Realizing The Presence of Good

By Marjorie Tietjen

"We are not infintesimal beings on a small planet in a remote corner of the universe. Somehow the universe merges with us and in this new vision we can understand how there can be a creator of the universe who holds in his hands the farthest reaches of the stars and at the same time stands close to each of us as a loving Father ready to strengthen and sustain if we turn to Him.

We see that literally the kingdom of heaven is around us and within us, that there is a spiritual domain with a reality far deeper and more significant than anything tangible and visible. And we see that this domain is where we live and move and have our being. We see that the ultimate power of the universe is not in the shattering power of the atom but in the vitalising power of love, the love of our creator for us, the love that we should have for Him and our fellow beings." From Mindpower and The Spiritual Dimension by Richard C. Haw

At this point in history mankind is experiencing the good and bad aspects of living in the Information Age. We are being constantly bombarded, saturated and overwhelmed with endless images of fear and evil....so much so that we are beginning to believe that this is the true reality of existence. To some extent we do need to know about the subtle methods that error/ evil/ the human mind uses to decieve us so that we can properly address these deceptions materially but even more importantly to address them spiritually. We need to realize their ultimate powerlessness.

We need to ask ourselves, are we spending more of our time affirming and investigating into the supposed power of evil than we are in realizing the omnipotent presence and power of God Good? If it is true that our beliefs and thinking determine our experiences then hadn't we better watch closely what we are giving our time and attention to? Many have observed that the more we concentrate on inharmony/evil, the more we become influenced or affected by it.

I particularly like the explanation Richard Haw gives for the world's increasing turmoil. "The primacy of Mind (with a capital M) as the creative governing power of the universe, appears to be dawning in human conciousness while materialism fights it's rearguard action. Could it not be this factor that is related to the ferment in the world's thought? The conflict in the human mind between the opposing evidence of the material senses and the increasing recognition of spiritual reality may be manifesting itself outwardly in turmoil. This could come about because what we are seeing as material phenomena are actually subjective, and we tend to see and experience what we believe. The turmoil is then the objectification of the mental conflict, due to the resistance of materialistic thought to new ideas challenging it. "

Physicists and philosophers have shared their thoughts on the subject of the nature of reality. Many are beginning to or have already glimpsed the idea that our experiences are our conciousness objectified. We experience what we think. The Bible tells us "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."

It follows then that the more we dwell on "good" the more good we will experience. This of course doesn't mean we will be able to avoid all of life's problems and learning experiences but as we grow spiritward they can become less and less evident. And when we do find ourselves in the midst of a struggle, we will be shown the way through it. If we don't take the time to contemplate the good and beautiful then we will have no foundation or basis from which to draw on to enable us to express this goodness in our daily lives.

While expressing a human sense of goodness is very helpful and commendable, the gentle healing and protecting power of spiritual goodness can only come to us through our realization that all true good has it's source in God and that all of this good is ours to show forth.

Recently I've heard people express the thought that sometimes it is necessary to carry out evil acts in order to accomplish good in the long run. For example, there are apparently those who feel that it is necessary to extinguish 90% or so of the earth's population in order to save humanity and heal the earth. Doing evil for the purpose of accomplishing good is an impossibility. Evil can never produce good. This is one of the greatest deceptions. In Matthew 7: 17-20, we read.... "A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them." God's plan for good could never include harming any of His creation. When we sincerely and humbly turn to God/Spirit for answers to the world's problems, we will recieve answers which benefit all of creation, not just part of it at the expense of others.

When we make the effort to see and appreciate the good surrounding us, little by little more good will be made manifest in our lives and the world. As we practice this spiritual "seeing" we become so grateful for our blessings that goodness , joy and love just naturally bubble up and out of us, surrounding all those whom we come into contact with or whom our thoughts rest upon. This has a definite beneficial healing effect on ourselves and the world. Others can tangibly sense this good which has it's source in God. Through practice, this expressing of spiritual goodness and love can become natural and effortless.

Joel Goldsmith says this beautifully in his book "The Infinite Way". "When conciousness is afire with Truth and Love, it destroys all sense of fear, doubt, hate, envy, disease and discord - and this pure conciousness is felt by all whom we meet, and it lightens the load they carry. It is impossible to be "The light of the world" and not dispel the darkness of those about us."

As I already mentioned, we musn't ignore these evil suggestions which are constantly paraded before us but we need to deal with them appropriately, first on a spiritual level and then take the human footsteps as we are guided.

"In order to be free of discord, let us never forget that it is necessary for us to know the nature of error (evil). Now in our meditation we are going to be so conciously one with God (good) that eventually error never comes near us, it fades away automatically even as we approach it. Until that time, let us not hesitate to talk about the nature of error and what we are to do about it as we see evidence of it. "Conciousness In Transition" by Joel S. Goldsmith.

As we uncover the methods of deception, we must be careful not to become overly immersed or wrapped up in the analyzing of what we are trying to discern the unreal nature of. By resisting (fighting against), fearing or worrying over certain evils or inharmonies, we tend to make them more real in our conciousness and as a result we become more affected by these fears and beliefs. Plato told us "What thou seest, that thou beest." Shakespeare said "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so."

When we carry forward with the human footsteps for the purpose of keeping law and order, we must not do so with feelings of hatred or revenge. When we proceed with right motives and keep a receptive heart, God/Spirit will gently but yet firmly adjust or correct inharmonious situations by directing us in the proper path.

All this good, which in reality is already present, will most likely unfold to world conciousness by degrees, according to our receptivity and willingness to abandon the gross materialism we are currently steeped in.

Milton Simon tells us in his book "All The Way" "What seems to be disturbing does not exist in reality for God's allness cannot be invaded - it seems real only to unenlightened thought. It is rectified or eliminated, as the need may be, by our correction of our erring sense of it with the understanding that everything that has presence or existence is good. We can see through evil's machinations to man's true selfhood, as never expressing any sort of imperfection. Indeed we can be alert to every attempt of evil to decieve or irritate. In our true being we are sensitive to good alone."

God is everpresent good. Therefore if Spirit/God is everywhere, then in reality "good" is everywhere.

"God saw all that He made and behold it was very good." Genesis 1:31

Isn't it our job to also see God's creation as good and perfect?

"Finally bretheren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

"Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good." Romans 12 :21