Repost: Communication

This blog post by “Daring to live in love! The alternate economy” has some great ideas and guidelines for communication.

Week 8: COMMUNICATION — No blah blah.

Is it kind?

Think: Gossip. Building yourself up at someone else’s expense. Mean-spirited, oppressive put downs. Spreading rumors.

Is it necessary?

‘Unnecessary’ would include: Talking just to hear yourself talk. Trying to always have the last word. Bragging. Meaning to shock others. Self-indulgent blah blah.

Is it true?

Obvious, right? Lying. Misrepresenting. Tearing down your opponent. Demonizing ‘the other’.

Does it improve upon the silence?

There are times when it’s not possible to be better than simply silent: Being ‘present’ to someone dying, or in pain. Holding someone’s confidence. Refraining when in emotional turmoil. Not rising to the bait. Considering: Do I really know what’s best??

Christ calling us together

The First Church of Christ, Scientist; Boston, Massachusetts

This weekend my church headquarters is holding its annual conference. The theme of the meeting is “Christ calling us together.” Since being here in Boston there has been such a sense of alertness, engagement and you can feel the effect of people praying along the lines of Christ calling us together.

During the Wednesday church service, people stood up and shared healings they had through their study of the Bible and a realization of the wonder and greatness of God (and God’s Mothering love embracing them and giving us all that we need each moment). In addition to this, members of the congregation shared how they felt support from one another and that the prayers offered to the congregation each week had a profound healing effect on their lives. It was very moving.

Last night my husband and I were locked out of the friend’s house where we are staying. It was a chilly night and we were praying to see that “all things work together for good” as the Bible tells us (Romans 8:28). After 45 minutes or so, their neighbor came home. Even though he didn’t know us or have any proof we were who we said we were, he invited us into his home. We spent an hour and a half watching the basketball game with him on TV and chatting about various things. After awhile we saw that our friends had returned and we went home.

I had such a spiritual sense of God taking care of us -–of the Christ truly calling us together – that I knew it was divine providence.

I love the universal definition of Christ that Christian revolutionary and healer, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote in the late 1800’s:

Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to man speaking to the human consciousness. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 332)

This message from God to man speaks to you and me. It keep us on the straight and narrow path that enables us to live a fulfilling and satisfying life with God. This message is pouring into the thoughts and hearts of all men, women and children. And it is an amazing thing when you can feel and see your community embodying this message of good and consciously expressing it.

Lessons on humility

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my husband and I are doing some landscaping. One thing that has been particularly challenging is the irrigation (sprinkler) system we have. It wasn’t installed very well so ever since we moved in to our house we have tried to remedy this.

The biggest challenge is that we know nothing about irrigation systems! We’ve had estimates from technicians to come out and fix it, but they are too expensive. So, while we were working on this system yesterday, I was growing increasingly frustrated and feeling helpless.

As I prayed about this, I realized the situation was frustrating because I didn’t have the knowledge or skill set to do something about it. In humility, I saw that God, the only source of knowledge and intelligence, is the Mind the governs each builder, landscaper and home owner with the guidance and understanding of what to do. The same Mind that guided each individual in installing an irrigation system, is the same Mind that is with me right now.

At that moment, our neighbor came over and asked if we needed some help. He is a builder and very knowledgeable in landscaping and irrigation. He built his house and has helped the previous owners of our house with many aspects of our home.

He was able to tell us what we needed to fix, the items we needed to get from Home Depot, and he loaned us his tools so we could fix it the next day.

I am overjoyed! We are now well-equipped with the knowledge and resources that we need, feeling confident, and even able to expand our irrigation system to a new area where it is needed.

Humbly acknowledging God, the divine Mind, as the source of all ideas provides solutions for all our needs. These ideas may come directly to your consciousness, through a neighbor (like in our case), or in some other creative outlet. They always come when we let God lead us, and when we are humble, listening, and ready to receive them.