The Blessed Community

"The relationship between a human and God, between a human and Life, is often called a 'covenant' relationship, which is contrasted with 'transactional' relationships. A covenant relationship centers on acceptance and celebration – be here now. Transactional relationships center on fairness and kindness – do unto others. The quest to bring these two types of relationships into close alignment is the quest for 'heaven on earth,' for 'perfection,' and for 'the beloved community.' This is the central quest of the Religious Society of Friends." ~Mary Klein, Western Friend, July 2021

Today:
1. Read "Testimony of Devotion"

2. Creative visualization

3. Play at the park with chalk

1. Read "Testament of Devotion":

I've been reading Thomas R. Kelly's book "Testament of Devotion" (1941). Chapter 3 is The Blessed Community. He start out saying that when we are "drowned in the overwhelming seas of love of God" we find ourselves in a new kind of rich relationship with some people; this relationship has a "luminous bulk and warmth" that is hard to describe (but he continues to do so). It is a new kind of life-sharing and love that might be what early Christians experienced. 

Not all of our friends are seen in this "new and special light"; we will seek out and find others who's lives are also "down within that Center." Some of our relationships will only be shared "nearer the surface of life," and until these friends become "wholly God-enthralled, Light-centered" they can only be good acquaintances. The "eye-to-eye relationship of love which binds together those who live in the Center is reserved for a smaller number."

He spends a few paragraphs judging those who are admired for their excellent organizational skills, or their well-intentioned busyness "not completely grounded in the depths of peace." These are people who are still self-focused and who have a social and humanistic theory of religious community; they can't quite feel the bonds that grow when lives are centered first in God.

This seems like an exclusive club! It makes me uncomfortable. On the one hand, I understand the desire to find friends who share a deep spiritual life, who have a common world-view, and to wish that others would get their priorities straight, but how can I really see into the hearts of others to judge them lesser? 

I am on a path to take it deeper, and it's my job to draw others down with me.

2. Practice creative visualization:

I call on the practice of visualization to help bring my goals to fruition. Creative visualization is a technique that uses my imagination to create change. It has three steps:

• First, center and relax each part of my body; count from 10 to 1, then open a connection to Spirit. Feel a soft warmth begin to grow and spread through me, until I am radiating quiet energy.
• Second, create a clear, detailed picture in my mind, as though the objective has been reached. Paint a vivid mental image of exactly how it looks and feels to "create love poems to the earth, and share them on the wind" - and put as much positive energy into the image as possible. 
• Lastly, affirm that this is what I want with a short positive phrase in the present tense; for example, "My heart shares my art-making with you."

The thought-image is like a signal-flare that guides the physical thing or deed to manifest in my life (or it's just a good way to keep my intentions in my mind). I will carry the vision of the completed goal with me, and focus on it often during the day, in a gentle manner.

3. Play at the park with chalk:

Today I get to experience the blessed community of two-year olds, at the park with chalk!