Spreading Love

In my life and on a broader scale, historically, with rare exceptions, behaviors stemming from anger, hate and violence lead to more anger, hate and violence. I read the paper and listen to news reports about anger, hate and violence all over the world, including many attitudes and issues in this country. My method of dealing with that is to observe it and spread Love and Light at every opportunity. Spreading love, is very enjoyable, feels right and has miraculous results. "In the Dhammapada he [the Buddha] teaches that in this world hate never dispels hate. Only love dispels hate."

Trials

Today I was feeling a lot of gratitude for the spiritual and emotional growth resulting from the numerous trials and challenges I have dealt with in the last few decades and the person I am today. The challenges include, particularly, my relationship with Maria, my wife, my sweat lodge experiences and my dealing with my disability. Each of them has provided me with spiritual and emotional challenges which ultimately required spiritual solutions and actions resulting in a very fulfilling life. As St. John of the Cross says of such spiritual touches " The delights they engender more than compensate for all the trials suffered in life, even though innumerable"

Presence

Tonight it is raining hard, not storming but I can certainly feel the presence and the power of nature/God when I sit in silence and the dark. Tonight reminded me of sitting in the dark in Flagstaff, AZ and listening to the baby elk outside calling for its mother. My concept of God has expanded from nothing at all to a judgmental being to something loving, ineffable and all inclusive. As I indicate in my book and website, I have explored and practiced numerous traditions and religions and now realize that they are all talking about the same thing from slightly different angles and using different words. In the sweat lodge I used to pray to "He who has no name and all names". I am reminded of the beautiful words written by Valerie Brown "The God of my childhood has given way to the God of my womanhood, a God of many names----Allah, Shiva, Great Spirit, Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha, Yahweh. This is the God who is present in the tiniest acorn and the vastest ocean."

Being Open

During several of my conversations today I was reminded that human beings, particularly males, like to believe that they are "in charge" or control the events in their lives. Spiritual leaders have long realized that it is important to realize they are not in charge in order to be open to whatever happens. I believed I was in charge until my life was turned upside down repeatedly. I then decided, reluctantly at first, to give up attempts to control, to enjoy the ride and be open to the many gifts of being open. As Kornfield wrote in ‘93 "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."

Dawn Ceremony

Every morning shortly after dawn, in my backyard, I do a "dawn ceremony" in which I bless this area , its plants and birds and express gratitude and love for the coming day. The ceremony I do is simple, only involving me and my thoughts. My wife does a ceremony as well but hers includes feathers and herbs. This morning was special since the sky was adding gentle, life giving rain. The morning smells are wonderful and it’s a good way to sense the changing seasons. "According to Thomas, Jesus says that this primordial light not only brought the entire universe into being but still shines through everything we see and touch."

Practicing I Am

Conducting my life using the "I am" sense I talked about yesterday, my internal god-sense, is an exhilarating and powerful experience, but it is also very easy for me to lose track of. In today’s world behaving through that part requires that I stay humble and focused on the absolute, loving force I call God. For some reason I find it easy to become distracted and absorbed by my daily activities. My staying focused is aided by having a period of sacred time in the morning and then throughout the day. As Seeger points out "From everywhere, it seems, we are bombarded with the idea that our nature is innately violent, that our chief preoccupation is with our sexuality, and that our main purpose in life is the acquirement of ever more nifty possessions.......Indeed, if is only through the practice of inner silence that we can begin to disentangle ourselves from our culture and its illusions.