Suddenly Last Summer
(From a talk given at Channing Chapel, Newport, RI)
By Mack McAleer

 Last year at about this time, Lisa and I were delivering the last of a series of 8 talks here at Channing. This was a special time for both of us, and for the many others who were a part of this series in both large and small ways.

 Our summer of ’98 was a particularly interesting one as it came together in such a way as to cause many to question how they viewed the status quo here at the church, and in other areas of their lives. You see prior to last year, summer meant locked doors at Channing. I am told that this had been the case for decades. Winter was for church, summer was for play, and that’s the way it was. Or, that’s the way it had been for long enough for most to become convinced that – that’s the way it was.

 Whenever such a belief system begins to harden, a vigorous round of questioning is just what the doctor ordered.

 As summer approached last year a new energy began to move. Several members of the church began thinking that the joy they found in their Sunday mornings should be a year round affair. This seemed logical, simple, and easy enough to accomplish. The pivotal word here being– seemed. You see, changing a long held belief is rarely simple, or logical, or easy. It is our natures to put a great deal of effort into hardening perceptions into beliefs. These beliefs are our creations. They are the children of our psyches and as such we tend to be vigorous in our defense of them.

 The first talk in last year’s series was born of a challenge from an individual making just such a vigorous defense.

 When asked to explain my intentions for the content of the talks I would give during the summer I explained that I wanted to share a more spiritual message presented with a mix of new age music and art. This prompted one present at the meeting to ask somewhat sarcastically, “What the heck is the new age anyway?” I didn’t have a good answer at the time so I decided to have a go at it in my first talk entitled coincidentally, “What the heck is the new age?”. This talk defined the other seven in the series as well as many of the events that have occurred between then and now.

 As I shared in that talk, the new age isn’t health food, psychics, meditation, levitation, best selling books, CD's, posters, Eco-retreats, recycling, saving whales, human rights, etc., these are but symptoms of a group of people sharing in a consciousness willingness to question courageously. The courage to question is found in a willingness to redefine ourselves in larger terms allowing us to see a bigger picture.

 As we discussed last year, the bigger picture has fewer dimensions. That which is infinitely greater than our physical selves, our emotional, intellectual, and intuitive reality, is characterized by two dimensions; Love and fear. This can be a bit disorienting as our physical world gives us the seeming advantage of three dimensions - length, depth, and height.

 When the summer of ’98 began, the view of most associated with what to do with the activities of the church during the summer was driven by a belief system already shaped and proportioned by the decisions of the past. Practical decisions, based on practical criteria as measured in terms of length, depth, and height. When all concerned decided to set that belief system aside in favor of beginning again with no more than love guiding the way, a new age began right here.

 The one thing that most characterizes the new age consciousness, is a willingness to set aside the comfort of existing beliefs in favor of the growth that comes from courageous, loving, discovery. A voyage of discovery guided by the simple principle of sorting out right and wrong based entirely on determining whether a thought, word, or deed is based in love or fear.

 The lexicon introduced in this talk last year comes back at me everyday. Friends, family, church members - both current and past, now navigate their reactions to the challenges in their lives in terms of love and fear, rather than, ‘This is what I have always believed or that is what my parents – church – social caste - taught me”. Each of these people have become spiritual explorers. They have weighed anchor and learned to set sail on the winds of this cosmic polarity. For each, a new age has begun, and within each – remarkable things are happening.

 Several other talks in last summer’s series centered on an examination of how blindly accepting belief systems, even when those beliefs are offered by very well intended sources, has led to much of humankind’s misery.  These talks were entitled: “Would God by any other name”, “My kharma just ran over my dogma”, and the Holy Handicap”. 

 We took a look at religious dogma that dictated a silent role for women in the church and the hacking off of hands as punishment for stealing a loaf of bread. We talked about how children were considered unclean and untouchable. We talked about how millions died at the hands of those seeking to purge the world of non-believers. We talked about how sad it was that so many religions have viewed education and independent thought as a sin, because as it led their followers to question the ways of the church. And we talked about how William Ellory Channing began his life in the bondage to such religious beliefs but ended it as one of history’s most notable spiritual explorers.

 In the “Way of the wizard” and “Attitude is everything” we talked about taking a determination to accomplish spiritual self-navigation to the next level by expressing it as creative thought. In the months since I have thrilled to the stories of goals envisioned and won with increasing ease. As I look around me this morning, I see the physical manifestation of the belief of a handful of creative spirits determined to see Channing’s summer programs continue. In the last year I have seen everything from jobs, to finances, to cures from disease, to marriages made manifest by the determined creative will of the people in my life, and occasionally by myself. Increasingly, I find that my greatest satisfaction from my efforts as a speaker and advisor is hearing someone I have shared with tell me with great surprise that they decided to express their creative will and it really worked! Within the context of the physical world, I understand why they express such surprise – but I can not help but be amused as everything we see, touch, and feel, every day, we created or accepted. I am glad that you chose to continue to create summer Sundays at Channing.

 We took a look at both ends of the physical life cycle last summer. In a talk entitled, “Out of the Mouths of Babes” we looked at how being child like and childish are but different ways of looking at the same love versus fear polarity. I asked which child those present would tend to like and which they would tend to dislike when given these descriptions:

 The child who…

 What sounds like an examination of child psychology is nothing more than the same process of sorting out life into columns marked love and fear. The child who gives, and is patient, nurturing, and compassionate is making loving decisions. The child who is not, has not separated from his or her loving nature – they are just suffering the loss of their awareness of the truth of themselves due to the numbing effects of fear.

 And on this final Sunday of the summer series last year, I shared a personal story about one of the most fearful aspects of human existence – its end. I closed the Summer Voyage to Spiritual Discovery where my own journey had begun in a talk entitled, "What will happen when I die?". I barely made it through this talk. Sharing out loud the details of my own death and resurrection choked me up a bit. But in the end, this particular set of 20 minutes turned out to be some of the most important time I have ever spent. It helped me to bring my own new age into focus in a way that nothing else has before or since.

 This talk was by far the best attended. The number of people present was nearly triple that of on our first Sunday. I shared in the most honest way I knew how that the great reward of a life lived in a loving way was indeed just beyond the physical. But this was just the icing on the cake as the rewards of loving decisions need not wait until after we have made the transition to spirit. In his/her ultimate wisdom, God gave us a unmistakable road map which we can rely on without fail as we struggle to find our way through life and he/she programmed into us an innate guidance system designed to keep us in line with the instructions on that map. He gave us loving natures and an endlessly compelling need to comply with this nature. Even those who stray the farthest from this truth cannot find lasting joy without turning back to the path at some point.  For evidence of this, consider the stories of countless villains who find themselves at peace at last, when fear of their impending death causes them to begin acting as their heart had been dictating all along. The deathbed conversions of these people aren’t fakery or false hope, it is just their willingness to let go and let God - surfacing the love within them that had been smothered by fear for so long.

 Preparing for this talk produced an unexpected moment for me on a personal level. It led to something of an epiphany. I was struck with the speed at which the months between last summer and this have flown. This realization forced me to look again at how I am spending my time and how I am making my life’s decisions.

 After some consideration, I decided to grade myself. In the area’s associated with expressing my creative nature I gave myself B+. I managed to manifest the most magnificent wife my intellect and imagination could hope to conger. I have created a treasure trove of new friends and new experiences. My career is in great shape, my wealth is growing, and my health is better than at any time in many years.

 In the area of my spiritual self-navigation – my ability to make loving decisions in the face of fear – I gave myself a C+. I still have a long way to go with this. Even with the pressure to practice what I preach working for me, I am still a ways from choosing well more often than I choose poorly.  I am greatly heartened at the encouragement I am getting from those around me. People like yourselves, still here each Sunday. Still choosing to pursue the loving course of nourishing these services and the very Channing like – belief system breaking – courageous – loving decisions that made them possible.

 Thank you for the opportunity to spend a few minutes considering ideas for living our future with a little help from the past.

 Benediction...

 A life well lived takes the shape of a winding line. It is the unexpected that most makes us feel alive. Avoid the temptation to deny the adventurer in your spirit through the false comfort of packaged belief systems. In matters of spirit it is still important why a thing flies… but it is more important to leave a little room for mystery. Be thankful for the airplane but even more thankful for the humming bird whose ability to fly remains a mystery to this day. Without a little room for mystery, there is no room for the excitement of wonder.

God Bless you… have a great week.