The Words of the Beutl Family
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The Words of the Beutl Family |
My dear brothers and sisters,
The afternoon dialogue of the second full day of the conference was held under the themes “From the Heart to the World” and “Guiding Principles for Transformation Toward a Global Inter-religious Partnership”. It included speakers from various religious traditions concluding with the most powerful one, Dr. Chung Hyun Kyung from Korea, who offers lectures at the Union Theological Seminary in New York and is at the same time a Buddhist Dharma teacher. Professor Chung is a founding member of the International Interfaith Peace Council which promotes peace in conflict areas around the world. She conducted a year long research pilgrimage to 18 Islamic countries to interview Muslim Peace Makers, about which she is currently writing a book. Among the 5 books she published already there are national best sellers in Korea.
Ms. Chung spent also one year in the Himalaya Mountains for a meditation Retreat, where she received a severe training as she told me in our personal conversation on the last evening of the summit when we spent a couple of hours until late to share with one another about our foundations and our experiences in life so far (our age is very similar). While many of the participants went out to attend the special procession of that day commemorating the ascension of Saint Clare into the spirit world, Professor Chung wanted to take this opportunity to speak deeply about internal questions.
This situation like so many others during my days in Assisi have been so obviously prepared by the good spirit world, who is very concerned about the best possible outcome for each participant. At the end of our talk Ms Chung said that she realizes that God had sent me to remind her of what is really important in the attitude towards Heaven as she is aware that the spirit world is writing through her. In one of her books she lets God speak…
At the end of her presentation she introduced special movements to us with one of them referring to rather than being depressed with feelings of heart-break and one’s heart being broken apart to break our hearts open -- to open one’s heart to become a bigger container in order to embrace all humanity. Another movement was painting a rainbow with our hands, which represents unity and diversity in various traditions, in order to be reminded of the importance of having a vision. A third movement represented holding the earth to remind us of our task to take good care of it. Finally a movement to bless one’s neighbor, everybody we know…
We all sang the simple verse “Wherever you turn there is the face of God.” again while bowing to each other. For me personally this moment had been a highlight of this summit where I was moved to tears knowing that such an attitude is so essential for each one of us: To see the face of God in our brother and sister, in each person we meet.
The concluding prayer offered included the following content: “May each one of us here receive exactly what we need to go forward in the world to create, to act, to love, to speak… May we adorn ourselves within and without with the glorious raiment with the light of God, with all of Her ways, with all of Her faces, with all of His strength and His clarity. May we like Saint Clare run with love and run with patience…”
Just before she died Saint Clare said that God had ever cared for her as tenderly as a mother toward her child. It is my sincerest desire that we all may be able to say this at the end of our lives -- which means of course that we have to strive now to open our hearts to this reality of the loving motherly heart of our Eternal Parent being here for us always while it is up to each one of us to open our deepest soul to this reality.
There are so many details which could be added here which surprised me again and again in respect to how spirit world manages the exact timing so that it was for example possible for me to meet in the narrow intertwined streets of Assisi the group of participants who went out that evening right at the moment when I walked to the place where I stayed overnight during these days. Heaven is always concerned that people can meet and connect in heart as much as possible.
In this respect I wanted to mention that recently I saw many videos about the lives of Barack and Michelle Obama, where I was moved to hear Michelle say: “When I go before crowds I think about trying to reach people’s hearts. I mean I really do because I firmly believe that there is a fundamental difference in what Barack can offer, the ability to connect and to unite…” This couple has been entrusted with a great responsibility based on their attitude which Heaven supports -- and each one of us can be certain of Heaven’s trust in us once we get our heart and mindset there where our True Parents want us to stand internally.
In the afternoon dialogue of the summit on the Divine Feminine (August 11, 2009) it was emphasized that our inner spiritual work has a direct impact on the world, touching all with whom we come in contact and beyond, so that ultimately even a single person can have great impact. Questions were asked like the following: What are the qualities most needed as we seek to evolve to a more peaceful and sustainable world community, one based on unity and sharing? What principles should guide this transformation, at the individual and collective level? How can the feminine principle of inclusion that does away with hierarchies and divisions lead us to a deeper partnership that includes all the world’s faith traditions?
“The new era must be marked by religious unity, understanding our common ground while respecting and appreciating our different versions of the Divine grandeur…” Yes, we may all have a little bit different perception of God’s greatness but this should never allow divisions among us as people of faith, especially as we believe in true love, enabling us to even love the children of our enemies more than our own.
The message has been proclaimed. Remains only the task to truly take it to our hearts and to practice it by going beyond any borders with the readiness to support all those who are dedicated to the ideals of Heaven. That the high spirit world supports all these dedicated individuals to come together and to share with one another freely has become once again very substantially visible through the summit on The Divine Feminine Guiding Global Transformation, where women leaders gathered who influence ultimately millions of people in this world.
Their characters and styles may vary a lot but as a mentioned there was only a spirit of harmony and an effort to understand present in the relationships among the participants which included nuns and monks from Christian, Hindu and Buddhist traditions, just as well as influential people on an external level like an Ambassador from Nigeria and the representative from Canada who is among the 100 most powerful women in that country.
When I sat together with Dr. Chung and other strong representatives of the feminine world for lunch she shared about one of her friends who founded the “One Million Ladies’ Club”. Coming from a wealthy family this woman could find 180 other rich women who like herself dedicated themselves to offering 1 million dollars each to support women’s causes around the world. In this way one person could raise 180 million dollars to help women in various countries who are in need. I wanted to mention this as an example that there is much money out there which can be mobilized for a good cause. It is only a question of taking the initiative and reaching out to the ones who have the foundation to help on external or internal levels.
As representatives of God, standing on the foundation established by the True Family, we have definitely a precious wide spiritual and practical basis to influence this world. It is up to each one of us to go ahead and to reach out wholeheartedly -- and I am certain that you will experience the direct help of God and the highest spirit world more than ever before as the absolute good spirits are surely desperate to support God’s providence. Our True Father and True Mother being the ones who are more seriously dedicated than any other human being to establishing the Heavenly standard here on this earth. The decisive question is indeed the one related to quality: What kind of heartistic standard do we manifest for our Heavenly Father to express His love through us?
On my second day in Assisi I went out early to walk up Monte Subasio where this medieval town is situated. As soon as I left the city walls behind I came across a family who had set out to walk the Trail of Francis of Assisi, the way he walked when he went to Rome to meet the Pope. It takes about 2 weeks to reach the destination. This family wanted their son Francis to experience this path. As he is only 11 years old it was a little tough for the boy to carry his back bag. Therefore I took it on my shoulders and brought it up the mountain while the Father explained me some details from the life of St. Francis. In this way I received a personal introduction to Assisi by a very religious person -- prepared by Heaven so that we could meet that morning.
After walking some 3 hours together I hurried back down the hill and amazingly just as I reached a forest road a car with an elder couple was just about to leave from that point. Had I arrived only a minute later they would have gone but I could still meet them. It felt like a taxi that had been prepared for me as they went out of their way to bring me directly to the hotel that was several km away so that I could still arrive in time for the morning program that was opened by the mayor of Assisi.
When I set out in the morning of the fourth day to the highest place of the town I met Michael, who wrote a book about falling in love with God, as he was waiting for the nearby internet place to open. On my way back to the hotel I dropped into this place to answer a few messages. I could do it for free even though normally one has to pay. This is just a little gesture but with many incidences adding up during the day one feels naturally supported, whereby I know that it is the good spirit world that is at work.
This became obvious on so many occasions like when I was looking for a place to stay two more nights in Assisi in order to take photos of the beautiful nature surrounding that town. I asked Benedictine Sister Mariangela from the Philippines and it turned out that she is the master of the nearby monastery guesthouse which hosts pilgrims from around the world. Her house was full at that time but she still managed to organize a single room for me which she offered me for free including the meals.
The day after the summit was concluded I spent several hours with John and Susan in order to evaluate the event we participated in together. Through our reflecting on the different parts of the think tank meeting it became once again very obvious how much Heaven is concerned about the quality of what we are doing here on earth.
Susan is an ordained minister, a graduate of One Spirit Interfaith Seminary and of the university of Notre Dame. Most of all she is a very dedicated religious person who concentrates on helping people to expand their consciousness after a successful career in the business world. She is dedicated to bridging the divide between religions and cultures and wants to help the organizers of this conference to work more effectively in the long run.
When I arrived in the monastery that evening I walked the stairs instead of taking the elevator -- and in this way met Sister Mariangela directly - or when I returned the next day I looked out of the window when going down a corridor -- and there Sister Mariangela was in the garden arranging some flowers. So I could share a little more with her, who has rarely a chance to leave the monastery as she lives up to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
When one experiences such little but meaningful encounters which are obviously no coincidence day by day then it becomes very clear that the good spirit world is trying to guide people constantly so that as many connections of heart as possible may be established. It is my year long experience that the good spirit world tries to support us continuously, wherever we are. On my way back to Austria I found myself in one cabin with two students from China and even when they left the train another student from China who is studying in Austria came in. In the first lottery my family had received China as mission country…
Even when I had to hitchhike the last part of my journey to my little village a car stopped to bring me back home in which the driver and his wife had prepared to go to Assisi in a couple of days later for the first time. So I could tell them a little about my experiences in this city…
After arriving in our flat I learned that especially the girls had been eagerly waiting for me, even preparing a song for the occasion and drawing two paintings: Christiane with the words “I Miss You” centered on a heart with many colors and Viktoria a flower painting that included many hearts. Viktoria sang the song she had composed herself, starting with the words: “Papi, I miss you ever so much because you are my Papa, and a Papa is something special. Every child has to know this, because this is true… To have a Papa is so beautiful.”
Looking back to my recent experiences in Assisi it is clear that Heaven has prepared that meeting, guiding many women leaders to come together at that historic place which is protected as a World Heritage -- Cultural Site. It is the city where God called the son of a rich family to lead a purification “movement” within the Catholic Church by advocating a lifestyle that is closely connected to nature and ready to love and to serve the poor.
We concluded our meeting with the prayer of St. Francis. I suppose most of you are familiar with this timeless content which is also a well-known song: “Make me a channel of your peace. Where there is hatred let me bring your love. Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord. And where there's doubt, true faith in you.” Chorus: “Oh, Master grant that I may never seek so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love with all my soul.”
“Make me a channel of your peace. Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope. Where there is darkness, only light. And where there's sadness, ever joy.” (Chorus) “Make me a channel of your peace. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, in giving to all men that we receive, and in dying that we're born to eternal life.”
On YouTube you can find several singers who perform this beautiful song (e.g. www.youtube.com/watch?v=As5hjcfNn7kandfeature=related) The real challenge lies in practicing such an attitude for which St. Francis asked in his prayers. He responded to God’s call to bring revival to the established church and started a tradition of living in close connection with nature and heartfelt loving relationships among the believers, a way of life which is just as actual and important today as it has been in his time, more than 8 centuries ago.
Our international president Hyung Jin Nim testifies to his recent personal realizations and life changing inner transformation and asks us to make ourselves a new beginning with a renewed dedication to the original ideals of our movement. Based on such a personal revival we will surely attract more help from above than the amount that may have been available for us individually until now.