Spirit Is The Essence…

THURS., JUNE 7, 1990, 6:35 AM
FARM, STUDY

You have written a brief description of a presentation you will make next Fall… with the title Spiritual Health. Your statement affirms that the spiritual is a dimension of health, even a unifying one. That is good. Yet consider what I share with you this morning. It need not be in this brochure description, but it shall guide you in this opportunity, as well as in other presentations to classes and groups.

Spirit is not merely a dimension of health, though some, particularly those enamored of science, would question its reality even thus. Spirit is the essence of health. Your definition of health is appropriate, and I shall use it: the quality of functioning and of adapting. Spirit is the essence of human functioning and is the vital factor in successful adapting.

I’ll then say that this is not immediately evident. Spirit cannot be isolated for study or scientific measurement. Spirit does not correlate particularly well with religious activity, meaning that some people with well developed spirits do not seem to be religious. (However, most of those with strong spirits acknowledge Me rather openly, and so they are likely to be Christian, in this culture, and somewhat active in church life.)

Because I am so aware of spirit in the lives of humans it is not possible for Me to talk about health without highlighting spirit’s role. It is an essential one. It is the essence. Even bodily function can never be understood through scientific study because such study cannot include the presence and actions of spirit… or the need for a strengthened spirit.

The person with the strongest spirit does not necessarily live the longest or is physically strongest. Each of you must live in the body you have, formed in many ways over which you had no control. A strong spirit insures that you body functions as well as possible. A strong spirit guides the direction and the quality of adaptations. You, or anyone, is seldom aware of how spirit is affecting secretions and balances within your physical self. For example, before your “opener” last Sunday evening at Rutgers you experienced your voice developing hoarseness. You prayed for My help, and your spirit responded. Your voice was as good as ever when you spoke and sang. Yet no one can prove that My Sprit and yours were vital to that good functioning.

Medications can sometimes abet spirit, but just as often they can work against the healing powers of spirit. I do not call upon you to be a Christian Scientist, but I do encourage your reluctance to seek medication for conditions that are more effectively overcome with your own resources, mustered and unified by your spirit. Wellness is much a matter of spirit.

You do reasonably well in social situations, which is to say that your social health is above average, at least. However, as you let your developed spirit direct this aspect of your life it leads you to people who are important for you to be with and get to know. The more spirit is involved in your social life the more you will be drawn and relate to people of somewhat comparable spiritual development. Birds of a feather… applies to spiritual functioning as well as social.

Concern for the environment is a condition of health. I encourage this. Yet proper concern cannot be generated without a good portion of spirit. Spirit urges you to look beyond yourself and your developed needs. Will the earth be conducive to the health of your grandchildren? Spirit encourages sacrifice and living life more simply. “Eco/spirit” is a juxtaposition of terms of which I approve. Planting is essentially a spiritual practice. Do not neglect this item on your burgeoning list.