Things are not as they seem, nor are they otherwise. – Lankavatara Sutra
The soul must make a complete surrender of itself to the Spirit. – The Science of Mind pg 404
If you’re not in a 12-step recovery program yourself, you almost certainly know someone who is. The origins of these programs have some interesting ties, direct and indirect, to the New Thought movement. Therefore, it’s natural that many persons in recovery find their way into our centers and churches today when looking for a path of understanding and coming into conscious contact with their higher power.
We are all “recovering,” whether or not from a physical disease or a particular pattern of behavior that has made our lives unmanageable. We’re recovering from a sense of separation from our Source, which might have gone long untreated. If all paths lead to the top of the mountain, then this must include paths that are more thorns than roses.
We may go to any lengths to overcome the feeling of separateness, and some of the remedies we pick seem to put us at an ever greater distance from the peace we seek, which is why in 12-step work there’s an emphasis on just surrendering to Source, instead of trying to fumble along while still stuck in isolation.
Once we’ve given up our attachment to forging ahead as though we were alone and un-Sourced, by giving in to the divine spark – and our essential wholeness – underneath the “many inventions” used to take the edge off when things seem otherwise, we can still be drawn back into the old mind set if not for regular spiritual maintenance: prayer and meditation, forgiveness, self-honesty and gratitude.
Today I turn my mind toward my Source, letting the stillness in to refresh and restore me. Now it is an easy extension of myself to participate in my own healing into wholeness.
The soul must make a complete surrender of itself to the Spirit. – The Science of Mind pg 404
If you’re not in a 12-step recovery program yourself, you almost certainly know someone who is. The origins of these programs have some interesting ties, direct and indirect, to the New Thought movement. Therefore, it’s natural that many persons in recovery find their way into our centers and churches today when looking for a path of understanding and coming into conscious contact with their higher power.
We are all “recovering,” whether or not from a physical disease or a particular pattern of behavior that has made our lives unmanageable. We’re recovering from a sense of separation from our Source, which might have gone long untreated. If all paths lead to the top of the mountain, then this must include paths that are more thorns than roses.
We may go to any lengths to overcome the feeling of separateness, and some of the remedies we pick seem to put us at an ever greater distance from the peace we seek, which is why in 12-step work there’s an emphasis on just surrendering to Source, instead of trying to fumble along while still stuck in isolation.
Once we’ve given up our attachment to forging ahead as though we were alone and un-Sourced, by giving in to the divine spark – and our essential wholeness – underneath the “many inventions” used to take the edge off when things seem otherwise, we can still be drawn back into the old mind set if not for regular spiritual maintenance: prayer and meditation, forgiveness, self-honesty and gratitude.
Today I turn my mind toward my Source, letting the stillness in to refresh and restore me. Now it is an easy extension of myself to participate in my own healing into wholeness.
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