MINISTER’S MESSAGE

“Respect and Honor”

“You see, the challenge is not simply the like and dislikes, but the dependency that comes along with it. Our happiness depends on having things a certain way. This dependency creates desires, cravings and agitations in the mind that take away our peace. We cannot stay still until we move away from what we do not want and get what we want. The greater the intensity of the like and dislike, the greater will be our disappointment and sorrow in the absence of the thing we like; or anger and agitation in the presence of something that we dislike.”                     Manisha Melwani, Detaching from Likes and Dislikes for Your Spiritual Growth

Such is the riddle of our lives…discerning our likes and dislikes that both evolve out of our

perceptions and preferences, biases, and beliefs. This idea of suffering through our dislikes is a large part of the dilemma of being human. “Love all, serve all” has been a personal mantra in my life that has guided me through the sticky places when my heart space shrinks when faced with a challenging insult to my ‘happy place.’ These moments that come out of the blue and seemingly have the power to shift our mood into discontent are part of being human. But when we ground in our spiritual understandings and actively strive to embody the teachings of Truth and Love, we remain anchored to the Light of understanding. Maybe by a thread but still the higher knowing is ever present, omnipresent. Our return to our healthy heart space is always a few breaths away. Our destination is living with peace and understanding. We always have this opportunity to deepen our understanding of Oneness in our study of Science of Mind. I have found refuge in the idea of something that I do not understand that I can release its grip by

reminding myself “I don’t know but God knows.” And then get still. Turn down the volume of

discontent and dislike and just be with what is for a bit. Let the tight bands on our heart space disappear into nothingness and get centered in thoughts and feelings of love and gratitude. Wouldn’t we want that for others and ourselves in the end anyway? This is all about when our humanity meets our divinity as Melissa Rose Harris wrote in priceless book of the same title. In Ram Dass’s book he called it “Grist for the Mill.” We go forth while listening to Divine Guidance of Love.

This month we enjoy many opportunities to express our gratitude and give thanks. Please join us for the music celebration on November 9th with Narayan and Janet doing the entire service including a spirited message for us all. Many of us have plans to reunite with family, some of us are experiencing these holidays without their partners for the first time, others will have a

simple meal…but collectively we sit down, bow our heads, and say thank you. Life is Good…all the time. Our love means something…let it flow.

                                              Blessings to you…Rev. Sue MillerBorn