Physically Apart – Together in Heart
Although COVID-19 has limited our physical gatherings and much of our day-to-day activities, it has not separated us in either Spirit or Heart. We have been able to connect through the wonders of technology, including video calls and live streaming church services. Additionally, we have been encouraged to go outside, to walk our dogs, to take walks with people with whom we live. And here is what I’ve noticed on those walks.
There is a peaceful quiet in the neighborhood that feels simultaneously good and somehow foreign. I don’t remember when I’ve felt such a powerful stillness in the city. I suspect it was some lifetime ago, as a child playing in a neighbors yard. It is quiet, the birds are singing profusely, and neighbors are stopping what they are doing to say hello. And not just hello. There is a smile, a look of knowing of one another’s need to feel connected that leaks through that smile and touches my heart. In this time apart, we are truly connected by the heart.
Did you know that when two humans interact with one another, their heartbeats begin to synchronize? It seems that close physical proximity draws our heart energy into a matching rhythm. But this coherence of heart does not have to remain limited to physical proximity.
When we take time apart – not from one another – but from daily tasks, media reports, and worry, by going within to that very same heart space, we connect. We connect with our spiritual being, the divine spark that dwells within each of us. We connect through a network of Spirit that exceeds the Cloud, hosted by the Allness that we sometimes refer to as God, Allah, Spirit, or the One.
In the Allness, there is an infinite connection; each of us is like a strand of Light reaching outward into the world of form and returning back again. In this turning back again, we find rest, wholeness, and a thing called dominion.
In the Book of Genesis, God grants humankind dominion the earth and all the things that creep upon it. The most basic interpretation of this passage reveals a gift, one that allows humanity to rise to the top of the food chain. But there is so much more to this message.
Dominion means the ability to control or govern. Metaphysically, the plants, animals, and things that creep represent thoughts, words, and actions. Thoughts and ideas that are fruitful and in coherence with the Allness produce experiences of abundance, creativity, and well-being. Thoughts out of alignment with the wholeness of God may, when given much attention, create experiences that lack wholeness and well being.
Created in the image and likeness of the power that created the universe, we, too, are creative. Our thoughts, words, and actions create our experiences, the quality of our relationships, and ultimately, our world.
Certainly, fleeting thoughts like “what would happen if a dinosaur entered the room right now?” are not likely to manifest. Why? Because we don’t give those kinds of thoughts, much attention. They pass through our minds, we smile or frown, and then we think something else.
It’s the thoughts we give a great deal of attention to, the ones we allow to occupy our minds and hearts, that produce more of the same. Our thoughts are contagious. They grow and multiply – and they tend to manifest in our bodies, our experiences, and our world. So, why not choose those thoughts carefully, from a higher consciousness?
What if Love and all the ways it harmonizes, draws together, and replicates itself, were our most prominent thought? What if kindness and compassion and the assurance of abundance occupied the most significant space in our minds and hearts?
The thought would become contagious. It would expand and open those channels of Light that connect us one heart to another. The resulting energy would become so strong that nothing could interrupt the flow of Love and Light from one heart to the other. Nothing out of alignment with this integral connection with God would have any power or ability to manifest or replicate. We would be choosing to exercise dominion over all that manifests in the world. We would know that, at times, we may be physically apart, but always, we are together in the heart and mind of God.
© 2020. Eileen Patra.
Eileen Patra is an ordained Unity minister and the author of The Mystical Ark: A Vessel of Blessings. She is currently serving as co-minister of the Spiritual Life Center in Troy, Michigan, and working on her second book, Living as the Ark.
PAINT is a magical, miraculous substance capable of changing the color of an object. A vast variety of pigments and tints can be added to this liquid substance to create a coating of the desired color and hue. Easily changed or even removed in its liquid state, PAINT becomes fixed when it dries. Metaphysically, PAINT represents the thoughts and energy we project into our world and our experiences. We can PAINT our thoughts or experiences in the color or hue of our choosing. We can choose a color that vibrates with joy and harmony. Or, we can choose a color that constricts or vibrates with fear or anger. Thoughts and energies held for long periods of time become fixed and require one or more coats of a new color, or new thoughts. If I have been holding thoughts of fear or anger for a long period of time, it may require numerous affirmative thoughts to change the picture I have allowed to become fixed in my mind. Today, I paint a miracle. I paint the world with shades of Love, Healing, Acceptance, Forgiveness, Faith and Joy and they become fixed in my mind and in my life.
CLAIRVOYANCE, the ability to see beyond what is currently visible to the human eye is the miracle of Spiritual Vision or seeing with the Mind’s eye. This is not an ability conferred upon the few, but an ability inherent in all. If I invite you to think about a blue butterfly, an image comes to mind of a blue butterfly. It may not be a picture-perfect image, but you know what you are seeing in your mind’s eye. The “Clairvoyant” has simply learned to utilize this invisible sense to a higher degree. Seeing the invisible, that which has not yet occurred or that which occurred millennia ago only requires that we transcend what the physical eyes behold. Time, is an illusion, relative to our current position in the universe. In Spirit, all things occur simultaneously so seeing what has not yet occurred is simply looking beyond what the physical eyes, bound by time and space are beholding. With practice, we can increase the ability to SEE beyond the physical, to SEE beyond the appearance of limitation and separation. We do not alter the future in doing so. Instead, we alter our own consciousness which in turn changes what we bring forth next. CLAIRVOYANCE, is the miracle of Spiritual Sight inherent in all. It is intended to be utilized, not “… hidden under a basket.”
The FUTURE I hold in my mind is a miracle. Through the ability to experience sequence, I can perceive what is yet to be. Through the power of Imagination, I can direct my thoughts and creative energies toward a FUTURE I find desirable. The image I hold is one in which all beings are awakened to their Divinity; all beings are awakened to their self-worth. Awakened in this way, I see all beings beholding the sacredness of one another. In this FUTURE no one is left out. No one is excluded, and no one would even consider harming another. Each person thrives in an occupation that feeds them as much spiritually and emotionally as it does physically and financially. Everyone listens, everyone speaks with love and kindness. Everyone honors and respects the ideas, views and needs of one another. In this FUTURE, compassion and understanding are the foundation of all activity. This is a FUTURE that is a miracle, and the even greater miracle is that it is achievable. With God, with the power and gifts already bestowed upon us as the image and likeness of God, ALL things are possible.
Eileen Patra 