Husbands Love Your Wives

I heard a very interesting lecture this week on the teachings of St. Catherine of Siena.  She likened a person’s spirituality to a tree.  The root of the tree, the root of our spirituality, is self-knowledge.  This really struck me.  For years, I believed what Cassandra said about me.  In the last few years, I have grown tremendously in self-knowledge, and thus my spirituality has grown and blossomed.  I am so much happier, and so much more at peace.  In doing so, I can see things that I never saw before.

At church this week, I heard the reading from Ephesians 5, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.”  Now, let’s look at that.  The Church has certainly not been perfect throughout history.  Many crimes were committed in the name of God, like the crusades and the inquisitions.  Still, Jesus forgave the Church for the suffering it caused His children, and the Church has learned from these mistakes.  The Church has also distorted the words of Christ to protect the interests of the powerful.  Jesus wants us to live abundant lives, but for so long people were told to accept their lot in life and that their reward would be in heaven.

I see so many parallels to this in my own life.  I see Cassandra doing hurtful things and twisting my words, making them unrecognizable to me.  Still, I am called to love her and be faithful.  “For better or for worse, in sickness and in health (and that includes mental health).” 

 The reading goes on to say that, “husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.”  Well, I do love and respect my body, and I believe in my tremendous healing capacity.  I rarely get sick because when I feel a virus coming into my system, I focus on the amazing power of my body to heal.  That is how I am to view Cassandra, with an amazing power to be well.  Know what the problem is, but focus on the solution.  “All will be well.”

May God fill you with Grace and peace.

Christian

Looking Back

Have you ever asked yourself, “How did I get myself into this situation?”  I believe that it is important to take full responsibility for where we are in life, and to acknowledge who we are.  For me, I know that I am a “helper”.  I was raised in an upper middle class home, and I’ve always wanted to share the blessings that I was given with others.  I spent a number of years as a missionary, always trying to serve the least fortunate.  As a teacher, I am most effective with students who really struggle.  It’s not that I have a saviour complex, I just like doing that sort of thing, and I find it really rewarding.  I just accept people for who they are, and we have a wonderful time together.

It is not surprising that I had the same attitude when finding a spouse.  Cassandra was a single mother with two young children when I met her.  She was also very intelligent and extremely beautiful.  I remembered learning that before a person goes into a new relationship, they need to heal from the last one.  Cassandra was going through a divorce, but hadn’t been with her first husband for quite some time.  On our first date I asked her, “Have you healed from your marriage?”  She thought for a moment and said, “Yes, I have.  I have two beautiful boys from the relationship and I’m thankful for them.”  What she meant was, “I’ve put things in perspective.”  Because I really wanted to be in a relationship with Cassandra, I heard, “Yes, I’m healed.  I’m ready to be in a relationship with you.”  Later I found out that Cassandra had been abused as a child, and that her first husband was also abusive.  I should have taken a step back from the relationship at that time, but I chose not to.  That was my mistake, and I take full responsibility for it.  I’m not beating myself up over it, I did the best that I could with what I had to work with at that time.  I had the knowledge, but I lacked the wisdom.

It is said that God writes straight with crooked lines.  This time with Cassandra has been an amazing journey of self-discovery, especially the last two years.  Yes, Cassandra needs to finally heal, and I need to continue to move forward in life.  The solution may be for me to make a career change and work overseas.  The next few months will tell a great deal.  I am excited to see what happens.  Life is a beautiful adventure.  Take responsibility, and always be thankful.

Christian

Moving Forward

It is amazing how great life can be when you are moving forward and trying to make the world a better place.  This week I visited a Thought Field Therapy practitioner in order to learn about using this therapy for students in my school district.  What I found was an amazing tool that I want to share with readers of this blog.  The practitioner asked me to imagine a stressful situation.  I spoke about tension I feel when being confronted by Cassandra.  I never know what I am going to be met with when I walk through my front door.  What will I be accused of?  What have I “done” to upset Cassandra this time?  The practitioner was able to walk me through the feelings of this confrontation and I was able to let them go.  In doing so, I realized that Cassandra has no power over me.  I can simply walk away from her when she acts this way.  I also realized that, as Victor Frankl says, “Suffering ceases to be suffering when we give meaning to it.”  How many of my students feel the same way when they walk through the door of their homes?  How many of my readers feel this way?   What kind of a difference am I making in their lives because I know how they feel, and I can show them how to overcome the fear and thrive?

I also made another discovery this week.  I have written many times about how Holosync meditation has made a huge difference in my life.  Though it is not linked to any particular spirituality, I have commented that it has deepened my Christian Faith.  I now understand why.  According to Thresholds of the Mind by Bill Harris, “You can approach this program (Holosync) from any religious point of view without compromising your faith.  You can think of it merely as a way of reordering your brain to help it accept life’s challenges and opportunities with greater equanimity and without fear.  If you are part of a faith community, however, you can use your faith as the center for the work you do through Centerpointe.”  (p. 10) He also states, and this is definitely what I experienced, “participants also report a deeper connection to the world around them, as well as a deeper connection to the Divine, God, Higher Power, the Universe (or however you understand the concept).” (p. 9)

We live in a beautiful and amazing world where new tools are being developed every day to help us to deal with the challenges we face and move forward in life.  When we become aware, when we are able to heal and forgive, we are able to once again find our true selves.  We are able to make positive choices and do great things.  Hopefully our loved ones choose to heal, forgive and move forward with us, but God has given us all free will and they must choose for themselves.

For more information on Thought Field Therapy, go to:  http://www.rogercallahan.com/index.php

For more information on Holosync meditation, go to: https://www.centerpointe.com/?aid=373010

May God bless you with grace and peace on your journey of discovery!

Christian

The Alchemist

I returned home from camp this week.  It is good to be home.  I missed my family, as well as such comforts as sleeping in the same building where the bathroom is.  While I was away, I noticed that Cassandra had continued her efforts to move away from me.  She converted her office into a bedroom and moved out of the master bedroom.  She created a beautiful space for herself.  Some husbands may see that as a bad thing, but I understand Cassandra and understand her needs.  She came out of an abusive home, and has never been out of a relationship with a man for any significant length of time.  She has therefore never been able to come to a point of healing.  All of her relationships with men, except mine, have ended badly.  I have no problem giving her the space she needs to grow.  That is one of the reasons why I was so happy when I was at camp, I knew that Cassandra needed the time.  “If you love something, let it go.  If it returns to you it is yours, if it does not, it never was.”

This view on love is affirmed over and over in an amazing book that I am reading right now called The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho.  The boy in the story falls in love with a girl at a desert oasis.   He is struggling with leaving her to pursue his dream and continue on his journey.  She says to him, “I want you to continue toward your goal….the dunes are changed by the wind, but the desert never changes.  That is the way it will be with our love for each other.”  This also defines my love for Cassandra.  My role in loving her is to continue to support her in following her dreams, in finding herself, even if she does not realize it.

The Alchemist is about far more than relationships.  It is about pursuing our purpose in life.  As I read, I think of my own goals, my own dreams, my own destiny, my own Personal Legend.  It is a beautiful adventure.  In a way, a book like this is an oasis in the desert of life with a loved one with mental illness.  It is so important and beautiful to step away from the distorted reality of Cassandra and find Truth.  In doing so, I can analyze my journey toward my Personal Legend and realize that Cassandra is an important part of that.  In the chaos of her world, I have found myself, just as Victor Frankl found truth and inner power in Nazi concentration camps.  There is nothing in the universe that can stop a person from moving toward his/her own Personal Legend, except for the choices that we ourselves make. Life is a beautiful adventure!