The Living Word is the voice of the universe that is relevant for us and our lives. It speaks to us within the inner hearing of our heart and mind. A person who listens to the Living Word has the opportunity to let it express through them in everything they think, say, and do.

The Living Word is not just words. But when we listen to it, what we say—the words we speak and write—is filled with the Living Word. They give life.

We use the words Pulse of Spirit to name this weekly message. We chose this name because it represents the pulsation of Spirit through the Living Word. The Pulse of Spirit is more than this written message. It is the current of Spirit available in every moment. When the Pulse of Spirit is brought forth, it brings the Living Word, and the Living Word creates the Temple of the Living God in human experience.

Mental and emotional habits can stop the flow of the Living Word. They can prevent a person from hearing and expressing it. The result is that a person doesn’t experience the joy of Life. And they don’t bring Life to the people in their world.

Fear, grief, anger, judgment, criticism, and comparison are on the short list of the habits that shut down the expression of the Living Word. Most of us have experienced one or more of these blockages.

When a blockage appears, it disconnects the person from the pulsations of Spirit and constricts the flow of the Living Word. The remedy for this condition is simple. Orient to the pulse of the immutable source of our Being. Listen to its inner sound reverberating within heart and mind. This is what allows for the clearing of the obstacles, reestablishing spiritual health. That experience affirms the Pulse of Spirit as our natural energetic reality. It affirms that we are made to be the Temple of the Living God.   

Two days ago, I had my first experience of being an officiant at a memorial service. Sarah was a patient of mine for about fifteen years, as were several of her family members. She was also my friend. So, when her daughter, Barb, asked if I would officiate Sarah’s memorial service, I said it would be an honor.

Sarah was a gem of a woman. All who knew her loved her.

I created the program with Barb and her son Scott. When I arrived, I realized that the program we created didn’t have many of the usual forms of a memorial service. There were no prayers, no biblical readings, or even quotations. There I was, simply surrounded by people who loved Sarah and surrounded by her family’s trust in me.

I wasn’t deliberately avoiding familiar cultural structures. I just never even thought about them when we created the program. I assumed the reason they asked me to do the service was that I loved her dearly. So, I was funny, respectful, and engaging, which was Sarah’s nature and mine. I was invoking her spirit and our friendship.

Sarah wrote a letter to her daughter two years ago and put it in a file where Barb would find it after her mother passed. Written at the top was this: “If by chance you have a memorial service for me, perhaps you could read this.” As if we would not be having a memorial service for this incredible person!

The Pulse of Spirit had been moving through Sarah for eighty-six years. It was in the room on that day, and we knew it together. Sarah’s tenderness appeared in the room as I read the letter. She was expressing her deep love for all the people in the room.

This is how the Pulse of Spirit moves. It breaks through human structures and brings the Living Word, even at a memorial service. All who knew me there knew me as their doctor, not a minister. And when I got to the end, I had the compulsion to pray, uncertain of their expectations because we did not include it in the program. I wanted the sacredness I was touching to be shared. So I offered the prayer, acknowledging the presence of Divine Being in the room. I acknowledged the gift Sarah gave us, evoking her tenderness and sweetness. We were sharing the Living Word. We were experiencing the Temple of the Living God.

How do we let the Pulse of Spirit move in any circumstance? We know some of the mental and emotional habits that block it—the things that cause a person to stop listening to the Pulse of Spirit and obstruct the flow of the Living Word. To the degree that happens, a person loses faith in Life. They begin to have faith in the absence of Life—in death.

This kind of blockage and a lack of faith in Life can creep into a person’s experience without them being aware of what is going on. They experience it but don’t see what is happening to them. And so, they don’t apply the remedy that would reestablish the Temple of the Living God within themselves.

Here are guideposts that can help a person stay conscious of their orientation to the source of the Pulse of Spirit and keep the Living Word in expression through themselves. They are simple questions to ask as checkpoints for everything you think, say, and do.

Is it true? 

We live in a world where people assert that what they say is true when it isn’t. And even if it is mostly true, it has some kind of spin, a slanted perspective that brings personal bias into the picture. If we repeat such things, we buy into a flow of false information that excludes the Living Word. The Living Word is what is true.

Asking “Is it true?” applies to our own words. It is avoiding the temptation to color what is true with our own personal agenda.

Is it kind?

The Pulse of Spirit is the current of Love moving through you. It is always kind. Even if it needs to be hard or strong, it is always interested in more Love. It is always interested in the Living Word, which is not the hurtful word.

When kindness is present, things blossom and grow. People flourish.

Is it necessary?

This question asks us to consider the reason why we are saying something. Why should I say this? Is it something better left unsaid? Does it contribute to a creative outcome?

The revelation of Love through the Pulse of Spirit in the world is highly necessary. You have the power to bring the current of Love through your expression. It is necessary, and it is vital that it goes through without adulteration.

Will it build goodwill?

Will it inspire people to participate and co-create? Friendship is about creating together. Will the Pulse of Spirit move through these words and actions?

Goodwill builds The Temple of the Living God. Words and actions that express ill will tear it down.

Will it benefit the whole?

The Pulse of Spirit lifts up the people and circumstances of a person’s life. But it does more than that. It builds the Temple of the Living God for everyone.

We may think of a temple as a structure built out of wood and concrete. But the Living Temple is made out of the Pulse of Spirit. I want us to reclaim those words and remind ourselves why we chose them. The Pulse of Spirit is the animating force moving through you and me that creates the Temple. The Pulse of Spirit is the Living Word. It is not just something written every week that we get to read. We are responsible for the Pulse of Spirit moving through us, so that our words are alive and we are creating the Living Temple. We are servant kings and queens in that Temple.

In the beginning is the Living Word. Let us bring that together. It will be beneficial to all concerned. It will build better friendships. When we are oriented in the Truth of Love, we bring Life.

The Living Word is trustworthy and consistent. It creates and sustains the Temple of the Living God.