Love As a Force

As are many people, I am concerned about what I see in the world in general and this country in particular. There is a lot of fear, hurt, violence, ego, emphasis on short term gain and denial of warnings. I am passionate about love as a force that could turn things around. "If you can rise above the fear in your life and live the love within you, and if I can rise above my fear and live the love in me-----if that drama is reenacted enough times by enough of the world’s people-----then we will pierce the cosmic darkness and tip the world in the direction of light" (Williamson).

Challenge

"Every circumstance------no matter how painful-----is a gauntlet thrown down by the universe, challenging us to become who we are capable of being" (Williamson).  Inside each of us is a seed - that small quiet voice, the Love or God seed. It is time to nurture and develop that seed, that is what circumstances are calling us to do. I plan to answer that call by doing everything I can. Because of life circumstances, I have been developing that seed for years and I will continue.

Spirituality

The technological and scientific advances of the past decades are certainly exciting, engaging and distracting. However, by themselves they do not lead to a peaceful, serene and well balanced life. They are not a complete picture of what will lead us out of a life of stress. I strongly believe what Williamson says, that "The world we want for ourselves and our children will not emerge from electronic speed but rather from a spiritual stillness that takes root in our souls." The sort of approach to life that I write about in my book "Three Simple Questions: Being in the World, But Not of It. My approach is based on three questions to consider when planning any sort of activity. The questions are: would I do this in front of God, or whatever you call that power/force?; is my name really on it or is it really my responsibility?; will this increase the integrity of the universe, or is this loving? I wrote and published the book as part of my effort to change the world in the direction of being peaceful, serene and balanced through increased spirituality.

Time

I had commented many times that "time is an illusion", meaning it is really just an agreement we have all made to act as if it is linear and sequential. Then one day, several years ago I placed myself in a position where I would be killed - in that instant I was jerked out of the time-space continuum and placed nearby out of harms way. I was traumatized and no-one around me was aware of the shift. At that moment I knew the truth of what I had been saying. Since then I have become aware that "The great scientific minds in physics, including Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, and Stephen Hawking, have theorized that time is actually timeless." (Borg) I wonder in what other ways we are fooling ourselves.

Spirit Person

According to Borg I am a spirit person, meaning that I have "an experiential awareness of the reality of God." I am not sure how it happened but I am aware of God/love in everything I do and say, an indescribable feeling. One fact that I have come to understand is that it makes no difference what name you use or no name at all - the love is still there. I have a deep understanding of another of his comments, that "Finally, the image of Jesus as a spirit person has implications for how we think of the Christian life. It shifts the focus of the Christian life from believing in Jesus or believing in God to being in relationship to the same spirit that Jesus knew. It is the claim that I emphasized at the end of chapter 1 and that will emerge yet again in this book: that the Christian life moves beyond believing in God to being in relationship to God."

Healing

I have commented before that I conduct my daily activities within a "bubble of love". I also rely on daily on the healing powers of the plenum or loving force of God, which seems to have a very positive impact on my health. I believe very strongly that "Without the healing power of the numinous realm, our wounded psychological patterns will prevail." (Conrow Coelho). Meaning for me that I would not be doing nearly as well as I am.

Numinosity

Quantum field theory seems to be where modern reductive science and spirituality meet. Love can be considered as a force within that field that then has an influence on the particles of everyday life. Mary Conrow Coelho refers to that field or space between particles as the "plenum" and then comments that "it might be proposed, in addition, that the plenum has powers and modes of influence within the manifest world, influences that are experienced in subjective ways that are not the subject of science. These various attributes may include what we, subjectively, recognize as numinosity, an alluring quality often experienced as love and powers of healing and centering (through the ordering of the Self/Soul) as well as creativity ---- qualities of experience some religious thinkers have attributed to God." I have certainly seen evidence of this influence in the physical healing I and others near me have experienced. I make use of this numinosity on a daily basis.

Listening

Today I momentarily forgot the words of Sogyal Rinpoche when he wrote "Listening is a far more difficult process than most people imagine; really to listen in the way that is meant by the masters is to let go utterly of ourselves, to let go of all the information, all of the concepts, all the ideas and all the prejudices that our heads are stuffed with." My ego wants me and my ideas to be right, in spite of the fact that they are wrong. That part of me makes it hard to listen. Fortunately I did not speak or take action, but the thoughts were there. Now it’s time to quietly contemplate.

Acceptance

I began the day by making several calls to service providers in order to change their record of my address. This was a difficult and challenging process, especially interacting with computers and my speech impediment. I do pretty well as long as I place my speaking difficulties right up front and simply accept the challenge whether talking to a person or computer. It was also important that I knew when to quit and begin the simplicity of yard work. A difficult day but successful.

Power of Love

The magic of publicly responding to fear and violence with Love and prayer has been quite evident recently. The most obvious are some of the responses to racist or terrorist attacks, some responses to the rhetoric of the president-elect and possible changes in the route of the Dakota pipeline. I have also seen the power of Love in my own life - my life depends on it. As Sri Nisargadata said "Love says ‘I am everything.’ Wisdom says, ‘I am nothing.’" Living in Light and Love feels right and true. It’s a joy to be alive.