The Kindom of God #1

I thought I would begin to add the spiritual experience of being in the Kindom of God since I left my abusive marriage (You can define Kindom of God as healthy emotional/spiritual space. Emotional and Spiritual life are the same continuum of human experience.) On Friday I realized that at 7 PM Marianne Williamson, see http://www.marianne.com/ was to speak in a suburb way on the west side of Chicago about 30 miles from home. I prayed, "Dear God, if I am to be able to see Marianne, make it happen as I am in Lake county today." I had done a talk-to before, called in from my regular schedule to make a visit.

Now the new office where I report in for hospice ministry is in Palatine 26 miles from home. There was no way I could visit patients on my side of town and be in Schaumburg in time for the talk. So I thought I will not be able to make it to her speech. I wanted to go because she was to talk on the Promise of Possibility-Establishing a Department of Peace at the Cabinet Level. You can find out more about the Department at http://www.thepeacealliance.org/ It has about 70 sponsors in the house, none in the Senate.

Marianne was in a conflict with her very large faith community in Detroit because she spoke out against the Iraq War. She was asked to leave the pulpit, a very sad day for my sister who had attended the church for a number of years, because of her teaching especially a Course in Miracles. I think her faith would be considered "New Age Christianity" or Post Christianity. But on the issue of peacemaking I am with her 100%. And Marianne has paid the cost as Liz McAllister told me, "Don't count the cost." My psychologist for a number of years said, "Marianne is well thought of," when I asked him after hearing her speak for the first time.

I was up in Zion visiting my patient, a Vietnam era veteran when I got the call! "We need you to make a presentation to a new patient in Arlington Heights." AH is right next to Palatine/Schaumburg. I was ecstatic, I could attend! And the miles and time to get there would be paid by my employer! The hotel was actually 6 miles from my office. I finished the consent signing with time to spend in the office catching up on paperwork. 6 PM and I headed out! YWYH is good. I must listen to my intuition and ask for help from Divine Providence and doors will open where there are no doors. I do not know the way, as Thich Nhat Hanh says, "We make the path as we travel."(http://www.plumvillage.org/) It is enough.

I wanted to hear about this effort to create a Department of Peace, I have not been involved in it in any way. About 50 people attended. The notice had said, "Open to the public." So I thought a free will offering would be collected. Instead I was told, "$40" which is way over my budget! I thought "I can't have come all this way to not be able to go in." I gave what I could and the woman behind me gave a generous donation. The woman at the table said, "Don't worry she made up for you!" I felt good as I headed for the room to hear Marianne speak.

Marianne does not talk in soft terms. She talked of our need to evolve consciousness beyond the present. Within 50 years if we do not solve global warming we will have 200 million environmental refugees. If we do not end war we will have a nuclear holocaust with destruction of the planet. We must choose now to change our behavior from a never ending grab for more, an unsustainable lifestyle to sharing the earth's resources in pursuit of justice. Marianne focuses on taking care of the children.

I do disagree with her support for a military. We have spent $1 trillion on a war that has stripped our ability to address health, housing, education, infrastructure needs, rebuilding of New Orleans, etc, etc. However Marianne argues there are evil folk who are out to destroy. For me the traditional understanding of humanity is one of separateness "the other" Jung said we have to "own our issues/the shadow within" then we do not have to worry about the other. We live in the Kindom, in peace. Even if we die-like Jesus who is my Way. That is how consciousness is raised and human evolution continues. We are 98% primate DNA, we have a long way to go to be "fully human" with our own DNA.

So we have little deaths to the ignorance we live in now and rise to a new awareness of relationships. Below is my poem from when Jason was in Iraq. A reporter was embedded with Jason's platoon. I had marched against the war in Vietnam. I was in denial, my son would never participate in war. The interview told of how Jason gave the order and men died.

A poem of sorrow:
A mother waits
A messenger comes to her door
The sun stops in its course across the sky
And plunges her world into night.

Sorrow so deep
Her wail so strong
It broke my heart
Here in Chicago this day.

Joined together forever are we
One son gave an order
One son died
We are one in our tears.

“I am sorry our cultures say, “War is the answer.”
“I am sorry my son says, “Fire”
I hold your son in my arms
And pray for your healing
And may the world be reconciled
To understand we are one.

Katy (Scott) Zatsick
June 2005