April 29: Day 119

STONE FOUR CONTINUED
 
Discern: It is my responsibility to discern what works for me and what does not, always remembering that what may not resonate with me today may resonate at another time.

Instruction: Trust Love.

Truth is flexible. What we believe to be true today, we might disagree with tomorrow. Easy examples come to mind such as “It’s a disgrace for women to expose their head,” or “The earth is flat,” or “If I don’t attend church, I will go to a place of eternal damnation.” People even disagree on what is an absolute truth. If we were to ask different religions to tell us what they believe was absolute truth, there might be a few that seem to appear in the majority of religions. Those would be good ones to concentrate on. Once we move past those few, we might be amazed by the various things religions teach as truth. In some of the examples above, some religions might hold at least two of those statements as absolute truth. If we find it problematic to establish what absolute truth is, how do we find our way in a world that seems to have no foundation? Perhaps we should look at the few things that religions do have in common, and the first one appears to be the principle of Love. Many religions hold that The Divine is Love — that we were created in Love and that we will return to Love. From that point on the divisions begin as different religions define what Divine Love looks like in human words.

Applying the concept of Love to Stone Four, we understand that in our decision-making — our discernment — we can get a better grasp on the concept of “what may not resonate with me today may resonate at another time,” because we are able to apply the absolute truth of Love in any given situation and use it as a measuring stick. There is still a measure of uncertainty at times, because of our inability to determine the intentions of other people. We understand the feeling that some things might not seem to resonate with us, because we are unable to sense Love in the situation. There are other times when the opposite is true. Some religious leaders have become good at giving off the appearance of Love, and we can be taken in, only to discover at a later time that the leader and/or the organization no longer resonate with us. Perhaps we have seen behind the curtain and seen the organization and its leader(s) as simply people pulling strings, pressing buttons, and moving levers. Perhaps we begin to see this, because our recovery is helping us to move away from the familiar. In situations such as this, it is always important to examine our own hearts as well and look to discover if we have placed too much faith in the guidance of others instead of trusting our own ability to find and follow our own spiritual path.

Today’s Assignment is to examine your life to see if there are religious or nonreligious situations in which you are uncomfortable. Try to discern the source of the uncomfortable feelings. Does it have anything to do with someone who is not acting out of love, respect, or kindness? What steps can you take to improve the situation?