Dear Reader:

Haven’t you started a week sometimes with a terrible foreboding that it is not going to be a good one…in fact…you feel, deep inside, that it will not have a good ending at all?

During Holy Week…I always find myself wondering about the thoughts that were going through Christ’s mind. Unless something drastic happened to alter destiny, Christ must have known that things were not going to end well for him…the human part of him must have been anxious and terrified…his faith tested beyond human endurance.

His pleas for God to take this burden from him shows the extent of the anguish and agony he felt that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane. But in the end Christ accepted  God’s decision…weary and exhausted…”Luke 22:42: “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done.”  

Now that is the real deal…no hedging or skirting the issue…that statement is faith at its greatest.

In the Huffington Post  article: The Challenge in Staying in Faith (by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.) the author contends that the human struggle to maintain faith, when everything around us seems to be failing and falling, stems from the internal battle going on inside each of us dealing with our thoughts.

“Many of our feelings come from our thoughts. Difficult feelings such as anger, depression and anxiety may come from thoughts such as, “I am alone in the universe. There is no God helping me and watching over me. There is no spiritual help for me to turn to.” When you think these thoughts, painful feelings will likely be the result. These painful feelings are a source of inner guidance, letting you know that you are coming from false beliefs, and that you are being unloving to yourself.

On the other hand, you can remain inwardly peaceful if you choose to think thoughts such as, “Even though I did not get what I want, I know that God has my highest good at heart. I know that if I stay open to love and truth, I will be guided in the evolution of my soul’s journey. Staying in love and joy and seeking truth are more important than the outcome of things, so I will continue to keep my heart open to my spiritual guidance.” If this thought brings you peace, you know you are on the right track in your thinking.”

Paul then talks about the belief of some indigenous tribes she has researched who seem to come closer to the path of understanding faith than we more (seemingly) civilized people do. She has observed:

“Some indigenous cultures have a concept that I find very helpful in staying in faith. They believe that when we come into a body, only part of our soul enters the body. The rest of our soul remains outside the body and is what these cultures call a “double.” Our double — or higher self — is the part of our soul that is here to guide us through our earthly journey. Our double holds all the wisdom and experience that our immortal soul has accumulated through eternity. Because our double is not limited by the confines of our body, it can see and know things that our mind cannot possible see and know.

At those times when your mind is quiet and you are open to learning about loving yourself and others, you can access the wisdom and guidance of your double — your higher self. Then you know that you are not alone and that you are always being guided in your highest good. You might want to imagine your higher self as an older, wiser aspect of you — a wise and comforting presence whom you can turn to for love and wisdom.

Imagine what a difference it would make in your life if you knew, from your personal experience of your spiritual guidance, that you are never alone.”

So until tomorrow…Father help us remember and feel, deep down, that we are never alone…that we have never been forsaken…but that You are there, a constant in our lives, leading us slowly but surely back home.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh