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Pastor's Pen
Safe Journey--"Safari Njema"
Summer Time, and the living is easy. Or so the old song goes. In truth, the
cycles of our lives seldom follow the cycle of the seasons. As residents of
the high-tech suburban community, we are as far removed from our agrarian
nomadic roots as a caged bird is from its home in the jungle—as far removed
from the cycle of the seasons as a goldfish is from the sea—far removed from
what we are told is our ancestral birthplace in Africa. This was brought
home to me when I was talking about home with a new friend from the East
African country of Kenya.
My friend has been in this country for 4 years and her dream is to return to
Africa and begin farming, as the people of her tribe, the Kikuyu, have done
for centuries. In her culture, the Tribe forms a connection that extends
beyond family and includes a unique cultural identity complete with its own
traditions, rites of passage, religious observances, means of livelihood,
foods, festivals and so on. It is a group identity into which one is born
and raised. The subtle pervasiveness of tribal consciousness is all but
invisible to those immersed in it.
The tribal blind is all but invisible until one is removed from the familiar
trappings of tribal life. In the case of my friend, liberation from this
mental “lock” came when she moved from her rural agricultural community near
Lake Victoria to attend school in the multicultural cosmopolitan capitol
city of Nairobi. Here she began the mental, emotional and physical journey
that eventually brought her from Eastern coast of Africa to the West coast
of the United States. If here vision holds true, this journey that will
eventually lead back to a farm of her own in Kenya. This journey to America
is primarily for the purpose of acquiring the funds to fulfill her dream.
Within the tradition of Religious Science, we have a similar situation that
we call Race Consciousness. This is the set of subconscious hopes, fears,
desires and beliefs that form the mental atmosphere into which we as humans
are born and live. This set of beliefs and mental inclinations form the lens
through which we look at life and are generally invisible to us. They form
the “given” of our lives.
In this sense, we are born into the human tribe. It is only when we are
removed from our familiar surroundings, by choice or circumstance, that we
are in a position to alter the course of our lives—to experience the
liberation born of expanded consciousness. For many of us, this path to
freedom began when we first walked through the door of a Church of Religious
Science and heard that we were subject only to our own set of beliefs, that
we were at choice, and that if we could change our thinking we could change
our lives. Declaring our membership in the Science of Mind Tribe began the
mental, emotional and physical journey that even now carries us to the
distant shore of a future that is limited only by our ability to conceive
and believe in our own Spiritual Magnificence.
We are supported by the traditions of our own unique tribe in clarifying our
intention, focusing our consciousness, developing our imagination and
strengthening our belief. For as one of the ancient masters our tradition
said, “It is done unto you as you believe.”
Bringing this letter to a close, I leave you with a wonderful Swahili
blessing I learned from my friend—“Safari Njema”, which means “Safe
Journey”.
“Safari Njema” my friends.
Rev. Patrick
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