Fall Celebrations: The Time of the Thinning Veil

Throughout history, celebrations have occurred at this time of year: Halloween, Samhain, The Day of the Dead, and All Soul's Day all take place between October 31st and November 2nd. On these dates we are at the halfway point between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice. We are also experiencing the time when the veil between the material and physical worlds is at its thinnest. Some believe this means it's the best time to communicate with departed loved ones. I would like to suggest that it is also a good time to commune with angels and other divine beings who have humanity's best interests at heart. 

The angels and all divine beings who do God's will are working tirelessly to promote the Oneness of humanity, to help us recognize that we are ALL children of God, and that nothing we do can separate us from one another or our divine parents. These divine beings do not recognize the political, religious, and cultural divisions that people have created to separate ourselves into Us and Them camps. The Divine Plan is for all people to realize that we are interconnected and interrelated - so when any one of us hurts another, we also hurt ourselves and all of Creation. The Time of the Thinning Veil is a good time for people and divine beings to work together on this plan. 

One way this happens on Halloween is felt in the comradery of trick-or-treaters and treaters. When I was growing up in the '60's there were a lot of tricksters out on Halloween night: squirting shaving cream on unsuspecting friends and throwing eggs at windows. I don't see this kind of behavior anymore - maybe because there is a 4-6:00 limit on the activity that used to take place only after dark - but maybe because people as a whole have become more considerate of others. 

Last night when trick-or-treaters came to our door, I greeted them in my hippie-peacenik costume. I offered a piece of chocolate to each person who came to our door, regardless of their age, color, or costume. Nearly all of the children said "thank-you," and one boy even gave me a hug! I know that everyone else in our neighborhood was being kind and generous in the same way. Halloween is an equal-giving-and-receiving opportunity!

Our grandchildren live in West Bend, Wisconsin, where trick-or-treating takes place on the Saturday before Halloween. The whole town celebrates, so it feels like one big party. Mark and I joined our family for this event, and I carried my "Imagine Peace" sign as we accompanied Mary Potter, Belle, and a little witch on their treasure hunt. 

As you can see in the above photo, the good people of West Bend like to hang out in their front yards, often sitting around a portable firepit to pass out candy and other treats. As we moseyed from one yard to another, we only met one person who didn't quite get the meaning of togetherness that the rest of the neighborhood was feeling. This guy had generously set up a table with candy for kids and jello shots for adults. But next to the table was a poster insulting President Biden. 

When Mark and I approached his table, this man proudly showed off the front and back of his T-shirt and baseball cap, all with messages that either insulted Biden or extolled Trump. Mark and I were so dumbfounded, we were at a loss for words. The man was clearly disappointed with our lack of response, and we were disappointed that he used this non-political holiday to promote his Us and Them politics. 

Obviously, this man enjoyed the feeling of comradery in his neighborhood. His mistake was believing that everyone in the neighborhood shares his opinions and his inclination to make fun of people with whom he disagrees. I hope that our lack of response helped him to realize his blunder. Thinking about him makes me realize that many people who enjoy being part of a larger family just need to enlarge their circle further in order to help create the peaceful world most of us long for. 

Now, when the veil between the divine and material worlds is thin, it is an opportune time to pray that humanity learns to overlook its differences. Let us pray that all people realize: nobody is better than anyone else, and being in line with divine will means loving all of our neighbors, no matter what they believe, what they look like, or who they vote for. 

Make Peace the Goal for 2023

  At the beginning of a new year we often make resolutions and set our intentions to better ourselves. Many of us wish for more peace in the world as each new year begins, and that is what I'm doing with the altar that I have dedicated to peace. 

    As I placed the symbols of peace on this altar I prayed that 2023 will be the year that the Era of Peace truly begins in the world of form. The Christmas card framed in green and gold displays the word "peace" in eleven languages. This and the golden globe hanging on my little tree remind us that people all over the world long for peace. Wars are waged by powerful and egotistic leaders, but most common people desire peace with their neighbors. When the will of the people, and the will of God prevail over the will of the egotists, there will be peace. 

    Doves of peace and a paper crane hang from the little tree along with the golden globe. Paper cranes have been symbols of peace since a little girl named Sadako died of leukemia ten years after the bombing of Hiroshima where she lived. Sadako believed that she would be healed if she could fold a thousand paper cranes. She made 644 cranes before she died. Afterword her classmates continued to fold cranes until there was a total of one thousand to be buried with Sadako. 

    Cranes had always symbolized long life, good health, and good fortune, but after Sadako's story spread around the world, the paper crane became known as a symbol of peace. I folded the crane on my altar as a reminder that no child should have to suffer the horrible effects of war. 

    Finally, the lion and the lamb lying together remind us of the Book of Isaiah where it actually says: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb . . . and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together . . . ." Whether the lion lies with the lamb or the calves is not significant. The point is that Isaiah's prophecy illustrates a future in which animals do not kill each other and there is peace in all the land. 

    Every new year ushers in the possibility that this will be the year when enemies begin to recognize the humanity in one another, when children are cherished as the miracles they are, and all of nature is honored and we begin to restore the earth to its original beauty. Let us pray that 2023 brings peace to the world. 

You might enjoy Diana Cooper's message of peace:

New Year's Eve Message 

 

The Miracle of Christmas

     During the Christmas season we are asked to believe in miracles. Believe that a virgin conceived a child by the Holy Spirit. Believe that an angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary would give birth to the Son of God. Believe that angels came to the shepherds in a field outside of Bethlehem and told them where to find the baby Jesus! And yet, if anyone claims to have seen an angel in today's world, they are scoffed at and called delusional. 

    We are told that Jesus grew up to be a great teacher and perform many miracles. He said: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12) And yet, many churches condemn those who perform spiritual healings because, you never know, the healing might come from the devil rather than God.

    Jesus demonstrated that life is eternal, and yet, we are told not to try to contact our loved ones in spirit. Catholics and other Christians may pray for their departed loved ones, but in Protestant churches we are told that we should not pray for the dead, and we should not pray TO anyone other than God and Jesus. Life is eternal, and yet many Christians believe that this one brief physical life is our only opportunity for salvation. They don't seem to believe in the miracle of a loving God who desires the best for his and her children. 

    I often feel that Christians have put themselves in a little box with God and their definition of God.  If church members stray from the perimeters of that box with questions, explorations, or imagination, they risk the wrath of God. If we tear down the walls of that box, we find that God expands to fill the outer reaches of the universe and beyond. In Matthew 19:26 we read that "with God all things are possible." So yes, it is possible - and most likely - that God has created intelligent beings on trillions of planets throughout the universe. It is possible and likely that many of these beings are more  highly evolved than we are, and that they are already among us, waiting for the day when we are spiritually mature enough to meet them peacefully. 

    With God all things are possible - and yet, many who pray for God's kingdom to come to earth do not believe it will happen. Some Christians have told me that we will never know peace in this world, even though we read in Isaiah 2:4: "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." In Luke 2:14 we learn that a heavenly host of angels said to the shepherds on that first Christmas night: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

    We sing and pray about world peace every year at Christmastime, but how many believe it can become reality? Is it an impossible pipe dream, or do we believe that with God all things are possible? Perhaps if we truly believe the miracle of Christmas - that Jesus was born to save the world - and work toward that end, we will find favor with God and the world will be saved from the violence and mayhem we have allowed to exist for far too long. 

    I believe that if we open our hearts and minds to the possibility of miracles this Christmas, and every day, we will discover there is so much more to God's universe than we ever dreamed possible. Why not try it and see what happens?

 

    

The Greatest Country in the World?

 

    Recently, Hillary Clinton read her 2016 acceptance speech on "The View." (The speech she didn't get to give to the nation, obviously.) I don't watch "The View," so I heard only a few lines. I happened to catch the one where she claims that "America is the greatest country in the world." That one line gave me something to ponder for the rest of the day.

    Growing up in the United States, I learned in school that we are the greatest country in the world, and as a child I never questioned this assertion. Now I have to wonder what gives us the right to claim this title when children in other countries are probably being taught that THEY live in the greatest country in the world.

    I just found an article on "Soapboxie" that gives three reasons for the USA being the greatest nation in the world. The first reason is our Constitution which gives us more rights and freedoms than people have in other countries. I don't know enough about the governments in other countries to say whether ours is the best or not, but I do appreciate the freedoms that we enjoy. On the other hand, I regret that so many Americans are irresponsible with these freedoms. I have to wonder if we carry it too far when we allow people the freedom to do whatever they please, even when their actions are harmful to others. 

    Freedom is highly valued by many Americans, but some people might value other things. For instance, I value peace and non-violence. According to the Global Peace Index for 2021, the three most peaceful countries in the world are: Iceland, New Zealand, and Denmark. The United States doesn't even make the top ten. Some people might rate countries according to their health care systems. According to the World Population Review the United States ranks eighteenth in health care. On the other hand, the World Giving Index ranks us first in generosity (by individuals, not the government), something I can be proud of. 

    There are many different ways to rate countries, depending on what one thinks is most important; so you can only claim to live in the "greatest" country if it is greatest according to the value that is most important to you. 

    My question is, why does it matter? Someone claiming to live in the greatest country reminds me of a child saying, "My dad is stronger than your dad," or a consumer boasting that "My car is fancier than your car." So what? Why would I care when my focus in life is the building of bridges between countries, between peoples, and between heaven and earth? 

    In Matthew 23:11-12 we hear Jesus say: "The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." 

    If we apply this lesson to the nations, we see that the greatest country is the one that serves the others, in order to create peace, justice, and prosperity in all of the world. I'm not sure which country this would be, but I would like to see the nations of the world make this their goal. Rather than acting like children who have to be "the best," "the strongest," "the biggest," or "the richest," I look for the day when every country strives to be the kindest, the most compassionate, and the most peaceful. 

    Thinking about the greatest country in the world reminds me of one of my favorite hymns, "This is My Song." 

THIS IS MY SONG * 

This is my song, O God of all the nations, 

A song of peace for lands afar and mine. 

This is my home, the country where my heart is; 

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; 

But other hearts in other lands are beating 

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine. 

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, 

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine. 

But other lands have sunlight too and clover, 

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine. 

Oh, hear my song, O God of all the nations, 

A song of peace for their land and for mine. 

*To the melody of Finlandia *Lyrics by Lloyd Stone