Lesson 75: The Light has come.
This bodily world we live in can be an unforgiving place. As fear around a pandemic takes hold around the world, we can see clearly the selfishness, the “everyone-for-themselves” kind of thinking as commodities such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer disappear from the shelves. Some have even bought up large quantities of necessities, hoping to sell it back to others at a premium.
This is the ego’s world – a place where forgiveness, unity and the common good go right out the window the moment we fear a threat to our own bodies.
Today’s lesson invites us into a new state of mind, one that realizes this unforgiving world is not our true reality. Yes, we live in it while we are in a bodily state, and we should be prudent and careful about the state of our bodies, but our minds do not have to buy into the fear that seeks to engulf us during this time.
In our minds, we know the Light has come. This old world of fear and despair can pass away without us even noticing.
“Today,” this lesson tells us, “we celebrate the happy ending to your long dream of disaster. There are no dark dreams now. The light has come. Today the time of light begins for you and everyone. It is a new era, in which a new world is born. The old one has left no trace upon it in its passing. Today we see a different world, because the light has come.”
This new era that we’re experiencing right now is one of increased bodily separation as health authorities tell us to avoid gathering with others, even in small numbers, to stem the spread of the disease. It’s good advice for bodies, but the temptation is strong to also distance ourselves from others in our minds – to think of others as competition for finite resources.
Instead, in these times of bodily distancing, our task is to be vigilant to never separate from others in our minds. This is the time when we should be redoubling our efforts to dispel the ego’s belief in separation and live in a state of unity – in that one Mind of God that we have never truly left. Dwelling in our oneness in a time of bodily separation is an act of rebellion against the ego’s war of fear. If we truly believe the light has come, and that we are the light of the world, this is our time to shine. This is our time to reach out to our neighbors, friends, family and strangers and be the light for them.
We do not need to live in a spirit of fear. That is what the ego wants, because fear increases our feelings of separation. In this time, we are to be channels of Love, using what we have to share with others – whether it be our resources, our time, our money, our wisdom, our comfort, or anything else Spirit tells us is needed from us.
This is the time for us to open our hearts and minds – not close them against one another over the fear of a bodily illness. We are the light of the world – that light has come to the world because we are here, willing to shine and do what it takes to never put another human being outside of our heart or mind.
As Spring begins this week, let us remember that in this season of fear, we are called to bloom.
As St. Teresa of Avila writes:
“We bloomed in Spring,
Our bodies are the leaves of God.
The apparent seasons of life and death
our eyes can suffer;
But our souls, dear, I will just say this forthright:
they are God Himself,
We will never perish
unless God does.”
Photo by Bhushan Sadani on Unsplash