Daily Life

I lead a disciplined life, not because of being fearful of the consequences of not doing so, but because of the joy, peace and freedom resulting from that discipline. As Thomas Dubay, S. M. writes "we might say that in the transforming union the person perceives in his profound center a peaceful, gentle awareness that the Trinity [Love and harmony with all things] is continually present." He goes on to point out that "A person is able to attend to the indwelling Trinity and yet carry on the ordinary business of daily life." I can do that as long as I do not believe that the "ordinary business has much importance.

Practicw

Today at my recovery meeting I encountered people who basically said, "I want what you have", meaning they desired to have a recovery of the same quality as mine. Their comments were very flattering and I kept thinking, "yes but will you do what I do", meaning things like going to several meetings a week, setting aside an hour or more of prayer and meditation every day, mentoring several people and eliminating distractions from my life. I do these things in order to enjoy their "fruits".

Presence

When I awoke the past two mornings, after nights with far to little sleep, I went outside for my dawn ceremony and could feel the presence and abundance of life and love especially strongly. The birds were singing with the beginning of a new day and all the plants were in the midst of spring growth, a glorious time to be present for. "The God of my childhood has given way to the God of my womanhood [adulthood], 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." (Valerie Brown)

God,s Love

Tonight I have been reminded that God’s Love is Absolute and Unconditional. I also realize that I can strive for that and do my best, but that I do not truly understand what that means since I am human, not God. By Absolute I mean that it is always present, regardless of the circumstances. For me, I sometimes get so involved in the "storms" of life that I forget love, at least momentarily. By Unconditional I just mean that the Love is there no matter what I think, do or say, very pure and powerful. I can approach that but, so far, I tend to run into self-generated qualifications. It’s good to be alive!

My Approach

It is easiest to view the current president and his administration with hurt, fear and anger, leading to thoughts of protest, opposition and anticipation of future calamities, all of which may be part of our future. It is also possible to view the current administration with love and faith, part of the "gradual shift in the direction of love", I wrote of yesterday. The calamities may be the same but the eventual outcome would be different. I keep spreading and acting out of love in the desire to move in that direction. My approach "increases the integrity of the universe" and feeds the love seed rather than the fear and anger seed. We shall see!

Change

I look around me or read the paper and note that as a species many of us are destroying the planet on which we depend, killing our brothers and sisters and often reacting to conditions out of hurt, fear and anger. I also witness many acts of loving kindness, though they get less media attention. I note a gradual shift in the direction of love, slower but much the same as the shift I have been through. In my younger years I was self destructive and am now part of the "divine solution". "When one is anchored deeply in the divine solution to all problems, outer turmoil cannot disturb the inner tranquility. It is a peace that surpasses all understanding." (Thomas Dubay, S. M.)

Love

I cannot say with any certainty that, if they put in the effort, other people would generally be capable of the level of self-healing I wrote of yesterday. I can say with confidence that we are all capable of more than we think, if we are willing to put in the effort to develop and use the power of love within us. Developing and nurturing that God or Love "seed" within each of us does take effort and focus. There is a very constructive, positive and loving source of power within each of us which many have experienced or seen. We can develop and use that power. I find that living within that power leads to a fulfilling and enjoyable life.

Holistic Healing

Many years ago I went to a cardiologist who had me use a stethoscope to listen to the back-flow of blood through one of my heart valves and he also showed me the malfunction using a sonogram. Having seen the problem using my intent and hands I directed healing Love or God energy into the area, trusting that my body would know what to do, how to heal the problem. It did and the malfunction disappeared. More recently, when I speak of this to doctors they assume I was miss diagnosed since that explanation fits within their thinking. I have now gone through a similar sequence of events with five cysts, one cancerous/pre-cancerous lesion, a lung problem, a prostate problem, an underperforming thyroid and my disability. All were apparently miss diagnosed. I continue to use the same techniques and am impressed by the power of love and the mind-body connection.

Harmony

I keep looking at and feeling the world around me, sensing the divine harmony in it all and wondering how I can add to that. The feeling of harmony and :rightness" applies to many things from cooking or working in my garden to reading about problems in the paper. The feeling "surpasses all understanding’ or at least mine. At the same time the feeling of harmony is undeniable. As St. John of the Cross commented "He should learn to remain in God’s presence with a loving attention and a tranquil intellect", even though this seems like idleness to him. Soon he will find little by little that a "divine calm and peace with a wondrous, sublime knowledge of God, enveloped in divine love, will be infused into his soul".

Gratitude

I began the day with ten minutes of cardiac exercising on my stationary bike, the only exercise where I can get my heart rate up to 130 or higher. Ten minutes is all my muscles will do for me. I then did the weekly shopping followed by my main activity of the day, which was mowing the front lawn. The mowing took about two hours and I rested for a while when I was half way through. For the average person the same amount of mowing takes fifteen minute, which amazes me. I also did some weeding, planting, meditating and cooking. All of today’s activities were ordinary and it is not possible for me to express how grateful I am to be able to do them. I know many people who cannot and there have been several times in my life when I could not.