I was raised by Orthodox Jews at a time when it was not easy to live according to those very strict laws, while living in a brand new California neighborhood.  The community was mostly  Christian and I attended Sunday School each week at Temple Beth Zion, a Conservative Jewish Temple in Lakewood California.  I have fond memories of the yearly Passover holidays and the honor that my mother placed on Pesach.  The stories of the Exodus from Egypt were told over and over again and I learned about the hardship of living in bondage and the many challenges that the Jews faced as they sought freedom while wandering in the desert for 40 years before they were able to make it to the promised land.

Today is Good Friday and sundown illumines the first night of Passover 2012.  It holds meaning for me because I am a metaphysician and I practice New Thought – Ageless Wisdom.  I have been teaching the Science of Mind for over 16 years and I have traveled this path for over 40 years.  Along the way I integrated many facets of universal truths including my belief in Christ which was the result of a powerful presence in my life.  I had to overcome many issues I had about Jesus.  I gained greater clarity as a result of working with the Course in Miracles which helped me understand the “suffering on the cross” which felt so personal that I could feel the pain and suffering as if I had been on the cross myself.

Passover still holds meaning for me because I chosen to live an Awakened Life.  I am on the planet in a time when we must deal with our own kind of bondage.  We have to break free from the internal consequences and feelings of being on Earth and in a physical world that still believes in the “haves” and the “have-nots.”   I have to work at staying conscious of my mental and emotional choices and I use daily spiritual practices to stay balanced and prevent myself from hanging on the cross of injustices, financial and social power is so out of balance that it can trigger anger and resentment in anyone who sees what is actually going on in the world.  Yet I choose to rise above these triggered reactions because it will take higher wisdom and divine intelligence coupled with compassion to move us into an Age of Enlightenment and I choose that road less traveled.  Otherwise we just get trapped by the present day economic Pharoahs again and again and the deceivers and criminals hold our souls hostage in addition to our collective pocket books.

So I stand with my greatest teacher and Beloved Jesus as I say… “Forgive them Father for they know not what they do” and I turn all of us over the power of divine as I say “Into Thy hands I command my spirit.”   “I surrender, I surrender…. Everything that I have been holding on to… I now let go… I forgive me, I forgive you… because I am ready for my change.”  These words for Tim McAfees song speaks to the very heart of what is necessary for me to reach beyond the cross of our current experiences to the light of a new day, a peaceful transformation and evolutionary step in our collective history.

May we all feel the Presence of Love in all of our celebrations this weekend.  May we all realize the power of divine love to move us beyond the illusions that keep us in bondage to fear and separation and help us to awaken fully from the death like attitudes that hide the courage we need to co-create a brand new day.  Let us make an Evolutionary Leap in Faith and live our greatness as the deserving children of the Most High.

Know that you are Loved, Namaste,  Rev. Barbara Walley