Dear Friends,
“The only demonstration necessary is the Presence of God”
– I was re-reading Joel Goldsmith’s book, Man Was Not Born to Cry, when these words jumped out at me – a simple statement, but stating our true basic need in Life. In the awareness of this Presence, fears are diminished and we find the strength and guidance to work through challenges, whatever they may be. And the best way to “cultivate” this awareness of the Inner Presence, as Goldsmith indicates, is through meditation.
As we approach what seems to be the busiest time of the year when we are perhaps faced with many distractions, changes, and demands, it can be easy to slip into a state of fear. Fear of the future, of ageing, of lack, of being alone, just to name some. One of the main requirements needed now is faith. And faith comes from a deep inner knowing and believing. Perhaps we find ourselves see-sawing between faith and fear; up and down. What keeps a see-saw in balance is the fulcrum or pivotal point at the centre. Well the fulcrum in Life – all of Life – is God. How often though, is this also our point of greatest resistance – and only when “the chips are down” so to speak, do we turn to God?
The way to commune with God is in the Silence, in Stillness, yet we have become so accustomed to being entertained, distracted from our own thoughts by the buzz of life around us; and to stop all this can seem awkward and foreign. We have a wonderful opportunity each Sunday, here in our Sanctuary to stop and be. Some folk find our 15 minutes of Silent Meditation at the beginning of our Service each Sunday morning valuable, while others are more resistant to being still.
I quote briefly from the book mentioned above: “Learning the importance of meditation is one of the first requisites in the development of spiritual awareness. Regardless of our intellectual capabilities, or the amount of reading or listening we may do, our spiritual capacity expands only in proportion to our ability to meditate. This spiritual awareness is developed in silence, not in thinking, in listening, or in reading. For this reason, reading and studying are but tools which we use to enable us to reach that inner silence known as meditation.”
It is quite interesting that in a couple of e-mails I received recently, in Jewish mysticism, the focus has been on Genesis 28:16:- “And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place and I knew it not.” (King James version) In one of the Jewish translations it reads: “Surely the Eternal is in this place, and I did not know it.” And the message to us, or our practice rather, is to awaken to the essence of the Divine Presence filling all of Creation yet transcending all of Creation – in this moment, in this place, now!
Our teaching of Divine Science is based on the principle of the Omnipresence of God; this is our point of support – the support of all creation; the fulcrum of all Life. Jacob’s statement that the Presence of God is in this place and he knew it not, rings true for many of us. We fall asleep to Truth; we forget, and unfortunately perhaps it takes a crisis (catalyst) to bring us back to remembering.
The more we practice the Presence of God; make awareness a habit through short, yet frequent moments of meditation, the more balanced our “see-saw” in life will be. Aligning or resonating with the fulcrum, that point of support – eternal, originating point of support – our faith will be constant, and fears short-lived. We will be awake to the truth that God is our peace, our joy, our supply and our health. God appears as the fulfillment of the need of the moment. Through meditation on a regular basis we will be acting in a responsible way not only for ourselves, but our greatest value to the world lies in our periods of sacred silence.
SUNDAY SERVICES: All are welcome to join us each week as we take time to Be Still, in Silent Meditation, and then share a Lesson in Truth Principles.
Meditation – 09:30 to 09:45
Service – 09:45 to 10:30
Childcare is available except during school holidays.
SPEAKERS – DECEMBER:
01– Rev. Helen Penfold
08– Rev. Mallory Kretzmann
15 – Rosemary Batchelor
22 – Sylvia van Zyl
25 – Christmas Service – Revs. Helen Penfold & Mallory Kretzmann
Please note this roster is subject to change without notice.
ABUNDANCE CLUB:
We congratulate respectively, Jenny Cullum the October draw winner, and Denise Kerr who won the November draw. The Abundance Club draws resume in February 2014 and if you would like to put yourself in line to win R1000.00 in the monthly draws, please call the office to sign up. It is R250.00 for the five draws from February to June inclusive; then R250-00 for the next five months, July to November. Some folk prefer to pay R500.00 up front for the year, and we thank those who have already supported the Centre in this way!
OUR SINCERE GRATITUDE:
We extend our sincere gratitude to you all for your wonderful support, in consciousness and in kind. Your assistance, in the many different ways it is offered and carried out, is received and acknowledged in love. This is our Centre of Spiritual Awareness and Light, and together we do make a difference!
THE OFFICE WILL BE CLOSED: from 26 December until Tuesday 14 January 2014, when we will be taking our break. As you will have seen in Helen’s letter, the first service in the New Year will be on Sunday 12 January.
In closing ……………..
“God’s first language is Silence. Everything else is a translation. In order to hear that language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God.”
– Thomas Keating
I extend prayerful good wishes to you and your loved ones during the forthcoming Holy Season, and continuous blessings throughout 2014.
MALLORY