When I piece together the words and phrases and statements for these
weekly messages I rely on what ideas come to my awareness.
Oftentimes the ideas come from something that has come to my awareness
or one of the hundreds of books that I have in my home or it may be
just the name of an author that comes into my mind and stays for a day
or two. This week I kept thinking of William James and his
genius in understanding religion, psychology and philosophy.
William James: (January 11, 1842 – August 26, 1910) was an American
philosopher and psychologist who was also trained as a
physician. His work and his writings caused him to be considered
one of the leading thinkers in American history.
Here is an example of
his genius: “Whenever
two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each
man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and
each man as he really is.”
This statement speaks to what the mystical Ernest Holmes referred to
as "thought atmosphere" ... that which is beyond personality
and is the substance of everyone's consciousness or soul. James
is also taking us beyond conscious awareness to the subjective mind
which is always causing impressions not only on our own body, mind and
spirit, but also the spirit (mind) of those we come in contact
with. It is a preface to our understanding our true self.
I believe that need and
desire are the drivers of life experience. Both create within us
an awakening of our imagination and inner strength. We all have
more needs than we realize at any given point and so we are driven to
fulfill them only to then realize that we have need of more. Far
few people truly investigate in their minds what causes them to desire
a thing, a person or a feeling. We have all heard people say,
"I desire to feel good" ... and in this statement we have to
wonder what "feel good" feels like. Is feeling good
fulfilling a need or a desire? Do we have greater confidence in
fulfilling our needs than we do our desires? This is a question
that begs for a genuinely honest answer. Do we habitually think
of what is possible or do we dare to contemplate accomplishing the
seeming impossible? These are questions that reveal our measure
of faith in ourselves. William James tells us; "There
is but one cause of human failure. And that is man's lack of faith in
his true Self."
William James gives us also this sage advice: “Seek
out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply
and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says,
'This is the real me,' and when you have found that attitude, follow
it.”
Few are those who
have really come into a complete awareness of who the "real
me" is. The reason for this is that most people fail to go
beyond the possible and only the reasonably possible at that.
Yet, the Spirit that is within us, surrounding us, pressing against us
... our mind, body and spirit ... is always seeking for us to go
beyond the possible and use the Power and Intelligence that is always
available to us to accomplish the seemingly impossible. The
Master Mind Jesus said "that which seems
impossible to mankind is possible with G-d" ... and he
went on to say that if we had but the "faith
the size of a mustard seed, we could say to a mountain to be moved
into the sea" ... in other words he was telling us to seek
to demonstrate the seemingly impossible and know that G-d will work
for us, through us. But how
often do we realize that we have the Power and Intelligence of G-d as
ours to use? As we seek and identify with our "true
self" we shall find ourselves seeking to do, to be and to have
that which has seemed impossible for us in the past. Most of us
live in the false truth that only that which we can see, hear, feel,
taste and touch is real ... but these are only objective facts not
reality. That which is "real" is eternal, changeless
and universal ... in and through all.
We
can accomplish the seemingly impossible for G-d Intelligence has
incarnated within us the ability to do so. Our Creator has
gifted us with a creative mind and imagination ... both of which are
critical to our realizing our best and greatest in life. Our
imagination is powerful taught the great Neville and William James
before him: “Anything
you may hold firmly in your imagination can be yours.” This
is a statement often used by both James and Neville. It is a truth
which takes us beyond the physical to the metaphysical or spiritual
and beyond the possible to accomplishing the impossible.
AND
SO IT IS!
Keep
the
faith!
Rev.
Henry Bates
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