We are going through some tough times. We are all looking for answers to finding peace within a world that seems to be falling apart outside and a world that may be falling apart inside.

There is a sense of hopelessness and helplessness resonating from the voices striving to understand.

And then we turn to spirituality, hoping that a metaphysical explanation can bring us some peace. Yet, if we use spirituality to prevent us from feeling, this is simply a spiritual bypass.

In the world there are bodies, personalities, identities, and pride associated with all of this.

Getting rid of your attachment to your body and attempting to see beyond the physical aspects of other bodies is a lovely thought. But be honest. How possible is it for you to understand that deep and realize that in practical terms?

Be honest with yourself. Who are you, and what do you want? You say you want peace, but what we want is peace, defined by how we define it. Peace where everyone gets along or peace where people act the right way and avoid crime and evil. What is peace? What is a peaceful demonstration? What is everyone searching for?

The metaphysics make perfect sense that if we thought that we could separate from our creator and make up our world, sin would be real along with its guilt and shame. At least if we are going to make up a world, let’s make it a good one. By whose standards? Who tells us what a good world should look like?

So, then we feel stuck. Nothing we do will ever make it feel totally healed. So, what is the answer? The miracle, of course. We have an out. We can take all of our problems and questions and dilemmas and confusion to the Holy Spirit or Jesus or Buddha and get the ultimate answer.

Pray. Pray to see it another way. But whose way? And which way is the right way? Oh my! -Back to the Holy Spirit. “I think I have a preference for how I want the world to look and feel, and it’s not going my way. Back to the Holy Spirit-“ Help! I feel so attached to my loved ones, and I want everyone to be safe. I am afraid of a virus. I am afraid of demonstrations. I am afraid I will lose the world I thought I knew.”

What was I expecting my prayers to reveal? What I expected spirituality to give me has let me down. The world is no better just because I am praying. The world is no better just because I held up a sign of compassion. The world is no better because I made my point. The reason is when we thought we went to the Holy Spirit for help; we asked to help us keep our world the way we want to see it and not the way the Holy Spirit sees it with totally forgiven eyes.

To go beyond helplessness, there is hope in simply admitting all of the above. Admit your sadness, relax your shoulders, and take a deep breath. Accept your pain. Acknowledge your confusion. Relax. And here is where we can join. We are all in this together. You don’t have to be anything other than what you are. Deep down inside, we are all wounded. The guilt is universal, and once we see that, we can accept that we desire to wake up from it all, but that we don’t have to give up everything to get there.

We all start as children, and even though we are guaranteed peace as Children of God, we spend our time striving to have our needs met. First, our basic needs, and then as we mature and grow, if we are lucky enough to live in a thriving environment, we grow to have a broader and deeper need to belong. We have a self that feels its esteem and perhaps is recognized by others, and then when others are not enough or let us down, we think we are going higher into the realm of realization, where I am not a body. I am free. I am still as God created me. All true, but you still have to live here with others and get to know yourself. And then you begin to see that food and shelter come not from plants and animals and sticks, stones, and bricks but the very foundation of your being.

Our reading was Lesson 153. In my defenselessness my safety lies. This powerful lesson begins very dark, with a full description of how the world is a full circle of attack that needs constant defending.

You who feel threatened by its changing world, its twists of fortune and its bitter jests, its brief relationships and all the “gifts” it merely lends to take away again; attend this lesson well. The world provides no safety. It is rooted in attack, and all its “gifts” of seeming safety are illusory deceptions. It attacks, and then attacks again. No peace of mind is possible where danger threatens thus.

Continuing the lesson, we get a picture of why the world is such a mess. But hang in there. There is hope in our strength, and our power is in our defenselessness.

It is important to note that this does not mean you would allow a stranger to break into your home, harm your family, or hurt your business. What you do behaviorally will follow common sense, but what you do with your mind is most important.

You act, however, after you have taken your desire for healing to the Holy Spirit. Our actions will reflect the desire for universal healing. You will be less sad, anxious, and defensive. You will listen more and talk less. When you open your mind to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, you will join with your brother or sister;) instead of separating.

A beautiful section of this lesson brings us to relax:

Be still a moment, and in silence think how holy is your purpose, how secure you rest, untouchable with its light…It is the function of God’s ministers to help their brothers choose as they have done. 

I encourage you to stay with your daily lessons even if you don’t get them; even if you don’t like them; even if they challenge your ego. Each lesson is a lesson taking you closer to mindfulness and away from mindlessness. And in mindfulness, you will let go of judgement, guilt and fear of what you see. You will rest in forgiveness of yourself and then others.