The
Principle of Goodwill
An Extension of Self toward Others
“The expansion of our consciousness
reveals Grace that lets us know that
we are part of this purposeful, loving, intelligent Being.”
~Alan Oken
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The
inner and outer crises, tensions and opportunities inherent in
the present shifting of the World Age marks a huge step in individual
and collective evolution both for the human race and Planet Earth.
Creative ways are being sought to resolve current polarizations
as the stream of moral and physical pollution rise to the surface
for cleansing. With a need to find balance between such polarizations
and uplift them, humanity finds a new strength that requires us
to be the co-creators of our daily lives through the expression
of Will and Love at the collective level.
It is very important for those of us actively working on the expansion
and evolution of consciousness to pay attention to how we use
the mind. For instance, the individual creative spirit must flourish
and to do so we must consciously become self-empowered—that
is to be able to focus, hold, concentrate and creatively use power
through the right use of our wills. It is clear that without attunement
and succinct development of the personal will our destinies are
left to the craft of others hands and we are unable to take an
active co-creative role in our own lives or in the unfolding destiny
of humanity. The definite ability to envision and co-create our
destiny under the Law of Right Human Relations—that is right
relation with self, between the lower and higher self, and with
others and all sentient life, enables us to directly work to cultivate
those characteristics which serve to channel goodwill into our
lives. While energy follows thought, it is from a collective frame
of reference, which is operative at the soul level that such a
channel of activity finds its higher expression as the foundation
of creativity.
| In
our collective urge toward self expression, our struggles
and victories as we progress and regress along the Path
reveal an extraordinary story. What makes them so is that
we are consciously aware that transformations are taking
place—that our physical body with its associated feelings
and thoughts is the vehicle of expression of the human Soul
and that as we witness our growth process, synthesis of
the personality begins to take place. This alignment is
a major step in the creation of a strongly integrated ego
structure that is essential to a healthy life, as much as
it is to our spiritual growth. So, while we aspire to greater
growth and mutual understanding, which is neither exclusive
personality-oriented nor entirely egocentric, but is somewhere
along the varying degrees of Soul awareness, we begin to
ask ourselves beautiful questions: “How may I/we become
more effective in serving my/our community, nation, planet
and the Plan through the fulfillment of my/our true and
inner purpose in life?” and “How may I/we better
get along with self and others?” The response is that
we can only do this when we are grounded in the soul’s
reality. |
Patchwork quilt of collective migration stories
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While many of us are breaking out
of existing semi-conscious tribal modes of behavior and aspire
or are already in the process of dynamic social contribution,
awareness is gradually being pulled toward or is already centered
in the reality of the Soul. From this state of awareness, by default,
our perceptions around willpower, its abuse and misuse towards
others or by others against us, come to question for examination
and reframing in order to properly carry out Divine Will. Understanding
that power is in itself something good we can harness the will
as a healing device—as an expression of the Will-to-Love,
the Will-to-be-Wise and the Will-to-Good, rather than using the
will-to-manipulate and control others.
Harnessing the will as a healing
device means to connect to the inner power of the Soul, which
may be a frightening prospect for some, but such subjective unity
provides the essential interchange between the individual and
the collective that fosters and supports the outer differences
in the expression of our various pursuits, interests and inclinations.
It allows us to expand human relations through the Principle of
Goodwill via our particular creative endeavors and fields of service.
To implement a greater measure of
goodwill into our lives we must identify what characteristics
in our personality inhibit the flowering of goodwill in order
for will power to be transformed and expressed as a quality of
Love.
The following characteristics inhibit
the manifestation of the strength and power of goodwill into our
lives and must be overcome.
• A sense of separation and self-centeredness
• Expectations of how we should or should not behave
• Expectations of how others should or should not behave
• Hostility, prejudice and intolerance of other people’s
differences
To overcome these negative orientations
into a finer presence of Being we need to develop a relationship
with ourselves first and then extend that love and acceptance
of self to all sentient life. Meditation and study helps to create
a relationship between the lower self and the Higher Self, which
through attentiveness to right diet and the clearing of emotional
blockages, cultivates those characteristics which serve to channel
goodwill into our lives.
In
Lighted Companionship,
Rev.
Alisa Battaglia-Schiff
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Once
the call of the True Self is heard not only with the heart
but also with the mind and conscience there will be no
way back to the way things have been. Sooner or later
we will recognize that we no longer have any choice but
to allow ourselves the extraordinary freedom to go all
the way in this life. Because, after all, if we have begun
to see through the illusory world that the ego creates
and have heard the call of the True Self to live our lives
for a greater purpose-what else is there to do?"
~ Andrew Cohen from Living
Enlightenment
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