Rev. Celeste discusses her personal beliefs about the journey of the soul, acquiring wisdom and life in this dimension. She shares what she has learned from her self-reflection about bias and how it colors her perception of the mundane activities of living. She references thoughts from Emilie Cady (H. Emilie Cady - Wikipedia), Ernest Holmes (Ernest Holmes - Wikipedia) and Emma Curtis Hopkins (Emma Curtis Hopkins - Wikipedia). She uses the imagery of running a race to achieve her soul's goals. And she invites us to pray for someone rather than reacting to their behavior. She reminds us that our triggers come from the places within us that need healing.
She reflects on her ministry as part of day-to-day living and examines whether her loyalty is to God or to ego. She invites us to recognize that if I have a problem with someone, it's me that has the problem. She tells us that prayer is not simply being a beneficial presence for another, but as a means to heal ourselves. Rev. Celeste shares that her sermons are not simply for the person in the pew, but for herself.
Celeste shares how she was startled by her own behavior by not being a blessing to someone, but being a barrier to them. She explores hypocrisy in terms of unconscious responses that diminish any creation of God. Rev. Celeste suggests examining where our allegiance is. Is your loyalty to a value or to your ego? She shares that one does not lose anxiety or become immune to challenges just because you are in ministry.
She invites us to consider whether or not we have an addiction to being upset. Celeste shares that it is important to be grateful. When you respond in a negative way to someone's behavior, you are standing in the need of prayer. She requests prayer from spiritual colleagues and friends who study A Course in Miracles (acim.org), Unity (Unity | A Positive Path for Spiritual Living), and Religious Science (Religious Science - Wikipedia) teachings.
As a result, Celeste realized that we can be more kind to ourselves. She opines that being kind to ourselves and forgiving ourselves is counterculture to the United States culture, which feels punitive. We have been conditioned to punish someone who does something we do not approve of them doing. We find many ways to separate ourselves from each other e.g., race, sexuality, gender or political parties and more. Yet, we have one Source.
Rev. Celeste reminds us that Spirit is a living energy. Gott and Elohim (Elohim - Wikipedia) are names for God, but she prefers Elohim because it means "the living one" and Spirit is a Living Energy. She sometimes calls Her Divine Mother. Rev. Celeste finds it humorous that Divine Mother created us so uniquely different - in and out of religiosity, purity, pro-life, or pro-choice.
Jesus the Christ asked God to forgive them for they know not what they do. We do not know when we are being judgmental, isolationists, or accusers who try to determine who is right, worthy or good. We deflect, minimize and judge ourselves. We can be so afraid of our Light, that we put ourselves in darkness as punishment. Other people are not the problem; fear is the problem. We have the victory because we are made out of Love. That's all Jesus was saying! Love wins. There is no opposite to love. Fear only has the power we give it. We have the victory!
Rev. Celeste's poem is entitled "The Victory".