Are You Making Space For Peace – Rev. Roderick Norton
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DESCRIPTION
Experiencing peace takes practice, but with consistency, it becomes a more natural part of your life. There is a spiritual basis for peace and space must be made to experience it. You can choose peace, are you willing to make space for it?
SUMMARY
Rev. Roderick Norton, discusses the importance of making space for peace in our lives. He emphasizes that peace is a spiritual aspect of ourselves, and that we need to be intentional about creating an environment and mindset that allows peace to flourish. He encourages the audience to start their day with a spiritual practice that centers them in peace, rather than immediately engaging with the chaos of the outside world, allowing them to bring a vibration of peace wherever they go. Rev. Rod shares personal stories and insights to illustrate how our thoughts, words, and actions can either promote or hinder peace. He suggests practices like choosing peace over conflict, letting go of the need to share every thought, and maintaining an awareness of the divine presence within. He closes with the Prayer of St. Francis, a powerful meditation on being an instrument of peace in the world.
TRANSCRIPTION
This transcription was auto-generated, please excuse typos, errors and omissions.
Rev. Roderick Norton (00:01):
That was simply beautiful, amazing, beautiful voice. Good morning. How are you doing this morning? It is so good to be in your new space. This is my first time here in this new space. Yeah, I tried to get up here. My initial intention was to get here in July and schedule just was all over the place and just couldn’t do it. And I knew August wasn’t possible. So I’m glad I’m able to be here today and next time you’ll see me, I’ll be sitting out there taking this in because today I’ll speak, but I plan on being back up here real soon just to just take in this wonderful experience, this wonderful environment. So wow, how are you enjoying your new space? Yeah, yeah.
(00:58):
I think last time I spoke I mentioned that this is really a result of consciousness. Your consciousness. You did this and it’s okay to pat yourself on the back that you did this. You elevated yourself in consciousness and made this manifestation. And if you can do this, just think about what else you can do. So it is good to be here. It’s good to be here. I know over the past couple of weeks you’ve been talking about peace and that has been your subject for the month being peace, right? So I want to talk to you this morning about are you making space for peace? Are you making space for peace? So not only are we looking to get an understanding of peace, but we also want to make sure that we are making space for peace. As we get that understanding. Are we making space for peace? Experience and peace takes practice, but with consistency it can become a more natural part of our life. Peace just doesn’t happen.
(02:12):
Even though peace has a spiritual basis, peace just doesn’t happen. Peace needs our permission in order for it to happen, in order for it to show forth it needs our permission. There’s a spiritual basis for peace and space must be made to experience this. You can choose peace. Are you willing to make space for it? That’s one of the questions we have to ask ourselves. Am I willing to make space for peace? As we come to the understanding of what peace is, we know that peace is a spiritual aspect of us. Peace is harmony. Peace is tranquility derived from an awareness of the divine consciousness. So peace comes from each one of us getting into harmony with our divine selves. If we’re out of harmony, most times we find ourselves what out of peace? Not that peace is ever absent for peace is always absent.
(03:16):
It is our awareness, our consciousness of peace that needs to come back into harmony with our divine selves. You see, we can never escape ourself. And when I’m talking about escape ourself, I’m talking about our divine self. We can never escape it, but we can always make a choice of not to express it. So peace is always possible. The real question is, are you willing to make space for it? Are you willing to think and act differently? Are you willing to think and act in a way that you allow your divine self to have enough space to operate in your life without interfering with it?
(04:00):
I’m going to repeat that one. Okay? I want to make sure you don’t miss it. Are you willing to think, act in a way that will allow your divine self to have enough space to operate in your life without interfering with it? Are you willing to act and think in a way where you allow your divine self, your higher self, your God self to operate in your life, to express itself without you interfering with it? Sometimes we interfere with our divine self, the divine presence, God. Do you know sometimes we interfere? Do you know that sometimes we get in our own way? Have you ever got in your own way? Have you ever got in the divine’s way of expressing something? Then later on you sit down, you say, I wish I just not did that. I wish I just simply did not say that.
(04:52):
I wish I just simply followed my first mind. I wish I just simply follow that intuitive to feeling. I wish I had just simply allowed God to be God. I know none of you have ever experienced that, but it’s okay. A lot of times we focus so much on trying to get other people into a peaceful state, but the real work really isn’t getting other people into a peaceful state. The real work is making sure that we are in a what peaceful state. The real work is making sure that our vibrations are vibrations of peace. The real work is that making sure that we are bringing forth peace vibrations everywhere we go, so that this vibration can penetrate in our homes, can penetrate our neighborhoods, can penetrate in our churches, can penetrate in our spiritual centers. We want to make sure that when we show up that the divine presence is expressing itself through us, without us interfering with it. I just want the divine presence to share, to just show up. So when I walk through the door, the vibration has been elevated without me even saying anything.
(06:18):
You have that power, you know, have that authority, you know can do that. I got a friend who he teases when he says this, but he talks about his sister. He says that whenever she walks in the room seemed like the life just simply dim. But he was pretty much trying to express. Sometimes when people walk into a room, you just sort of feel the energy, just pull out the room. But then when other people walk into the room because of that divine presence that they have become fully aware of and they bring that divine aura into the space with them, you feel something special about them.
(07:12):
Lemme just say this, when I come into this space, whether this current space, your old space, when I come into that space, guess what? I feel a different vibration. Why is it I feel a different vibration? It’s because of what is coming off, what has been expressed through who? Through you, through you. And it makes a difference. Get this. If just one person in the home is willing to raise their level of consciousness, willing to raise their level of vibration, if just one person in the home, then the whole atmosphere of a home changes, then the whole atmosphere of the neighborhood changes.
(08:00):
I want to tell a story about something that someone actually inspired me with. This particular lesson this morning, talking to Terry about it during the meet and greet this morning, I was on the train, I was on public transportation going downtown earlier this week, I believe it was on Monday, I was headed downtown and it was pretty early in the morning around seven o’clock in the morning. And while on the train there was a lot of stuff going on. And then when I got off the train, I was walking down, I want to say Lake Street downtown or I was on lake in Michigan and I heard a person on the phone and just fussing and talking loud, just fussing. And it’s like it was around 7, 7 30 in the morning and the thought came to me.
(08:56):
The thought came to me, how did this person begin their day? And not just the person who’s on the corner on the phone fussing, but also the people who I experienced on the train. How did they begin their day? What was their spiritual practice? Because I’m thinking that early in the morning and I was trying not to be too judgmental because I also made this somewhat reflective for me. After I went through these experiences, I began to ask myself, rod, how did you begin your day? Rod? Rod? Are you beginning your day every day with the spiritual practice that’s needed so that you can bring forth the vibration that the world needs when you leave your home? See, the world needs my peace vibration first thing in the morning.
(09:55):
It doesn’t really, if I made aware of it at noon, that’s fine. Let’s say start where you are, but it would be more beneficial to me and it would be more beneficial to those around me if I began my day with a spiritual practice, if I began my day by making space for peace so that when I leave my home and go about doing the business that I’m supposed to do for that particular day that I’ve already developed, I already put myself in the awareness and the consciousness of peace. So that particular vibration, it’s the vibration that goes before me and not only does it go before me, but at leaves a benediction behind me.
(10:42):
So we have to make sure that we are making space for peace for a particular day and for every day. So like I said, so that experience just sort of clicked with me. Amy just sort of made me think about this lesson for today. It’s like, are we making the space that we need for peace so that when we show that when show up, nothing can disturb the calm peace of our souls because we did our spiritual work, we did our spiritual work. Give yourself some space for peace. Must the television be the first thing that you turn on in the morning?
(11:34):
Can you maybe just get up maybe a little bit earlier, if you’re one of those that have to watch the morning shows, can you get up a little bit earlier or can you just simply sacrifice and say that what I need to do from a spiritual standpoint, it’s more important than whatever’s going on on the television right now. Let me get myself together before I turn on the world and find out what’s going on out there. Let me make sure that I get myself together by make sure that I have made peace, I’ve created a space for peace within me. Can you just simply sit and be still and know before you even get up, can you just simply just simply sit and be still and know that the divine presence within me is doing a mighty work? And I find myself right now in perfect alignment with this divine presence. If this divine presence shows up as a vibration of peace, and I accept this divine presence as it shows up as a vibration of peace, I am one with this divine presence and I move with this divine presence. I am peace because the divine presence is peace and the divine presence moves through me because I refuse to interfere with it. I allow it to do his work through me.
(13:05):
See, that’s a spiritual treatment. That’s a practice that I could begin my day with that you could begin your day with. Just simply sit, be still and know. I found myself even just a couple of days ago. I got out of bed and first thing I did before I went to brush my teeth or anything else, I got out of bed and I just felt like I just needed to go and sit in a chair and just be still. And I did that for hadn’t even. I guess that is part of a spiritual practice, but that was not necessarily part of my normal spiritual practice. Me just getting out of bed, just going sit in the chair right away, but I just felt that need at that particular time, just get up and go sit in the chair. And I sat there for about a good 15 minutes. I just simply sat there in the stillness and it did something wonderful for me. It brought about a certain amount of peace for me. It cleared some stuff up for me and it just felt so good when I got up just to go do everything else I needed to do.
(14:23):
So we must be intentional about making room or space for peace in our lives. It doesn’t just happen automatically. We must be in tune with it and also create a conducive environment for it to be realized. Wayne Dyer, he rephrase, he rephrased a quote out of a course of miracles and the quote that’s in the course of miracle that he rephrased was this. He says, I can choose peace rather than this. That’s one of my favorite quotes. That’s one of my favorite, one of my favorite affirmations. That’s one of my favorite truths that I like to use and I keep around my home, is that I can choose peace rather than this. Often we want to choose chaos. Often we want to choose confusion. Often we want to just go ahead and jump into the fight, but sometimes we just simply need to ask ourselves and say to ourselves, you know what?
(15:48):
I can choose peace rather than this. And when I think about everything that’s going on in the world today, when I think about just when everything’s going on in politics in the United States right now, sometimes I say if every politician, not just every politician, but if everyone, everyone not looking at pros and cons on anyone, but everyone could just simply say the statement to themselves, I could choose peace rather than this and then move from that point in however it is that they want to express themselves. But if everyone can simply begin their day, begin their activity by simply saying, I could choose peace rather than this. I truly believe that can make a difference in this country. And not only does it make a difference in this country, but it makes a difference in the world. And besides it making a difference in this country and the world, mostly it makes a difference within me and how I show up, how I express myself. Because when I can say I can choose peace rather than this, I’m saying, I’m also saying this is that I can choose to see the spirit in you. I can choose to see the divine presence in you rather than sins something different. I can choose to see how we are connected and when I choose to see how we are connected, I’m also making a choice of not entertaining, chaos, division separation. I’m choosing peace.
(17:33):
One of my mentors used to say, stop giving everyone a piece of your mind because every time you give away a piece of your mind, you are also giving away a piece of your peace. Stop giving everyone a piece of your mind. You don’t have to give everyone a piece of your mind. You don’t have to tell everyone what’s on your mind. You don’t have to express everything that comes up, you see, because some people think that because if it comes up, I got to express it. No, they’re just telling me that you are not operating any kind of self-control. If something comes up, then before you express it, you ought to say to yourself, where is this coming from?
(18:28):
Is there something within my subconscious that I need to deal with? Because if it’s coming up, it was there in my subconscious and it is truly not one of the nicest things that I should be expressing, then I really need to ask myself, why is this coming up? Is there something I have not dealt with because maybe now’s the time I need to deal with it so that I can maintain my peace instead of giving my peace away in bits and pieces. So creating peace takes practice. There’s a biblical scripture when Jesus was sending his disciples out into the field to do some work. And in the gospel, Luke, Jesus told his disciple, he says, when you enter a house first say peace to this house is someone who promotes peace. There your peace will rest on them. If not, it will return to you.
(19:48):
The work of the spirit is to restore peace and harmony. In other words, Jesus will simply tell us disciples as a universal message that when you enter a space and if you find that peace is not there, you don’t have to force peace on. Everybody understand what I’m saying? You make sure that your vibration is right, you make sure that your thoughts are right, you make sure that your actions are right. But if someone does not want to be in peace, then it’s up to you to make sure that you are protecting your own soul. So it’s up to you to make sure that you are not staying in a place that is not in agreement with the peace, with the peace of the divine presence. So all that was really that Jesus really expresses disciples here and later on he says, knock the dust from your feet and keep on moving because there’s work that you have to do.
(21:03):
See, you cannot just continue to hang around places that are not in harmony with peace because there’s other work that needs to be done. If you don’t want to have a peaceful conversation, I’m not going to force you to be peaceful, but I’m not going to stay here and entertain all of this that you’re talking about. I can choose peace. Rather than having this conversation with you, just want to give you a couple other ways to make space for peace. Realize there is no opposition, there is nothing and no one standing away of peace, but there is no opposition to your happiness, your joy or your good. The only opposition is that which we have built up in our minds. Someone once said, it makes no difference what you think of me, but it does make a difference what I think of you.
(22:16):
What have I built up in my mind? And since the nature of God is absolute good, guess what? There can be no opposition to this truth. So my job is to maintain and to make sure that I maintain an awareness of absolute good so that anything else that might appear to be adverse to it, it cannot enter into my space. Because I am aware that the nature of God is absolute good and God’s nature is also my nature. So my divine nature, my very nature is also absolute good. So there is no opposition to me expressing joy, love, peace and happiness. Another way to make space for peace is to have a desire to experience peace. To just simply have a desire to experience peace. Understand that divine power is only yours. You act divine. Divine power is always yours, but you can only express it. You can only use it. You can only be it when you act from it. So you have to have a desire to experience peace.
(23:34):
Another way to make space for peace is practice. Non-resistance means giving into your higher self. When you give into your higher self, you begin to express your divine self and you don’t feel the need to create enemies or friction whether there is none. So as you practice non resistance, you just simply give it into your higher self. Simply give it into your divine self. Okay? Okay. God expressed through me. There’s no opposition out there. There’s no one that I have no enemies. I have no enemies. I have no enemies. As I practice non-resistance, I have no enemies because I just simply allow the divine to speak through me. I simply allow the divine to act through me. I simply allow the divine to think through me. I simply allow the divine to do whatever it is that the divine needs to do through me. And lastly, as you make space for peace, stay in the consciousness.
(24:50):
In other words, don’t let every storm that comes your way rock you and throw you off. Learn how to stay in the consciousness of peace as you make space for peace, stay there. Stay there and you find yourself have wandered away from there, you can always go back, but we all go through storms of life, but you don’t have to allow the storms of life to rock you. You don’t have to allow the storms of life to throw you off. Just learn how to stay in the consciousness of peace, the awareness of the divine. I am divinely protected. I am in the flow of the divine. There is nothing out there that can harm me because the divine is absolute good. I am and I am one with the divine. Therefore, I am absolutely good and I am divinely protected because there’s a presence around me and nothing outside of that presence can penetrate me. Just the good, just the good, just the good. I want to close with this prayer and as I close with this prayer, it’s actually the prayer of St. Francis, and you probably have heard it before, is one of my favorites, and you have probably heard it before through the years, but take this opportunity right now and turn within and the prayer of St. Francis goes like this, and allow this to be your meditative moment.
(26:40):
Lord, make me an instrument of peace where there’s hatred. Let me sow love where there’s injury. Pardon where there is doubt. Faith, where there’s despair. Hope where there is darkness, light, where there is sadness, joy, just hold onto that just for a moment that you allow it to penetrate and it goes on. It says, oh, divine master grant, that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved, asked to love for it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning that we are pardoned and it is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.
(28:20):
We give thanks this morning, the old divine presence. We give thanks for your peace this morning. We give thanks for your love this morning. We give thanks for forgiveness this morning. We give thanks that we are in harmony with the truth. We give things that we are in harmony with life. We give things that we are in harmony with. All that is good. We give thanks that your presence and your power is our guide is always with us, and it’s what we need. Oh, thank you. Divine presence. Thank you, father, mother, thank you. Source. Peace be still. Peace be still, peace be still. And so it’s Amen.
(29:53):
Thank you.