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137th International Peace Meditation “Think On These Things”
“Think On These Things”
May 4, 2008 — I like the word “ponder”. In one small word is a universe of thought. What we see is so little of what exists. Our senses give us information, but we need not be limited to those sources. When we ponder, we let go, and allow for ideas and experiences to enhance our understanding. What we Know is far greater than what we know. Our notion of reality shifts as we open to experiences, thoughts, and understandings. The result is spiritual growth.
I recall a time of frustration several years ago. Life was not easy. Illness, relationship dysfunction, and financial concerns were all around me. My Mother was on life-supports; my Dad was ill, and in deep emotional pain. My employer was trying to be patient with my family medical leave and frequent absences, but at times needed more from me than I had to give. Others’ behaviors seemed rather stupid and irritating to me–probably a reflection of my own inner world. One evening I was driving, and feeling angry at the world. And then, I very distinctly heard internally, “Look with compassion at a world in confusion.” My paradigm changed in that moment.
Our world, this planet that we share, is confused. We pay CEO’s millions of dollars, and allow children to go without healthcare because we “can’t afford” it. We allow hundreds of years of wars to be our continued paradigm for solving problems across geographical, cultural, political, and religious boundaries. We know that wars are often fought over resources, but we still haven’t learned to share. We act like small children claiming, “Mine!”
We still think that we can be happily unaware of suffering all around us, and can’t discern why there is always something holding us back from truly being happy. We put all of our resources into stuff, and grow tired of it when the next catalog or sale arrives.
We rush through life, for the most part, without reflection, catching the next plane, bus, or job opportunity, until we fall exhausted and empty–sometimes financially well off, but spiritually and emotionally depleted. We need to stop, look at our own lives within the context of our world, and ask ourselves what is important. We need to slow down and to ponder. We need to examine who we are and what we want to give to the world. We need to be proactive, rather than reactive. We need to determine what we truly value. We need to determine the legacy we want to leave.
My medical condition a few years ago resulted in needing to leave my secure job for the unknown. It was a challenging time–no diagnosis, loss of identity, and loss of connection to the people I was accustomed to seeing daily. I could do things, especially write, but I could not keep a regular schedule. I was forced to reinvent myself. In retrospect, it has been an extremely rewarding journey.
At that time the Institute was created as a not-for-profit corporation. I had time to write, reflect, and write some more. Opportunities to speak about the Institute and its message of empowerment opened. The website grew to be extensive, with years of monthly messages on empowerment topics.
My opportunities to ponder life as we generally might define it, versus my own reading and experience, deepened my understanding and expanded my paradigm of reality. I read, and continue to read, on a variety of topics including: out-of-body experiences; after-death communication; UFO’s; abduction phenomena; telepathy; remote-viewing; channeling; energy healing; and many more out-of-the mainstream topics.
I have come to accept the conclusion of Dr. John Mack, deceased, of Harvard University, that our view or paradigm of reality is too limited. So much is happening that we don’t understand, let alone are able to analyze or replicate, that we cannot depend on our current scientific or religious interpretations for all that is occurring.
The more that I talk with people, the deeper my realization grows, that many, if not most, people have had experiences of “Knowing”; of seeing, hearing, receiving messages, and more, that are not explained within our current understandings. In my own family, my Grandmother in West Virginia “knew” immediately when my Uncle was injured on Normandy Beach. She Knew–without being told.
A UFO was seen near my home in Braxton County, West Virginia, when I was very young. My Father had been a Naval pilot. He saw it and said he’d never seen anything move the way that it moved. Many people saw it. Later, those who reported it publicly were humiliated for sharing what they saw.
My Dad, raised as a Baptist, once told me that he believed in reincarnation. He could find no other explanation for prodigies–children who come into this world with minds developed far beyond our understanding.
Others I know tell me about what they believe to be encounters, such as with a family member who has already transitioned; and of leaving their bodies and seeing themselves below. The list of my own and others’ experiences, unexplainable within our current religious and scientific paradigms, is extensive. Yet there is an opposite force in the media, academia, politics, and religion that not only refuses to acknowledge these experiences, but also belittles them.
We are credible people. We know what we have experienced. Absent mental illness or addictions, these stories must be heard. We need to refuse interpretations of these experiences except for the interpretation of the experiencer. In my opinion, three obstacles are obscuring our vision of reality:
1. People who have a vested interest in our not accepting our own and others’ credible experiences.
2. Media who are often narrow in interpretation, yet freely give interpretations. (Consider how “documentaries” generally end with debunking when the topic is outside our current paradigms.)
3. Our own refusal to believe our own experiences because we have been taught to doubt ourselves.
The mental environment in which we live is fearful of anything it cannot readily explain. This fear leads to censoring of our intellect. As intelligent, capable, and compassionate people, we need to trust our own gut instincts, the deep Knowledge within us. We need to ascertain whether there is a reason why we are told not to believe what we Know, and to believe what does not ring true.
Freedom of the mind is the only true freedom. Without it, we are all enslaved. Think on these things. Ponder them. Do not seek to believe; seek to experience and Know. All truth lies within.
This Meditation is dedicated to all who are courageous in their search for truth.
Sue Kidd Shipe, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Please join us in prayer/meditation during the 24 hours of Sunday, April 6, and again the first Sunday of every month. The International Institute for Human Empowerment, Inc. is in our 12th year of continuous International Peace Meditations. Forward our Meditation to all in your address book; make copies for your religious and spiritual brochures and bulletins.Important Dates to Remember:
May 10, 2008 Second Annual Fibromyalgia Conference
Please mark your calendars for our Second Annual Fibromyalgia Conference to be held at Price Chopper Community Room in Schenectady, New York. To read about the conference, and to register, go to https://www.humanempowerment.org/fibromyalgia.html.
May 21, 2008 Schenectady County Human Rights Commission Breakfast. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact: michelle.melnick@schenectadycounty.com for tickets.
September 11, Annually International Unity Day
Please join us in this essential annual commemoration. You can find out more by going to www.humanempowerment.org and selecting the globe.
The International Peace Meditation invites people of all faiths to participate. The International Institute For Human Empowerment, Inc., a 501C3 charity registered in New York State, is not a member of any religion in order that it may serve all.
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Sue Kidd Shipe, Executive Director
International Institute For Human Empowerment, Inc.
P. O. Box 3920
Albany, New York 12203 USA
(518) 393-9491
sueshipe@www.humanempowerment.org
www.humanempowerment.org
