Blessings and Namaste to everyone, and thank you for this opportunity to discuss the future!
When World Goodwill was founded in the last century, its intention was clear: to improve human relationships throughout the world by mobilizing the constructive power of goodwill to solve humanity’s problems. Straight-forward and an example of loving energy following lighted thought.
At the heart of every spiritual group is a core creative force: a galvanizing, timeless ideal which weaves the group together into one vitally alive wholistic force; and permeates the very essence of each and every member. In our global group, this focused ideal is quite simple: Goodwill is Love in Action. It is the ‘action’ part we are going to explore today.
Within every human soul lies a spark of Divinity – whether expressed outwardly or submerged in a state of dormancy, this spark lives on and can be invoked as living, practical goodwill through the human power of imagination.
This capacity to imagine is our common and shared birthright. This lighted impetus of creative thought is the potency underlying the powerful forces of progressive change which have moved humanity forward throughout the centuries. As sentient beings, we each possess the ideal interior architecture to develop our imaginative skills designed to awaken us to higher realities of spiritualized livingness. We are genetically equipped to unleash a treasure trove of spiritualized insights and right actions for the benefit and upliftment of the Whole of Life.
It begins within every living consciousness: the birthplace of imagination. All of the many remarkable possibilities of a human life are first imagined and born here: education, marriage, children, career track, artistic endeavors, community action, global involvement. Within this living consciousness of infinite possibilities, we find purpose, direction, and a willingness to consider.
For just a moment, let us consider. To consider is to imagine:
Imagine – a global belief system in which the ideation of the I simply serves as the gateway into union with the We.
Imagine – a world where sacrifice is collectively perceived as the profound making sacred of Life; and a time wherein service rendered to others becomes the highest measure of human integrity.
Imagine – a future planetary narrative in which people doing right is universally understood as more meaningful than the antiquated notion of being right.
Imagine – a global governance system where mindful duty to the Whole of Life is based upon a principle of cherishing and sharing all of Earth’s natural resources. Where excessive materialism is repudiated and simplicity is valued; where the scourge of separatism vanishes; and the healing power of forgiveness is free to blossom in daylight.
Imagine Light, in its purest form, as the infinite canvas of God’s mind; and Love, in its totality, as the rhythmic pulsation of God’s heart.
Imagine all this and the global embodiment of Goodwill will become known as the spiritualization of human thought and endeavor – unified good and inclusive will.
This is the yet-to-be realized goal of World Goodwill: to serve as a living global organism, a brilliant beacon exemplifying the essentialness and universality of goodwill within each living human spirit.
On our planet of 7.9 billion human souls, wherein barely forty percent actually practice their faith, where traditional organized religions fail to unify, where new age groups often falter through personalization, and where the clarion call of the occult path reaches too few, Humanity’s overwhelming need for healing, purpose, and direction is crying out.
For World Goodwill to truly fulfill this enormously far-reaching destiny, as the living connective tissue bringing together all peoples and all cultures throughout the continents, it must become a recognized, welcoming wide avenue of healing in all countries, cities and villages around the planet by being physically anchored within local communities in needed and tangible ways where it can freely express itself as unified good and inclusive will for the benefit of everyone. This is the practical application of the abstract concept Will-to-Good. This then becomes the evolving human framework of a growing global subjective life force.
The future calls upon each of us, all of us, to become – within our own lives – working ambassadors of loving light through taking the right action of living goodwill.
There is a sublime quote, by an unknown author, which captures the commonality and the eternalness of our shared journey: God is a Circle whose Center is everywhere and Whose Circumference is nowhere. Translation? The locus of transformative change exists right where we each live. Setting aside the case to be made that we actually live inside ourselves, how do we create practical expressions of goodwill outside, within our own local communities? And if not now, when?
In the annals of evolutionary time, the entirety of a single life is realized as a short passage, on a page, in a chapter of a great, unfinished book; and in the eyes of pure Soul, there is only love. So, bathed in love and recognizing the time as NOW, the pointed words of Yogananda will serve as our guidepost as we journey into this great, vast middle – where most people live. Look around our world in the midst of this raging pandemic, economic fragility, social vulnerabilities, and recurring natural disasters, and I quote his words: “The season of failure is the best time for sowing seeds of success.”
I live in America, in a small, postage stamp-sized state, Connecticut, and decided to begin a local goodwill group in support of the larger work conducted by World Goodwill. I began by forgetting everything that I knew; and instead, listened.
When we really listen, we hear the heartbeat of need and begin to understand the value of translation. It quickly became apparent that none had heard of the work of World Goodwill, nor were many familiar with meditation as a daily discipline, and the idea of The Hierarchy was an alien concept.
After visiting town libraries, yoga workshops, senior centers, and local community facilities throughout the lower Connecticut area, the recurring lines of need became obvious: anything that was non-dogmatic, generic, applicable to all, life-affirming, and calming in this era of stress, would be considered. Sounds like an earth-bound definition of etheric goodwill, doesn’t it?
Initially, I chose the Stamford Senior Center because it’s located downtown in the government building which means lots of potential participants in the surrounding offices. Also, this particular center is a non-profit governed by a board of directors; whereas many of the centers are owned and operated by the local municipalities – which means additional red tape.
After delivering an introductory presentation, I got the approval to begin a weekly World Goodwill meditation group for the seniors at the center. Without the help of the Executive Director and the support from the New York offices of Lucis Trust, none of this would have been possible. We had a platform, I served as facilitator, and the weekly format closely followed our sister group, Triangles: a brief talk, visualization, the goodwill meditation, and discussion afterwards. Then, the world fell apart when the Coronavirus hit. So, we went to Zoom.
Then last Fall, it was time to expand. The ED at Stamford gathered together all of the Executive Directors in all of the senior centers in Fairfield County and I gave a presentation on how impactful and beneficial goodwill could be within their respective centers and local communities. After taking a vote, a second group was born.
In the months ahead, as we all gain more freedom of movement and our social structures open up once again, I hope to host the senior group at the downtown center and open it up to others in the building. Perhaps, start a third younger group – and eventually blend the mix of generational influences into one larger lighted group of goodwill energies.
What I’ve learnt is the value of humor and the importance of translation. We all use and hear words differently. So, by listening to each other we can walk together on common ground through common sense – the spiritual sense of unity which we all have in common. Thank you, and I hope that this presentation motivates some of you to imagine local World Goodwill groups within your own communities; and that you channel that imaginative idea into practical reality.
(A talk given at the World Goodwill webinar on March 31, 2021)
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