Shadow Side

I get up in the middle of the night for several hours of prayer and meditation. The night, the darkness is, for me, a sacred time when my "conscious contact" is at its peak. I am well aware of the presence of my shadow or dark side and spent several years living there. I now use the same energy to live in the Light and to project that Light in everything I do. This is very similar to what John Yungblut says of Carl Jung "What deeper meaning did this paradox hold for him? It was the revelation that not only might good be wrought from the darkness of the unformed abyss, the unconscious, but that part of the very energy of the evil urge in man, if one would but wrestle with it, as had Jacob with the angel, would yield its own peculiar blessing. So profoundly did he trust the darkness of the unconscious!"

Sspiritual Growth

I have achieved a high degree of joy, love, spiritual and emotional freedom in spite of having to deal with several physical and emotional challenges, various people have called me "enlightened". In the process I have given up many attachments and beliefs. As Jack Kornfield wrote "To love fully and live well requires us to recognize finally that we do not possess or own anything---our homes, our cars, our loved ones, not even our own body. Spiritual joy and wisdom do not come through possession but rather through our capacity to open, to love more fully, and to move and be free in life." I have also done an in-depth inventory of myself in order to become aware of the emotional baggage holding me back from complete spiritual growth in keeping with Kornfield’s comment that "Wise spiritual practice requires that we actively address the pain and conflict of our life in order to come to inner integration and harmony. Through the guidance of a skillful teacher, meditation can help bring this healing. Without including the essential step of healing, students will find that they are blocked from deeper levels of meditation or are unable to integrate them into their lives.

Hope

I have hope for the future - I am a dreamer. I know that humans are capable of acting and thinking not out of violence and anger, but according to "that of God" in each of us. As in my case the violent part, potential, will always be there but it need not be expressed. We can begin to take actions according to three questions that are the focus of my book (Would I do this in front of God [or whatever you call the power or force behind the Universe]; Is my name really on it [or is it really my responsibility]; Will this increase the integrity of the universe [or is this action motivated by love, rather than fear, acting out of love always increases the integrity of the universe]), or something like them. People could begin to act out of love (inclusiveness, compassion, connection) and less fear (money, power, prestige, individuation & isolation). My wish is that we get to such a place as peacefully as possible.

Spirits

Two days ago Maria and I went back to Gettysburg in order for me to continue working with the troubled spirits of the dead soldiers there. My work with those spirits is ongoing, mostly in the middle of the night and including the recent trip. In addition to doing a sort of therapy with them (listening, being compassionate & understanding, making suggestions), I have basically recruited them in order to encourage the living to act more out of love (inclusiveness, compassion, connection) and less fear (money, power, prestige, individuation & isolation). As a part of my mission with the spirits I repeatedly pass on to them the intense feeling of unconditional love which was shown to me during my near death experience. This whole process is tremendously rewarding, exciting, weird and totally exhausting.

Connection 2

The situation we find ourselves in today is aptly and accurately described by Benjamin Friedman when he wrote "When material progress falters........people become more jealous of their status relative to others. Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases, as does conflict between races and classes; concern for the poor tends to decline." There is a great deal of fear and anxiety along with the expected behaviors, as he describes. Those behaviors are likely to make the situation worse. The situation can improve if people begin acting with compassion, understanding, love and the recognition that we are all connected.

Connection

Today I have been taking note of the fact that while our president denies the apparent reality of human caused climate change and removes us from the Paris agreement, some industrial and political leaders are strengthening their commitments to reduce greenhouse gasses. There is a growing recognition of our interconnectedness and responsibility to take care of the world we depend on, a hopeful sign.