Bridges to Wellness

Rev. LeRoy Zemke

Temple of the Living God

St. Petersburg, Florida 33713

"It is immediately apparent ... that this sense-world, this seemingly real external universe, though it may be useful and valid in other respects, cannot be the real external world, but only the self's projected picture of it ...The evidence of the sense cannot be acceptable as evidence of the nature of ultimate reality."

Evelyn Underhill

I implore you, spiritual friends, with God's help, to give your bodies as a living offering, holy, responsive to God, which is your spiritual duty. And do not conform to material ideas, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may demonstrate that good and agreeable and perfect will of God."

Romans 2: 1,2 Bible - Modern Translation

In our contemporary world, there are many who are turning to ancient philosophies that teach that man/woman are spiritually whole, perfect, and in the Biblical sense, "a son/daughter of the living God." The ancient Greeks suggested such a system of thought, articulated by both Aristotle and Socrates, which is again finding favor in our modern society. Authors, such as Larry Dossey, M.D., Bernie Siegel, M.D., Deepak Chopra, M.D., [and Glenn Williston Ph.D. -ed] speak at length in their recently published works regarding this concept of wholeness (wellness). They propose that wholeness is an inborn, natural state of being which we can actually claim as a viable, veritable truth about our innate nature. The implications of their assertions are far reaching and lead us across the various bridges to wholeness (wellness), or pathways toward the (re) discovery of our innate nature. The idea of wholeness/wellness supports in yet another way the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Laotze and many other enlightened teachers that, indeed, we are, at our innermost core, connected to the Divine, the Cosmic, the Infinite Source of All Life. And what are these bridges to wholeness? I want to suggest, very briefly, two significant ways that each of us can begin or can enhance our connection to the Presence of God in our lives. (a) Simplify our lifes. In a consumer-based society, the emphasis on acquiring more and more things, goods, possessions, ultimately leads one to a state of overwhelm. In such a scenario, such people tend to look about to see what others have and then push-pull-stretch to purchase what they "lack".

I suggest that it may be more self-serving to "let go" of the need to acquire and accumulate more and more things ... to purchase a new car, update to the latest, biggest model television, or buy some fancy jewelry or baubles that captures one's fancy ... and, instead, learn to be content with what is really necessary.

Jesus told the rich man to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and to follow him. I do not think that Jesus meant that one should become poor, but, rather, to give up that which causes one tension, stress and creates a sense of emotional, psychological pain in one's life ... because it requires too much time, effort and energy to "hold" onto it. Letting go is following the Master. Letting go is letting God in.

Simplifying one's life results in more opportunities and time to be with loved ones, or to study, or to deepen in areas of special interest, or to pursue cherished dreams, goals, or life directions. It does not imply lack or limitation of any kind. It does promote growth and, gradually, more opportunity to pursue what is of most essential value. We begin to discover what it is that we want to do, rather than being manipulated and having our dreams or goals defined or directed exclusively by others. Such as by the Madison Avenue (New York City) media advertisers. When we simplify our lives, we begin to make clear and far reaching choices based upon what really serves us, our families, our lifestyle, our soul's mission ... and we can then be about that mission more directly.

(b) Allow space in our lives to serve others. One of Jesus' teachings, (Matthew 10:7,8), "And as ye go, preach, saying the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick...freely ye have received, freely give." We need not in fact be actual disciples of Jesus to follow this suggested teaching.

Rather, because we are, each one of us, a child of God, we can offer something of our soul's mission in the way we model our lives - to others. For example, if we have learned how to plant and tend a garden, we can offer that acquired knowledge to others. If we have overcome stresses, such as problems with health, or problematic relationships, we can share those discoveries with others. If we have learned how to reach out to someone with an addiction (of whatever nature) because we have mastered (or are learning to master) our own addiction, we can also be a witness, a support, a helper who offers support and guidance to another who is struggling with some issue or problem.

In allowing ourselves space to assist (and serve) others, we actually begin to discover and thus recognize that we are all brothers and sisters in God.

When we make this discovery, we take a giant step on the bridge to wholeness/wellness.

However, a word of caution. When we awaken this capability, this desire in ourselves to serve, we must also recognize that we cannot over-extend our efforts to include everyone we come in contact with who may be in need. We start first, perhaps with a loved one, or maybe a family member, or a friend.

Then we progress to a group, perhaps such as AA or any other of the hundreds of support groups which have been formed around the world to assist others in their recovery efforts.

Service enables us (and others) to discover that we are not (and they are not) alone. Not only do we share our humanity, we share our spiritual connection, our Divine Nature. But first, we have to be able to see and heal (handle) our human self. That is, we have to become comfortable with the human side of our being sufficiently enough that we may then be able to serve in a spiritual sense, from our soul's mission, to reach out to others and serve as a Bridge to Wellness/Wholeness.

The bridges to wholeness are actually routes of self-discovery and self-discernment. Each bridge is a way by which we discover how to honor our true, real (spiritual) self or nature. Indeed, there are many routes or avenues that lead to (this sense of) wellness, wholeness, or completeness.

What is essential in our journey is that we be able and willing to surrender to life that which blocks our personal approaches to some of the ways mentioned above. In our surrender to life we become more aligned to the pulses that pull us forward, onward, upward on all levels ... and to the ever deepening relationship we each individually have with the Presence of Life!

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