Free, by Rev. Celeste A. Frazier

The Dalai Lama said ““Compassion is the wish to see others free from suffering.” I have had this desire for as long as I can remember. I wanted people to be released from their anger, to feel safe enough to be sober, or to be happy enough to escape their sorrow and heartbreak. I wanted this for my family and the people I loved. I wanted food for the starving children and peace for people in war-torn countries. I wanted joy for Black people who seemed to be constantly in the grip of other people’s abuse. I wanted peace for Latinx people who seemed to be undervalued. I wanted safety for Asian people who were feared or stereotyped. I wanted people to mind their own business and not be so concerned with someone else’s sexuality. I wanted things to be different than they were. And I wanted to be happy. I wrote about suffering to find a happy ending. I performed in plays and on the screen to be someone who could go from pain to joy. I imagined things could be better, people could be happier, and life could be kinder than it appeared to be. Caring was never the issue. I cared. I gave my time, talent and treasure – whatever I had to give.

Ah, but what is treasure? And what is there to treasure? Right seeing is something to treasure.

Now I see that my focus did not need to be on suffering or even changing a condition. I realize now that my focus needs to be on freedom. I cannot change anything with a wish, but I can change my condition with affirmative prayer. I cannot change someone’s mind, but I can hold a vibration of freedom for anyone. In my connection with the Divine, I have certainly had glimpses of compassion toward those who appeared to torture me. And it didn’t matter if they were a politician or a relative. Freedom is a gift from the Divine. Real freedom, as Ernest Holmes tells us, is to know that we are created in the image of perfection and let alone and allowed to make the discovery for ourselves.

I find it interesting that people can congregate around an event and race thought multiplies like a troop of ants feeding on a crumb. Rather than go to compassion, they reactivate their unhealed pain and project it on the situation. I cannot change their thinking, but I can know healing is available. When I stop to consider what I would want for myself were I in that situation, I finally discover what the vibration that I can hold for an “other”. When I energetically embrace freedom, I am no longer bound. I can see through a different lens. Seeing anew is having a glimpse of eternity.

Too often we are convinced that our condition is our fate, when thinking simply makes it so. Thank God, we also have the freedom to change our thinking. A moment of Love reminds me that there is more to life than suffering. I am a Divine spark and I get to light the world in an instant.   

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Rev. Celeste A. Frazier has been the spiritual leader of three Centers for Spiritual, two in the Chicago area as well as the East Bay Church of Religious Science in Oakland. Celeste is a guest speaker and facilitator at New Thought centers and presents at regional and international conferences.

An ordained minister, Rev. Celeste’s podcast: “Mystic Magic” is on all your favorite podcast venues. Celeste was among the first diversity trainers and certified regional visioning coordinators for the Centers for Spiritual Living. Her new app, “Conscious Grace” is available on Apple and Google. Rev. Celeste facilitates transformational workshops as well. 

Rev. Celeste is a concerned community activist. Celeste has directed outreach ministries to convalescent homes, children’s hospitals, hospices, and prisons providing shut-ins with love and light. You may find her praying on a street corner or marching in the street for women’s rights, peace in the streets or healing an injustice. She facilitates regular conversations on diversity with an eye toward achieving equity and inclusion. She is the event coordinator for the upcoming “Celebrating Our Soul”: A New Thought Conference by People of African Descent, which will be at Unity Village from August 11-14, 2022.

Celeste is an actress who has done print, commercials, film and television. She has written, directed and produced short films.  She is a published poet, an essayist, a playwright of several scripts, and produced screenwriter. She is an expressive and creative being.

Celeste’s previous books “Divine Work Play”, and “In Spirit In Love” are available on Amazon and Kindle. She is a contributing author to several anthologies and has contributed her writing to publications such as Agape’s “Inner Visions,” “Creative Thought” magazine, and the “Science of Mind Magazine.” Her upcoming book, “Common Miracles, Frequent Illusions", containing her stories and insights into everyday miracles, is expected to be released this Summer.

 

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