Healing Our Spirits, Healing America

By Tom Hemphill

As we enter 2006, many of us have old issues, childhood traumas and psychological stresses coming to the surface. While these always represent potential growth opportunities, they are typically difficult, even painful, to go through. Still, it is important that we see these issues for the gifts that they are.

Some years ago, a friend of mine prayed that she might become more loving, that God’s Love might pour though her and bless others. Her prayer was sincere, and her desire to channel love was genuine. However, she then encountered a long period in which issue after issue from her earlier life came to her attention and needed to be addressed. Old hurts, angers, injustices, damaged relationships, fears, traumas – all were suddenly confronting her.

Naturally, she was perplexed (and a bit miffed, I should think). Her

Then it began to become clear to her that her prayer to be a cleaner, less obstructed, more blessing channel of Love was being answered. She was being assisted to get rid of her “stuff” that she had carried for years – most of it unconsciously. That same “stuff” was what was blocking her from achieving her goal of being a better conduit of Divine Love.

The “Course in Miracles” clarifies that our human experience consists of two fundamentally different experiences. All that is clearly of the spirit is called “Love.” Indeed, St. Paul wrote, “The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness and self control. If we live by the Spirit we are also guided by the Spirit.”

The “Course in Miracles” uses the term “fear” to describe everything we experience that is apparently not love. All of our emotional life fits into these two categories – Love and fear. If you consistently feel fearful, anxious, worried, defensive, depressed, hurt, angry, or resentful, then you are not living in Love. You are living in fear. Truly, God wants better for you.

We have all seen drawings of how cholesterol lines our arteries, constricting the free flow of blood through the arteries. If this blockage becomes severe enough, illness and even death can result. The emotional and psychological baggage that we carry on our spirits is similar to this.

Spirit would like to move through our hearts and act through us to benefit ourselves and others. Yet Spirit is blocked in this by the hurts, fears, angers, and unhappiness that we each carry. Like cholesterol, this emotional and psychological baggage reduces our ability to be the open, freely loving spiritual beings that God made us to be. And so our prayers to be more loving are answered with an initiative to help us get rid of our unfortunate baggage. This is precisely what is going on now in the lives of many of us in spiritual service.

As we approach the time of the paradigm shift for humanity and for Earth, it is more and more necessary for us to become relieved of the psychological and emotional baggage that we have been carrying about – some of it since childhood.

This “inner work” – embracing Love in order to overcome long-held fears - assists us individually to make as smooth and gentle a transition as possible into our new reality. In addition, we are strengthened in our capacity to assist those who will turn to us for guidance and encouragement as they go through their own painful but essential growing.

Confronting the hurts or fears or demons of our past is never fun. For most of us, it is painful, anxiety-ridden, and a great deal of hard work. Yet, which of us, having done some difficult growing, in psychotherapy or in a Twelve Step program or in spiritual counseling, would then step back from our newfound sense of self, our new clarity about reality?

While we may not always enjoy the growth process, it is helpful to understand that this is indeed what is going on – in us and in the world. We are being cleansed, clarified, nurtured, strengthened, and healed, so that with greater and greater Wholeness we can live our lives more fully, and serve our fellow humans more truly. It is not easy to become a channel of Love. But this is the life task that many of us have chosen for this period in our lives, and a loving God will do all in Her power to assist us to fulfill this purpose.

As has been true throughout history, the battle of good vs. evil takes part in each human heart. We who would serve God and help our fellow humans must have the courage to first face ourselves - to honestly confront our own inner truth and, with God’s help, make peace there. Then we will be spiritually clear enough to be an effective and valued channel of the Goodness that humanity awaits.

It is important to see that this is also what is going in America’s social and political life. Many of us have despaired at the apparent loss of traditional American values of decency and fairness. Evidence of rampant corruption in our national government, reports of prisoners abused by Americans, illegal spying on citizens who disagree with the current administration’s policies, and officials lying to the American people about such atrocities – such things are anathema to anyone who grew up loving this nation and holding her leaders to high standards of ethical conduct. At first it seems we have truly lost our way.

However, many of us are aware that the Elohim, the Spiritual Guides of Earth, have evolved America for a global role. While America has already played a huge role in helping humanity come to the present time, her greater spiritual purpose lies in the future.

It seems clear that what is happening today in America, the body politic, reflects what is going on for so many of us individually. While America has many fine qualities and laudable accomplishments, as a nation she also has her issues – a painful history of ethical compromises, unhealed hurts and injustice to many people. The pledge of “with liberty and justice for all” remains a dream for far too many Americans.

There is no way for America to fulfill her role in aiding humanity with love in the new era, unless America first “comes to herself” in honest self-assessment; only then can she be healed of her dis-ease and made Whole.

For America to become all that is potentialled for her, like us, she must be challenged to face and accept her inadequacy for this role. Only when America collectively faces her own dark side can she begin to be honest with herself. Only then will it be possible for her to be healed and to become all that was purposed for her and for Earth. Religion cannot save America. Only Spirit can do this.

I believe that is what we are now seeing in our national life. It is not that political scandals or human greed are new things. But today we are witnessing such scandals and such avarice as the world has never seen before. The very principles and values that Americans cherish are being casually dissed by our elected officials. It is not surprising that this is coming out in the open. That is the only way that the American people can see and accept this aspect of our national “shadow.” Only in accepting this part of our history and our cultural make-up can we be open to receive the healing that Spirit waits to pour out upon this nation – and through her to the world.

From this perspective, the “mess in Washington” looks different. It is part of a necessary and, though painful, purposeful divine healing process. You and I have roles to play in the world of the new paradigm. So does America. Just as Spirit is challenging us to work on our stuff, to grow and heal and become more and more able to live well, love well, and serve well, Spirit is bringing that same powerful loving energy of confrontation, clarity, cleansing and blessing to our nation.

Getting from where we are to where we need to be will not be easy. But it will certainly be worth it. Once we see a painfully obvious need for growth, shall we bury our heads in the sand? I think not.

This is the time for honesty with ourselves, for courage and integrity – individually and nationally. The stakes have never been higher. This is our time. This is our task. You and I chose to incarnate now, to be here now, to participate in this grand adventure, this cosmic cleansing. A great deal is expected of this generation.

All of humanity and Earth Herself struggle to live in Love, and without fear. With God’s help, we will face our individual demons and grow in Love. With God’s help, we will face our national demons and our society will grow in Love. With God’s help and our earnest, honest, human effort, we will collectively “turn the corner” – and the prophecies of great Goodness for humanity will be fulfilled in our lifetimes.

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(Editor’s note: Tom Hemphill would like to thank JoAnne Duggan, PhD, for her assistance and advice in preparing this article.)

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