Are you a Foster-Parent?*

During the Muslim/Hindu civil war of the late 1940s,

Mohandas Gandhi (the Mahatma) was approached by his Hindu friend

whose son had just been killed by a teenage Muslim soldier.

Distraught with grief, Gandhi’s friend asked him this question:

What can I do to heal my unbearable pain

and dispel my hatred of my son’s murderer?

The Mahatma looked compassionately into his friend’s eyes, and said:

“If you truly want to heal your pain and stop hating your son’s killer,

take your son’s murderer into your own home

and raise him as your own child.

Also, instead of raising him as a Hindu as you are,

raise him as a Muslim!”

Drastic advice, isn’t it?

To me, it seems nothing short of completely radical, selfless love.

Would any of us choose to take such a drastic approach in our lives?

I believe so. In fact, I know so. Allow me to show you how.

As a first step, here’s a question for you:

Could it be that you’re already perhaps doing exactly that—

being a love- and light-filled foster parent,

taking a “something-other-than-yourself”’ into your own home (or self),

wrapping your love-filled arms around it and raising it as yourself?

Please, let me explain.

Most spiritual persons I know—like you, as a possible example—

bring with them at the moment of their human birth

a special quality: a pure and powerful light.

That sparkling light then takes up residence in their human heart.

From this sacred inner abode, it daily reminds them of their true nature,

inspires them in every situation and guides them as an internal compass.

What’s this got to do with Gandhi’s advice? you’re perhaps wondering.

Here’s my hopefully-insightful theory.

Consciously, you and I dedicate our lives to fulfilling our biggest potential,

achieving our personal goals, finding our light-empowering truth,

being the biggest and brightest human ‘self’ possible. Right?

Yet, sub-consciously and spiritually,

our life is all about letting our love and “little light shine” on others,

contributing to the betterment of this planetary home

and holding our human family in our light-and-love-filled hearts.

Here’s where we take on the role of foster parent.

How? You ask. This is how.

We unconsciously dive into earth’s collective human depths,

find a special ‘child’ in drastic need of love or healing,

and we take that child into our internal home:

into our loving heart, our sub-conscious depth, our inner light.

What child? you’re understandably asking.

In short, it’s a symbolically rich, energy-driven, needful child—

one that lives in the unconscious depths of very human being.

This child might look like feelings of unworthiness, or shame and guilt,

or anger, or perhaps fear, victim-ness and powerlessness.

Or it might be harboring a particular addiction or physical ailment.

We could even simplify it and call this child our collective human pain.

So, what do you, a love-filled spiritual being, do?

You lovingly take into yourself one of these children—

maybe even a few of them—

and make it, or them, your very own.

You give it a home in your psyche, body or mind

and you become its loving foster parent,

both sub-consciously and spiritually.

Why ever would you do such a drastic thing?

In short, so that you can love and heal it,

embrace and transform it, bless and awaken it.

That’s right, you came here spiritually to be a lover,

a healer, a blesser—just by your very presence.

It’s your spiritual gift to earth’s human residents.

So, you took one or more of those children into yourself—

so that it can be bathed in your spiritual light,

enjoy the comfort of sitting in the lap of your heartful love

and being healed by the tenderness of your sub-conscious embrace.

Chances are you’ve even kept it there for many years.

Now, here’s the important factor for each of us to ponder:

At a conscious level, you and I think and believe that

this inner problemed child is not the foster child, but is ‘us.’

We think it’s our personal problem,

our personal difficult journey, our personal failing,

our personal guilt and/or unworthiness, our personal pain.

Here’s the irony: Our ‘conscious minds’ often have no idea

about the bigger story that’s going on deep within us—

about this loving and light-filled healing ceremony

being daily conducted sub-consciously by our spiritual self.

So, now we’re ready for the big question:

What if ‘it’—that perplexing ‘something’ inside you,

your inner foster child that follows you through life,

seemingly making your life a painful struggle—

isn’t really your personal problem at all?

What if, while you’re consciously trying to overcome, heal or master it,

believing with all your heart that it’s your personal issue,

it’s actually neither you nor yours?

What if it’s humanity’s unresolved, unloved and unacknowledged pain

cuddled within the fold of your spiritual and sub-conscious self,

a pain that you’ve now personalized and made believe it’s you

—simply drinking in your profound love and light,

feeling embraced and blessed by you

while daily reminding you of its presence.

If my insight and theory strike any chord of truth in your heart,

please ask yourself this question:

What difference might this realization—

the knowing that your seemingly personal ‘issue’

isn’t really yours, but rather is a collective human child

in strong need of your love and light—

make in your life? In your mindset?

In your sense of self-worth?

Would you perhaps stop feeling bad about yourself?

Discontinue perceiving yourself as troubled?

Stop blaming or judging yourself negatively?

Lessen any of your resentment about having this ‘condition’?

In addition, what difference might it make

in your attitude toward or relationship with this internal pain?

Would your feelings about and approach to this foster child change?

Would you perhaps stop resenting that inner child?

Would it be easier to just love it rather than judge it?

To embrace and hold it—

just like a loving parent does to a needy child?

To be patient with its persisting symptoms?

Or even to stop judging those symptoms all together?

Armed with this insight, picture yourself walking more boldly

now in your spiritual foster parent shoes.

What do you see?

Simply for your reference, here’s what I see:

I view you as a loving and light-propelled presence here on earth,

a spiritual being having both a personal human experience

and a spiritual healing experience

raising a needful foster child

who needs love, patience, healing, nurturing and blessing.

I see you radiating a radical expression of love

to the very human family that you’ve come to serve and bless

by loving its internal representative cuddled in your inner lap.

In reality, it looks to me like

you’ve already embraced Gandhi’s spiritual guidance,

difficult and challenging as your heartful ‘calling’ may be.

You’re already living the Herculean task of giving a parent’s undying love

to a hungry and thirsty foster child, every day of your life.

To me, you’re a true hero/heroine, a modern-day Boddhisatva,

a selfless lover and a powerful wielder of pure light!

A bit philosophically,

I’ve often wondered what would happen if—

in place of our genuine but perhaps misguided attempts

to heal and overcome that inner issue,

or to make the pain simply go away and stop bothering us—

we simply dedicated ourselves to giving it

exactly the gift that we’re made of:

radically loving and blessing it with our pure heart and soul,

with every bit of selfless love we can muster.

I wonder if, in our generous act of loving and blessing,

the child would actually be getting what it really needs,

thus fulfilling what it wanted when it first came to dwell within us.

My sense is that the only real ‘issue’ in our focus here

may be one of perception and interpretation .

If we perceive and interpret that this inner pain is personally ours,

then we’re primed to experience our life as quite difficult—

plus, we're not having much fun.

If, on the contrary, we perceive ourselves as having committed

to bring our spirit-filled light and heart-grounded love to earth

in order to be a blessing-filled foster parent here,

then we’re free to give that child within us

all the love, light and blessings of our heart and soul.

And, in so doing, we find ourselves finding

the deep sense of joy and freedom

that Gandhi promised his friend.

In closing, I thank you

for bringing your light and love to all of us here on earth.

I thank you for reaching into our human warehouse of challenges

and choosing to give your light and love to its needs.

And I thank you for accepting the pure truth of who you are

as you continue your love-centered and light-filled life

as a true and successful foster parent.

You are my hero/heroine.

Thank you!

QUANTUM SOURCE ... QUANTUM WORLD ... QUANTUM VOID ... QUANTUM YOU!