Loving Kindness: Lessons from a Local Hero

Last month’s column paid tribute to the gifts given to the world by the late Dr. Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 Astronaut and founder of the Institute of Noetic Sciences(IONS). Not all heroes have such a national and international scope. We can often be inspired by people much closer to home. These local heroes and role models often have a greater impact on us because our connection with them is so personal and deep.

 

I recently attended the “Going Home Celebration” (aka funeral service) of one of these local heroes who left us at the ripe old age of 94. If you aren’t an African-American who grew up on Chicago’s west side, you probably have never even heard of James “Major” Adams. Major, as he was affectionately called, is a local legend, and his lifelong dedication to using the power of loving kindness as a force for transformation can inspire all of us.

 

The Major title comes from this man’s service in Europe during World War II, though it is what he did after the war that has left its indelible imprint on so many. In 1955, Major opened up a basement in the Henry Horner projects in order to provide wholesome activities for community residents. This became the Henry Horner Boys & Girls Club, the first Boys & Girls Club built in a housing development in the United States. The young people in Major’s Hornets Drum & Bugle Corps attained international fame. In the 1960s, Major, with the assistance of Chicago Area Project, established Youth Services Committee of the Westside, an organization that continues today as the Major Adams Community Committee at 125 N. Hoyne Ave., Chicago, IL 60612 (check them out on Facebook). 

 

Major Adams mentored many, including some names you may be familiar with such as Freddie, Maurice, and Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire, Warner Saunders, Former NBC5 News Anchor, and Arthur Robertson, founder of the South Shore Drill Team. He also mentored countless folks who were way down on their luck, and needed a good word and a helping hand. Just one example: Even if their own families had turned their backs on them, recently released convicts knew that Major would find a way to help them get back on their feet. Major did just that by creating the community’s first re-entry program for ex-felons.

 

All this is well and good, yet why am I writing about Major in Conscious Community Magazine? The answer to that question is contained in the eulogies at that “Going Home Celebration.” Over and over, I heard memories of Major, who never had an unkind word to say about anybody, and Major who believed that there is no such thing as a bad child. Later on, at the luncheon in his honor, I had a chance to talk to one of his mentees, Ken Butler, the current executive director of the Major Adams Community Committee. “The Major would see the diamond inside the coal,” said Butler. “He was an amazing individual who never gave up on anyone… It’s an aura. As he told me, ‘It has to burn inside in order for you to want to make people feel better about themselves.’”

 

It has to burn inside. The love and kindness has to burn inside our own hearts in order to bring out that love and kindness in others. I know that. You know that. Yet, my goodness, that way of being can seem to be SO difficult, especially in a society that has made insult and ridicule a high and valued art. 

 

 

I have personally struggled with this. For example, when a treasured relationship broke up last year, I found myself in a very angry and critical space. I knew I shouldn’t be in this space (and beat myself up over that too). I saw the effect on my life of being in that angry and critical space (Law of Attraction). My New Year’s Resolution was to adjust my way of being. I’m not a natural at this like Major was. I am a believer in using techniques that help me reach my goal. For me, the techniques that are helping me become more loving and kind are those recommended by Abraham Hicks (abraham-hicks.com).

 

 

Hey, I had all the “Abe books” in my library. I had Ask and it is Given on my Kindle app. I even was a member of the Abraham-Hicks Vortex Group on Facebook. I was familiar with some of the techniques, yet I wasn’t really using them. This time I reread the Abe material with a fresh eye. I realized that I didn’t have to buy 100% into the Abraham vision of reality for these techniques to be effective in my own life. Here are my Abraham takeaways. They have helped put me on a new and entirely fabulous and positive plane of existence in my own life. Maybe they will help you too.

 

• According to Abe, Step One is identifying what you want. Step Two is the work of Source Energy, ready to answer your request. Step Three is about taking responsibility. It is the important step that many people skip. You must be in a receiving mode of well-being so that you are not in vibrational resistance to what you want. 

 

• The Abe techniques help us get back into a vibrational harmony of well-being. On the surface, this can be very “It’s all about me” centered, yet here’s the interesting part; using these techniques also trains you to feel more loving and kind about everyone and everything in your life. When you practice these techniques you start to burn inside, just like James “Major” Adams.

 

• Technique: Smile. When you wake up, smile for one minute. This increases the serotonin levels in your system, and is a powerful antidepressant. It also helps you put on an inner smile that you can take with you all day. I’ve been making a point of doing that, and the results are amazing. Complete strangers are starting to say things like, “My, you have such a pleasant smile!” and, “You are so nice!”  Sweet!

 

• Technique: Rampage of Appreciation. Look around your environment, and gently notice something that pleases you. Try to hold your attention on this pleasing object as you consider how wonderful, beautiful, or useful it is. As you focus upon it longer, your positive feelings about it will increase. Now, notice your improved feeling, and be appreciative of the way you feel. Then, once your good feeling is noticeably stronger than when you began, look around your environment, and choose another pleasing object for your positive attention. As you move through your day make it your objective to notice things that easily evoke your appreciation. Focus on them and see your positive feelings increase, and your feelings of resistance decrease. 

 

• Technique: Rampages of Appreciation for People. This is a variation of appreciating objects or things. I found this in an Abe passage where he is making recommendations to folks who want to find their perfect mate. The interesting and wonderful thing, though, is that when you use this, you find yourself feeling more loving and kind to all people. Here’s the method: Look for positive aspects in everyone you see. Know that it is fun to see these positive qualities, and make statements like, “Oh, I like that attitude, there!” “Oh, that is nice quality!” and, “That one is very beautiful.” Guess what? You are not only attracting folks with those qualities and aspects into your experience, you are also becoming a much more loving and kind person yourself.

 

OK, this is what is helping me get on the path to being more loving and kind. There are many other techniques that can help us along this path, of course. There is the Loving Kindness Meditation (a nice version is available at liveanddare.com/types-of-meditation/#Loving_Kindness_Meditation_Metta_Meditation). Hmm… I don’t have space to go into this or any other techniques this month. There is a lot of science that supports the benefits of love and kindness. I think this is worth a follow-up column next month, don’t you?

 

My Advice: I bet you have some Love and Kindness techniques that have helped you. If you share them with me at [email protected], I’ll pass them on to other readers. In the meantime, try some of these Abraham-Hicks techniques. They work! Hmm… I think I’ll reread this column. Writing it sure put me in a rampage of appreciation for James “Major” Adams, and all of his positive qualities. Rereading it will enhance that effect.

 

Mary Montgomery’s company, Montgomery Media Enterprises, specializes in public relations, writing projects, and social media development, especially in the non-profit sector. Ms. Montgomery has a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS). She has completed the coursework in doctoral studies with a focus on Altruism and Unconditional Love. Contact her via email at [email protected]. Please use Cyberweave in the subject line. You can also visit her new blog, SpiritualTravelerGuides.com.