I have thought a lot about the story of Mary and Martha since I wrote the post about it. My friend sent me a podcast of a sermon by Timothy Keller entitled “Peace-Overcoming Anxiety” in which he speaks about that story. Here is the podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/peace-overcoming-anxiety/id352660924?i=146253976&mt=2
Keller says the latin meaning of the word “anxiety” is “in pieces”. Those who have experienced anxiety understand this. “In pieces” definitely describes it. An anxious mind is in pieces! It goes here and there and then back here and then back over there and then somewhere else. Has anyone lied in bed at night with “night brain”? This is what my friend and I call the out-of-control worrying that can happen as you are trying to fall asleep. Night brain is the WORST!
My night brain goes a little like this: “I gotta get up early. Okay, so time to sleep. Why is my husband breathing like that? Did I lock the door at the office? Should my dad be eating more chia seeds to help his COPD?…” You get the picture. It’s all over the place!
Luckily “night brain” doesn’t visit me as much as it used too. It happens very rarely now. But it is the perfect example of the meaning of the word anxiety being “in pieces”.
Keller tells us the word “peace” actually means “one”. When our mind is peaceful, it is focused on one thing. This is the opposite of anxiety.
Sometimes I wonder what modern technology is doing to our brains. My husband may ask me to look on my phone for what the weather is supposed to be today. I pick up my phone and see a text, a Facebook notification, a bank notification, a work email pops up, and if I can ignore all those things, I MIGHT get to the weather. If one of those things gets my attention, I will look at it and then completely forget why I picked up my phone in the first place.
Every one one of those pop-ups and notifications bring up some emotion inside of me. And with every one of those emotions is a chemical reaction in my brain which travels through my body. No wonder so many people are overwhelmed. It’s can be too much.
My husband and I were traveling recently, and we got lost. We had to pull over on a back-road in the middle of nowhere. My husband took out his phone to check directions. His email came up on his phone, and he saw an email that had our electric bill on it. He started to look at our electric bill when we were lost, on a road, in the middle of nowhere. Talk about distractions. I remember when electric bills couldn’t reach us when we were traveling, especially lost in the middle of nowhere.
At that point I realized I missed no cell phones. I know they give us many good things (including directions), but at what cost? Are they giving us all ADHD? I know we can find out anything about everything at the click of the finger. We are all very educated about anything we want to know. We are very connected. We know what everyone is doing. But what are we doing to our brains?
Have you ever had your phone go dead, and panicked? After a while of not being able to use it, did you feel a sense of relief? That was God telling you to take a break and think about what matters. He’s telling you that he wants you to feel the peace of being “one” with the universe. And to be “one” with the universe does not mean you are in touch with every person in the universe.
It means you are in touch with the subtle energies around you. You feel the life in the grass, the flowers, the stars, and the moon. You feel the peace and the steadiness in what is natural. Your mind is free from the pulsing anxiety of the blue screen. You can think again and be with God in your “right mind” as A Course in Miracles says.
“God is lonely without his sons, and they are lonely without him” A Course In Miracles. I have fallen victim to technology once again. I have to constantly remind myself to limit my cell phone usage. Nothing is worth my brain going to pieces. I want to feel the oneness that only the peace of God will bring. I hope you do too.
Now let’s join our minds outside of technology. Take 5 minutes after you read this to close your eyes and think of the peace of God. As we join our separate minds into one single purpose, we will experience what A Course in Miracles calls “The Holy Instant”.
In The Holy Instant the peace of God reigns above all, and the world is saved.
I’ll meet you there.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/15756503695/in/photolist-pLvxzo-p4yKDG-q1mcAP-6KzdBE-qtqv8e-c23gi-bX245y-5Ub2nK-4GzSic-4LfBMb-5cKJXX-kGQwMY-um9uH-5S3Sof-e5uX4u-5LJoH-hN9Bn-5F1CoR-5LV7yw-zvVJW-r2hp9-eC2bWM-MsqzD-5adum8-7waqt-q1E7aM-az7eqk-ac7h2B-hQFD-8Szjtt-s6CPg-4AyRC3-pPKTr8-5trusd-NDdvM-p5ufhm-RQGyy-5dHPRU-mzYgPZ-4TMmUV-587Nvt-69nYjG-6cWZrB-3JTH3w-iBSUq-4NBuiL-bNt9kZ-dBdVvH-5TJH4v-8Hg5U4/
Please post any thoughts you have on this below.
Peace, Love, and Miracles,
Elizabeth
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photo credit: Flickr Creative Commons
Matthew G, Love (of technology)
Will Lion, too much information, too little knowledge
Moyan Brenn, Peace