I saw today a quote attributed to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Today, I'll stick with love. Hate is just too great a burden to bear." What a terrific reminder that hate, divisiveness, anything other than love is a burden.
Ernest Holmes, in one of his sermons by the sea, reminded us to be "for something but against nothing." This is a high ideal, but I have just been reminded by a friend how important it is to aspire to. To be for something means to bring the force of my consciousness, my love, my energies into alignment with and support for what I believe in.
So today, I am FOR love. I am FOR looking for the oneness instead of the separation. I am FOR awe-filled respect for all the forms of God I see around me. I am FOR caring for one and all. I am FOR peace for every form of life on the planet. I am FOR living in such a way that my presence is a boon to the world. I am FOR love. I am FOR love. I am FOR love.
This means I am always willing to learn from everything that crosses my path -- even my own "mental lapses." I am willing to see myself honestly and change my behavior to be in closer alignment with what I truly want for myself and the world. And that means I am for being open and humble enough to apologize and then strive to not have anything further to apologize for.
Ultimately what it means is total freedom -- because there is nothing to hide. There is nothing to clean up after. There is just love.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
It All Counts
This past Sunday in my message I stated that every relationship we have is the way it is because of the way we are -- no exceptions. The message was a demanding one, because it takes courage to face the truth that we create, within our own minds, the state of our relationships.
At the end of my talk, I heard someone whisper, "I'm exhauuuuusted." I wanted to say, "Hey, I understand -- I've been there!" It is exhausting to be vigilant with our thoughts -- but only for a while. It becomes second nature quickly, because it bears so much fruit! It is exhausting to take note of everything we think, say, and do -- but it becomes easier and easier because it delivers our freedom, our "salvation," right into our hands!
So, the good news is, we're 100% responsible for our lives. The "bad" news is, we're 100% responsible for our lives. We're responsible not just for what we say out loud, but for what we think, what we project through non-verbal communication, and what we do.
I read a story recently by a woman who stopped to pump gas on a long trip home. The pump didn't respond to her request to pay inside, with cash. She pressed the button for assistance, and she could see the two employees inside laughing and talking. The pump continued to read "please wait" and no assistance came. Finally, one of the employees stuck her head out and asked if she wanted to pay in cash. The writer squelched her impulse to snap and said yes, but the pump wouldn't respond. The employee walked over, pushed a couple of buttons, and smiling, apologized for the problem. She then wished the customer a great day.
The writer said, "my ego instantly deflated. I was grateful that I hadn't snapped at her for my assumption that she didn't care about me, her customer. I made the assumption that I wasn't being valued, and withheld the tithe of my spirit, the tithe of my thoughts. I had rude thoughts instead. I recognized the thoughts and chose to make my actions kinder and more compassionate. Because I valued the clerk with my actions, she in turn valued me with her words and actions."
It all counts. Our thoughts, our non-verbal communication, our actions, and our words. They all contribute to the kind of relationships -- the kind of life -- we have. They all contribute to the way the universe, including other people, responds to us.
Wonderfully, it all counts -- every time we recognize what we are doing and choose to make our words and actions and thoughts kinder and more compassionate, we move closer to the mountaintop. Every time we see that the other person is acting out of either lack of knowledge or their own inner pain, we move closer to the mountaintop. Every time we lovingly redirect ourselves to take the high road and the higher road, we move closer to the mountaintop.
Yes, it all counts -- and that is freedom!
At the end of my talk, I heard someone whisper, "I'm exhauuuuusted." I wanted to say, "Hey, I understand -- I've been there!" It is exhausting to be vigilant with our thoughts -- but only for a while. It becomes second nature quickly, because it bears so much fruit! It is exhausting to take note of everything we think, say, and do -- but it becomes easier and easier because it delivers our freedom, our "salvation," right into our hands!
So, the good news is, we're 100% responsible for our lives. The "bad" news is, we're 100% responsible for our lives. We're responsible not just for what we say out loud, but for what we think, what we project through non-verbal communication, and what we do.
I read a story recently by a woman who stopped to pump gas on a long trip home. The pump didn't respond to her request to pay inside, with cash. She pressed the button for assistance, and she could see the two employees inside laughing and talking. The pump continued to read "please wait" and no assistance came. Finally, one of the employees stuck her head out and asked if she wanted to pay in cash. The writer squelched her impulse to snap and said yes, but the pump wouldn't respond. The employee walked over, pushed a couple of buttons, and smiling, apologized for the problem. She then wished the customer a great day.
The writer said, "my ego instantly deflated. I was grateful that I hadn't snapped at her for my assumption that she didn't care about me, her customer. I made the assumption that I wasn't being valued, and withheld the tithe of my spirit, the tithe of my thoughts. I had rude thoughts instead. I recognized the thoughts and chose to make my actions kinder and more compassionate. Because I valued the clerk with my actions, she in turn valued me with her words and actions."
It all counts. Our thoughts, our non-verbal communication, our actions, and our words. They all contribute to the kind of relationships -- the kind of life -- we have. They all contribute to the way the universe, including other people, responds to us.
Wonderfully, it all counts -- every time we recognize what we are doing and choose to make our words and actions and thoughts kinder and more compassionate, we move closer to the mountaintop. Every time we see that the other person is acting out of either lack of knowledge or their own inner pain, we move closer to the mountaintop. Every time we lovingly redirect ourselves to take the high road and the higher road, we move closer to the mountaintop.
Yes, it all counts -- and that is freedom!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The Glory of Human Nature
"The tasks facing us today are enormous, but it is the glory of human nature that there will always be those rare individuals who say, Let there be dangers, let there be difficulties -- whatever it costs, I want to live to the full height of my being, my feet still on the ground but my head crowned with stars." Eknath Easwaran, The Compassionate Universe
I think the first enormous task is to face the fact that we primarily act not from our conscious thought, but from our old habituated thinking patterns -- which are found deep in our psyches, in the "ruts" and "abysses" of our history. There is a very easy way to see what those old patterns are, however. Just look around.
Our own judgments and feelings are perfect mirrors for our own old stuff. For example, if you get defensive in the face of every criticism, realize that it is an old abyss in your deep consciousness that needs to be backfilled. Take every opportunity to breathe deeply, let the criticism flow in and through and out. What happens with the abysses is, they trap everything and we wallow in the resulting sludge! If we let the criticism just flow on through and out of us, it doesn't add to our habit of thinking, wallowing, feeling bad about ourselves and angry at others.
Take every opportunity to see what it is that life is reflecting back to you. It is the quickest way I have found to alert myself to the old habits that can control my behavior and my feelings. Then I can take the discovery into meditation and go deep with it, and then begin to backfill that rut or abyss with love and compassion.
Take affirmative action too -- praise those you are angry at, praise those you judge, thank those who criticize you. That kind of affirmative approach helps form a new habit of thinking and feeling -- one based on loving kindness. When someone really ticks me off, I know it is time to find things to thank them for and praise them for. As soon as I begin, I can feel the relief -- my abdominal muscles and my shoulders relax, the knot in my solar plexus begins to ease, and I can again feel positive about life in general.
Once I begin to face the "dangers and difficulties" within myself -- which are the scariest ones of all -- I feel my head moving toward the stars. I feel my own height increasing, my own power moving through my being. I feel myself infused with energy for another beautiful day of life!
I think the first enormous task is to face the fact that we primarily act not from our conscious thought, but from our old habituated thinking patterns -- which are found deep in our psyches, in the "ruts" and "abysses" of our history. There is a very easy way to see what those old patterns are, however. Just look around.
Our own judgments and feelings are perfect mirrors for our own old stuff. For example, if you get defensive in the face of every criticism, realize that it is an old abyss in your deep consciousness that needs to be backfilled. Take every opportunity to breathe deeply, let the criticism flow in and through and out. What happens with the abysses is, they trap everything and we wallow in the resulting sludge! If we let the criticism just flow on through and out of us, it doesn't add to our habit of thinking, wallowing, feeling bad about ourselves and angry at others.
Take every opportunity to see what it is that life is reflecting back to you. It is the quickest way I have found to alert myself to the old habits that can control my behavior and my feelings. Then I can take the discovery into meditation and go deep with it, and then begin to backfill that rut or abyss with love and compassion.
Take affirmative action too -- praise those you are angry at, praise those you judge, thank those who criticize you. That kind of affirmative approach helps form a new habit of thinking and feeling -- one based on loving kindness. When someone really ticks me off, I know it is time to find things to thank them for and praise them for. As soon as I begin, I can feel the relief -- my abdominal muscles and my shoulders relax, the knot in my solar plexus begins to ease, and I can again feel positive about life in general.
Once I begin to face the "dangers and difficulties" within myself -- which are the scariest ones of all -- I feel my head moving toward the stars. I feel my own height increasing, my own power moving through my being. I feel myself infused with energy for another beautiful day of life!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
On Being a Force of Nature
I have been contemplating Francis of Assisi's famous prayer lately. It begins, "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace . . . ."
While it sounds as though one is talking to a "Lord" who is out there somewhere, a slight change in perspective allows me to speak to the Inner Divine, the force of Life itself. That force is Peace. When I remember that, the whole prayer becomes a very powerful mind-changing "event" for me.
I am asking my Inner Self to change my perspective so that I am an instrument of peace. What does it mean to be an instrument of something? It means that my whole being -- my effort, my thought, my words, my actions, my very feelings -- is dedicated to one thing: peace. It means I am willing to be peace.
There is something monumentally powerful in being an instrument. When I am willing to be the instrument of a higher feeling or force, like peace, it means my life is a trust for something greater. My talents, training, compassion, intelligence, and energy are all focused on bringing peace to my world.
In his wonderful book The Compassionate Universe, Eknath Easwaran writes, that a person who looks upon her entire life as a trust "will never burn out, feel defeated, or get depressed or bored." Now that is quite a statement!
George Bernard Shaw repeats it in a wry and insightful way: "This is the true joy in life: the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, the being thoroughly worn out before you're thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote iself to making you happy."
Well, that sort of brings me up short! It makes me realize that I sometimes act like that "feverish little clod" complaining that the world is not making me happy. How truly fine it is to realize that and to remember what I am: I declare myself to be a force of nature, not waiting around to be made happy, but claiming happiness now. I claim happiness because I claim my life to be a trust for peace and joy, for freedom and faith in something bigger than a feverish little clod.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Every moment, every day, in every breath.
While it sounds as though one is talking to a "Lord" who is out there somewhere, a slight change in perspective allows me to speak to the Inner Divine, the force of Life itself. That force is Peace. When I remember that, the whole prayer becomes a very powerful mind-changing "event" for me.
I am asking my Inner Self to change my perspective so that I am an instrument of peace. What does it mean to be an instrument of something? It means that my whole being -- my effort, my thought, my words, my actions, my very feelings -- is dedicated to one thing: peace. It means I am willing to be peace.
There is something monumentally powerful in being an instrument. When I am willing to be the instrument of a higher feeling or force, like peace, it means my life is a trust for something greater. My talents, training, compassion, intelligence, and energy are all focused on bringing peace to my world.
In his wonderful book The Compassionate Universe, Eknath Easwaran writes, that a person who looks upon her entire life as a trust "will never burn out, feel defeated, or get depressed or bored." Now that is quite a statement!
George Bernard Shaw repeats it in a wry and insightful way: "This is the true joy in life: the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one, the being thoroughly worn out before you're thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote iself to making you happy."
Well, that sort of brings me up short! It makes me realize that I sometimes act like that "feverish little clod" complaining that the world is not making me happy. How truly fine it is to realize that and to remember what I am: I declare myself to be a force of nature, not waiting around to be made happy, but claiming happiness now. I claim happiness because I claim my life to be a trust for peace and joy, for freedom and faith in something bigger than a feverish little clod.
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Every moment, every day, in every breath.
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