Forgive, Love and Unite

In 1973, at the height of the Watergate crisis, Rev. SunMyung Moon called a special prayer and fasting condition for 40 days under the motto: Forgive, Love and Unite.

Since Rev. Moon is a religious leader, his message was based on deep prayer and spiritual concerns for America.  Unfortunately, he has passed on last year, but I feel he would once again encourage us to start a campaign with the motto of: Forgive, Love and Unite in the face of the political and economic turmoil this country is facing.

I personally don’t agree with the policies and the tactics the leadership of this country is pursuing.  I believe that the solution for the problems America is facing today is that she has turned her back on God.  When we asked for change, we didn’t consider that the change has to come from each individual; in the spirit of John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”   

 

 “Your willingness to forgive others is in direct proportion to forgiving yourself.”

 

Forgive

I believe most people have the wrong idea about forgiveness.  Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, rather cutting the emotional attachment to the act of wrong doing.  The spiritual laws of the universe will take care of the ‘judgement’ in form of indemnity. 
It is also called the Law of Karma.  When we violate the laws, the wrongdoing has to be corrected, we can either choose to do it willingly or we have ‘pay the price.’
 

 The Lord’s Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
~ Matthew 6:9-13

 

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you."

- Lewis B. Smedes

 

Love

Love is not only a virtue  but it is also the life-sustaining energy with which we cannot live without.  Believers say that God is Love.  When God is at the center of our relationships, love can flow easily and freely.  Without that center our relationships become master/servant-realtionships and one wants control over the other. When forgiveness is implemented, love can flow freely again and nourish us in the vertical way.

 

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

~ Corinthians 13:13

 

"United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative adventures. Divided there is little we can do."

~ John F. Kennedy, (1917-1963) 35th President of the United States.

 

Unite

There is an Aesop Fable called the Bundle of Sticks.  The story is about a father who had several sons who were always quarreling. He made them hold together a single stick into a bundle of sticks to prove that they can be very strong and unbreakable when they hold together like the bundle of sticks.  He proved to them that if they unite together they can solve any problem and protect each other against the enemy.

 

On this day some people gathering in Washington outside the White House to declare a 'SecondRevolution.'  We need a revolution of the heart recognizing that we are not each other’s enemy, that hate and blame does not bring any solutions, rather that the ego and self-centeredness of each individual clashes with the other.  That ego is a spiritual force (some people called it Satan) which can only be subjugated through forgiveness, love and service.

 
Dr. (Ihaleakalá) Hew Len has a very similar idea when he encourages us to practice Ho’oponopono which is an ancient Hawaiian technique for solving problems. He says that this routine goes beyond the “The Secret” and can solve spiritual, emotional, material, any kind of problems. When we let go and take 100 % responsibility, our life changes.

I know that this method is completely contrary to the way our society operates; it is also the very reason we cannot really bring any solutions but rather go from one problem to the other, accusing, blaming, criticizing and judging each other.

With the Holiday season approaching it is a good opportunity to reflect and prepare for the New Year with better intentions.