The first show was on one of my favorites, House Hunters. Most often I love to watch this show, but yesterday, what transpired within the show disturbed me. The couple was shown 3 beautiful homes. The top priority to them was having a tequilla room, followed by a Scarlet O'Hara-like home; as the wife wants to be Ms. Scarlet herself. Is this who we have become? I understand that in buying a home, especially spending good, hard earned money, that getting 'what we want' is important, however, the criticisms of living in a home with 'no available tequila room', not to mention, carpet/only a single sink/ two bathrooms/ etc, brought the awareness that we have increasingly lost sight of what is important.
On the heels of this, the second was a show by John Oliver who talked about evangelists. I wasn't interested in the point in which he was trying to make in regards to government taxes, but I was stopping in my tracks and focused, as I had no idea that there were people out there continuing to manipulate in this manner. I had thought we had learned and moved past this. Turns out, it is now more extreme then ever before.
I am all on the side of assisting others in discovering their faith, moving closer to their relationship with God, Jesus, Budda, (etc), whether it be religious or spiritual. Perhaps a little naive, I had truly thought that the days of Jimmy Swaggart, Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker, Terry Smith, Oral Roberts, Bob Larson, Robert Tilton, (wow that's a whole lota too many) had taught us something and been laid to rest. An Evangelist is defined as a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching. This is not evangelistic, by any definition.
The final show, of which I could not take my eyes, from was Vice. Each time I watch this, I do so to see a different side so that I am aware and educated (to somewhat, as I do follow up with research for clarity). Last nights episode began with an account of Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints convicted leader, Warren Jeffs, followed by a depiction of the Fat Farms of Mauritania, a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa, and ending with the city of Mumbai, an account the sets the bar on a world stage, of a poverty vs. riches.
Every ounce of common is thrown out on all of these stories, my common being shaken to its core. This isn't about being rich or having only one wife, or any of these things, it's about doing what is right and good, for self and expanding this outward for others to experience. Abundance and Prosperity through the manipulation of greed, fear, anger, shame or guilt, in this day and age, with all of the awareness, right there in front of us, often at our fingertips, is heart-breaking.
Look, it doesn't matter to me if there are rich, beautiful, skinny, or funny people in the world. It's about Balance.
Money is an energy and is meant to flow. Money should be always kept moving and invested in something, not stored in some bank account. For what purpose? The flow of money is a continual process that is meant to generate jobs and progress us forward and keep us Balanced. The 'World Debt' is some 60 Trillion Dollars. What does this even mean? And who do we owe this to? The lines between the rich and the poor are becoming more and more defined. And for what purpose? And the means to getting there, has few, if any, boundaries, values or moral compass.
I admit that I do not understand polygamy, but this story goes beyond and churns on disillusion & often cruelty. It talks of many young men who have been thrown out of their homes because of an 'Official Order' allowing polygamist church elders to monopolize (engage in sex, marry, enslave) all of the young girls (some very young). These tossed out young men, few of whom have even an middle school education, must adjust on their own, in a drastically different culture, without family, unsure and often immature.
When I came to the story of the girls who are being cruelly force fed (often to the point of throwing up and being tortured to eat, daily), what hit me most was that, here, in my part of the world, we spend big dollars on torn jeans and extreme diet regimes to showcase our wealth. It's no wonder that so many are confused.
It's time to walk away from the utter fear based and guilt mongering ways, with the use of trepidation and emotion to tug at our heart strings (and we are even encouraged as to what this is), to influence our opinions and actions towards.... nothing.
But how. By beginning to ask ourselves questions. By not allowing something, someone, or an image to tell you how to feel. To seek understanding on what it is that is causing and feeding this feeling. Research. Due diligence on your part, accountability to the truth; your truth. By learning to trust yourself again. This means stepping outside of who we have been taught & often manipulated to believe we are, to find out who we are, all over again. But it's in there.
The honesty lies in the Balance. The balance is not the extreme; virtuous vs evil, the best vs the worst, rich vs poor, beautiful vs ugly, healthy vs sick. For it to work as it should, we need an exchange, a flow, a balance.
So.... how does this lead back to the Principles of the Miracle. Because the miracle is the same. It's your rite. We are all worthy, deserving. Miracles are not about manipulation and fear. At all, or in any form. Miracles are about Balance; a giving and a receiving. It's remembering who we are. First and foremost, upfront and centre, a child of God, and that we are a community, connected, and part of an energy that feeds and flows.
Messages & Miracles~ACIM, Lesson 97~ Principle No Nine~ Miracles are a kind of exchange. Like all expressions of love, which are always miraculous in the true sense, the exchange reverses the physical laws. They bring more love both to the giver and the receiver.
This is the true essence of the Miracle, the Light. Love, the Balance and the Flow. It all begins and ends in love, a flow in the exchange of that Love. God Bless one and all. Balance, Lori-Lynn
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