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The
title of this week's message has gotten as far as I can find an
anonymous author although it is freely used by church bulletin
boards across the country; including a church here in Palm
Springs. But, no matter who gave it to us, it is a wonderful way
to understand the process in the mind that creates and fosters
negative conditions and circumstances that many people find
difficult to overcome.
Worry
is similar to fear in many ways, but it is actually more
worrisome. For most of us, our experience with fear has been
momentary, while worry too often is habitual. Growing up in the
middle of the United States, I often heard of someone referred
to as a "worry wart," which meant that they habitually worried.
Many people are unaware of this worry habit and that is why they
are surprised when challenges arise in their life experiences.
This habit can be broken by replacing worrying thoughts and
words with positive thoughts and words. And most importantly,
understand our role in the development of our life experiences.
For some this will take some patience and time, but your
patience will pay off.
The American mystic Ernest Holmes gives us this wisdom in his
book "How to Stop Worrying": "Life is
enough in itself. It lacks nothing. It needs nothing. It is all
there is, present everywhere. Yes, Through our faith and belief,
we capture this vision and hold it as a pattern before the
mirror of our own minds, it will automatically follow so that we
will become confident and courageous instead of shy and fearful.
But before we can do this we must sincerely and simply come to
believe that there is a Power greater than ourselves and that we
can use it. And we must come to believe that This Thing Called
Life only wants what is good for us. This is everything you ever
planned. All these other things that have so unfortunately
lodged in our minds were put there by fear, ignorance and doubt.
This fear and uncertainty that has so overwhelmed us has been
based on the lack of awareness that everyone has a silent
companion who accompanies them through life. We have been trying
to do it on our behalf, as it were. "
This
belief that Life only has good for us must be realized not only
in our hearts but also in our minds. Often people will find ways
in which they will try to convince us of this without providing
us with something that does not challenge our intelligence. Many
years ago I went to see a woman outside of Portland, Oregon, to
train in meditation and spiritual concentration. She went out of
her way to convince me that she had a guardian angel who was
always available to help me, guide me, and protect me. She would
even speak to this Guardian Angel of mine in my presence.
However, she couldn't understand the concept and that's why she
got exasperated with me. The guardian angel that she described
was personal to me and this does not conform to the truth that
for G-d we are One; a human race, a species, a life, One. To
this day I know and believe that we are in the Presence of the
Presence of Intelligence, Power and Spirit that, for lack of a
better term, we call God or G-d for those of us who do not want
to tarnish our realization of G-d at the level of religion. And
since this is so, we always have everything we need to bring out
the good we desire in our life experience because, as the Master
Mind Jesus declared so deeply: "I myself cannot do anything, it
is the Father" (the Spirit ) that does the work. "In other
words, G-d is always seeking to work" through us "to do what
will bring us greater happiness, greater love, greater joy,
greater success, and so on. And then I can confidently say to
myself and to you ... don't worry about the little things or
even the bigger things ... don't worry, be happy ... because the
Spirit of G-d corresponds to our happiness in the most amazingly
wonderful ways.
Keep the Faith!
Rev-Bates
(Reverend Dr. Henry Lee Bates)
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