Belief

I am in no way "worthy" and I intentionally follow no creed and yet I have been granted many spiritual gifts, not the least being that I am still alive, functioning at a high level and have a life full of joy, peace and love. Tonight my wife even referred to me as a "bad boy, turned good". I have done many antisocial things and spent much of my life being self-centered and unpleasant. I now lead a life that is focused on being of service to others and have a very strong, mystical connection to the force or power I call God. I have learned that the words used and the creed followed are human in origin and make little or no difference. The present life lived does matter. "The fruits of the Spirit have been translated as ‘love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control’" (Galatians 5:23 NJB)

Staying On Track 2

I keep in mind the words of Seeger when he wrote "It [inner silence] is to establish an inner peace, an inner harmony, which will allow us authentically to contribute to the establishment of an outer peace and an outer harmony in the world at large." I maintain my feeling of love and inner harmony through my daily practices of exercise, self-care, service work, spiritual reading, journaling and meditation. I also minimize activities that disrupt that harmony like TV, excessive caffeine, news reports and politics. I enjoy the resulting feeling!

Staying On Track

I have found repeatedly over time that I have a very strong acquisitive nature and that tendency, if indulged, will immediately override and obliterate any strong spiritual connection. It is amazing and amusing how quickly thoughts of acquiring some new toy or even a refrigerator or car can sweep me away into fantasy land and away from the present or spiritual connection! This is on my mind since today was a celebration by the Friend’s of their fancy, new community house. In my view the building is fancier and more elaborate than what was needed and a distraction from their primary spiritual aim. "while speaking of St. Augustine and his views on detachment, he says ‘we cannot serve two masters. But a man does try to serve two masters if he seeks both the kingdom of God for the great good it is and those other temporal things.’"

Choice

I work with a number of people as either some sort of mentor or spiritual director and I always attempt to address them from a position of love, seeking only the best for them with no anger or selfish motive. On those (rare?) occasions when I do sense some sort of ulterior or selfish motive within myself, I remain silent since I wish to do no harm. I need to always keep in mind that whatever path a person chooses (consciously or unconsciously) to take is the right one for them, and love them regardless. In the words of De Mello "God weaves perfect designs with the threads of our lives," he said. "Even with our sins. We can’t see this because we’re looking at the reverse side of the tapestry."

Growth

This evening I have been asking myself "what have you done and not done recently in order to grow and change spiritually and emotionally", taking a personal inventory. I am aware that my tendency is to stay within my comfort zone and not change much. Recently my working with spirits, my interactions with the medical community and my understanding of the human condition have all moved me out of my comfort zone and caused change. I will continue to expand and explore my role with each of these and keep open to there being more. "To undertake to live a discerned life, to endeavor daily to be attuned to authentic movements of the Spirit leading us into greater fullness of life, is a strenuous undertaking."

Beaming Love 2

Yesterday I described an encounter I had in the grocery store and the power of beaming love at someone. I do the same when in meetings, talking to people, working in the garden or grocery shopping and the action has similar and remarkable effects. For me, it is part of walking around in a bubble of love and the action has a profound impact, particularly for those open to it but even with those who are not. In the words of Claremont deCastillejo "For there to be a meeting, it seems as though a third, a something else, is always present. You may call it Love, or the Holy Spirit. Jungians would say that it is the presence of the Self. If this 'Other' is present, there cannot have failed to be a meeting." It is also important for me to remember what she went on to write, that "Great deeds can only be achieved when we are more than our little selves. When we are lent wings we should not reject them."

Beaming Love

While traveling through the store aisles and gathering my groceries today I kept passing a very young Indian woman and her young son. They were both charming in appearance and, without even thinking about it, I beamed love at them. She immediately responded with a smile and then told her boy to say "hi", which he did. Later in the parking garage as I was preparing to leave, they passed my car and waved good bye. This was a wonderful experience during a routine activity. "It [inner silence] is to establish an inner peace, an inner harmony, which will allow us authentically to contribute to the establishment of an outer peace and an outer harmony in the world at large." (Seeger)

God

Using the daily practices I outline in my book I have encountered a loving and powerful force that I call God. Having opened myself to that power, I now feel it and live within it all the time. I believe (know?) it is the Kingdom that Jesus spoke of. In the words of Pagels "Yet I sometimes encountered, in churches and elsewhere—in the presence of a venerable Buddhist monk, in the cantor’s singing at a bar mitzvah, and on mountain hikes—something compelling, powerful, even terrifying that I could not ignore, and I had come to see that, besides belief, [any spiritual path] Christianity involves practice—and paths toward transformation."

Perspective

Today during a conversation with someone who feels greatly disturbed over the way we are treating each other and this planet, I found myself acknowledging the unpleasant actions and saying they are both terrible and wonderful. I cannot say that I truly understand why they are both terrible and wonderful, but I could and can feel the truth of the statement. Meditating on the paradox it occurs to me that temporally the actions often cause difficulties or death, the termination of earthly existence. From an eternal perspective, life is very short and death matters little, while the growth and learning resulting from such actions bring us closer to understanding love and connection. In the words of Walsch "If you believe the noises of the world rather than the silences of your soul, you will be lost."

Presence

Today I had just finished mowing a good part of our backyard, was winding up the extension cord I use for the mower and I gazed at our yard and beyond feeling the gratitude, amazement and presence I often feel at such times. There was a fledgling red-bellied woodpecker at our feeder, two large willow oaks and two red maples in our own yard. Also within view were a sweet-gum, several maples of various kinds, a couple of black-walnuts and lots of undergrowth. The temperature was around seventy and everything was vibrant and moist, quite a sight. In the words of Jesus according to the Tomas gospel "this primordial light not only brought the entire universe into being but still shines through everything we see and touch."