“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”
― Philip K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
Reality. I cannot think of a greater challenge for us to confront right now. Islam talks about Allah—God—as that which is the most real. And our job as creations of God is to find our way out of our delusions and back to the reality that is God.
The problem, though, is that most of us are flying blind when it comes to our experience with reality, and thus staying far away from a real experience of God. Some of us have accepted the relativism of our postmodern age and subscribed to the idea that as long as we believe something to be true, it must be true. And sometimes, when reality conflicts with our deeply held beliefs, we feel pain… which leads to us to avoid that pain through denial. This is especially seductive within our New Thought mantra, “Change your thinking, Change your life.”
Part of me wishes that Ernest Holmes had been a little more specific. Perhaps a better phrase is, “Change your thinking, change your life, so long as you are working within the confines of the physical and spiritual laws within God.” For example, despite millions of folks believing that Covid-19 was not a threat to them, the United States is currently reeling from a resurgence of the disease far worse than the initial onset. So, why then weren’t the millions who truly believed this to not be a problem successful?
They didn’t succeed because reality doesn’t stop being real just because we stop believing it to be real. It was around long before humans existed, and it’ll be around long after humans are gone. What I believe we truly need right now is not more individual willfulness directed at changing this reality (and thus avoiding it), but rather a collective willingness to see reality as it is, sans the distorted filter of our reality-denying, fear-based beliefs.
God is not just us humans, y’all. And it’s definitely not just you.
God is everything. It has always existed, and it always will. What if we stopped trying to change God (which is sort of like an ant trying to move California), and instead came together in community to better understand God?
If we could do that, perhaps we could more wisely co-create the world we wish to live in—a world grounded in our shared reality, driven by curiosity and common values, and enriched by our mutual understanding and love for one another.
What an amazing, beautiful world that would be.
Rev. Russ Legear
Rev. Russ Legear received his Masters in Consciousness Studies from the Holmes Institute in 2020 and is a Centers for Spiritual Living Minister, Practitioner, and lifetime student of consciousness and metaphysics. He currently serves as a staff minister at Cityside Spiritual Community in Chicago, IL. His ministry is centered around taking people deeper, helping them to find ways to move past the trappings of the human ego and all the funky stuff it creates in their lives. He is passionate about pastoral care and finding ways for people to connect in a deeper relationship; not just with others, but with themselves, and with God.
Russ also works for Chicago Public Schools solving some rather large information technology problems. He uses New Thought principles there every day to break through barriers that prevent students and teachers from connecting through technology.
Russ also works for Chicago Public Schools solving some rather large information technology problems. He uses New Thought principles there every day to break through barriers that prevent students and teachers from connecting through technology.
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