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.
RIVERS are the miraculous pathways the crisscross the earth moving life-giving water from one place to another. Like streams of energy, they move toward the lowest ground. Our spiritual body is an intricate system of energies connected by streams of thought, intention and vibration. Unlike RIVERS of water, we can easily direct the flow of energy in our being. We can choose to let it flow to the lowest space in our consciousness. Or, we can choose to direct our energies higher and bring the entire being into a state of balance or homeostasis. RIVERS are a manifestation of the miraculous process of flow infinitely occurring in our minds and in the universe. When we become aware of this process and our ability to direct the flow it becomes irresistible to step into it. And then, we become the RIVER crisscrossing the field of consciousness moving and directing life-giving energy from one thought to another. 
SHOULDERS are a fascinating miracle of the human structure. An intricate assemblage of bone, joint, tissue, muscle and tendon, SHOULDERS provide a variety of useful functions. They allow us to reach objects high above our heads. SHOULDERS assist in the pushing and pulling of heavy objects. SHOULDERS provide a great place for the neck and head to rest. And the SHOULDER can be a place where we allow a friend or loved one to rest their head in times of stress or grief. More, SHOULDERS are symbolic of strength and stature. They are a platform for another to stand upon. When I was a child I played with these magnetic plastic people. The object was to see how many could stand upon each other’s shoulders. They fascinated me. I found I could build a sturdier structure by placing them in a pyramid form; more on the bottom than on the top, each one holding only a portion of the weight of the next. This seemed to be the best solution for creating the highest formation. We are continuously standing on the SHOULDERS of those who have preceded us; in our lives, in our work, in our families and in our world. And we in turn will provide the SHOULDERS for those who come after us. It is an outworking of Divine proportions. Working together, supporting just a portion of one another we create something much higher than ourselves. SHOULDERS are a miraculous manifestation of strength and stature and we can join together to build something quite high, stable and ultimately miraculous.
Eileen Patra 