Shadow Side

I get up in the middle of the night for several hours of prayer and meditation. The night, the darkness is, for me, a sacred time when my "conscious contact" is at its peak. I am well aware of the presence of my shadow or dark side and spent several years living there. I now use the same energy to live in the Light and to project that Light in everything I do. This is very similar to what John Yungblut says of Carl Jung "What deeper meaning did this paradox hold for him? It was the revelation that not only might good be wrought from the darkness of the unformed abyss, the unconscious, but that part of the very energy of the evil urge in man, if one would but wrestle with it, as had Jacob with the angel, would yield its own peculiar blessing. So profoundly did he trust the darkness of the unconscious!"

Sspiritual Growth

I have achieved a high degree of joy, love, spiritual and emotional freedom in spite of having to deal with several physical and emotional challenges, various people have called me "enlightened". In the process I have given up many attachments and beliefs. As Jack Kornfield wrote "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." I have also done an in-depth inventory of myself in order to become aware of the emotional baggage holding me back from complete spiritual growth in keeping with Kornfield’s comment that "Wise spiritual practice requires that we actively address the pain and conflict of our life in order to come to inner integration and harmony. Through the guidance of a skillful teacher, meditation can help bring this healing. Without including the essential step of healing, students will find that they are blocked from deeper levels of meditation or are unable to integrate them into their lives.

Hope

I have hope for the future - I am a dreamer. I know that humans are capable of acting and thinking not out of violence and anger, but according to "that of God" in each of us. As in my case the violent part, potential, will always be there but it need not be expressed. We can begin to take actions according to three questions that are the focus of my book (Would I do this in front of God [or whatever you call the power or force behind the Universe]; Is my name really on it [or is it really my responsibility]; Will this increase the integrity of the universe [or is this action motivated by love, rather than fear, acting out of love always increases the integrity of the universe]), or something like them. People could begin to act out of love (inclusiveness, compassion, connection) and less fear (money, power, prestige, individuation & isolation). My wish is that we get to such a place as peacefully as possible.

Spirits

Two days ago Maria and I went back to Gettysburg in order for me to continue working with the troubled spirits of the dead soldiers there. My work with those spirits is ongoing, mostly in the middle of the night and including the recent trip. In addition to doing a sort of therapy with them (listening, being compassionate & understanding, making suggestions), I have basically recruited them in order to encourage the living to act more out of love (inclusiveness, compassion, connection) and less fear (money, power, prestige, individuation & isolation). As a part of my mission with the spirits I repeatedly pass on to them the intense feeling of unconditional love which was shown to me during my near death experience. This whole process is tremendously rewarding, exciting, weird and totally exhausting.

Connection 2

The situation we find ourselves in today is aptly and accurately described by Benjamin Friedman when he wrote "When material progress falters........people become more jealous of their status relative to others. Anti-immigrant sentiment typically increases, as does conflict between races and classes; concern for the poor tends to decline." There is a great deal of fear and anxiety along with the expected behaviors, as he describes. Those behaviors are likely to make the situation worse. The situation can improve if people begin acting with compassion, understanding, love and the recognition that we are all connected.

Connection

Today I have been taking note of the fact that while our president denies the apparent reality of human caused climate change and removes us from the Paris agreement, some industrial and political leaders are strengthening their commitments to reduce greenhouse gasses. There is a growing recognition of our interconnectedness and responsibility to take care of the world we depend on, a hopeful sign.

Peace 2

A large part of the reason that I feel a sense of peace over the political decisions being made is that I realize that they are none of my business, while I am also doing what I can with the actions that are my business. Putting it in terms of the second of the three questions that are the focus of my book (Would I do this in front of God [or whatever you call the power or force behind the Universe]; Is my name really on it [or is it really my responsibility]; Will this increase the integrity of the universe [or is this action motivated by love, rather than fear, acting out of love always increases the integrity of the universe]), those decisions are not my responsibility. I simply continue to act out of love.

Peace

Recently I have listened to the news and read the paper some and I have to say that I do not like what is going on politically and will do everything I can to change it, like my book and this blog, but I am also at peace with it. There have been decisions on immigration, health matters and, most recently, pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement that are counter to the ideas I present in my book and this blog. Those decisions are also beyond my control.  "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."

Inner Silence

I was recently asked why I get up in the middle of the night to pray and meditate and I responded that it is then that I connect best with God. I really like the comment by Seeger that "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." It is in the middle of the night that I focus best and feel more loving and less "bombarded". It is then that I better achieve inner silence.

Gratitude

Today I performed some simple tasks like shopping, exercise, weeding gardens, bed repair, cooking and other household tasks. For me, being disabled, these activities were very difficult, time consuming and I felt extremely grateful that I could do them at all. I also did some reading of spiritual literature and meditating to maintain my "conscious contact" for which I am also grateful. In the words of Meister Eckhart "A man should receive God in all things and train his mind to keep God ever present in his mind, in his aims and in his love. Note how you regard God: keep the same attitude that you have in church or in your cell, and carry it with you in the crowd and in unrest and inequality.....In your acts you should have an equal mind and equal faith and equal love for your God.....If you were equal-minded in this way, then no man could keep you from having God ever present."