I took many Unity courses to become a Licensed Unity Teacher and one of them was called Healing and Prosperity in the Bible. First we looked at the many many examples of healings, Jesus healing the blind, lame, possessed, sick. And then we looked at all the stories of what we call prosperity. Feeding the 5,000, finding manna in the desert for each day, the widow and the oil.
When
I was studying each of these prosperity stories I noticed that there was an
essential part to each one - the element of shifting attention from lack to
abundance, from poor me to gratitude, from seeing a problem to seeing
possibility. Every prosperity story
demanded a change of mind. Looking with different intent.
Removing
our attention from the problem and placing it on Spirit – is a healing
activity. Healing is an act of
restoration – of remembering our true nature.
It brings about within us a change in attitude, and with that a change
in our actions.
If
my relationship with money changes with how much I have – that is a tenuous
relationship – one that shifts and changes according to my bank balance. I can
heal that relationship by a change of mind.
So
as I was studying these stories of healing and these stories of prosperity I
saw that the line between prosperity and healing was blurred and really what I
came to was that – its ALL about healing!
And
as I explored this more deeply I could see that all healing takes place in the
field of relationship. Whether it is our
relationships with people, relationship with money, our relationship with
ourselves, our relationship with our planet…
We
do not exist in isolation. Each of us is connected with other people, with our smaller
and larger communities, with all life, plant and animal, with our physical environment. No one acts without affecting themselves, the
people and environment around them.
As
I was preparing this 40 Day program I could think of 3 areas of healing that I
wanted to include: healing ourselves: mind, body and soul, healing our
relationships with each other - with our human family - and healing our
relationship with this unique and precious planet we all live on.
Let’s
start with ourselves. Focusing on our
own wellbeing is not a selfish act, it’s a good thing to bring ourselves into
our healing process. I guess that’s one
of the reasons why I was attracted to Unity – a spiritual educational movement
with practical application. I wanted my life to be different - to have more
meaning, to have more joy, to experience my wholeness more fully.
One
of the statements in the daily prayer is “I affirm that all life is created
with sacred worth” and that includes us!
What
is wholeness? Wholeness is the word from which healing and holy come. wholeness
is our true nature. We cannot lose it, we cannot be separate from it. I think
we often forget that. We are sacred, holy beings. Spiritually created in
wholeness and perfection. there is nothing that can damage or affect our
wholeness.
Does
that mean we don’t experience illness? Of course not.
Does
that mean that we won’t struggle….. or be free from adversity? No.
But
all these things are outside our true nature. They are things of the physical
realm. And so of course, as human beings, we will experience it all. And
what helps us through those times is remembering our true nature.
Physical
healing is what got Myrtle Fillmore’s attention. she had 6 months to live and in two years healed
herself of tuberculosis. Have you
noticed how sometimes it takes something really big to get our attention? Being close to dying is one of those ‘big
things’. It is a great tool for focus.
And that’s what it did for Myrtle. Her
physical healing was the result of her changing her thinking. Aligning herself with her true nature.
She said, “The power that created
you is always at work to restore you and to maintain you in wholeness.”
She
brought about her own personal physical healing through her exploration into
the power within……Not
through hoping she would be healed, not through bargaining for her life, not
from trying really hard.
Here
are some of her words from the book Healing Letters – we have in the bookstore
and in our lending library. I went to all the life centers of my body and spoke words of
Truth to them words of strength and power. I asked their forgiveness for the
foolish, ignorant course that I had pursued in the past. I did not become
discouraged at their being slow to wake up, but kept right on, both silently
and aloud, declaring the words of Truth, telling them that they were free,
unlimited Spirit.
Do you hear her asking for anything?
To be made well? No.
Everything in God's world is working toward perfection. The restoring power of God in the midst of you is working quickly and harmoniously to rebuild you at all times.
Think of yourself as being the pure Life and Substance of Spirit made manifest. Keep your mind filled with joyous, constructive, beautiful, health-producing thoughts that maintain harmony in both mind and body. When your mind is peaceful, the healing energies flow through your whole being freely and abundantly.
Everything in God's world is working toward perfection. The restoring power of God in the midst of you is working quickly and harmoniously to rebuild you at all times.
Think of yourself as being the pure Life and Substance of Spirit made manifest. Keep your mind filled with joyous, constructive, beautiful, health-producing thoughts that maintain harmony in both mind and body. When your mind is peaceful, the healing energies flow through your whole being freely and abundantly.
And then a great reminder: Don’t be disturbed by the temporary
disorder. See it as the efforts of soul
to make adjustments, bringing to the surface the things that need special attention.
Powerful words and thoughts we can apply to
ourselves. These are not about physical healing, about being disease-free.
These words are true no matter what we are applying them to – ourselves,
others, our world.
How about healing our relationship with
others? Any discord in our lives is having an effect on us. We may live with
the illusion that holding a grudge or a resentment against someone is all about
them – but that is impossible. these feelings that we are harboring are
living in us. Every time we think these
thoughts of resentment we are feeding these feelings. We are keeping them alive
and strong. Some perhaps we have held on
to for years and wonder why we are still feeling the anger or animosity. How could they ‘go away’ when we are fanning
the flame of these feelings regularly.And have
you ever run into the person you are holding resentment towards and they look
so happy? Untouched by our long-held feelings.
There are many resources for clearing your
mind and heart on these things. Forgiveness is a big one, there are others………..our
release ceremony every January is one. The season of Lent was another. But this is something really that should be
happening every day. Do not carry these matters that weigh so heavily on your
hearts. Carrying around these burdens doesn’t take away our wholeness but it
clouds our ability to fully enjoy our wholeness.