Jude Wills

Recently I was sitting in a service station, idly looking at all the people breaking their journeys when my attention was drawn to a young couple, mid-twenties, sitting at a table quite near to me. 

They were sitting close and as I watched she leaned over to him, placed her hand on his arm and said “ I just want you to know how much I appreciate you doing all the driving”. He physically sat straighter, looked at her with eyes full of love and said, “Thank you”. 

He took their plates away and in his absence she and I exchanged smiles, and I asked how long they had been together. “Seven glorious years” she replied.  He then reappeared, took her hand as they shared wide smiles and departed, love can be  so simple.

Imagine if all it took for our relationship to glow like this was little words of appreciation. 

It is almost too easy!

Rev. Jude

Last month some of us were able to meet with Peter Dewey, a renowned Christian minister deeply involved in the mystical teachings of Christianity and a writer on the Gospel of Thomas. His talk was wide ranging, and he shared an image that resonated deeply that I would like to share here with you now.

The ego as used here is the part of us that thinks it is special and separate, better than everyone else and always right. We can start to tune into it by noticing where and when we have opinions as they always come from this aspect of the ego.

Peter described the ego as like a mist or cloud enveloping us so completely that the rays of God / Love cannot permeate. I know I have felt that way many times but what a visual image to describe how it is and also to observe the challenge inherent in it.

When we are surrounded by ego, we are either lost in it and cannot see beyond it. 

Or, as we expand self-awareness, we begin to notice it when we `lose the plot`.

Even in recognising this state the ego still plays us. It might distract us in any number of ways; we each know where our well-trodden paths of distraction lie.
 

The ego might hurl us into denial, a state of false innocence, of blame etc. All of which serve to keep us exactly where we are; lost in ego with no opening for the Holy Spirit to transform us enabling us a different perspective on the situation. 

The Course in Miracles writes of their being only one choice we, as human beings, ever have to make. To choose Love, the Holy Spirit, God, Source of All …. or desire and wants i.e., the ego.

To make this choice for God, however, requires a surrender of knowledge, of the understanding through which the ego perceived the situation. The ego offers us so many wonderful reasons for us not to surrender to God that is can be easy to stay in the situation, right, yet lonely: a winner with a fear of losing; rich with a fear of poverty; successful with a fear of failure etc. All these states the ego offers have their inherent darker side that seems to refocus on the ego and feeding it yet more.

However, when we can open to another way, Divine miracles begin to appear. A beam of light shines through the cloud and the whole world looks different.

The hardest part is asking for help.

Perhaps the prayer is simple…..“Beloved, help me want to see this differently. Thank you”

To own the challenge and hand it over is all it takes.

Rev. Jude

“Life is for the giving and receiving of Love – Relationships are the vehicle.”

The final line in our motto is “Hold others in unconditional love”. The word of interest here in `unconditional`. It is said that we love our children unconditionally always able to see through their behaviour to the truth of their internal pure innocence where love is all they are. We remember the gaze of our children as babies and know that perfect little being is incapable of intentionally being anything less than love. This awareness makes it so much easier to `see beyond….` and love anyway.

Sadly, for our partners the picture is not quite so clear and depends more on the connection between us. What was the magnetism that drew us together as we sought someone to `make us happy`…? Are they still holding up their end of the unconscious `deal`? All of which can lead to a relationship based on conditional love which is another term for co-dependency. The obvious example is the old rich man marrying a 20-year-old model…. They have made a conscious or unconscious pact and are linked through the pact rather than love.  This is a relationship ensnared in the conditional… the terms and conditions of the unconscious pact they both agreed to. 

A huge subject……

However, as the manner in which unconditional love relates to our motto is in the basis of all we honour in our way of being with ourselves and others. To love all and self unconditionally. 

It is a huge motto to hold and honour, it is a lifelong journey with a focus on how to be all we can be to be honest and loving.

We will make it, sometimes a little less than our intention but always aiming for the deepest acceptance of others, seeing and hearing reminding the other of their inner perfection and innocence.

 We hold the vision for others on the days they have lost sight of their inner truth.

Daily we open to Divine guidance to support us in our intention trusting in the Divine wisdom knowing we just need to show up with an Open Heart.

Jude