Sharing In the Harvest

“Daddy you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it's Bo's birthday.” Those were the words of Malea Obama as she said good morning to her dad, President Obama, Friday morning. Sasha added, “We have a 3-day weekend coming up,”
Kids do put things in perspective.

I Cor 9:10 . . . It was indeed written for our sake, for whoever plows should plow in hope and whoever threshes should thresh in hope of a share in the crop. (NRSV)
What do we want our harvest to be?
It all begins with self examination.
What do I want?

What if we want to harvest success?

If we reap what we sow, what do we sow to reap a harvest of success.
Self observation is one of Unity's tools for transformation. So observe your own thinking right now. Let the word “success” rest in your mind. What thoughts show up? Look closely . . . What does success look like?

Greg Braden, best selling author and one who bridges science and religion said,
when we create the very precise feelings as if our career is already successful, our relationships and our partnerships are already in place and we have just the right people to accomplish all of the goals in just the right way, this sets into motion a mechanism in this field that allows those things to come to fruition. Once we understand the mechanism, it becomes a technology, and we can do it consistently and repeatedly.
http://www.greggbraden.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/greggbraden-e1.pdf

In the movie You Can Heal Your Life Braden tells the story of a Native American friend who asked him to go with him to pray for rain. There had been a drought in the region for years, and his friend, Richard, had been asked to pray. They went together and Richard began his process. He created a sacred circle and walked around within the circle. After a while Richard stepped out of the circle and Gregg asked him if he had prayed for rain. Richard said, “No. I prayed rain.”
He:
Heard the rain
Saw the rain falling
Smelled the earth as the rain came down
He felt the wet soil under his feet and between his toes
He tasted the raindrops
He felt the rain falling on his body.

He did not pray FOR rain, as he stood in the circle he prayed rain – he became one with the experience of rain.

This is what we do when we pray success.
We see ourselves dressed the way we would if we were successful.
We feel the way we would if we had that measure of success.
We hear the sounds, friends, conversations that we would if we were successful.
We taste the special food we would eat, we smell the fabrics, perfumes, foods, flowers, the whole olfactory experience we would have.
We touch the things with which we would surround ourselves.
Now all that experience depends on how you define success.
If success is a CEO position, create that experience in your mind.
If success is a self-sufficient cabin in the wilderness, create that experience in your mind. When we see it rightly, we set into motion the mechanisms that can bring it to fruition.

A word of caution – for most of us on the spiritual path, “things” are not the goal.
It's fine to have them, and usually we are seeking harmony and fulfillment that “things” cannot offer.
So, be careful what you ask for! You are likely to get it. If you want all those things, be sure to put a vision of money in your experience. You want to pay for those things.
If you are seeking harmony and fulfillment of a spiritual nature, then seek God within.

A second word of caution – we may find ourselves somewhat addicted to our problems and the drama they can bring.
It's exciting. Just look what I am dealing with!! Can you imagine!!
We DID imagine it – that's how we got it.
So if you want the harmony and fulfillment of a richer life in Spirit, then we just may have to give up the drama.

Lynne Twist tells a story in The Soul of Money about her visit with Mother Teresa in Calcutta.
Mother Teresa had been her inspiration since childhood, and she finally had a meeting with her.
She sat with Mother Teresa at a simple table and were deeply into sharing when a scuffling noise and loud voices interrupted them.
Both the man and the woman were very tall, very large, heavily perfumed, and clearly very rich.
They had seen Mother Teresa, but now wanted a picture. They treated her roughly to get their picture, and a second and then without so much as a “thank you” disappeared down the hall and away.
Swift was extremely upset, and the distress continued after she returned to her hotel room. She lit a candle and sitting down, wrote a letter to Mother Teresa. She poured out her heart and asked for forgiveness for her own thoughts and judgments and asked her counsel.

Weeks later Twist received a reply from Mother Teresa in which she explained that the vicious cycle of poverty was well known and articulated.
Far less obvious, and almost completely unacknowledged is the vicious cycle of wealth. The suffering, the loneliness, the isolation, the hardening of the heart, the hunger and poverty of SOUL that can come with the burden of wealth. The wealthy need as much compassion as anyone on earth (34-36).
We may not think of the wealthy as in need of compassion, yet this is part of our work. As Mother Teresa said, “Do not shut them out. They also are your work.”

My point here is that when we ask for a rich spiritual life, sometimes we encounter those situations that challenge us to our very core, and often from most unexpected quarters.
If we see ourselves with a rich life with Spirit, we must be sure to include seeing ourselves as having the strength, wisdom, and compassion to include the rich and the poor, the loving and the hard hearted, the sick as well as the healthy, the poverty of money and things as well as the poverty of the SOUL.

Even as we work to clarify our own deepest desires, it is critical to remember
Nothing and no one is against us.

Fear:
Times of change are times of fearfulness AND times of opportunity.
Bible says many times, “Do not be afraid.”
If fear is your constant companion, try facing the fear. Most fears resolve themselves into a few general classes that almost everyone is called upon to meet in some form or another (Wilson, Master Class Lessons, 137).
Nothing and no one is against us. It is God's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.
Once men feared lightening – then one man faced the fear and found out how to make lightening serve him and others.
Men feared the uncharted seas until one brave soul set out to face that fear.
We know that God's perfect will for us is only good. Facing our fears can only diminish their effect on us.

We ALWAYS reap what we sow; we share in the harvest. Let's not cheat ourselves by sowing seeds of distrust, of fear, of dissension, of rage, of poverty.

A story is told of a man who was employed to build a fine house. His employer was a man of means who was going on a journey and wanted the house built during his absence. Before leaving he explained to the builder just what he wanted.. The house was to be built on a beautiful site already chosen. No expense was to be spared. Nothing but the finest of materials was to be used.
The employer departed and the builder set to work. He built well, following the instructions of his employer and building a worthy structure.
After a time he succumbed to thoughts of dishonesty. He reasoned that it would not be notices, and he did poor work. He used inferior materials and pocketed the difference.
After many months the employer returned and the builder went with him to inspect the finished building. On completing his inspection the employer astounded the builder by telling him, “This home is yours. I intended it for you in return for your past service to me.”
The builder realized he had been cheating nobody but himself.

When we sow seeds that are unworthy of the Divine, we are cheating ourselves. God is right here and right now, within every one of us. We are free to choose, AND in choosing we are electing to accept the results that will flow from those choices.

God is the love within you; you are the most precious creation of the Creator.

God loves you, and so do I.