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The Prayer of St. Francis (abbreviated from James
Twyman's recording)
Oh Lord, Make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me bring love
Where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, bring your
faith
Where there is despair let me bring hope
Where there is darkness let me bring light, where there is sadness,
joy
Oh divine master grant that I may not seek to be consoled as to
console
To be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love
Make me your instrument, oh Father
For it is in giving that we receive, in pardoning we are pardoned
It is humbling to admit, but within me and within all of us exist
all of the polarities of feeling mentioned in the prayer of St.
Francis. I believe this is because the world exists within each
of us; and although we may choose to live from a higher intention,
we still have to deal with the reality of the human state. St. Francis'
prayer describes the way that I work to handle these negative states
of consciousness as I encounter them within myself, and also in
my world. Where I feel hatred, I exert effort to bring love to myself
and to any external situation which provoked it within me.
Each person is like a cell within the body of humanity. Similar
to the scientific fact that each cell of a physical body contains
the pattern from which the whole body is made, each person contains
all the elements of the body of humanity. The world exists within
each of us; and we within the world. When we realize this, we also
know that to bring positive feelings into the world, we have two
ways to do it. The first way is to give them to others. The second
way is to give them to ourselves. Each of these acts is a service
to the world, because each individual is one cell within its wholeness.
To ignore the poison within our own hearts and just work in service
to others may be to neglect an important aspect of world healing.
Most people handle negative feelings in one of two ways. Either
they project them outward toward others, casting blame and creating
a poisonous state around them. Or they bury negative energy within
their body, mind or heart, creating an inwardly poisonous state
which they can ignore. I suggest a third option which is to bring
the positive polarity of feeling directly into the presence of the
negative.
When a negative feeling connects with a positive one within our
heart, it begins to heal and transform into healthy energy. To accomplish
this meeting of opposites, the person has to be able to embrace
the polar opposite feelings simultaneously (i.e. Love and hate,
despair and hope etc.). This requires a diminishing of faith in
the negative experience and a willingness to move to a higher vibration
of feeling. It also requires you to accept the negative state and
be willing to forgive it within yourself and others. Forgiveness
is a willingness to let go, learn from the experience and move on.
This is not an intellectual exercise. When doing this process you
are working with feelings and your mind is the instrument which
focuses that intention into your body and heart. It is in your feeling
self that you have the power to bring change to your world.
This process promotes self-awareness and personal growth. It helps
us to look at our circumstances with perspective and promotes discovery
of the hidden lesson or blessing within it. The lesson and blessing
are always there if you are willing to find them.
Working this way, we become instruments of peace in a world which
is desperately in need of it. As we become a community of people
willing to be instruments of peace in the world, we become an organ
of healing within the body of humankind.
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