Think On These Things

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. --The Dalai Lama



Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we have learned here. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and the acceptance of love back into our hearts.  -- Marianne Williamson

Know that you can not help but judge. What you then do with your judgment is the choice. -- Story Waters





The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them. -- Thomas Merton





People only see what they are prepared to see. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson






The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal. It can't be organized or regulated. It isn't true that everyone should follow one path. Listen to your own truth. -- Ram Dass

We do not see things as they are.

We see them as we are.      

 -- The Talmud

The Karma WILL be with you

"You don't change what is. You change what is next."from  Recovery: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice
by Rabbi Rami Shapiro

KARMA: actions determining future state- in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, the quality of somebody's current and future lives as determined by that person's behavior in this and in previous lives.....what goes around comes around.....cause and effect.....not punishment or retribution.....not fate but the consequences of acts chosen by
humans with free will

There have been times in my life when I was so angry at the behavior of others that I wanted to make sure that everyone knew what they had done so that they would be made to pay for their behavior. I think we've all been there before. After all, why should that bully get away with that kind of behavior?

Somewhere along the way I realized that there are situations I can do something about and many more that I cannot. After I have done what is in my power to do to be who I am called to be, I must let go of that situation and trust that somewhere down the line others will learn their own lessons. It is not my job to teach them those lessons for their own good. They can and should take care of themselves. By changing my behavior and worrying about what I should do to be my best self, I change what is next...I change my future.

“In Hinduism, karma is usually understood to mean that what we experience now is the product of actions we took in the past. This is not the same as fate or predestination...

fate and predestination remove the element of free will from our lives. We are not responsible for the life we experience.  It was mapped out for us by forces outside ourselves. Karma teaches just the opposite. Karma simply says we reap what we sow. Each action we take sets in motion forces that will eventually coalesce to produce a new set of conditions with which we will have to engage, and to which we will have to respond. How we respond is up to us. It is a matter of free will. But once we respond, we cannot escape the consequences of our response, which will manifest in a future karmic moment.”  (Recovery, page 16)

What a relief to accept that another person's karma is up to them to work out. I do not need to be the cosmic whistle blower...in fact it is a job I an not capable of even of I think I'm qualified. Even when we think no one is watching or sees what is happening, the UNIVERSE is watching.....

"Karma does not allow us to escape having to deal with the consequences....it basically says you have no choice but to choose how you will respond to the suchness of this moment."   Shapiro

"...in the midst of death, there is life in learning." -- Parker Palmer

One of the hardest things for me to do is sit with the pain of loss. I want to fix it right now so that the pain will go away. I am not talking about a loss through the actual death of a loved one as much as I am referring to the losses we experience just as a normal part of living: children growing up, friendships changing, job loss or change, our favorite hairdresser moving out of town, the grocery store we’ve always shopped at being sold to a large nation- wide chain, the worship liturgy at church changing, losing our grandfather’s watch….you get the picture. Not earth shattering things….just normal every day losses that add up and need to be grieved- even if they are called insignificant. I have a sneaking suspicion that one reason the big things knock us off our rocker in such a devastating way is that we never learned how to grieve the small stuff. Instead we pile it up like old tree limbs. Then when a fire does come, not only do the trees still standing burn, but all of the old dried dead wood laying around adds fuel to the fire and it burns hotter and more ferocious than it would have if the dead limbs had been cleared away.

 I was raised in a family where dealing with feelings was not encouraged and especially not feelings most think of as negative.    "Get over it."    I can’t fault my parents completely for this ethic because they were raised in the same kind of family. As the country songs goes, “the roots of my raisin’ run deep.” I come from a long line of denial. I have tried many things to dull the pain of loss. One doesn’t have to look far in our society to see examples of the ways humans try to escape pain; drug and alcohol abuse, violence, over eating, compulsive exercise, work, and recreation, filling one’s life up with “things”….the list goes on and on.

We are not a society that endures discomfort well. It has taken me many years to learn how to just be in pain without trying to make it go away and I can’t say that I do it well most of the time but there are moments when I succeed just a little. These small moments of success give me hope that, with practice and patience, I can learn how to grieve the losses that accompany day to day living in such a way that these events become the rich tapestry of a healthy life instead of the landscape of a ravaged forest.

One thing that does help me is to read the words of others who have navigated this journey successfully.  I have borrowed inspiring words from one of my favorites and include them below in the hope that if you are in need of comfort, you will be fed by them as I have been. Peace Be With You.

From Parker Palmer:

‘Well, at some point in that journey with depression, I was given by a friend some words from that extraordinary novel by T.H. White, The Once and Future King. This is a passage in which the young Arthur, king to be, in his depression, his dark night of the soul, has sought counsel from Merlin, the magician, who was his mentor… these wonderful words created a spark of light for me in the midst of that death-dealing episode of my life. Speaking to the young Arthur, Merlin says,

“The best thing for being sad is to learn something. That is the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies. You may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins. You may miss your only love. You may see the world around you devastated by evil lunatics or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds.

There is only one thing for it, then: To learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the thing for you.”

"Learning is the thing for you." I read those words, and I began to understand that in the midst of death, there is life in learning. I could not do much in the darkness of my depression. I couldn't work. I couldn't connect with other people. But I could start to learn what was in there. I could grope around in the darkness and learn what and who was there. And, of course, those of you who have been on that journey know that part of what I found and learned about there was what Thomas Merton calls true self.”               

It's A Marvelous Night for a Moondance

A few days ago I visited the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. The quilts, like most other works of art hanging in galleries, are so spectacular that you can view them day after day and attend to something different each time you visit. This last time was no exception since it was my second visit in 3 months. Many fine quilts caught my eye but 'Moon Dance', by Judy Coates Perez from Chicago, was the star of the show for me.

I know that 'Moon Dance' is not a traditional looking quilt but I was drawn to it because of the story I saw in it. And.....I know that my interpretation is not what the artist had in mind when she created this award winning quilt, but there was a story in me that needed to be recognized and this quilt was the instrument of the universe calling my attention to my lesson for the day.

In my life, I have a history of holding onto people and circumstances I treasure way too tightly. It is called attachment and I do it well. At the root of attachment is seeing others and other situations as separate from ourselves and so attaching is a way of holding on. The opposite of attachment is not to be so detached that you don't form relationships at all. The opposite is valuing each circumstance for what it is, appreciating it and letting it enrich your life and at the same time, letting go of it- realizing that you cannot control it or keep it- recognizing that you really are not separate from that situation. You already have it.

"According to the Buddhist point of view, nonattachment is exactly the opposite of separation. You need two things in order to have attachment: the thing you’re attaching to, and the person who’s attaching. In nonattachment, on the other hand, there’s unity. There’s unity because there’s nothing to attach to. If you have unified with the whole universe, there’s nothing outside of you, so the notion of attachment becomes absurd. Who will attach to what?" -- Buddhist teacher, John Daido Loori

I want the things in my life to stay the same because that imagined stability brings me comfort. Let me have the same job forever, enjoy the same friends forever, live in the same place forever.....nothing is forever and the only thing that remains unchanging is the truth that things change. It is a good thing. Creatures living in stagnant water die.

The red bird on the quilt can change by flying wherever the whim takes it. The deer has the choice to enjoy the red bird right now for what it can bring to his life because the deer knows that sooner or later the bird will move on....or....the deer can feel sadness, anger, disappointment, or abandonment when the bird actually does fly away. It might seem that they live in two different worlds: one on the ground and one in the air, and that the things they have in common are few. I reality they are both a part of each other. Yes, the deer could expect that because the two of them have shared a portion of life, the bird will choose to remain in the tree right above its antlers forever. In truth, the bird will eventually fly away because that is what birds do. And that is what birds are supposed to do.

Life is stressful, yes. But it is so because humans wish to control people and situations to hold them close, not realizing there is nothing outside of ourselves in the first place. What could be closer than that?

Art and Soul inspired by Machado

"Last night while I was sleeping I dreamt,

blessed illusion,

that I had a beehive in my heart and golden bees were fabricating, from old bitterness,

white wax and sweet honey"

Anthony Machado

Friday Food for Thought

The definition of radical is

"going to the root."

“Storytellers,                          by the very act of telling, communicate a radical learning that changes lives and the world: telling stories is a universally accessible means through which people make meaning”

-- Chris Cavanaugh

Contradictions     make you  who   you are.

If you have              two religions              in your land,            the two will cut      each other's throats;                     

but if you have thirty religions,

they dwell in peace.

--Voltaire

You can safely assume that                 you've created              God in your own image when                it turns out that God hates

all the same people you do.

--Anne Lamott

Let your religion          be less of a         theory

and more of                a love affair.

--G.K. Chesterton

Looking for the Mustard Seed

There is a Buddhist wisdom tale about a mother who came to see the Buddha after her young son had died. She was understandably distraught and, holding her young son in her arms, came asking the teacher to do something to bring her son back to life and relieve her suffering. The Buddha looked upon her with compassion. He then instructed the mother to bring him a mustard seed from a home that has not known suffering. If she could do this, he would restore life to her son.

The woman began to journey around the village, then the countryside and finally, into the wider world, all of the time looking for a household that had known no suffering. As she entered each village and talked to people living there she heard their stories of suffering, many equal to or greater than her own. At last, many months later, she returned to the great teacher. When asked if she had brought the seed she answered the Buddha, “No Master, I was unable to do as you asked. I now see why you sent me on this journey. Suffering comes to all of us. Being human means that suffering cannot be escaped. The only relief for our suffering is to cultivate compassion so that by sharing in the suffering of others we can bring a small amount of comfort to them and they to us.”

One of the ways we can cultivate compassion is by practicing what is called Commonalities. This means that instead of looking at the differences between ourselves and others, we focus instead on what we have in common.

Try this spiritual practice for the next week and see what happens. Each day choose a person from your life with whom you believe you have very little in common- even a person you can’t stand and wouldn’t want to be like. Picture that person in your mind, think their name and then say the following mantra, taking time at each step to really focus on and acknowledge the similarities they share with you.

1. Step 1: “Just like me, this person is seeking happiness in his/her life.”
2. Step 2: “Just like me, this person is trying to avoid suffering in his/her life.”
3. Step 3: “Just like me, this person has known sadness, loneliness and despair.”
4. Step 4: “Just like me, this person is seeking to fill his/her needs.”
5. Step 5: “Just like me, this person is learning about life.”

(This “Just Like Me” Commonalities practice comes from an article on Cultivating Compassion in the online manual, WikiHow, and is attributed to an article from Ode magazine. I was unable to find more information on the specific issue and date of the Ode magazine referenced. CLW)

Questions for Reflection:

(How) Does this practice change the way you feel about the individual people you chose to focus on each day?

(How) Does this practice change the way you react to new people who might rub you the wrong way?

(How) Does this practice change the way you feel about yourself?

Choose Your Own Adventure

On our best days, most of us can acknowledge that there are many ways to live out our lives and be fulfilled- we don't all have to be the same. We give lip service to the importance of doing what makes us happy. But in reality, in this country at least, we receieve mixed messages that often seem to negate quite a bit of that freedom to find our own path, diversity of experience and inner worth talk.

I have seen the following wisdom tale used to illustrate many morals. I am curious as to what you, my reader, makes of it. I have copied a generic version of the story below. After it, I have listed various possible interpretations of the story. I would love to know what YOU think the moral of the story is. You can either choose one of the morals listed below the story or you can tell me your own. Even if you choose not to respond, I hope the story gives you some food for thought today........and may it be a grand one!

_______________________________________________________________

There once was a business man on vacation in a small coastal village when a boat with one fisherman in it pulled up to the dock. Inside the small boat were several large beautiful tuna. The business man complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The fisherman replied, "Not very long."
The business man then asked why the fisherman didn't stay out longer and catch more?
The fisherman said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

 "But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The fisherman smiled and said, "I sleep late, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life."

The business man scoffed, "I have an MBA and I can help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several more boats and eventually have a whole fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to a really big city to run your expanding enterprise."

The fisherman asked, "How long will this all take?"
To which the business man replied, "15 - 20 years."
"But what then?" asked the fisherman.
The business man laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!"

"Millions, huh - then what?"

The business man said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

did you think I forgot? ;-)

________________________________________________________________

What do YOU think the moral of this story is ?

1.   The way you spend your life should be determined by your personality and what you value.

2.   Consumerism, and/or higher education for the sake of status, fosters greed.

3.   Sometimes we lose many precious years trying to obtain something we already have.

4.   This story should be called: "In praise of idleness."

5.   Know what you want out of life- what will bring you true happiness- so you'll know when you have it.

6.   (Insert your own words here)

It Takes a Village to See a Whole Elephant

Once upon a time an elephant came wandering into a country village. It seemed like a fairly tame animal and it stood in the center of town as if it was trying to make up its mind as to what it should do next. 

 It just so happened that six young blind men who lived in a group home were going on a picnic when the elephant appeared. Their teacher guide told them that an elephant had been spotted in the town square and asked if they would like to make a detour to check it out. Since the young men had never seen an elephant, and only knew that it was some kind of large animal, they agreed to the detour.

When their group reached the village square, their teacher enlisted the help of five villagers to act as additional helpers. Each of the, now six, guides took the hand of one of the blind men and lead them to a part of the large animal. Each young man was allowed to touch the animal. They ran their hands over the wrinkly dusty coat of the animal, moving up and down and from side to side.  After a short while their teacher asked them to describe the elephant.

The first young man had been touching the leg of the elephant so he said- this elephant is like a tall fat pillar. It must be a very tall animal.

The second young man had been touching the tail. He said that the elephant was rope-like…very thin and strong.

The third young man had been exploring the trunk of the beast so he said he thought that the elephant was like a tree trunk he had felt once, except that it was bendable.

The next young man had been standing on a crate touching the elephant’s ear. He said the elephant was a big fan-like being that was very tall.

The fifth man had been touching the belly of the elephant. He thought that the large animal was built like a wall, similar to the one that surrounded the back yard of their house.

The last young man had been touching the cool curved tusk of the elephant and he thought the elephant was a smooth pipe and was surprised that this pipe- like being was a breathing animal.

As each young man chimed in with his description of the elephant, the other young men began to argue with each new pronouncement.  “NO,” each one shouted, “that is not what the elephant felt like at all. How could you be so stupid as to think that this graceful fan-like animal was built like a wall?” Or, “Since when does a rope feel like a fat, tall pillar?” Soon the courtyard where they stood was a mass of loud, angry, confusion.

After a while, they tired of their shouting match and sat down in the cool shade of a tree.  They all agreed that this was a crazy situation and yet they still could not agree on what the elephant looked like.  Imagine their surprise when they heard their teacher telling them that they were all correct and all wrong at the same time!  They had all been touching a different part of this very large animal. The animal was more than any of their one small experiences of it. They all laughed and laughed to think that they had argued over the right answer when in the end they realized there were many answers to this perplexing question.

• In Buddhism, the Buddha compares the blind men to people who hold on to their own views so tightly that they appear to be blind and ignorant because they can only see one side of an issue.

• The Sufi Muslim poet Rumi uses this parable to explain the limitations of individual viewpoints.

• In the religion Jainism, this story is used to explain the Jain belief that truth can be stated in seven different ways and is a teaching about living in harmony with people who have different belief systems.

• “He who has seen the Lord in a particular way limits the Lord to that alone and thinks that He is nothing else."  Ramakrishna Paramhansa- 19^th century Hindu mystic

Making Your Soul at Home

According to Iowa architect Anthony Lawlor in his book, A Home for the Soul: a guide for dwelling with spirit and imagination; "From the moment we are born, we seek to find home. Yet, despite this primal longing, our dwelling places often disappoint us. The very places that hold the promise of harmony and revitalization can, instead, be the abodes of disorder, friction and loneliness. If we do not learn how our homes can care for the soul, there will always be a gap between who we are and where we live."

In his book, Lawlor goes on to show the reader how to transform their dwelling place, room by room into a home that nurtures the soul. What are a few of the things we can do, regardless of our particular spiritual path, to create an atmosphere within our living space to help us renew ourselves after a hectic day of striving to be more than ordinary?

One of the most direct paths to making our home a place that nurtures our soul is to give it a good cleaning and repair the things we have neglected. Cleaning forces us to slow down and pay attention. Because we get in such a hurry, we often become alienated from our surroundings. Cleaning not only purifies our homes but puts us back in touch with our possessions. As we clean and tidy treasured items, we remember the stories that go with them. By looking at all of the "stuff" we own, we can choose to keep those items that enhance our creativity, imagination, and sense of well-being, and get rid of those things that do nothing for us and make us feel weighed down.

Eat more home cooked meals and less take-out. Not only is it better for us but it is better for our souls. From the beginning of time, people's lives have revolved around the cooking fire and the community meal. The kitchen is the place where the elements of fire, water and earth combine to feed our whole being. If you live alone, invite others to share a meal with you often to enrich your life and home with a sense of community. If you share your home with others, intentionally set aside mealtime as a time for staying in touch with each other. The menu need not be exotic nor the utensils fancy to cultivate warmth in the "hearth" of the home.

Choose items for your home that bring you pleasure. Depending on your budget, choose a set of sheets or a blanket or pillow that evokes a feeling of sensuality in you. These might change depending on the time of the year or your moods. Hang pictures of images that help you feel restful and peaceful, even if they are clipped from a magazine and arranged in a dime store frame. Think of your bedroom as the place where you are recreated each night to prepare for a new tomorrow. Take electronics out of this room as much as possible to foster a sense of rest from the hurry of the world outside your door.

As we rush around in our attempt to fit in and be like everyone else, remember that our homes can be places that nourish our souls- a retreat away from all that would strip us of our uniqueness. Lawlor reminds us "that the sacredness we seek can be found right under our noses, in the environments we inhabit."