Foreword
Foreword
We all have shadows hidden in our psyches, some instilled in our earliest childhood, others encountered and trapped during our lifetimes.
I was no different from anyone else until the Covid lockdown years brought them to the surface. Forced into Zoom church services, classes and other meetings, I discovered that taking notes kept my mind from wandering and allowed me to examine both the messages I was receiving and my own reactions to them.
A chance Zoom workshop on writing poetry opened me up to the possibility that I could take the information I was receiving and put it into poetic form. Since I had spent my career in public relations and corporate communications I was no stranger to rearranging others’ words and thoughts into public documents. I also knew I was an advertising copywriter, but I had never thought of myself as a poet.
That all changed in May 2020 just as the world was adjusting to the realities of the Covid lockdown. Everyone had to cope with the forced isolation in their own ways and so I started writing poetry based on my many Zoom calls.
I especially found that my Unity of the Triangle minister’s sermons broadcast every Sunday on Facebook and YouTube were rich sources for poems. I began writing poems based on them right after the sermon and before the after-service Zoom gathering we always had to socialize. The Reverends Neusom Holmes and Ana Quintana always led the calls and gave us all a sense of stability during that terrible time. My poems often encapsulated the frustrations of our congregation, especially after I started posting them on our church’s Community Facebook page.
One important thing to note about my poems is that I always write them based on my own reaction to Neusom’s or Ana’s sermons. With some exceptions, they were never meant to explain or interpret what they or anyone else said; they were and continue to be my interpretation only. This means I “own” them since my intention was and continues to be sifting someone else’s thoughts through my own imperfect consciousness and belief system to come up with poems that are my creations as well as my responsibility. This means my opinions and conclusions may not be the same as anyone else’s or they may reflect universal needs and soul desires since that is where they originate within me.
Now that the pandemic appears to be over and we are meeting in person once again, I am still writing poems most Sundays based on Rev. Neusom Holmes’ sermons and my collection topped the 200 poem mark in early 2023. At that point, I was guided to begin compiling them into book form and needed an organizing scheme to use and tie them together.
Two subject categories were obvious from the start—My Divine Mission and Covid-themed poems. The rest of the poems tended to follow the themes of Rev. Neusom’s sermons so it came to me that they should be organized according to Unity Church’s Twelve Powers of Man that were set forth by Unity’s founder, Charles Fillmore. This revelation convinced me I was on the right path.
Charles Fillmore said, “We grow to be like that which we idealize. Affirming or naming a mighty spiritual principle identifies the mind with that principle; then all the principle stands for in the realm of ideas is poured out upon the one who affirms.”
The first Power is Faith, or believing and perceiving in which we release any ideas of separation from our Source. Intellectual faith is born of doubt and nurtured with the hope of fulfillment in the future. Spiritual faith relies on unquestioning assurance along with immediate response.
The second Power is Strength, to endure or persevere in which I release thoughts of weakness and victimhood.
The third Power is Wisdom, or knowing how to evaluate and discern in which we let go of any need for blame and unconditionally accept ourselves and anyone else.
Love is the fourth Power, the ability to attract and unify, getting rid of any sense of discord, conflict, resentment or blame so that we are radiating harmony and serenity.
Power itself is the fifth Power, and it suggests that we have dominion and control because Divine Power moves through us since God is the one presence and power in our lives.
The Power of Imagination comes next, allowing us to be a co-creator with God since we can conceptualize, envision and dream. We can release all thoughts of weakness and fear.
The Power of Understanding is the next one. It refers to knowing, perceiving and comprehending that we are wise and intelligent so we know what to do and how to do it.
Understanding is followed by the Power of Will, which allows us to choose, decide, command since Divine Will is our will. We therefore choose the right thoughts, word and actions.
Order comes next, or the Power to organize, balance and let go of the idea that we are capable of mistakes or failures since our lives follow an orderly plan of ever-unfolding awareness of our Oneness with Source.
The Power of Zeal is the tenth Power, characterized by passionate enthusiasm for life. We are joyful every day, knowing that God lives through us always.
The Power of Release or Renunciation allows us to renounce, eliminate or let go of all guilt and unforgiveness towards others and ourselves so that we can let God’s peace into our lives.
The final Power is Life in which every cell of our bodies is vibrantly alive with God. No label, diagnosis or condition can be the truth of who we are since we radiate Divine Love and Light in all circumstances.
Armed with these guiding principles, I have intuitively sorted nearly all of my remaining poems to represent these Powers but leave my readers to draw their own conclusions based on their own background and experiences. My shadows are entirely my own, of course, but my hope is that others can relate to them and my struggles to deal with them.
I also have included the month and year in which I wrote them since so many are related to the difficult times that spawned them. The Covid poems especially reflect my reactions to what was going on around me, and the first chapter, My Divine Mission, explores my personal spiritual development as a poet.