The Gift of the Blessing

As I sit here writing this blog post, I confess that I struggle with where to start.  By now, the latest illustration of the violence that is present within Humanity – the cold-blooded murder of 9 people – has received widespread attention.  By now, the specific details of this latest highly-publicized incident are well-known – the 9 individuals whose lives were ended on June 18, 2015 were members of one race of Humans and the individual who ended those lives was member of another race of Humans.  These two races have a long, sad history, and the frustration, and fear, and anger that has surfaced again – as it always does when these events occur, all too often – cries out to all of us to DO SOMETHING about these events.  In this case, there is a lot of attention on addressing the seemingly never-ending issue of race relations, and gun control.  The discussion regarding mental illness continues as well.

Some of us feel called to take a specific action, in the wake of this latest shocking incidence of hate-filled violence.  Some of us feel anger and hatred and call for justice and punishment.  And some of us feel numb, and helpless, and impotent.  The response of the citizens of Charleston, South Carolina has been beautiful and miraculous – calling for forgiveness and showing solidarity.  I wonder if they know how far these steps are taking them to ensure that these acts of violence become a thing of the very distant past?  I have a feeling that those whose lives ended on June 18, are very pleased with the actions of their community.

On some level, they are aware that acts of love – and forgiveness is a powerful act of love – are what is called for, if we as a nation and as a species want to evolve and thrive, and peacefully co-exist.  They are allowing the justice system to go through its process, all the while allowing love and grace and mercy and healing to flow through their community.

If we, as observers, want to take actions that are in alignment with that healing process, there is a way, and it can bring healing and peace and mercy into our lives and into this world.  It involves the incredible gift of compassion.  The challenge is, to feel compassion for all involved, including the perpetrator.  Now, you may have an eyebrow-raising reaction to that last statement, but I ask you to simply hear me out, and then decide for yourself.  After all, we all know that people who are happy and well-adjusted don't behave this way; they don't commit horrendous acts like this.

Compassion is the opposite of judging.  What this young man did to these 9 Human beings seems to cry out for judgement and swift justice – and we must leave that to our justice system.  Because when we as individuals focus on judgment and rage, we can easily slip into polarity thinking -- us vs. them -- in which case we are virtually ensuring that this terrible event will recur again and again.  

We must choose something different, in order to see change and make a difference in our world.  We must choose a more loving response.

I think we can all agree that we don’t want to see something like this happening again, ever. 

So, I bring to your attention, a process called The Gift of the Blessing.  You may feel some skepticism when you see the word ‘blessing’ especially as it relates to the perpetrator, so let’s look at the definition of that word.  It means ‘a thing conducive to happiness.’ I think we can all agree that the happier people are, the more peaceful our world is.  Whatever drove this young man to his actions, it wasn’t happiness.  And if we don’t want people who are in the same mind set as he, to be walking amongst us and performing similar acts, then we should do all we can to contribute to their healing.  This doesn’t mean that we condone their choices, nor does it mean that they won’t be held accountable.  But we as individuals and as a planet, gain more from desiring healing for these individuals, through the act of compassion, than we ever would through judgment and rage.  Because what we wish for others, we wish for ourselves and we bring the mercy and the grace of the Universe into our lives.

The Gift of the Blessing is based on our Creator’s unconditional love for us and mercy on us.  I first heard about it a few years back, when I attended a lecture by spiritual teacher Gregg Braden.  It was after the genocide in Rwanda, and I’d read Immaculée Ilibagiza’s book “Left to Tell.”  As a survivor of the Rwanda genocide, Ms. Ilibagiza knows about forgiveness and compassion, as the way to true freedom and healing.  I had felt overwhelmed and numb and helpless in the face of these events, and The Gift of the Blessing offered me a way to participate in healing our collective consciousness, and to feel more connected to Unconditional Love and grace, than other less loving options.

Like most deeply powerful conscious sacraments, The Blessing is very simple.  There are 3 parts:

1.            Bless those who have suffered.

2.            Bless those who have inflicted the suffering.  A reminder that this is not to condone their actions or to make light of those actions.  It is compassionate acknowledgement of the perpetrator’s part in the events.  It allows us to let go of the hurt and pain, to allow the emotion (Emotion=energy + motion) to move through us and not remain stuck in our body, where there is potential to wreak havoc with our own health and well-being.

3.            Bless us, the witnesses.

And the beauty of this process, is we can avail ourselves of this compassion and healing technology any time, whether in the aftermath of global events, or within the journey of our own life experience.

From the “Awakening Human Awareness” website, here’s the process:

There are three parts to the Blessing:

Step 1:    *Sit, relax, take a few deep breaths using stomach muscles to expand the lower 1/3 of your lungs, and then to push out the air from your lungs.

*Image a light from above, coming to the top of your head, flowing all about you. This is your “God-connection.”

*Imagine the situation that is challenging you now.  It can be a recent situation, or one from the past (strife in the Middle East, the gulf tragedy or the horrors of 9-11). Choose one that has strongly affected you or is causing you pain to think of it now.

Step 2:   SAY ALOUD:

1.            I bless those who have suffered.  I bless those who have lost loved ones, who have lost their children, their spouses, their friends.  I bless those who have lost their homes and their lands, and their precious possessions.  I bless those who are still suffering in their losses, their fears, and their agonies.

2.            I bless those who have inflicted the suffering, as they experience in the knowing of their part.

3.            I bless MYSELF in the witnessing of the suffering.  I bless myself in the witnessing of the pain and despair of others.  I bless myself for feeling the pain and yet the helplessness in the witnessing.  I bless myself in the witnessing of the sadness and losses of other people.  I bless my own feelings in the witnessing and the compassion I feel for the suffering of others.

Acts of compassion and forgiveness are very powerful ways to free yourself and others from a life experience of pain and suffering.  If we want to heal our world, we must first heal ourselves.  We must not create more rage, anger, condemnation and hatred, lest we guarantee another homicide. It takes strength to forgive -- Gandhi said, "Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong." Through compassion and a desire for a peaceful, harmonious world, you can find the strength and heal the world.

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I am a spiritual teacher, writer and speaker.  As a practical mystic and wisdom synthesizer, my passion is to articulate all that I have learned first-hand over the last 30 years, about the spiritual laws of our world, in my own personal and life-long search to better understand how it all works and how to live a happier, more peaceful, joyful and abundant life.

I welcome your comments, and I relish the opportunity to clarify the information that I offer, and answer any questions you may have. Email me at info@maryjobull.com.