Friday, April 1, 2011

The Peace that Passeth Understanding

According to The New York Times, last year General Electric (GE) made over $14.2 billion in profit, but paid NO federal tax.1 None.
In fact, thanks to the millions GE spent lobbying Congress, we American taxpayers actually owed GE $3.2 billion in tax credits.2
Now GE is slashing health benefits and retirement benefits for new employees among non-union workers and is expected to push unions to accept similar cutbacks3, while its CEO, Jeff Immelt, gets a 100% pay raise.4
What's worse? Immelt now sits as chair of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness (Jobs Council), representing corporate America to the President on matters like job creation and corporate taxation. That's a slap in the face to every hardworking, tax-paying American—especially GE employees. ------ from MoveOn
Hypocricy: a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion
Synonyms: cant, dissembling, dissimulation, insincerity, piousness
Antonyms: genuineness, sincereness, sincerity
What’s the best way to deal with events like those at GE and other large organizations and the hypocrisy of the Obama Administration - go up to the screen to fix the focus or go up to the projection booth? Going up to the ‘projection booth,’ it is possible to realize that the kingdom has come, and spirit’s will is being done in earth, as it is in heaven, despite appearances to the contrary. I recently read an insight that suggested Jesus did not still the storm, but rather invited those around him into his peace, the peace that passeth understanding, the peace that can not be disrupted or denied by worldly conditions and appearances. Accepting himself as living within divine law, the storm was not a real force to Jesus, peace was.
We can experience the same peace Jesus did. It is ever present, judges not and wants to be shared. We have to work with ourselves to know that hypocrisy, inhumane corporations that seek to profit from human pain and sorrow are not the dominant force, peace is. No matter what, that peace is always available to us. By believing in this peace more than in fear, lack and pain, we are accessing it, and in this way have dominion over the tempest and other noises in and around us.
All the greatest avatars have counseled, thus, as Jesus counseled: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you.” “Not as the world giveth….” the peace that passeth understanding, the peace I’m allowing myself to feel even in the midst of anguish and fear, anger and hypocrisy.

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