While there are many faiths around the world, ultimately the greatest significance is the one faith we hold in common with all human beings. It is a universal faith, strong in the hearts of some and failing in the hearts of others. It is our faith as humankind, our faith in the invisible source of Reality. That one faith for all human beings has, in some ways, broken. The one faith for all humankind becomes real for us when it becomes our faith.

What is the nature of our faith? Is it not a real and practical trust, a faith that calls strongly to us? A faith that is there for us when we falter, and that picks us up? A trust that endures? A faith that calls strongly to us to be upright of stature in the world, to be of service, to not accept for ourselves anything that is not true of us? To discard any thought, any feeling, any word or deed that is not worthy of the one faith, that is not worthy of the reality of who we are? So, we are called to be adherents to that one faith, embrace it for ourselves, and pass it on to others.

True faith is an act of synergy and reciprocity with the invisible source of Reality. That act of reciprocity begins with an acceptance and appreciation of what we have been given. There are certainly people involved in the giving of those gifts. But the greatest gifts are given from the Invisible.  

What gives us life? The Beloved. The Wonderful One Within. We can take it for granted, thinking, Well, I don’t know, it just kind of happened. We could call it an energy. But realizing that we are given life constantly in every moment, what greater gift could we receive?

We are given love. Do you ever wonder if you are loved? Do you ever feel unloved? Consider this. You are loved so much—you are so precious to the Beloved—that you are given life.

What is it to fully receive this gift? It is to truly live, be full of gratitude for the life we have and the love given to us. Our reciprocity is an act of paying it forward, an act of service. And so, we have a faith that demands of our service. When you have received a gift, and you know you have, there is the compulsion to share it with another and to make real the interchange that we know with the Invisible and share it with others.

The gifts we receive from the Beloved contain no human distortion—no meanness, no cruelty, no lies, and no ill will. There is simply pure love to receive. You have to open your heart, your mind, your spirit, and invite it in.

For most human beings, the reception is not so pure. Perhaps the person is not even paying attention to what is available. They are not listening. Or if they are, there are factors that get in the way that create static, so that the love and the life that is given is not purely received and so that it is not appreciated. It is not seen and taken for what it is. And therefore, when it is paid forward to other human beings, there is static on the line.

The fact is that frequently, with people, there is plenty of static on the line. And there is a gift in there someplace—we know there is, we know there is. Yet it is shut off in some way, tamped down, or blocked. Maybe it is given with a degree of toxicity or hurtfulness in the mix, a degree of ill will, a lack of clarity. Is that not how it often goes? And so, among us as human beings, we are challenged to tune in to the gifts of others, to set aside what is not worthy of our receiving, and at the same time not reject the gift.

And it might seem, in a moment, to that person, like we are rejecting them, but not really. We are just setting aside what is not true of them and what does not serve us, what is not a true gift. No, that is not for me. But still, in our heart and soul, when we know how the game of synergy is played, we say at the same time, No, that is not for me—but I want you. I want your gift. I see your gift. Please come forward. Sometimes our prayer is answered, and sometimes it is not.

For us, in this dance of synergy and reciprocity that we do with each other, we too are called upon to find the purity of the gift that we have to give to another; what would be of service, what would be uplifting, what would positively activate them. Is that not the art behind the art of human relations, learning that in all of the myriad ways that we dance with one another as human beings?

There are the outer practicalities of life—with the teller at the bank, the cashier at the supermarket, and the friend at work. There is the potential for practical synergy in those exchanges. And then we know that the practicality of those exchanges goes so much better when we are paying attention to the spiritual component of what we share.

There is a spiritual component to human relations, is there not? And that spiritual component has a relationship to the reciprocity we know with the Beloved. When that is in place in us, it sets in motion the dance of reciprocity with one another. For where there is a true receiving of the constant gifts of the Beloved that are given to us—divine love, divine intelligence, and life itself—that sets us up to offer those gifts to another. And that initiates a dance of synergy with that other person. That is the dance behind the dance of human relations.

Fully receiving what is given to us by the Beloved restores the one faith of humankind in us and restores the dance of synergy with others.

Synergy is when you ask me to do something and I follow up. Now, it is certainly true that I do not follow up on everything everybody asks me to do. But there is an appropriateness to following up on what I am asked to do when it is truly mine to do, and the asking is true. You ask me to do something, and I follow up, and it is my act of service, my act of love, to follow up on what you have asked me to do.

Reciprocity and synergy break down when you ask me to do something and I think, Why should I? Of course, there are times when we cannot do what somebody asks us to do. But in the spirit of reciprocity, we look for how we can create synergy with others.

Synergy is this. I tell you what is happening, and you listen. You care to hear what is happening through my eyes, in my world, and perhaps for me. Synergy breaks down when I tell you what is happening, and you can’t be bothered to pay attention.

Synergy is when you share your vision, and I help you manifest it. Your vision is meaningful to me. It means something; it carries significance. I do not simply say, Oh, that is your vision—I have my own. I am interested in manifesting your vision.

Synergy occurs when I face a challenge, and you have my back. You stand with me in meeting that challenge. You help me face it. You offer your spiritual support, your warriorhood. I face a challenge; you have my back. Synergy breaks down when I meet a challenge, and you think I probably deserve it.

There is synergy when you are drowning, and I throw you a rope. I do not jump in and sink with you. As it is said, if somebody is in the quicksand, you do not jump in the quicksand with them. You stand on solid ground, and you throw them a rope. Somebody is in a part of their life where they feel like they are going under. I throw a rope. Synergy breaks down when you are drowning, and I do not even notice.

There is synergy when you see I could use some help, and you pitch in. And synergy breaks down when you see I could use some help and think you’ve got your own problems.

There is synergy when someone talks dirt about you, and I defend your honor. I understand that you are not perfect—none of us are. But what I know is you. You are a being of honor. If someone talks dirt about you, I do not buy into that. I know your nobility. That is my reciprocity with you. Synergy breaks down if someone talks dirt about you and I add another shovelful.

Jesus spoke about treasure in heaven. The gifts of the Beloved are in heaven, which is the source of life, the source of love, the source of divine intelligence. But those gifts are not just in heaven. They are given to us on earth. When we treasure what is in heaven, it descends into us on earth, and we have it to give. We have it to invest in our faith in our fellow human beings as a positive act.

You have probably noticed, faith in your fellow human beings does not work very well if it depends on your reaction to other people. That is not faith. That is judgment and approval. Faith is a positive act. I have faith in you, not because I judge you to be good, not because I approve of you. I have faith in you because I know who you are. I know that you are worthy. I know that you are honorable at your core. It is my spiritual practice to tune out anything that would detract from that and set it aside—to nullify it as much as I can in the world and between you and me, so that we may know the synergy that is rightly ours to know.

This is the dance inside the dance of relationship. And so, we are teaching our human soul this truth. We are practicing mindfully with one another. We are tuning out what does not belong in ourselves, and we are discarding any static or distortion that comes from another and deflecting it, knowing the honor of the Beloved in that one. And we ask for more of their truth. Yes, I want more of you in my life. I want more of the life you bring, more of the light you shine, more of that love that moves so powerfully in your being. Yes, more. And I will bring more of me and find the appropriate ways to do so. I will find the pathways, all the myriad energies, all the colors of the rainbow that we have the opportunity to know with each other.

May all our outer interactions carry this undergirding current of true synergy as human beings, in all things. So may we restore the one faith to humankind.