanswered questions behind and begin
formulating a world view that was more spiritual in orientation than religious.
I am happy to report that today
I not only read about miracles all the time, but I am telling my share of miracle
stories in my coaching work, among friends and in my family. My spirituality matured and the Web arrived, with wonderful resources and books that help
explain how the universe works, and our role in creating reality. Miracles, I have come to understand, are not rare;
the subtle energy field that Chief Seattle named ‘ the web’ is “…more profound
than physical laws and every bit as dependable as gravity.” (from the new book,
E2 by Pam Grout).
In the bereavement groups I
co-facilitate twice a month, when widows relate miracle stories we know that we
have entered the spiritual realm of “The Mystery.” A woman recently related a story about going shopping on
the anniversary of her mother’s death, and upon arriving home, unpacked groceries and found a small
paper bag with a “Happy birthday to my dear daughter” card in it that she had
neither selected nor purchased! Where
had it come from? How had it gotten into
her cart? Was it a loving
communication from her deceased mother or just a bag boy’s mistake?
Another woman described
going out on the family boat with her grandkids after her husband had died a
few months earlier, and one of the grandchildren spied a golf ball floating on the surface of the water
next to the boat. None of them had ever seen a golf ball floating before – and
after they retrieved it, they agreed that it had been placed there for them to
find to remember their beloved grandfather who was an avid golfer. Rather than feeling weird, the experience was reassuring and appealing to them.
In my coaching practice, the
first assignment I give to clients who want to make changes in their lives
is to begin paying attention to “coincidences” and “synchronicities.” I explain
that these are signals of encouragement that emanate from the field of possibilities
that surround us all. The signals are
not happening by accident and are so perfectly suited for the person’s goals
that it can seem uncanny. One woman who
longed to leave her current job opened the afternoon mail one day to find an ad
that had this expression written on the front page, “This is not all there is; you
are intended for greater success, so keep going.”
When I write my blog,
articles, and books, I enter that state of “flow” described by psychologist
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi where I lose all sense of time and place, and become intensely focused on the moment. I feel
the joy that comes from being fully alive and I relish putting my brain to work
in the ordered universe of language.
Writing brings me to a paradoxical state of calm excitement and a
feeling of spaciousness where anything is possible.
Writers who are not
connected to the world generally cannot connect with readers. Good storytellers help heal the world, and
the stories that save us are those that bring us new understanding and growth
that expands our circle of caring. I
hope I am one of those kind of writers.
It is my intention to work in the service of humankind and I espouse the
philosophy of Khalil Gibran, the Lebanese mystical poet, who wrote that “work is
love made manifest.”
We exist in the great
energy field of life and we create the world together with our thoughts. My hope is that one day we will create a
world that has a place for every human gift and a culture that is commensurate with our capacity
for wonder. Neuroscientists inform us
that 95% of our conscious thoughts are controlled by our programmed
subconscious mind. Instead of actually
thinking, we are just running old tapes in our minds that are like outdated
software. But change is coming; we are
on the brink of claiming what science has known for quite some time: our
thoughts have power and we are all connected to the field of infinite possibility.
Here’s more food for
thought that I will leave with you, as an early holiday gift, written by Charles Steinmetz, inventor of the
alternating current motor:
“The greatest discovery and development of the coming
years will be along spiritual lines. Here is a force which history clearly
teaches has been the greatest power in the development of man and history, and
yet we have been merely playing with it and have never seriously studied it as
we have physical forces. Some day people
will learn that material things do not bring happiness and are of little use in
making men and women creative and powerful.
Then the scientists of the world will turn their laboratories over to
the study of spiritual forces. When this day comes, the world will see more
advancement in one generation than it has in the past four.”
