Hi everyone,

With the heightened fear of flying among some of us, I thought I’d share this helpful article with everyone. The writer talks about how he has a spiritual perspective when he flies. He’s flown on 8 different planes since Sept. 11. He says that prayer and spiritual peace have helped him get through this difficult time. The article can be found on www.spirituality.com. I hope this articles helps some of you.

Being a "prayer marshal"
Keith Wommack

Sitting at the gate, we look each other over. Boarding the plane, we look again. The door closes, a last check. What are we looking for? Some sign or clue that someone out there is dangerous? Sizing people up to see if we can take them out if needed? It's a drill I've had to deal with often.
Since September 11, I have flown on eight different airplanes. By November 17, if all goes as scheduled, the number of flights will be 46. A friend asked me yesterday how I could fly at a time like this.
In examining why, I considered two possibilities. 1) Total denial. 2) Spiritual peace.
I'm aboard so many planes because I'm speaking throughout America on spiritual issues, so I'm committed, basically, to #2. But here is why attaining spiritual peace can, in fact, make a practical difference.
Getting ready for my first flight, Corpus Christi to Houston, was a mental debate with anxiety, worry and fear. I wasn't feeling these emotions, but I knew that others were. At the airport, however, I noticed a twinge of suspicion creeping in. I caught myself looking over the new passengers who would join the few of us already seated.
This was when I had to ask myself what I was looking for. I decided right then and there that I would need to see each passenger in a spiritual light if I was to feel consistently at ease about the number of flights I had scheduled. This was the place to start getting a view that is based on spiritual goodness, safety and guidance from God.
I didn't need to depend on the physical circumstances of the moment to feel safe. God is always present, providing the strength of spiritual conviction to all. Actively, consciously depending on this strength produces a practical confidence in good.
As I boarded the plane, I actually felt the strength of this spiritual peace. It was comforting. It held fear in check, and didn't allow fearful images of destruction to replay themselves in my mind.
So on the next plane, from Houston to Los Angeles, I was even better prepared spiritually to see God's goodness in the people around me. I sat next to an up-and-coming actor. He was the big leading man type. He told me when I first sat down, "If there's any trouble, just follow me. I'll take care of them." He meant it!
However, as we discussed the spiritual resources available we quickly went from being self-appointed air marshals to comforting "prayer marshals."
I told him I felt that this was a time of widespread spiritual awakening, and that I was cultivating the practice of seeing the people I fly with as good, because everyone's being has its basis in God. He said, "Yes, this is a time for getting back to what is really important."
He told me he had been dissatisfied with what he had been taught about God and spirituality. He said he then started a spiritual journey, studying great writers, religions, and philosophies. I shared with him what I was learning of God's nature and my own spirituality how this was helping me help others.
Later he told me he was looking for acting roles that would bring comfort, even healing, to others. He felt he was being led to make a difference. He said, "This isn't a coincidence that we are sitting together." I felt the same. The more I fly, the more I am finding people with a deep desire for a more spiritual connection to one another.
We talked about everything. For three hours we shared, heart-to-heart. It was an easy conversation. We were kindred spirits.
I know that many things about life will be different now. I can tell I will be flying differently. I'll still have to deal with the carry-on baggage of fear and suspicion. However, I expect things will continue to get better as I practice focusing on the spiritual nature of my fellow passengers. I will be more aware that I will not be flying alone, isolated in my own little life.
God's love and power will be present, providing chapels and fellowship in the clouds. Each flight comes with the opportunity to be a sanctuary -- a sanctuary in the sky. And everyone has the opportunity to be a "prayer marshal," taking a stand for the power of goodness.
I departed the plane in Los Angeles with a new view of how everyone in that sanctuary is God's child -- a precious passenger, who belongs to spiritual life and love.
I can't wait for the next flight, the next chapel meeting, to stand guard with my fellow spiritual travelers.



[This message has been edited by Mickdee (edited 10-05-2001).]