The Wild Reed: June 2024

Sunday, June 23, 2024

The Mystic Jesus: “A Name for the Unalterable Love That All of Us Share”

– Image: “Mystic Christ” by Dana Lynn Andersen

It’s been noted twice now at The Wild Reed that author, activist, and former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson has a new book out (see here and here).

It’s called The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love, and Tom Rapsas, author of Wake Up Call, recently reviewed it over at Patheos.

Following with added images and links is Tom’s review in its entirety.

___________________

The Jesus People Are Waiting For?
Maybe He’s Already Here

A review of Marianne Williamson’s
The Mystic Jesus

By Tom Rapsas

Patheos
June 7, 2024
In her new book The Mystic Jesus, Marianne Williamson sees Jesus as a living presence, as alive as you and me. Forget the dusty Jesus of the Bible. This Jesus is more a state of mind, with the power to shape and influence our lives today.

Unless you follow politics, Williamson is probably best known for her writings on A Course in Miracles. A mysterious 1,300-page text that appeared in the 1960s, Williamson calls it “a self-study program based on universal spiritual themes, employing traditional Christian concepts.” It is one tough read.

I first read parts of A Course in Miracles decades ago and could not get past its ornate prose. So, you might think of Williamson as sort of a Course whisperer, a valuable guide that can pull out some of the essential messages from the texts. While The Mystic Jesus is informed by the Course, it stands on its own. It paints a vivid picture of what it’s like to live with the consciousness of Christ.

What is “Christ Consciousness”? I first saw the phrase coined by the author and spiritual sage Richard Rohr who says simply that when we see the world with Christ Consciousness, we see God in all things. Rohr explains, you are “enlivened by a force larger than yourself . . . you are never separate from God, nor can you be, except in your mind.” Like Jesus, God permeates every fiber of your being.

Jesus can serve as a conduit to God

Williamson does not believe in the stuffy religion of the church who wants to “oversee and guide our relationship to God.” Her beliefs are more akin to the religion of Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich and the Gnostic Gospels. It’s about finding God through direct experience, without the need for a middleman.

The mystic Jesus is an aspect of ourselves that lives within us. “He was present as a man on the earth two thousand years ago, and he is present as a spirit within our psyches even now. He is a name for the unalterable love that all of us share.” Through him, we can forge an intimate relationship with God.

One of Williamson's core teachings in The Mystic Jesus is that there’s a profound disconnect between the love in our hearts and how we live on earth. We feel one way internally – but when we are out in the world, we act another way. Williamson’s message: “Move toward love and thrive. Move toward fear and slowly, or at least metaphorically, perish.” Jesus moves us toward love.

Five key themes from The Mystic Jesus

I have rearranged and lightly edited some of the key points in The Mystic Jesus in a loose narrative. I’ll write more on this book in the future, as it’s crammed with thought-provoking ideas.

1. We Forget Our Relationship with God

We are like children of the wealthiest, most powerful father who have forgotten our identity and the inheritance that comes with it. We wander endlessly in search of something that cannot be found but only realized.

The world as we know it perpetuates our forgetfulness, constantly disrupting our relationship to God by disrupting our relationship to each other. The only thing that separates us is an illusion of the mind . . . the misperception that we are separate.

Eventually everyone begins to recognize, however dimly, that there must be a better way. The mystic Jesus is exactly that. Think of him as a better way. He is like someone who helps us cross the river when we’re too tired to go on.

2. We Are All One

The Mind of God is an infinite ocean of loving thought, and when we think with love we are thinking with God. The purpose of our lives is to learn to think as God thinks.

We’re like waves in the ocean thinking we are separate from other waves. There is no place where one wave stops and another wave starts. If I think of myself as one with other waves, how could I not feel safe and powerful?

3. We Must Rise Above the Ego

When we align our minds with the Mind of God, we rise above the ego. The thinking of the world is no longer like quicksand that sucks us into it. We are invulnerable to the chaos that dominates the world.

The ego’s kingdom is the low road of negativity and anger, limitation and fear. But there is a high road, a path of peace and positivity, abundance and love. We don’t need to create the high road; we need merely to follow it.

The mystic Jesus has the power to override the ego’s dictates, to save us from our chronic temptation to withhold our love. Choosing to align with him, we co-create with God a different kind of world.

4. What We Seek is Already Here

The world blinds us to who we are and why we’re here. The world as we know it is not home to the true self, and we cannot find ourselves within its walls.

The light we seek is not something to be found but something to be chosen. It is already there waiting to be realized.

The mystic Messiah won’t be coming down from outside but from the inside. He’s not coming from the sky; he’s coming from our higher mind.

5. We Must Bring Our Own Light to the World

Even the tiniest candle casts out the darkness. Even the tiniest thought of forgiveness, of mercy, of love, can change the trajectory of our lives.

Without our willingness, the miracle cannot occur. When we are willing to forgive, be merciful, be gentle, be kind, we are allowing our lives to be channels for his appearance. The light Jesus brings to the world is the light he brings to your world.

– Tom Rapsas
Patheos
June 7, 2024

– Image: Michael J. Bayly

Thursday, June 20, 2024

On This Summer Solstice, A Call for Unity Through the Divine Fire Within

In celebration of the Summer Solstice, I share an excerpt from the book, The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr.

I’ve previously shared this excerpt but have decided to do so again as its imagery of the “great illuminating energy” of the “lights of the cosmos” unifying “all people on the planet in a great oneness” seems both appropriate and timely given the especially fractious current state of our world.

I also appreciate how the writers connect this cosmic light with the “unquenchable fire shining within each person, a light that is strong, deep, and enduring.” I don't know about you, but during these turbulent, often disheartening times I need reminding of this “divine fire within us” and its “energizing and healing light.”

_______________________

We proclaim that the lights of the cosmos unite all people on the planet in a great oneness. As the fiery stars, the intense sun, and the reflective moonlight shine on us, so they bathe each one who dwells on this beautiful sphere of life with a great illuminating energy.

We proclaim that there is an unquenchable fire shining within each person, a light that is strong, deep, and enduring. It is the vigilant fire in the hearth of the soul, maintaining hope and truth amid life’s many ups and downs.

We proclaim that the fire of those who have gone before us has never left this earth. We are heartened by the truth that their sacred fire has become an eternal light that leads us on, a fire continually blessing us, encouraging us, affirming us to live our life to the fullest for our own benefit as well as for the good of all humankind.

We proclaim that the fire within cannot be contained. It seeks to move out, to permeate, to enter into every place that lacks passion and vitality. When the inmost self is opened with love, trust, and confidence, an energizing and healing light shines forth to fill the corners of the world.

We proclaim that there is a divine fire within us that is immeasurably loving, inconceivably caring, consistently non-judgmental, and enormously passionate. This light will never give up on us. It will cherish us into eternity.

We proclaim that the light within us is beautiful, precious, and wild. We urge everyone to do all they can to tend this fire, to care for it with courage and kindness. Let the inner light shine forth radiantly so all will benefit from the power of this immense warmth and goodness.

– Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr
Excerpted from The Circle of Life:
The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons
(Sorin Books, 2005)

Related Off-site Links:
Love and Divine Fire – William Keepin (OMTimes Magazine, December 2018).
This Year’s Summer Solstice Is the Earliest Since 1796 – Rachel Treisman (NPR News, June 209, 2024).
Summer Solstice 2024 Marks the Longest Day in the Northern Hemisphere – Daisy Dobrijevic (Space.com, June 20, 2024).
A Summer Blessing – The Leveret (June 21, 2019).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Aligning With the Living Light
• Being the Light
• The Light Within
• Balancing the Fire
• Andrew Harvey on Radical, Divine Passion in Action
• Keeping the Spark Alive
• Thoughts on Christian Meditation: Fire and Light
• A Summer Solstice Reflection
• Celebrating the Summer Solstice
• A Summer Sunset Psalm
• In Summer Light
• Summer Blooms
• Summer Boy
• Beltane and the Fire Within
• The Sun Is All Around You
• The Source Is Within You
• Like the Sun

Image: Artist unknown.

Friday, June 14, 2024

Australian Sojourn – April-May 2024

Part 6: Last Days in Australia

Well, I’ve been back now from Australia for almost three weeks. High time to conclude my “Australian Sojourn – April-May 2024” series of posts with this last installment. (To start at the beginning of this series, click here.

Returning from my time on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, I spent a day-and-a-half with members of the McGowan family in the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales.

Above and below: At Brooms Head with friends Bernie and Mim – Monday, May 20, 2024.

Above and below: Due to a delay with the train that was to take me from the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales to Port Macquarie, I had an unexpected few hours in Grafton on Tuesday, May 21. I made the most of this time by taking in the sights and vibe of this river town with my friends Mike and Collette.

Above: Back in Guruk (Port Macquarie) with my brother Tim – Wednesday, May 22, 2024.

Above and below: Guruk landscapes.

Above: The rock platform at the south end of Port Macquarie’s Town Beach which is a very special place for me – Friday, May 24, 2024.

Above: With Mum and my cousin (Mum’s niece) Sharon and Sharon’s spouse Ross – Port Macquarie, Thursday, May 23, 2024.

Above: Mum and Sharon with the beautiful bouquet of flowers that Sharon and Ross gifted to Mum.

Above: May’s full Flower Moon over Port Macquarie’s Lighthouse Beach – Thursday, May 23, 2024.

Above: With Mum and her friend and neighbor Glynis – Port Macquarie, Friday, May 24, 2024.

Above: Mum, taking in the sights at Town Beach on my last day in Guruk – Friday, May 24, 2024.

Above: An Australian Sojourn 2024 self-portrait – Guruk, May 24, 2024.

Above, right, and below: On my last night in Australia (Saturday, May 25), my friend Garth introduced me to the annual Vivid Sydney spectacle. And this was after a delicious home-barbecued meal with his lovely family. . . . Thanks, Garth!

Australia Sojourn – April-May 2024
• Farewell Minnesota Spring
• Hello Australia Autumn!
• Bundanoon, Batemans Bay, Braidwood and Goulburn
• Hanging Rock
• Family Time in Melbourne, Guruk, and Gunnedah
• Happy Birthday, Bernie!

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Last Days in Australia (2023)
• Last Daysin Australia (2019)
• In Northern Rivers Country
• Yamba
• Rising Waters
• “Flooded-In But Loving Life”
• In Maclean, an End to the “Siege”
• Yaegl Country
• Angourie
• Guruk (2023)
• Guruk (2019)
• Flower Moon Rising (2019)
• A Walk Along Lighthouse Beach (2019)
• Guruk Seascapes, from Dawn to Dusk
• On Sacred Ground
• Port Macquarie (2016)
• Town Beach (2010)
• Lighthouse Beach
• Flynns Beach (2006)

Images: Michael J. Bayly and friends.

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

“What I Want to Remember Are the Moments of Love”

Earlier today, Marianne Williamson shared the following on her various social media platforms.

Now that the primaries are complete, I’m no longer a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president.

Deep thanks to all the donors, volunteers and supporters who stood for the radically humanitarian agenda that was the core of my campaign. We articulated an analysis of our history as well as a regenerative path forward that I believe in my heart is the most powerful antidote to authoritarianism and national decline. I hope our message will continue to resonate and impact our political conversation for many years to come.

[For although] the primary is over, what is not over is the need for a more fair economy – for universal healthcare, a guaranteed living wage, an Economic Bill of Rights, a U.S. Department of Peace, subsidized child care, and a society where humans can more easily thrive. Having been on the ground for the last year and a half talking to voters, I have seen what people go through; the political elites and talking heads are in a bubble and it shows. I will continue in every way possible to be a voice for Americans whose hardships are too little addressed in this country, the adequate response to which remains the key to our winning in November.

With deep appreciation to all. 💙🙏

I want to take this opportunity to extend my deep appreciation to Marianne. She and her presidential campaign inspired me in powerful ways – both politically and spiritually. It’s an inspiration that lives on.

Right: With Marianne and my friend Kate in New Hampshire – January 20, 2024. For more images and commentary of our time in the Granite State for the “First in the Nation” presidential primary, click here.

Left: With my friend Deandre who also supported Marianne’s 2024 presidential campaign.

This past weekend, as the primary season wound down, Marianne shared a message about this “transitional point” in her life. Before I re-share this message (and the beautiful video that accompanies it) I want to reiterate my previous message of gratitude to Marianne.

Thank you, Marianne! . . . Thank you for all you’ve done in running for president. I trust you made a difference . . . and will continue to make a difference; it’s just who you are. You certainly continue to inform and inspire me.

Through your presence, words, and actions on the campaign trail, you not only advanced a much-needed progressive agenda but also embodied the shift in consciousness that I believe the Sacred is calling all of humanity to manifest in and through our individual and communal actions.

It’s a shift that invites all to consciously choose love over and above fear. You remind us, Marianne, that when such a choice is realized in our politics as well as in our individual lives, we will bring to birth in our world an era of justice, peace and healing.

So, again, thank you!

Half a Million Votes and
Millions More Moments of Love

By Marianne Williamson

Transform
June 8, 2024

As the polls closed on Saturday in both Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the presidential primary season came to an end. Having participated in those elections, the end of the season marks a transitional point in my life as well.

The U.S. political system should not be, and does not have to be, as corrupt as it is. The dichotomy between the decency of the American people (the kind of goodness on display in the video above) and the electoral process as it now exists, is very sad to me. I think politics should be an act of collective creativity, and a chance for all of us to make the world a better place. In fact, my experiences running for president twice have assured me that it’s not only possible – it’s what the American people by and large would want.

But the forces arrayed against that are huge. Our politics is in the grip of a greedy matrix that has turned Washington into a system of legalized bribery. And I learned first hand what that system will do to someone who has the audacity to challenge it. Our political and media establishment have seemingly no recognition of their sacred responsibility to facilitate the will of the people. The goal of that system is not democracy, but power; its operatives seek to damage anyone not a part of their club.

I don’t want to write or speak further about the details of that – at least not yet. And I’m thrilled to now transition back to my work as an author and teacher. The book I wrote before my campaign, The Mystic Jesus, is published now. . . . My work has always been for me a single endeavor, whether we’re talking about peace in our hearts or peace on the planet.

I know some people think politics and spirituality are opposites, but they shouldn’t be. Gandhi said “politics should be sacred,” by which he didn’t mean dogmatic or doctrinaire but rather coming from a deep soulfulness. And I agree. Thomas Jefferson wrote his own Bible, remember! And no one can read Lincoln’s Second Inaugural and not see references to God’s will all over it.

The separation of Church and State was never intended to suppress the spiritual or even religious conversation; in fact it was meant to protect it. The First Amendment protects the government from encroachment by religious authorities, and protects religion from encroachment by governmental authorities. But neither should ever be separate from love.

Reading Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., I became deeply inspired by the idea that political change could lead to what King called “the establishment of the beloved community.” (You can read more about that in my book Healing the Soul of America) And I still am. In politics there are people dedicated to some very dark pursuits. But there are also people with such beautiful hearts that I can scarcely contain my gratitude for having had the chance to know them.

That is what I want to take way from my experience running for president. Not the lies or injustices or corruption of our politics. What I want to remember are the moments of love. And they were there. From donors sending their support, to volunteers spending countless hours trying to rally voters, to staff members who were there for all the right reasons, to advisors and friends who shared the vision, I have memories that live and breathe in my heart and will remain forever.

As a writer, thinker, philosopher, and political activist whatever that might mean in my future, my prayer is that somehow what I have been through will make me a better woman – and thus better at all of them. Through it all, I remain convinced that many miracles lie ahead.

– Marianne Williamson
June 8, 2024

Above: With my friend Kate in New Hampshire, campaigning for Marianne – January 23, 2024. For more images and commentary of our time in the Granite State for the “First in the Nation” presidential primary, click here.

Above: Summer 2023.

Above: Super Tuesday in Minnesota – March 5, 2024. For more on Marianne Williamson as the ceasefire candidate in relation to the conflict in Gaza, click here, here, and here.

Related Off-site Links:
Marianne Williamson Signals End of 2024 Bid Now That Presidential Primaries Have Ended – Isabella Murray (ABC News, June 12, 2024).
Biden Wins Guam Democratic Caucuses as 2024 Presidential Primary Season Wraps Up – Paul Steinhauser (Fox News, June 8, 2024).
Biden and Trump Win Democratic, Republican Elections in Some of 2024’s Last Primary Contests – Michelle L. Price (AP News, June 4, 2024).
Marianne Williamson Says Campaign Was Sabotaged by DNC – Victor Hahan (USA Today, May 28, 2024).
Marianne Williamson: “The System is Bleeding Voters” – Urja Sinha (NewsNation, May 19, 2024).
Marianne Williamson: “The Presidential Debate on June 27th Should Include More Than Trump and Biden” – YouTube (May 16, 2024).
Love, Democracy, and Gangster Politics – Marianne Williamson (Transform, May 5, 2024).
Marianne Williamson on Why She’s Fighting for Gen Z in This Election – Julia Merola (Her Campus, May 3, 2024).
One Season Passes and Another Begins – Marianne Williamson (Transform, April 11, 2024).
Marianne Williamson, Still in Democratic Presidential Bid, Says Campaign Isn’t About Winning: “There’s More Than the Horse Race” – Isabella Murray (ABC News, March 29, 2024).
Why I Keep Going – Marianne Williamson (Transform, March 16, 2024).
In Hopes of a Future Harvest – Marianne Williamson (Transform, March 13, 2024).
How Marianne Williamson’s Name Became the Placeholder for “Uncommitted” Protesters in Arizona – Alex Tabet (NBC News, March 19, 2024).
Primary Purpose and Power – Marianne Williamson (Transform, March 12, 2024).

See also: Marianne 2024 Official Site | About | Issues | News

Tuesday, June 04, 2024

The Wisdom and Passion of Eddie Glaude

In a segment yesterday of her podcast Bad Faith, Briahna Joy Gray conversed with Princeton Professor of African American Studies Eddie Glaude Jr. on various aspects of the “challenge of the moment,” i.e., the upcoming U.S. presidential election and the lamentable choice facing Americans between the neofascist Trump and the neoliberal and genocide-enabling Biden.

In the course of this discussion, the always unflappable Glaude shared his thoughts about voting third party in deep red/blue states and debated Gray on the best way to break free of the “vote blue no matter who” mindset.

It was a very informative discussion/debate, and one that has inspired me to seek out other interviews and videos of Glaude as I really appreciate his progressive perspective and the way he communicates it with both passion and wisdom.

Following is yesterday’s segment of Bad Faith featuring Eddie Glaude.

Related Off-site Links:
Eddie Glaude Jr.: To Save Democracy, Americans Have to Become Better People – Amanpour and Company (April 15, 2024).
Eddie Glaude on Negative News Plaguing the U.S. – The Katie Phang Show (July 9, 2022).
Bree Newsome and Professor Eddie Glaude: The Black Lives Matter Movement Helped the Democrats Defeat Trump – Democracy Now! (November 9, 2020).
“You Tell Me You Can't Vote for Him?”: Eddie Glaude Calls Out GOP Strategist for “Never Bernie” Hypocrisy – Eoin Higgins (Common Dreams, February 18, 2020).
Eddie Glaude's Emotional Plea For America to Recognize Itself – The Majority Report (August 7, 2019).
“This Is Us”: In Wake of El Paso, Eddie Glaude Delivers “Incredibly Powerful” Statement on U.S. History of Racism and Violence – And You Can’t Just Blame Trump – Jon Queally (Common Dreams, August 6, 2019).
Make America White Again: Eddie Glaude on Trump and What James Baldwin Still Has to Teach Us – Democracy Now! (July 14, 2016).
Eddie Glaude Calls Out Neoliberals for Trying to Pin All Racism on Republicans – Politico (July 9, 2020).
Chris Hedges vs. Eddie Glaude: Should Progressives Vote for Hillary Clinton or Jill Stein? – Democracy Now! (October 20, 2016).
Michael Eric Dyson vs. Eddie Glaude on Race, Hillary Clinton and the Legacy of Obama’s Presidency – Democracy Now! (August 3, 2016).
Black Father in Letter to His Son: “I Thought of You When I Saw the Son of Alton Sterling Weeping” – Democracy Now! (July 14, 2016).

Image: Photographer unknown.

The Wild Reed

Sunday, June 23, 2024

The Mystic Jesus: “A Name for the Unalterable Love That All of Us Share”

Thursday, June 20, 2024

On This Summer Solstice, A Call for Unity Through the Divine Fire Within

Friday, June 14, 2024

Australian Sojourn – April-May 2024

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

“What I Want to Remember Are the Moments of Love”

Tuesday, June 04, 2024

The Wisdom and Passion of Eddie Glaude

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