Have you ever wondered how life can get so complicated? I practice a philosophy called the Science of Mind and Spirit and it is very simple. As I was doing my daily reading and meditation today, I was inspired by how simple this philosophy is? It doesn’t ask us to do anything that depends on anything besides the realization of the Power and Presence of the Divine that moves through us. It gives us clear steps to use that Power through the channels of our own mind and heart. We know that what we project into the Universe from our consciousness is sure to come back to us. We are spiritual beings living in a spiritual universe governed by our use of the Law of Cause and Effect. We can prove that it works even when it seems not to work. Simple!

However, we know that life can get complicated and that it can also get messy. When we doubt our own power or when we come up against challenges that seem to be more than we can handle, we lose faith. The simplicity of life seems to fade away and we get stuck in the challenge, thinking it will never end. I heard a talk the other day, where the person said, “in everything, we either win or we learn.” I love this because it lets me know that in everything,there is a gift and I never really lose anything. A lesson is worth a whole lot in the development of my own soul, and I’ve had plenty of lessons in my life.

It seems that of late, the world has become very complicated on many fronts. There is a lot going on. It is easy to get discouraged and wonder if everything is truly going to be okay. Of course, we aren’t all on the same side of the fence either. However, the question is “who will learn and who will win?” Because we live in a Universe of Unity it is not possible for us to separate ourselves from each other. We will all either win or we will learn. This is a Universe of order and harmony. If it weren’t so, it would destroy itself. I believe we can rely on this premise.

The Universe flows through all of us and connects us to one another. Its nature is to create from itself, through each of us. When we are in harmony with each other, the Universe reflects that back to us. When we are in disharmony, it appears to be disharmonious. However, if you truly think on this premise, it is harmonious in its disharmony. We can’t get away from its nature to create through us and the connection we have to one another.

So, how does this help us now? How does it help us as we think of Colby Bryant and his little girl and the others who lost their lives on Sunday? How does it help us when we think of the violence in the world or the schism in our political world? How does the idea of a harmonious Universe help us when we are confronted with our own challenges, losses and tragedies?

There is only one way that I know to journey through this thing called Life. It is to have faith in the mystery that calls me to go deeper. It is to surrender to the idea that I cannot right now necessarily see the bigger picture. It is to do my own work in the quiet of my mind, to reach inward to the place where all answers are. And most importantly it is to live in Love and gratitude every moment and to be in service.

If we look at the history of our earth plane existence, we will see that we’ve always had troubles and challenges. According to our Philosophy, the Science of Mind and Spirit, this is because this is the way we learn. However, we also believe that a time is coming, and maybe it has already arrived, when we will be done with this kind of learning. Where we will accept our place in the Universe as Divine Beings that know how to live in harmony with each other and all of creation. We will bury the idea of duality and accept the Unity in all things. We will surrender to the idea that there is only Good and live from that place.

When things look the worst is the time we can do our best work. We will never release ourselves from the path of sorrow by continuing to travel on it. We must take a higherroad. It might not be easy in the presence of our current state, but surely we can find something to be grateful for, look for a way to serve, love ourselves through it all. These simple practices would definitely be a start to the higher road.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita