The Mystery of Human
Relationships
Nona L. Brooks
Mysteries,
1924.
Divine Science Federation
Int’l
3rd Printing, 1977.
Copyright Material
Reprinted by Permission
We have
thought that human relationships held an
element of mystery for us, because it has
been the custom of the race to speak of
that tie which binds families and friends
into closer relations as something
strange. We have felt ourselves attracted
to one person and repelled by another;
and some who professed to be revealing
the secret of human love and its opposite
have told us that there were psychic
attractions and repulsions taking form in
thought currents. In these years when
great stress is being laid upon cause and
effect we are learning to reason more
wisely about the subject of human
relations.
One of the
best habits you and I can form in our
thinking is to begin to investigate any
situation by getting our bearings; in
order to get our bearings it is necessary
to go back to our Basis and to think from
principle. Since we have found that there
is a great Reality underlying all
relationships in life, let us find out
how it applies in your relationships and
in mine.
There are
two phases in our daily experiences--an
outer aspect and an inner reality. Let us
turn our thought to that Something
within, and begin to solve the problems
of our human relationships from this
basis. What is that Something within? It
is the truth of the Omnipresence of God.
It is what Paul taught us--that we live,
move, and have our Being in God-Being.
There is one God above us, in us, and
through us. The psalmist tells us that we
cannot flee from the presence of God.
Whither shall we go? It is this Presence
and Power that inspires us in all our
expression--be it in our relationships or
in our work. Are we considering this
point carefully enough?
What are we
seeing in our fellow man? That which we
are seeing in ourselves. If we hold
steadfastly to the concept of
Omnipresence we see that man must be
Godlike. We are all divine; we are
endowed with the inherencies of infinite
Life, and we are all working out our
missions as individuals. God is loving
through us. Back of us all, there is only
one true nature; it is Love--the infinite
Presence itself. How, then, can we love
some of our neighbors and hate others?
Let us see. This is a point for
meditation and reflection. If we really
know this Presence as infinite, we can
draw from it all that is requisite for
our development; and we must see our
neighbors as we are. That which seems to
differentiate one from another is what we
call our likes and our dislikes. One
person seems to exhibit certain splendid
qualities; another, undesirable ones.
Consider for a moment. Is it the person
or the quality that offends us? If we
hold true to Omnipresence our neighbor is
not one with his faults and weaknesses;
he is one with God. Our neighbor is in
God and of God, even if he does not see
it. Shall we distrust him for his
ignorance? If you and I really get hold
of God we shall never separate men into
classes--those we admire and those who
offend us.
Are we
getting our bearings? Do we see where we
stand in truth? As we unfold in the
process that we call life, God grows
greater and greater, nearer and nearer,
with the years of our development. We
become increasingly more capable of
appreciating the larger values of life;
and appreciation is another name for
love. He who loves, appreciates; and he
who appreciates, loves. Spiritual
unfoldment and intellectual development
should be parallel; the intellectual is
simply one phase of the spiritual. In
true development, the Spirit within is
seeking the Spirit without; there can be
no separation. The Divine Urge is
impelling us to choose a spiritual basis
from which to judge and decide. There is
only one retarding element to progressive
unfoldment, and that is dependency upon
the outer. There are many mysteries for
the one who lives in the outer, some of
which he never solves until he changes
his point of view. Absorption in the
external experiences holds us out of the
true satisfactions of life.
We never
meet any one only on the surface, and
establish any bond of understanding with
him; we must look through his appearance
into the man, if we would understand him.
The one who meets the experiences of the
home, the schoolroom, the office, the
store, the pulpit, or the platform from
the deep inner standpoint of high
realization sees the bearing of the
demands, the events, the circumstances of
life upon his individual unfoldment. The
man who sees these only as surface
incidents falling into his life by
chance, fails to establish any contact
with the truth of human progress. The
former meets the day with power and
shapes his own course of progress; the
latter falls under the load of the day,
and separates himself from the law which
is working for his good.
I am often
told that Divine Science is a difficult
religion to live, and that other forms of
religious belief afford an easier way.
Perhaps this is true; for in Divine
Science we never hold anyone else
responsible for the things that come to
us; we hold ourselves responsible for
meeting the experiences of the day with
power and of living our own lives
divinely. We work within ourselves. This
is a glorious and an easy way after we
have made a positive decision, for we
soon begin touching reality, and then
every phase of human experience is
illumined by truth. The thing that makes
our living difficult is vacillation. We
stand upon the mount of consciousness one
minute and see the whole; the next, we
are wandering in the valley of
indecision. There is, of course, at
present necessity for traveling in the
valley sometimes, but this does not mean
that we need to descend from the
consciousness of the mount. We can travel
from the heights without losing anything.
There is great satisfaction in radiating
the light that it may illumine the
valley, and bring comfort to the valley
dwellers, who often ask, "Why has this
come to me?" Those who have spent much
time on the mount know why it comes.
Experience is by law; we are responsible
for making the most of all that comes to
us in the way of opportunity, and each
experience gives us opportunity for
service. Our attitude has all to do with
determining the kind of experiences that
come to us. The love attitude brings
harmony of experience; the fear attitude,
confusion.
Love, then,
is the basis from which to work out the
problems of human relationships. There is
always this question to be answered
first: How are we loving? Is it an
impersonal love? Are we demanding from
the one we love or are we giving? Love is
reciprocal. The practice of the Golden
Rule in relation to our fellow men will
solve all mysteries and problems. We must
see another in the same light as we see
ourselves. Love is freedom, not
limitation; faith, not suspicion; light,
not darkness. God is Love; and law is God
in action. Hence, let us consider well
the place of law in our lives; it is
fundamental. Law is ever coming forth to
bless us instead of to limit us.
Relationships come by law; hence, these
are experiences to be met with our best.
Relations from a human standpoint are
often more or less difficult; it often
requires a big attitude in order to keep
them harmonious. If we lose our sense of
perspective in relation to others, these
relationships often become obstacles in
the path of him who might make of them
opportunities if he would. Do you see
that after all it is a matter of
attitude? In order that we may love our
fellow men as Jesus loved his, we must
take our personal will and opinions off.
Law is always working; we cannot
interfere with it. There is nothing by
chance; no person comes into our lives
who does not for the time being at least
belong there. Each one comes by law;
there is something to work out before he
goes. Only the ones who belong in our
lives come to us. What about the ones who
seem to cause us much trouble? They are
not causing the difficulty; it is only
that you and I are seeing the situation
from without instead of from within. Let
us turn to principle; it is always at
hand. No one is unlovable, if we see him
as an expression of God-Life, even if he
does not see himself that way. We can
love everyone, if we will. We must first
make our unity with him as a part of the
universal plan. If there is at present
someone in our environment whom we
dislike, let us work with ourselves
toward overcoming the aversion. Let us
leave the supposed reasons we had for
disliking the person out of the question
all together. There is tragedy in the
thought of how many of God’s
children there are who cannot live
together harmoniously, because the
individual is so busy with his
neighbor’s shortcomings. It is our
faults that we are responsible for; these
are probably causing inharmony in the
group now. Had you ever thought of
this?
The law is
perfect at every point. Are you longing
for a beautiful atmosphere in your home?
Test yourself and see if you are keeping
the inner glow alive all of the time. You
are helping to form the atmosphere;
perhaps, you are responsible for it. It
is living the Life that counts. Others
feel our atmosphere, whether we are aware
of it or not.
It is not
strange that we are drawn to the one who
loves truly; it is not strange that we
love; for God is Love, and in Love we
have our Being. The mystery is why we do
not love all men more. We shall, when we
see that love is God in action, and that
we are opportunities for the expression
of God-Love. Love is not emotion; it is
Life. Without Love, Life would not be.
God so loves that He gives His all in
expression. This is why we live.
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Mysteries
Table of
Contents
(Formerly at
Northwoods Divine Science Resource
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