Do you feel connected to others? With the proliferation of wireless connections through phones and other electronic devices, it’s easy to be in contact with friends and strangers all over the globe. But what about having face-to-face conversations about meaningful topics? I belong to a book club which has met once a month for almost 20 years. The books we read are the vehicles which drive our conversations deeper and wider. The discussion following the reading of Kristen Hannah’s book Magic Hour filled our hearts with compassionate empathy for children who could be termed “feral”. In our Novel Women group we have both adoptive parents and child advocates for little ones who can easily get lost in our broken system. More than once I was moved to tears by the thought of babies surviving without the love of a parental figure. How do you build community in your area? I would suggest starting a book club, developing relationships with others, and allowing empathy lead you from there. Compassion is not an idle boast, but a nurturing action. Let us not be afraid of caring…
“To empathize does not mean to join in suffering, for that is what you must refuse to understand. That is the ego’s interpretation of empathy, and is always used to form a special relationship in which the suffering is shared. The capacity to empathize is very useful to the Holy Spirit, provided you let Him use it in His way. His way is very different. He does not understand suffering, and would have you teach it is not understandable. When He relates through you, He does not relate through your ego to another ego. He does not join in pain, understanding that healing pain is not accomplished by delusional attempts to enter into it, and lighten it by sharing the delusion.” A Course in Miracles T-16.I.1:1-7
“God is the Principle of divine metaphysics. As there is but one God, there can be but one divine Principle of all Science; and there must be fixed rules for the demonstration of this divine Principle. The letter of Science plentifully reaches humanity to-day, but its spirit comes only in small degrees. The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love. Without this, the letter is but the dead body of Science, — pulseless, cold, inanimate.” Mary Baker Eddy - Science & Health Page 113:1-8
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