"I am determined to see this differently."

Heart Shifts

“To say that the root of every person and creature is in God, rather than opposed to God, has enormous implications for how we view ourselves, including our deepest physical, sexual, and emotional energies. It also profoundly affects the way we view one another even in the midst of terrible failings and falseness in our lives and world.”

J. Philip Newell (Christ of the Celts)

Some religions teach that we are born “in sin” and have to be saved by the blood sacrifice of one who is not born in sin. I'm not sure how this particular teaching arose, or who it is meant to help, but in my particular reading of the advent of humanity, we were born “in the image of God.” Now, sometimes it's difficult to see the image of God in us, but deep in our core, deep inside our psyche, there is a wisdom and compassion that surfaces every now and then and allows us to catch a glimpse.

I had a conversation recently with someone whose political views are far to the right. He believes that socialism is a kissing cousin of communism, and that there are too many “shirkers” taking advantage of structures set in place to help the poor. He believes global warming and poverty are myths trumped up by socialists to extract money from law abiding taxpayers like himself. “If someone in a foreign country lives on $1.00 per day, but needs only $.50 per day to feed themselves, they aren't living in poverty!” he says, while living in a 5,000 square foot home in one of the posher suburbs of our city. It's a real stretch for me to see God's image in that person. And yet, I know it's there, buried in the arrogance and insensitivity of a wounded psyche. The challenge for me is to find God in him, and have compassion in my own heart.

We all have our challenges when it comes to compassion. We want to see evil in those who view the world in ways opposite from our own. It is also our nature to condemn, to point out the wrongheadedness of others, and to resent their behavior. We humans have dual personalities battling inside us at all times.

We learned a mantra from A Course in Miracles in Spirituality Group on Sunday: “ I am determined to see this differently.” It is a good one to hold in one's heart, and repeat in one's mind often when dealing with others who challenge our compassion.

Shifting from seeing evil in ourselves and others to seeing the image of God in ourselves and others is a gradual process—we take one step forward and three back. It is also the most important work of a spiritual practice. Changing one's own heart is the first step in changing the world.

                                        In the Spirit,

                                            Jane