Something’s Radically Right About You with Rev. Gaylon McDowell

“We need to discover and understand that the presence and the power of the infinite lives within us.” – Rev. Gaylon McDowell

No matter how you understand the universe, there are things that bind us together. Even the human body is a physical colony of intelligence and life. We are all connected, and we are all responsible for helping our collective humanity.

Reverend Gaylon McDowell doesn’t want to make people comfortable, he wants to help them transform. He critiques practices of “spirituality” that are about stillness with no action, thoughts without applications. Everyone is always demonstrating their values, whether they think they are or not. The transformative path forward is to be intentional and actively demonstrate the principles that you want to live by.

Listen in to Find Your Fierce & Loving and hear Gaylon’s strong assertion that there is something radically right about you. There are many people in this world that benefit from you believing that you are inherently wrong. It is vital to understand that there is a power within you that allows you to totally transform your life.

• (02:43) – Hardcore metaphysics
• (11:43) – Demonstrations
• (20:37) – New Thought
• (29:06) – Radically right

The Reverend Gaylon McDowell is the Executive Minister and Senior Assistant Minister at Christ Universal Temple. He is the host of the podcast “Truth Transforms” on Unity Online Radio, a program that provides New Thought lessons and insightful interviews to help people live better lives. Rev. McDowell is an ordained minister, licensed teacher, and immediate past 2nd Vice-President on the board of directors for the Universal Foundation for Better Living. He has been on the Johnnie Colemon Institute’s teaching faculty since 1997, where he now serves as the director. He is also a success and life coach. Rev. McDowell is known as the “Hardcore Metaphysician” because of his passionate and powerful presentation of New Thought. He is a regular contributor to the Science of Mind Magazine, along with helping with projects for Unity, the Universal Foundation for Better Living and the International New Thought Alliance.

Do you want to unleash your inherent love and goodness, liberate yourself, and free humanity from the oppressive systems and structures we have created? We are here to support you in finding your fierce and loving life. Join us in Our Circle, a vibrant membership community rich in opportunities for engagement and transformation. Find out more at lolawright.com/our-circle.

You can follow Lola Wright, on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and learn more about my work at lolawright.com.

Chicago born and built, Lola grew up in wealth and privilege, yet always sensed something was missing. She sought out aliveness and freedom in music, immersing herself in the hip hop and house music scenes of 90s Chicago. After finding herself on her own at 23, as the mother of two young children, she became determined to create a new experience.

Lola is an ordained minister with a gift for weaving together the mystical and material, she served for many years as the CEO of Bodhi Center, an organization committed to personal transformation, collective awakening, conscious activism, and community-building. 

This podcast is produced by Quinn Rose with theme music by independent producer Trey Royal.

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Lola Wright (00:01): Something is stirring. Maybe you’ve felt it. We are reckoning with the reality of injustice and binary thinking that feeds the political machine. Humanity is in the midst of a heartbreaking and painful paradigm shift. That is a good thing. My name is Lola Wright, and this is Find Your Fierce & Loving. This podcast is intended to help you disrupt, untangle and free your mind of personal and collective agreements, patterns and beliefs that are holding you back and weighing you down. We desperately need your fierce and loving purpose now more than ever.

Lola Wright (00:54): Oh my goodness, I am so excited to bring to you one of my very good friends, someone who has had a profound influence on my life. The Reverend Gaylon McDowell is the Executive Minister and Senior Assistant Minister at Christ Universal Temple. He is the host of the podcast Truth Transforms on Unity Online Radio. It’s a program that provides New Thought lessons and insightful interviews to help people live better lives. Gaylon is an ordained minister. He is a licensed teacher, and he is the immediate past 2nd Vice-President on the board of directors for the Universal Foundation For Better Living. He has been on the Johnnie Coleman Institute’s Teaching Faculty since 1997, where he now serves as the director. He is an extraordinary success and life coach. Reverend McDowell is known as the “Hardcore Metaphysician,” and we will get into what that means on today’s episode. He is passionate and a powerful presenter on ancient wisdom and New Thought teachings. He is a regular contributor to the Science of Mind magazine, along with helping projects for Unity, the Universal Foundation for Better Living and the International New Thought Alliance.

Lola Wright (02:23): More than those accolades, more than his titles, he is a born and built Chicagoan. He is my good friend. I think the thing I love about you, Gaylon, is I very infrequently meet people who can match my energy, and you can match my energy. Welcome to Find Your Fierce & Loving. I’m so happy you’re here.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (02:48): I’m so happy to be here as well. Any time we have an opportunity to talk or do anything together, I’m for it.

Lola Wright (02:54): Yes. Me, too. What I’m aware of is that you and I really became friends at a very challenging time in my career, where I was leading Bodhi Center, a community that I led for seven years. The founder had just left, relatively unexpectedly and in pretty short order. And, I think I called you, and I was like, “Hi. I know you don’t know me, but I basically really need your help.”

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (03:22): Yes, yes.

Lola Wright (03:23): And, you started speaking at Bodhi with a fair amount of regularity, and by the time I left Bodhi, you were a regular, and you were a highlight. And, you and I got to hang all the time. I think one of the things that you do so brilliantly, is really you bring the fire of what’s possible for people. So, when you talk about you’re a Hardcore Metaphysician, what does that mean for those that may not be familiar with that language?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (03:56): Well, it starts from the basic premise that there are spiritual principles, there are universal principles that govern everything. What we call the universe, the manifested and unmanifested universe. And, there are times when people should have coped just going directly to the truth. And, that doesn’t mean that I’m discounting or devaluing anybody else’s belief system by no stretch of the imagination. But, hardcore just means that I’m not trying to sound like a person who is just going to tell you something just to make you feel good, sugarcoat it, or dance around what needs to be said.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (04:35): If you want true transformation, you’ve got to deal with your real belief system. If you want true transformation, you have to heal what is fragmented in your soul. If you want true transformation, you have to understand that you are a spiritual being, living in a spiritual universe, governed by spiritual law. And, when you understand these principles, then you can apply them to live a better life, to transform your life, to create a positive impact in the world. But, we don’t have time to be playing games with people’s minds. We don’t have time to be playing the religious games of, excuse the term but I’m just going to say it, the smackdown God who’s checking the list, checking it twice, trying to find out who’s been naughty or nice. We need to discover and understand the presence and power of the infinite lives within us.

Lola Wright (05:24): It’s interesting because it’s like there are sort of… I think there are two realms. It’s like those who have perhaps were raised in religion and who are… I was raised Catholic. I don’t identify as religious or as Catholic today, but oftentimes you’ll hear Catholics say, “Oh I’m a recovering Catholic.” So, there are those that were raised religiously and feel like they’re recovering from something. Now, more and more we’re seeing that there are those that may identify as spiritual but not religious, and of course my critique of that movement, is that it has come to mean absolutely nothing. And so, I appreciate the ferocity with which you speak because I think that part of what I think challenges us in this ethereal, spiritual but not religious space, is that there’s so much emphasis on being comfortable. And, that’s what you’re saying, actually I stand for a life that I believe is possible for you, and it may not be comfortable the way I deliver that message to you.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (06:37): Right, right. And, I think that’s important because what ends up happening is, especially with the spiritual and not religious movement is they’re committed to nothing many times. Like okay, what do you stand for? And, if you’re not a stand for your own transformation, or if you’re studying something that does not create a new and improved or better or transformed version of you, then what are you really talking about in the first place? So, instead of just trying to tell people, okay I’m just going to pump you up and motivate you. I’m happy if people are motivated by what I say. I’m happier when people apply the principles that I’m teaching so they can transform their space, so they can heal the hurts in their souls, so they can get past the things that have been holding them down. And, you can’t do that with airy fairy, woo-woo spirituality and metaphysics.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (07:34): I’m pragmatic. The lady who taught me always said, Johnnie Coleman, always said, “It works if you work it.” It was nothing that we do that just works on automatic. Transformation, demonstrations, manifestations are an intentional effort, a conscious, intentional effort that requires you to work through your own stuff.

Lola Wright (08:00): What would you say to someone who says, “I hear that you say I’m a spiritual being living in a spiritual universe, governed by spiritual laws. What if I don’t identify with any of that? What if I just say, I am just this meat suit?” What would you say to that?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (08:20): That’s totally fine if anybody wants to identify in any way they choose. I’m not here to argue or debate with anybody about how they perceive themselves. What I would ask them to look at is, is it possible that there’s something beyond what you understand about yourself? And, is it possible that the wisdom that has been passed down through the ages might have some clues into discovering aspects of yourself that you might not be aware of right now? And, if you just continue to identify only as a body, only as a brain, instead of the potential that there’s something beyond you, that you can look in the mirror. Something that allows healings to happen. Something that allows forgiveness in the worst situations to happen. Something that allows abundance to show up in the space that can’t always be explained away easily, and if they still want to identify just as a human being without any spiritual context, then I would just use basic language. Like for instance, doctors talk about things like the placebo effect, how your beliefs affect your body.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (09:30): We talk about as a physical body, you’re still an energy being. You are fifty trillion cells that have come together. Your body isn’t solid. Your body is a colony of intelligence. Your body is a colony of substance. Your body is a colony of intelligence. It is connected at a level even physically to the manifested universe. So, even if you don’t want to accept the spiritual aspect of you, there’s more to you than meets the eye.

Lola Wright (10:00): When you use the word metaphysician, if that’s a new word for people, how do you define that word?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (10:06): A metaphysician is one who is skilled in the science or the demonstration of spiritual principles. So, when you say a person is a metaphysician that means they study the spiritual principles that govern the universe. That’s all. And, I would add the right relation of ideas because that’s really understanding, but the right relation of ideas. In other words, what do I need to put together to produce particular results?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (10:35): I believe that every person should look at their lives as if they were a chef. What am I seeking to produce? I’m in my kitchen, and I want to produce a particular dish. Now, you can’t cook everything the same way. Well, it’s the same thing when you start dealing with divine ideas, inspirations, visions and purpose. What combinations do I need to put together in my consciousness to produce particular results? That’s what a metaphysician does. What a metaphysician also does is look at the manifested world, what people call the appearances of the world, and instead of just judging them surfacely, you start to look for the underlying consciousness, the beliefs, the thoughts, the ideologies that are manifesting themselves as this current experience. So, I think that’s really important to understand that the metaphysician should be looking for the spiritual reality behind appearances.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (11:35): For example, if a person is dealing with a health challenge, okay, my body might be going through something, but there’s a reality behind my physicality that I can behold as a metaphysician, and if I can understand it, I can demonstrate the wholeness as it expresses through the fifty trillion cells that I call my body.

Lola Wright (11:56): And, when you use the word demonstrate, clarify what you mean by that word.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (12:00): I’m old school when it comes to the term demonstration because I don’t believe in the butchering of the English language. So, to demonstrate, you know, the dictionary’s your best friend when you’re a speaker if you really understand how to use it. Demonstrate means that you can show it, that you can do it, or it’s already here.

Lola Wright (12:20): I want to underscore the word demonstrate because the increased popularity of the work that you and I have devoted our lives to, can be very conceptual. I feel like if my life is not a reflection of these principles, then you should be asking what expertise do I really have which doesn’t mean my life has to be “perfect,” but I should be demonstrating these principles in real time on a regular basis. Otherwise, it’s like what are we actually talking about?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (13:02): Exactly. It’s like I heard a friend of mine years ago say, judge a tree by the fruit it bears not the bark it wears. And, we love the bark. We don’t always like to show. And, I think that’s really important. My favorite quote of all time, Emmet Fox’s statement, “You know there’s no such thing as undemonstrated understanding.” I love that quote because it gives me no wiggle room to play the conceptual game of I’m higher in consciousness than my demonstrations. I believe you can’t outperform your own consciousness. Therefore, if I want to see where I am in life, I’ll just look at my demonstrations. And, if I want to change my life, then I change my consciousness. I change my actions. I change my words which will then help me change my demonstrations.

Lola Wright (13:56): As someone who’s spent a lot of years in sales, I can see the influence of these teachings in the entrepreneurial space. One of the things that you would hear quite a bit is you can have reasons or results. You can’t have both. And, it’s the essence of that. The results are the demonstration. And, demonstration actually is a neutral term. You’re always demonstrating. The question is do the results of your life reflect your desires, or is there an incongruence, an inconsistency? And if so, what then would you say the work is?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (14:43): I love the term desire demonstration. Matter of fact, I think I’m the first New Thought person I ever heard say that statement, probably about 15 or 20 years ago. I could actually hear people saying, “I need to make a demonstration.” I’m like, “You’re always making a demonstration. Is it a desired demonstration?” So, what I would tell people who are having experiences that are inconsistent with what they desire, is first of all, get really clear and focused about what it is that you say you really desire. I think most people don’t have clarity. I’m a big fan of Emmet Fox’s concept of the mental equivalent. I know Ernest Holmes also taught the same principle. And, I define the mental equivalent as clarity of thought and conviction of feeling. You have to have both. That’s the framework that allows your mind to have the blueprint through which spiritual law works.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell  (15:36): So, I use the example that I didn’t create, I borrowed this from Reverend Ike, but for instance, if I wanted to go to the John Hancock building, eat at the Signature Room, which is on the 95th floor of the John Hancock building, a wonderful restaurant for anybody who wants to come to Chicago and eat somewhere. But, I can walk into the John Hancock building, and if I just stand in the elevator, and I don’t press a button, the elevator might just stay still until I press the 95th floor which activates the power to take me from the first floor to the 95th floor. Well, it’s the same thing with our lives. Most of the time we’re not choosing. And, to borrow another Reverend Ike term, you must be definite with the infinite.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (16:22): One of the challenges with the spiritual not religious movement is they have the passive aspects of spiritual principles but not the active. So, everything is just be still. Everything is just meditate. Everything is just let’s hold hands and sing. And, all of those things are great, but sooner or later you have to make up your mind and keep it changed. And, that’s where I come in. That’s where you come in because we don’t have time to wait around. We’re saying, let’s use the active part of our minds. We’ll get still when it’s time to be still, but when it’s time to be active, when it’s time to speak the word, when it’s time to take action, you need to know the difference and have the wisdom to discern when it’s time to be still and when it’s time to be exceptionally intentional about what you’re doing.

Lola Wright (17:08): Because I know how funny folks can be, what do we say to the person who says, “Well, Gaylon, it’s not true that we don’t have time. Time is an illusion. Life is eternal. What do you mean we don’t have time?”

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (17:22): Yeah, actually that’s another thing. Even for those who believe in reincarnation or some version of eternal beingness. You’re only this version of you once. So, if Gaylon McDowell has had 25 lifetimes, I’m only Gaylon McDowell once. This particular set of circumstances, this particular timeline, these particular gifts as they show up for me right now, need to be maximized. I think this is one of the reasons why Evangelical Christians tend to move the needle so much politically because they believe, “Okay, I got this one life to live, and I have to do whatever I need to do for their concept of God, Jesus or the Church.” So, they’re moving heck or high water to maximize the time. “I got to get people saved and I got to transform the world, and I got to win the world for Jesus.” And, I’m not saying that in a disrespectful way because I came out of that belief. I was raised that way to believe those things. Their diehard belief in I got one life to live, and I got to make it count, means that they show up differently whereas we’re meditating by the foot of the yogi.

Lola Wright (18:36): And, what do you think the shadow side of that is or what do you think the unconscious of that is?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (18:41): Nothing of significance is changed. So, for instance, in our community, this past political year of all the things that were going on, made me realize that in a spiritual community, there’s a lot of white supremacy. And, I know because I’m just not in that culture. It made me realize that people were using spirituality to hide the fact that they had racist tendencies, sexist tendencies, homophobic tendencies or whatever. And, the shadow side of that is just telling a person that it doesn’t make a difference, just come and pray and meditate. Now, I don’t know if you remember when Laquan McDonald was shot, and I said I was coming down to march with you. I said something on the phone to you that stuck with me. I said “A person shouldn’t have to be a mystic to get justice.” And, I still stand by that, so I think it’s easy for someone if they’re in a space where they’re not being condemned, where they don’t have society’s proverbial foot on their neck to say, “Okay, let us just do yoga and meditate.” All right. But, when you’re dealing with real time issues, it really affects you differently.

Lola Wright (20:05): You want to be more alive. You want to unleash your inherent love and goodness, liberate yourself, and free humanity from the oppressive systems and structures we have created. We are here to support you in finding your fierce and loving life. Join us in Our Circle. This is an affirming and radical space that will gather weekly, on-demand or live, whatever works best for your life. For more information on how you can engage in Our Circle, visit lolawright.com/our-circle. I’d love to have you with us.

Lola Wright (20:50): You and I subscribe to a paradigm that says consciousness creates. I think the other challenge that exists in the transformation movement, whether it’s Ancient Wisdom and New Thought, whether it’s spiritual but not religious, is this hyper-individualism. Before we go into that actually, why don’t you define for people what New Thought is because everyone might not know what we’re talking about there.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (21:14): Yes, so New Thought is a religious movement, religious or spiritual movement that was created in the late 19th century that focuses on spiritual principles that govern the universe of an omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent God that’s not a person but principle that works through spiritual laws. Three things that make New Thought very unique. One, it teaches a God that is absolute good and who’s will for humanity is absolute good.

Lola Wright (21:47): As opposed to the paradigm of good and evil.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (21:51): Yes, it also teaches that, I’m sure you’re going to ask me about this later, that all of humanity is divine because it has the image and likeness of God within every person. And, New Thought is also very consistent in the belief in teaching people that you can literally change your life by changing your thoughts, changing your feelings, changing your beliefs, through the application of these spiritual principles.

Lola Wright (22:18): I have taught classes where the question comes up, and I’d love to hear your answer, I know what my answer is, but it’s like, “Well, I get it, it’s unfortunate that injustice occurs, but if Black people are creating the reality, then why don’t they just go create a new reality.” Gaylon?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (22:33): Yes. I normally answer this in three ways. The first one is old school New Thought, and its spiritual teachings in general, tend to have rugged individualism. I use the analogy of if your block is dirty outside on your lawn or whatever, you go outside, you clean up the front of your house, and then you don’t worry about anybody else, any of your other neighbors. I believe a higher version, a 2.0 version of this is clean up in front of your house, that’s still your responsibility, but see if any of your neighbors need any help as well because we’re part of a collective even though we’re individualized expressions of the infinite that some people call God. We’re still a part of a collective human race.

Lola Wright (23:22): Nothing exists in isolation.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (23:23): Right. So, for instance, when the State of Texas, for instance say, “Hey, we don’t want to be on a grid with the United States,” and then they went through the situation, they were talking about they wanted to leave the United States and all that goes along with that. I’m not throwing a shade at Texas, I’m just using this as an example. But, when the winter storm hit, understanding that you were part of the United States mattered. We could say, well they created that demonstration, why should other people? They didn’t want to be on the grid, why should we be sharing electricity and resources with them. It’s always good when you’re not the person that’s suffering, when you’re not the person that’s going through.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (24:06): Now, I do believe in agency of the individual. I do believe in taking personal responsibility. I do believe that you have to own your stuff because sometimes you can’t wait, not sometimes. You can’t wait for somebody else to say, “Okay, you’re good. You’re approved. You’re whatever. That’s nonsense to me.

Lola Wright (24:23): Well, you calling out injustice is not absolving yourself of your empowerment, your freedom, your liberation, your agency. This is where I think people get so confused. They’re not mutually exclusive. I can both make a critique of a delusion called white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, ageism, fat phobia. There are many manifestations. I can both make a critique of that and realize I got this.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (24:58): Yes. So, yes we teach that consciousness creates reality. We teach that life is consciousness without a doubt. But there’s individual consciousness and then there’s collective consciousness. And, when you are part of a context, it takes a lot of effort to transcend it. In the business world, people will say that culture trumps strategy. So, it takes a lot of individual mental effort to see beyond. And, yes it can be done. I’m not going to say that it can’t be done. However, when you’re trying to create a society that literally works in harmony with each other, then you just can’t say, “Okay, it’s just my responsibility to get my consciousness right. That’s the first level. Then, what do I need to be a stand for to help other people also get their transformations? And, when people say things like, “Okay, well let them figure it out,” I’ll just use the conversation that people sometimes have around resources being distributed in ways to make sure that there’s equality in the world. For instance, you’ll see people say, “Well, you shouldn’t be sending money to these neighborhoods. They don’t know what to do with it. Or, when people complain about schools, or the unfair use of taxes to pay for schools. This is one example. Nobody has a problem with the fact that money for fire-fighting isn’t distributed like schools. Nobody would say well they don’t pay enough taxes so let’s let their house burn.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (26:35): We understand that a just and humane society is not caring about the circumstances around why the house is burning, but the fact that the house is burning, and we have the resources to save people first, and then secondarily if possible, save the property, and most importantly then make sure that nobody else gets damaged because this house or this building is burning. So, what we do as a society many times is we’ll say, “Well, your house is burning, Lola, and that’s your consciousness,” without realizing that like Godzilla walking down the street, your tail could be knocking down other buildings and destroying them. So, we create situations because we don’t want to address the breakdowns in our society because we are so stuck on one understanding of consciousness creates reality versus the realization that it means let me get myself together first, and then let me be a transformational agent for humanity.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (27:34): It doesn’t mean everybody has to be a teacher, a coach, a minister or a priest, a guru or anything of that nature, but just be the best demonstration of the infinite power of this omniscience that you can be.

Lola Wright (27:47): When you use the word consciousness, what do you mean by that? And, I qualify that by saying again, a word that’s now lobbed around with I don’t think a lot of people even having a sense… I don’t know that many people that use that word could actually articulate what they mean when they use that word.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (28:07): Well, the basic definition would be the awareness of being. That’s the baseline definition for consciousness. I use the word consciousness simultaneously with soul, and I know everybody doesn’t do that. I believe that we’re threefold beings. Spirit, soul, body. Spirit is the divine pattern, the image and likeness, the infinite expression of the universe, God or whatever term, divine mind, whatever term you want to use. I believe that individualized expression of that is spirit localized as us. Soul or consciousness is my awareness. The totality of my thoughts, my feelings, my beliefs, my attitudes. All that makeup who I think I am. The problem with consciousness is there are levels of consciousness we’re aware of, and there’s levels of conscious that we’re not.

Lola Wright (29:02): You’re using the word consciousness in this application on the individual level.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (29:06): Yeah, on the individual level.

Lola Wright (29:08): Right, you’re not using it as synonymous. I could make a case where you could use the word consciousness as synonymous with God. So, I just want to draw a distinction for our listeners with that.

Lola Wright (29:20): A few years ago, I invited you to join me on stage with a Chicago Ideas event, if you remember. I can’t remember what the evening was called, but it was basically a series of different spiritual leaders from different faith traditions, and I think I was asking you, there was a Muslim woman there. There was a Christian minister there. There was an atheist there, and I asked you to define the premise of what you believe. And, you said something very potent and very powerful that we have talked about many times since then, and I wonder if you would just share it with us now.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (30:02): Yes I remember saying to you and to the students that were there, I think they were from Columbia College. I said, “I believe that there is something radically right about you.” And, that was the first time I ever said it. It just jumped out of my mouth. And, when I mean there’s something radically right about you is as I went on to explain, the world will tell you that there’s something wrong with you, whether that’s religion, the philosophies, or the different things that people believe. And then, they will convince you after they tell you something is wrong with you and you believe that belief, then they will tell you that they have the only remedy. And, what I’m telling people is there’s something radically right about you. That you’re not inherently bad or inherently sinful or inherently wrong or inherently meant to have the toetag to hell the moment you’re born because that’s the base core belief of fundamentalism and Catholicism whether people want to believe it or not. That’s why they christen babies. That’s why you’re baptized. Anybody doesn’t have that is, in their belief, on a fast track to eternal damnation.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (31:15): So, what I’m trying to get across to people is there’s something radically right about you. There’s a power within you. There’s a presence within you. There’s a grace within you. There is a wisdom within you. There is a understanding within you that can allow you to totally transform your life and accomplish the things that really matter to you. A lot of times people just don’t get into contact with the higher purpose. A higher vision or a higher plan for their lives. They don’t stop and just ask, “Okay, infinite spirit, reveal a higher vision for my life.” That’s the first step in visioning that Michael Beckwith teaches. Just understanding that you have to get still sometimes and recognize that there’s nothing wrong with me.

Lola Wright (32:00): What do you say to the person who says yeah, “I agree and now I look at my life and I’m like, my life is pretty good.” I will sometimes see human beings that have all their creature comforts met and perhaps have even done a fair amount of inner work, and it’s almost as if human beings don’t know how to be for something unless they’re working against something. So, let’s say you’ve arrived at a point in life where there’s a fair amount of equanimity, what then?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (32:39): The first stage of understanding that there’s something radically right about you is that you’re an infinite being. And, if you’re an infinite being, there’s always more good to express. That we are always in the process of becoming. We never become.

Lola Wright (32:54): Yes.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (32:54): In spirit, there’s no such thing as I made it. So, we talk about an infinite creator, and we’re the divine infinite expressions of a divine creator. So, if that is true then there’s always room for soul growth. I don’t believe that spirit grows. People say my spiritual growth. Spirit in me is perfect, whole, and complete. Spirit is fine. My soul needs a greater awareness of the wholeness that I already am. So, I can always grow into a higher awareness of what it means to show up as a healing agent. A agent of love. No one can tell me they can’t love more. They can’t express more peace. They can’t be more understanding. Or, when they need to get stuff done, that they can’t demonstrate more power.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (33:46): Because sometimes in our community, people don’t like to use the term power because they’ve seen it misused. But, anything that’s an attribute that’s been given to us should be used, and we shouldn’t be afraid of it just because other people have misused it or we’ve misused it. Because our power is over other individuals. Our true power is over our own being. Because am I allowing my own appetites to control me? Am I allowing my own attitudes to determine what I do and what I don’t do? I often tell my daughter Angel, the reason why I get on the elevator or walk into buildings and I speak to people even if they don’t speak to me is because I don’t allow them to determine how I show up. I say it’s very important to recognize that that’s a part of my spiritual responsibility. Is to show up as who I am choosing to be and allow that growth to happen consistently. And, when I get on the elevator and people don’t speak, I just say to myself in my mind, “Well, they just missed out on a wonderful opportunity.”

Lola Wright (34:55): That’s a little dad humor for you right there.

Lola Wright (35:00): Final question, what are you most proud of having bestowed upon your daughter? What gift are you most grateful for having given her?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (35:11): What I will say is this. She knows without a shadow of a doubt she can always rely on her father. She knows that I’m always going to be, as long as I’m in a body, and hopefully when I leave here, my consciousness can still have some effect on this realm, that she can rely on me. On a personal note, what I try to instill in her along with her mother, I don’t want to take full credit for that with my ex-wife, we always told her because she was one of those kids, you know how people do, ah she’s so pretty, type things, we always told her be more beautiful on the inside. Never discount, acknowledge, hey thank you. Acknowledge your awesomeness because I believe in my own maximum handsomeness, so I’m not going to tell anybody else not to shine, but I wanted her to be a better person. Don’t let that fill your head up. Be a person that anybody can communicate with and come out of the experience feeling better.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (36:19): So, when I watch her engagements with other people, what I notice is people tend to come out of the experience feeling better. Feeling warm. Feeling as though they want to support her in her own dreams and goals. And, if I had to say wrap that up in one phrase, I would say that I’m most proud that she has a sense of wholeness. She knows who she is as a young woman. And, she moves accordingly. So, if anybody shows up, whether that’s a friend or guys or whatever, that’s inconsistent with how she sees herself and how she was raised, she quickly recalibrates to not allow that to be in her space, and I’m very proud of that.

Lola Wright (37:06): You recently got married. I haven’t actually congratulated you voice to voice. What is the great prayer that you have for this new relationship?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (37:19): Well, that we continue to see each other’s spiritual wholeness. And, that we grow together. I think relationships have a tendency to grow apart because the maintenance isn’t being done. So, I think the greatest thing I can ask for myself, her, or any couple, is stay aware. Stay aware of the needs and communicate in ways that are authentic, with integrity, with tactfulness, with compassion, and decency. Because if you do those things, relationships tend to take care of themselves when you are honest and open about the maintenance that is necessary. So, I would say as long as we are both aware and I’m not trying to smother her light, and she’s not trying to smother mine, we realize that when we come together, we can just create a larger and greater light, then it will all work out in the end.

Lola Wright (38:16): And finally, what is the prayer that you hold for humanity at this time in our species, at this time on the planet?

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (38:26): That we get past all of the labels. If I really believe that you’re an infinite expression of the divine, and there’s something radically right about you, then that should be where I start when I interact with you, when I communicate with you. When I make decisions that might impact you. Let’s remove the labels. I used to work in the grocery business, and I can tell you some of the food that people buy, whether it’s the generic or the name brand, were made in the same factory. The difference was the label. And, the judgment that we have based upon the labels of life. My hope is we get past the labels. And, when I say get past it doesn’t mean that I don’t acknowledge your individualism, but I don’t allow your individualism to be the reason why I treat you one way or not another way.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (39:21): I can honor you in a religious context as a Christian, Muslim, Jewish person, Buddhist. I can honor you in the context of your gender. I can honor you in the context of work space or whatever it is, how you are showing up individually. But, my baseline is there’s something radically right about you, and if I understand that first, if I function from my own wholeness first, because I can’t give you something that I don’t have, let’s just be honest about it. If I am functioning from my wholeness, then first of all, I’m going to make sure that I give you the best version of me. And then, I’m going to seek to behold the best version of you.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (40:06): Now, I recognize that some people are magnificently arresting their potential. So, I’m not telling people, because I need to say this sometimes, as we’re wrapping up, I’m not telling you to be around people that are not at the level of soul growth that they need to be to be safe with you. I’m a big believer of what Susan Taylor once wrote, “Everyone is not healthy enough to have a front row seat in your life.”

Lola Wright (40:34): Hello.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (40:36): I don’t believe that forgiveness means reconciliation unless you want it to be. I don’t believe you should have anybody in your space that you don’t desire to be in your space, if you feel as though they’re harmful. What I will say is this. Allow yourself to stretch. Allow yourself to grow, and if there’s somebody that’s agitating your soul, recognize that’s your soul, and you do the cleanup work. I tell people, and people don’t like it, but I tell people, the balls of the world who I disagree with about almost everything, pray for them too. Why? Why would I pray for that person? Because it’s not about them. It’s about your own inner work because when you can get to the point to where you recognize that there’s a inner wholeness in me, if it’s a principle, it’s within them, even if they don’t want to show it.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (41:29): So, I free myself and my own mentality by not allowing you to be the reason why I’m triggered to either get frustrated, anxious, mad, angry, depressed or whatever, and I choose to take my power back by being a agent of grace for someone else. That doesn’t mean I agree with their politics or their decisions or their actions. That doesn’t mean that I co-sign anything that they do. Only thing it’s saying is this, as Johnnie Coleman will always teach us, “You forgive for yourself not others. Nobody is worth you being sick, broke, and unhappy.” And, I stand with that statement with everything in me.

Lola Wright (42:09): It’s a good one.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (42:10): No one is worth you being sick, broke, and unhappy, so I can make you the issue, or I can work on my own consciousness.

Lola Wright (42:19): Gaylon McDowell, I am so grateful to call you my friend, my confidant, my partner in life doing this thing, and you are a presence for me that recalibrates me, reminds me. You’ll spar with me. I love you. I love you.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (42:41): I love you back.

Lola Wright (42:42): And, I’m so, so looking forward to spending some in-person time together soon. So thank you for joining me on this podcast.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (42:52): Thank you. Thank you.

Lola Wright (42:56): If you enjoyed this show and would like to receive new episodes as they’re published, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and consider leaving a review in Apple Podcasts. Your review helps others find this show. You can follow me at Lola P. Wright on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and learn more about my work at lolawright.com. This episode was produced by Quinn Rose with theme music from independent music producer, Trey Royal.

Rev. Gaylon McDowell (43:42): I believe that every person should look at their lives as if they were a chef. What am I seeking to produce? I’m in my kitchen, and I want to produce a particular dish. Now, you can’t cook everything the same way. Well, it’s the same thing when you start dealing with divine ideas, inspirations, visions, and purpose. What combinations do I need to put together in my consciousness?