Hi Friends -
This essay describes what happens when an event occurs that our mind has perceived as threatening. We judge it, then we fight it. The event then becomes what the author refers to as a "calamitous, arrested event"—an event which has never been given the opportunity to mature and thereby bring the blessing for which it was initially destined to provide. As an arrested event, it does indeed become a calamity—but it is a calamity only because we have plucked an unripe event out from its unfolding process.
This essay may help us get though times like we find ourselves today. It was published exactly 100 years ago—a time similar to today—filled with "floods and droughts" (wildfires and floods), political extremism, and unimagined human suffering. World War I was raging in Europe. My grandfather never stopped talking about the brother he lost in France, Baxter Hicks, on September 21, 1918.
This essay also contains great metaphysical thinking. Its premise—that calamitous thinking can transform an event from blessing to curse—is a profound theological insight. It defends the basic premise of metaphysical religion—one power, one presence—and it is an insight that calls each of us to intelligent thinking, to patience and to non-judgment. I believe it to be an unique and important contribution to Christian theology. I am saddened by the inability of western Christianity to recognize how Unity teachings can help move the church forward in responding to the many challenges we face today.
Another reason this essay is important is because it was published in Unity magazine and it was written by Imelda Octavia Shanklin, one of Unity's great thinkers and writers. Both the author and the early editions of the publication have much to teach us. I wish I had the talent and skills to make the author and the publication appear more relevant in today's culture. The best I can offer is to deliver a PDF and a commentary in your inbox each month. If you wish to receive it, click on “Stay in Touch” and select “Unity magazine from 100 years ago on 1st of each month.”
Sunday, September 2, 2018
