Spiritual Solutions

On that Thanksgiving Day in 1969, I wasn’t feeling particularly thankful as I entered the third floor of the Activities Building which at that time served as Unity Village Chapel.

I had just started ministerial school that summer, but it seemed that everything was falling apart. I had just gone through a divorce, my four children had returned to England with their mother two years to the day that we had come to America with all our hopes and dreams, and my father had died in England two months previous.

I’d not really been aware of Thanksgiving Day for the last two years, although I do recall we had been invited to dinner with friends. We didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving Day in England, you know. 

So I didn’t seem to have much to give thanks for on this day, set aside by Presidential proclamation for personal and national contemplation of the blessings of life.

When The Rev. Jane Paulson invited us to join in a meditation of thanksgiving I was feeling pretty raw inside from my losses. But something broke inside of me and I began to cry.

Then instead of focusing on what I had lost and didn’t have anymore, I began to give thanks for what I had and where I was.

By the time The Rev. Sig Paulson stood up to give his message my tears had stopped and I was in a more receptive state.

As Sig spoke he began to lead us in a series of ever-escalating affirmations of thanksgiving, and my tears began to flow again. I felt like breaking down and sobbing.

At the end of the service I rushed out of the building and over to the Peace Chapel, a small chapel with just six chairs for prayer and meditation. Fortunately for me, there was no one else in there. I lay down on the floor and sobbed my heart out.

Then I sat in one of the chairs and a great quiet and a deep peace came over me. I felt the flow of Divine Love through me, and I intuitively knew the true inside story of Thanksgiving.

Not only did I have many things to give thanks for, but I also had a new consciousness of the indwelling Spirit of God to give thanks from.

This concept of Thanksgiving will open a way for a dynamic experience if you really think about it for yourself.

Look away from the challenges and needs, whatever they may be, even from the obvious blessings of life, and make your inner contact with the creative process of Spirit. Let your mind think God thoughts, good thoughts, and positive thoughts.

Rather than looking around and wondering what you have to give thanks for, you will rejoice in what you have to give thanks from. Practice it today, so that this day will be for you a release of tremendous power and you will know for yourself the “inside story” of Thanksgiving.

This new insight into the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving can also help prepare you for the reawakening of the divine level of the Christ in you as we move into the Christmas celebration of the birth of the Christ child.

Recognizing the Christ within you is the most glorious thing you can possibly experience. You can begin at anytime to show your true identity, and this recognition will bring about the rebirth that Jesus referred to when he told Nicodemus, “You must be born anew.”

Kathryn joins me in wishing you the richest Thanksgiving and Christmas of your life, rich not only in the outer things, but rich in warmth and friendliness and new understanding.

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

—————————————————–   

——————————————————   

Tweet This Post