Virginia Tech aftermath

I’ve had many people comment that they are struggling with emotional aftermath from the tragedy at Virginia Tech.

In finding my own peace of mind about the crisis I go to the Christ consciousness of Truth that lifts human thought out of the temporal scene of evil, hate and anger to the heavenly consciousness of omnipresent Love.

In predicting the end of the world,--or scientifically rendered, the end of material sense,--Jesus Christ prophesied,

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

Jesus did not end his prophecy on a dismal note, but said those who “…endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

So the question arises, How do we “endure unto the end?”

Mary Baker Eddy, a powerhouse spiritual thinker in her own right, explains what Jesus meant when she wrote,

“This material world is even now becoming the arena for conflicting forces. On one side there will be discord and dismay; on the other side there will be Science and peace.”

We have a choice as to which side of the conflict we stand on: on the side of “discord and dismay,” or on the side of “Science and peace.”

I, for one, choose to stand on the side of Science and peace. It’s the only helpful way I know to bring healing to the dismay.

People stricken by loss and grief don’t need more fear and distress heaped upon their perspective. They need comfort. They need hope. They need help and healing, and it’s the spiritually enlightened consciousness of Love’s ever-presence that is going to help them the most.

To make a positive contribution, we need to maintain a healing state of thought that dispels the darkness of remorse and angst and shines the light of hope and peace.

Jesus said, “…see that ye be not troubled,” by the conflicts that arise in this world. They are the clash of good versus evil, and until humanity loses all faith in evil, they will continue.

So, while the conflict of good vs. evil is worked out, and until good is seen as reigning triumphant, I seek a path that resolves the conflict in the favor of goodness and love. This path, I believe to be the path of Love.

The rampages of evil cannot be ignored, wished away, or mindlessly cast aside as unreal while they are running roughshod over the rights of humanity. They must be addressed head-on and proven unreal and powerless by dismantling their claims and eliminating their influence. But they cannot be built up into unconquerable monstrosities either. The evil must be addressed and conquered, and it’s the way of Love that gains the victory.

I pray that the impressive aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy is not a darker cloud of despair cast over the human outlook, but an increased commitment amongst mankind to love one another so that similar tragedies do not occur in the future.

We can help one another, and if there’s a sign of mental trouble in a neighbor that is foreboding, we can take time out to heal that distrubance and prevent it from multiplying into something larger.

“…see that ye be not troubled,” Jesus counseled.

Don't let evil take over your perspective. We can side with Love, with peace and harmony and be a healing influence in a world that needs to feel more of Love’s comforting presence. It's the healing way...

Virginia Tech shooting

A horrendous tragedy occurred at Virginia Tech yesterday, where an armed man killed 32 people in classrooms and wounded 15 others. My heart sunk with grief when I read the news.

“Something has to change in the mentality of this country,” I protested to myself.

For years, I’ve been convinced that the violent video games children play and murderous movies they watch have produced insensitivity to killing and violence in their thinking. Their moral sense gets dulled and pushed into dormancy while they develop an attitude of “The killing doesn’t matter. It’s all pretend, not real.”

But the mindless mindset developed when playing these games is real in the sense that it affects a person’s attitude about life and how they conduct themselves toward others. It’s an uncaring, thoughtless, callous, indifferent and self-entwined attitude that leads to mindless destruction and self-destruction. It’s not healthy.

It’s been a challenge to help our 13 year old son understand this point, who loves to play video games. “That’s all they make and sell,” he protests. And he’s almost right. It’s very difficult to find engaging video games that don’t have some element of destruction in them. So it has been an on-going effort to educate his moral sensibilities to the importance of keeping his thinking free of the subtle destructive influence these video games perpetuate. I’ve wanted him to understand on his own why they’re harmful, not just because I said so.

So, this morning I asked him if he’d heard about the killings.

He said, “Yes.”

And then I had a little chat with him about keeping our thinking free of violent influences so events like this don’t occur.

He listened attentively.

I was impressed!

I pointed out that in the article the killer was observed as being unemotional about his murders. There was no expression on his face. He was like a mindless zombie on a heartless mission, the newspaper reported. Then he shot himself.

I told my son that large doses of violent games have a similar effect on their players. Gamers start shooting and killing so much they become uncaring about what they’re doing. They don’t think anything of it. It becomes normal to them. And then I explained this is why mom and I don’t like violent video games.

He listened without resistance, for which I was very grateful! And he even agreed with what I said. Hooray!

I think our years of talking on this subject have paid off.

It’s been a challenge because most of his male friends play these games everyday, and when he goes to their homes, the video games are often front and center of activities they choose to play.

Something does need to change in the mentality of our country, and perhaps much of the world. Mindless killing, pretend or not, is not natural or normal and should never be seen as such. It’s evil. It’s very evil, and should be treated for what it is.

I’m praying for all people touched by the tragedy yesterday to find peace of mind, assurance of life eternal and a release from grief. Large doses of Love alone will quench the fear, anger and remorse such events trigger.

But I also ask, “What can I do to help turn the tide of violent thinking so events like this don’t happen again?”

I began with talking to my son about it this morning. It’s a start!

You may have practical tangible steps you can take too.