by Guest Blogger, David Howard
Spiritual Leader, Unity Spiritual Center Denver
And now, the insightful conclusion to “The Land of Peace”
So, the young prince entered his MIND, closed his eyes, and voila—with one thought he was transported. As he opened his eyes and looked around, he was a bit perplexed. He saw the same landscape, the same houses, and the same people. His surroundings appeared to be unchanged. In that moment, he began to doubt himself. He thought, “Oh, I must have done something wrong. I must have misinterpreted the vision. Maybe I’m not smart after all. Maybe I just can’t do it right. Maybe I’m too young to try this anyway.” And, the thoughts continued in a similar spiral.
As he began to observe through his MIND, he saw that the houses were worn and old and ugly. As he encountered his neighbors and family, he saw that some were skinny, some were fat, some were old, some were white, and some were black. In his MIND, labels and judgments began to appear where before only acceptance and love had been. While they looked the same, something was different. In that moment, he realized that he was no longer in Peace.
Never before had it occurred to him that he was different from all others, but in his MIND he began to think thoughts of a separate self. People were talking to him, and he heard words that sounded like criticism and blame. For the first time in his life, he saw himself alone and felt lonely.
He felt something odd happening. His body began to ache and feel heavy. His heart raced. His head pounded. He thought “I just want to run away and hide.” These feelings and thoughts were unknown to him; he did not know what to do.He ran to get away from them, but no matter how hard or fast he ran, he kept meeting his own thoughts, the thoughts that separated him from all that he encountered. He thought, “What could be happening to me? Where am I? It all seems so familiar, yet so foreign.”
As he continued to wander around, his body began to get tired and weary from all the discomfort he was experiencing. Navigating in his MIND was beginning to feel heavy and weigh him down. In the moment that he was about to collapse, he came upon the tall live oak tree, so he decided to walk over and sit in its shade for a bit. As he rested, he soon fell asleep and began to dream.
In the dream, he saw a light in the distance. The light intrigued him, and he began to stare at it. As he focused, the light seemed to grow larger and move nearer. Being the curious explorer that he was, he arose and walked toward the light. He wanted to know what it was. As he grew closer he noticed that the light was not just a light, but that it seemed to have form. He experienced no hesitation, only a sense of wonder and awe. As the light became more clearly visible, it began to look familiar. When he was nearly face to face with the light, he stopped. He was amazed to realize that the light looked exactly like him. Surprised by the vision, he asked “Who are you, and why are you here?”
The light replied, “I am you, my friend, and I am here to remind you of your truth and show you the way home.”
“What do you mean you are me? How can you remind me of my truth?” asked the young prince.
The light replied.
“I am the light that is your true nature. I am that part of you that speaks in the silence whenever you stop to listen. I am always with you to remind of who you really are. You see, you have been exploring a realm where false evidence appears to be real. It’s called FEAR. In this realm the limiting thoughts you have of another or of yourself seem to be real, but they are just illusions that appear when your MIND takes you to FEAR. Because the light does not shine as brightly there, FEAR is often a dark, dreary place. It’s difficult to see clearly, so things appear to be what they are not. The heaviness you felt also happens in FEAR. It is how the body reacts to the atmosphere. When you are in this heavy, dark place, it can be difficult, if not impossible to remember that you are a prince of Peace. If you stay there long enough, it can become challenging to find your way back home. There are some who have been there so long that Peace seems to be only a distant dream.”
“You created this device you call your MIND so that you can explore other realms. You created it so well that every thought takes you precisely where you choose to go. It is indeed an amazing creation and very powerful. It can be used for wondrous things if you do not allow it to become heavy and burdensome. Always remember that you created it, and it is yours to use. Remember, too, that it does not have to be used to take you from Peace; it can be used in Peace as well. I am here to remind you that you have the power to choose the thoughts you think in your MIND and to control where it takes you. It is entirely up to you.”
With that, the light was gone and the young prince awoke.
When he awoke the prince remembered the dream vividly. He immediately closed his eyes, and thought of his family and friends and all the love that surrounds him in Peace. Then he shook his head, and when he opened his eyes, he instantly began to feel lighter. As he looked around, he was aware of the same trees, the same houses, the same people, yet something was different yet again. Now, instead of old, ugly, fat, thin, white or black, he saw only the beauty and the perfection of everything, and he felt warm and safe and joyous. He thought of what the light had told him in his dream and realized that his light was now shining so brightly that he was able to see everything in its true nature. That’s when he realized that he was back in Peace.
He ran home as fast as he could and began telling his parents all about his adventure. They celebrated with him for a time, and when the excitement subsided, his mother asked him, “Would you be willing to share with me the wisdom that came to you through this wondrous time of exploration?”
The young prince stopped for a moment in wonder. He was delighted that he was being asked to share his wisdom, and was pleased to be able to give his mother this gift.
After a few moments of contemplation he said, “Well Mother, I have learned that you and Father were right, I do indeed have the power to go anywhere and do anything I choose. I can even choose to explore the realm of FEAR for a time if that’s what I want to do, but I also learned that FEAR can be a pretty scary place.Most importantly, I learned that even if I visit FEAR, I know that I can return home to Peace with just one thought.”
As he was about to run out the door to join his playmates, he turned to his Mother and said, “If you really want to go there, I’m pretty sure your light will show up to remind you how to get home. In case you forget, just remember to listen. Remember who you are. We all have that choice.”
And with that, the prince of Peace was off on yet another exciting adventure.
About the Author
David Howard, Spiritual Leader
Unity Spiritual Center Denver, Colorado
David Howard’s mission is to encourage and inspire the realization of Oneness. Prior to moving to Denver to become the Spiritual Leader at Unity Spiritual Center Denver, David was Spiritual Leader at Unity of Arlington in Arlington, Texas for six years. He is a Licensed Unity Teacher, and plans to enter the Field Licensing Program through Unity Worldwide Ministries to obtain his ministerial license and ordination. Before joining Unity of Arlington, David was a minister at the Center for Life Enrichment, an independent New Thought ministry in Dallas, TX for five years. David is a native of Augusta, Georgia, home of The Masters (for you golf fans).
He is an impassioned speaker who brings his authenticity and humility to every talk. David is an avid student of metaphysics and New Thought philosophy. He enjoys leading classes and workshops on a variety of topics. David also loves the energy of the group meditations he facilitates. He is the author of In This Moment: Prayers from the Well of Awareness, a collection of affirmative prayers that he wrote during the period 2001 – 2006 while ministering in Dallas.
Click here to browse his frequent blog posts. David is also an accomplished vocalist who has released Spark, an album of songs composed and originally recorded by well-known artists including Jackson Browne, Sara Hickman, Jeff Black and others, and also includes an original composition, “Cicadas.”
David’s vision for Unity Spiritual Center Denver is a community of individuals who are committed to the recognition, realization and revelation of the expression of God that each of us is, and who are dedicated to creating an environment in which others can do the same.
Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! 