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.
The crocodile trainer uses a distraction to maintain a safe distance from its powerful jaws. He enters the pen and throws the croc a piece of rope to chew on while he maneuvers to a safe place from which to feed and appease this fearsome beast. 
When I REMEMBER I become one with what may seem to have come apart. In the greater picture, nothing is ever disconnected, but in my mind or perception something may appear that way. I may feel disconnected from my spiritual nature. I may have lost touch with cherished memories. I may have lost touch with friends or loved ones by a move, a change of workplace, a conflict, or their transition from the physical realm. Whatever the cause, I have the ability to REMEMBER and draw the essence of that relationship into my conscious awareness. I can REMEMBER the sweetness of the first meeting with a beloved spouse. I can REMEMBER the first moment I held my precious child in my arms. I can REMEMBER the great joy of a childhood friendship. And in that moment, I reconnect. I experience oneness once again with what seemed lost, separate or grown apart. I once again feel the great gift of connection. And, I can REMEMBER that I am one with all beings; one with the Source of all things, one with the Allness of God. And in that holy instant I am REMEMBERED; all parts once again whole. In that moment I know that all members, all parts of the whole, all moments in time, all feelings, qualities and blessings are forever one in the mind and heart of God and I am enormously blessed and instantly made whole.
In this wondrous time of year, we witness the wonders of the first snow fall, of holiday lights and decorations, the glitter, the activity of giving, the excitement of children as they anticipate visits from Santa and extra days off from school. We hear the sounds of familiar carols playing in stores and churches and on car radios. And perhaps we hear these familiar words, “Star of Wonder, Star of Night, … guide us to thy perfect Light.” It is a song describing the journey of the Magi following a great and mysterious Light to the birth of the Christ, a sacred and glorious event in the story of humankind.
My Miracle today is that I found my heart! Not just metaphorically, though that is true as well. I found a beautiful gold heart necklace that was hidden in the inner folds of a jewelry pouch I carry when I travel. I had forgotten I even had this golden heart. I have a silver one too and thought the gold one was a faulty memory. This morning, as I prepared that pouch for my visit with my brother I felt something buried deep within the layers of fabric. I couldn’t reach it through the four different zippered pockets. I had to reach down into a small opening between the zipper and the seam. I wasn’t even sure what I was feeling until I pulled it free. So much like my own heart, it can become lost in the folds of emotions and put away in a drawer. I may wear a silver heart, one that is almost as lovely as the gold, but not quite. Gold is the color of Spiritual Understanding. As an element it is pliable yet strong. Gold is a mixture of red which represents life and yellow which represents wisdom and a touch of silvery glitter that represents the power of will aligned with Spirit. I found my heart today and it is still gold. I found my heart today and I open it wide to let God in. I found my heart today and I let it sparkle and expand to envelop you in Love and Light. 
Eileen Patra 