Staying In the Present

Tonight the topic in my recovery meeting was "letting go" and I commented that "letting go [of outcomes] allows me to be in the present which is where I meet God, just wonderful". The fact is that I am responsible for what I say and do - the rest is up to Love, God, the universe or whatever a person chooses to call the presence that one encounters by staying in the present and that is a wonderful experience. Using the words of Gilbert Kilpack; "And though ideas such as these may seem unimportant in our bustling world, the testimony of seekers after life in all ages is that nothing is so important as the completion of our half-lives, the God-filling of our void." He and others use the word "God" but it is my understanding that the choice of words is not important - the feeling is.

Listening

Today I had the honor of listening to someone’s life story as part of his recovery process so through my listening I had an empathic, understanding, compassionate connection with him that lasted about four hours, exhilarating and exhausting. Such a connection requires that I put any concerns of self aside for a time and focus on the other person. I make similar connections by phone or in person several times a week. I have not been able to make strong connections through electronic means like e-mail or Facebook. "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." (Sogyal Rinpoche)

Holistic Practice

I lead a very holistic life for my own physical healing or maintenance as well as life in general. I don’t participate in many distractions like TV, technological toys, drugs or alcohol. I am, for the most part, physically unable to participate in most fun activities that involve any coordinated movement, which seems OK. I do attend several weekly recovery meetings and a wellness group. I do a lot of prayer and meditation, exercise often and eat carefully. To round things out I work in the garden and cook. It’s a very fulfilling and busy life. In the words of Patricia Loring "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."

Love

In the Dhammapada the Buddha teaches that in this world hate never dispels hate. Only love dispels hate. This is also expressed in the Quaker and other traditions. I would add that love dispels or alleviates pain, fear and hurt as well. I, often find it necessary to have very firm boundaries in saying "no" or "you cannot do that here" but to do so in a loving, understanding and compassionate way, a difficult but important combination. As I commented a couple of days ago and is well written by Patricia Loring "We can cultivate an environment among us which will foster one another’s spiritual growth by directing and redirecting intention and attention to God; by discouraging what draws us away; by loving support for each other in the vicissitudes of our utterly human lives; by respecting and cherishing the uniqueness of each life."

Symptoms 2

Yesterday I wrote about some superficial signs of an underlying problem in this and other cultures, specifically racism, global warming, obesity, the opiate epidemic and others. It is first necessary to become aware that these are the symptoms of an underlying problem, not just problems themselves. In my book I suggest a loving spiritual solution, which worked in my case and required a life-style change as well as some discipline. However, I was not interested in pursuing any sort of life-style change until my life choices became very unpleasant, until I knew my life was not working. Fortunately, I had some guidance and the freedom to choose differently. "These chapters [1^st 3 of Genesis] tell a story, and through that story is revealed the agonizing discovery of our human freedom— our freedom to choose between god and evil, and not only freedom to choose but the imperative laid upon us to choose the good daily, or inevitably fall into evil."

Symptoms

There are several issues in the world today which appear to be symptoms of deeper problems and the, understandable, tendency is to attempt to address the symptoms as the problems. That approach is, obviously, not working. The problems I am referring to include racism, global warming, obesity, the opiate epidemic and others. I cannot say for certain what the solution is. However, promoting a life-style change toward something like what I suggest in my book, Three Simple Questions: Being in the World, But Not of It, would alleviate all of the symptoms - that worked for me! Well written by Patricia Loring "We can cultivate an environment among us which will foster one another’s spiritual growth by directing and redirecting intention and attention to God; by discouraging what draws us away; by loving support for each other in the vicissitudes of our utterly human lives; by respecting and cherishing the uniqueness of each life."

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."