In living the Truth, I shine a light that will draw to me all that is right.
I believe that above and beyond finding inspirational stories and readings for our children that living our lives in Spiritual Truth is the surest way to teach our children.
I have a daughter who is just over 2 years old. She has entered a phase where she often copies what she hears and sees. For example, when my wife tells me that she was saying, "Daddy...Big Hug?" in the car on the way back from daycare I smile. This tells me that the manner in which I surround her with love is making an impression I can stand behind. My daughter was looking forward to seeing me, and getting a BIG HUG was high on her mind.
As she grows I fully expect the way in which she looks to me as her father will become more important. My behaviours and the way in which I live my life will communicate and impress more upon her than spoken or read words will in her earliest years. And if it's true that we build many of our deepest values and influences in our first 5-7 years of living then she is undoubtedly in a critical place.
Before she reaches that time when she is asking questions, and I in turn guide her to explore and to seek self-realization, I will be her guide in what I do and say. When she comes back to me with questions about the world I will respond through words of acceptance. When she asks me why something is, I will speak consistently from my place of Truth. And as she blossoms outward like a tree seeking air and nutrients my heart will smile. For I will know that for as much as I am her guide, that she must inevitably come to a place where she experiences and learns from life for herself. So long as I lived in Truth and acceptance I will have done my very best as a guide.
And that is more profound than anything else I can think of.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Friends of Past and Present
I was recently offered the gift of reflection. Perhaps by starting with this reflection upon the past the present might reveal itself more intuitively?
I grew up as an only child without a permanent father figure. Given that my mother has made transition I must confess at being challenged to be harsh. Yet in spite of her efforts to provide a good home and to love me I was surrounded alcohol, drugs, violence, narcissism and quite often various forms of outright abuse. In turn, I believe I came to make friends with those in a similar state of mind to my own.
In reflecting upon events of the past a series of memories unlocked for me recently. As I scanned these memories a pattern became clear. As a child and young man I had some pretty rotten friends. But then, I believe that I was attracting people to me that were in line with where I was. Whether it was a put-down, lack of loyalty, a faltering belief, or simply an inconsistent presence I believe, upon reflection, that I came to develop a very poor appreciation for what a friend should be. And through it all, what time I could grab with my mother was generally in the pub. If you’ve spent much time with people who drink habitually you might appreciate the example I was given about friendship when it came to my mother.
I share this reflection for one purpose alone – to draw a connection to the present. I firmly believe that events happen to provide us the opportunity to evolve and unfold. Recently, a friend in our spiritual community had stopped coming to me for treatment work. The relationship had simply ceased. It was not until a friend of a friend had a conversation about this that I was prompted to enquire.
I could have focused on what this friend had done. After all, they had shown inconsistency, and this would be in line with earlier examples in my life. But whatever the case, any effort to look to another in life is a sure avenue for blame. I wanted to discover my opportunity for change and growth.
The comment that hit me was that I was ‘independent’ and showed such a demeanour of ‘togetherness’ that they felt as though the relationship was one-sided. At first I was not clear on what this meant or how I could grow from these comments. So, I simply put the knowing out into the universe that I would have what I needed to make the next step of my journey.
Following this treatment the memories I just related came to mind over a series of days.
In reviewing the memories of days past and reflecting upon this post I begin to see the connection between the past and the present. How insidious those hidden beliefs can be. I clearly had a hidden value system of independence. After all, why were friends to be trusted? They’d only say mean things, and leave you when the going got tough. If you weren’t buying the drinks, who were you anyway? And those that I should have been able to trust the most were filled with anger and expressed abuse when their own insecurities caught them.
As I look to this moment I know that I have the awareness to surround myself with the friends that support and love me. I deserve friends that nourish me. And my friends deserve, in me, someone who is open and loving in return. I find the right way to be loving, supporting, strong and open with my friends, which in turn provides them with a basis upon which to feel as though there is a relationship of give and take.
I grew up as an only child without a permanent father figure. Given that my mother has made transition I must confess at being challenged to be harsh. Yet in spite of her efforts to provide a good home and to love me I was surrounded alcohol, drugs, violence, narcissism and quite often various forms of outright abuse. In turn, I believe I came to make friends with those in a similar state of mind to my own.
In reflecting upon events of the past a series of memories unlocked for me recently. As I scanned these memories a pattern became clear. As a child and young man I had some pretty rotten friends. But then, I believe that I was attracting people to me that were in line with where I was. Whether it was a put-down, lack of loyalty, a faltering belief, or simply an inconsistent presence I believe, upon reflection, that I came to develop a very poor appreciation for what a friend should be. And through it all, what time I could grab with my mother was generally in the pub. If you’ve spent much time with people who drink habitually you might appreciate the example I was given about friendship when it came to my mother.
I share this reflection for one purpose alone – to draw a connection to the present. I firmly believe that events happen to provide us the opportunity to evolve and unfold. Recently, a friend in our spiritual community had stopped coming to me for treatment work. The relationship had simply ceased. It was not until a friend of a friend had a conversation about this that I was prompted to enquire.
I could have focused on what this friend had done. After all, they had shown inconsistency, and this would be in line with earlier examples in my life. But whatever the case, any effort to look to another in life is a sure avenue for blame. I wanted to discover my opportunity for change and growth.
The comment that hit me was that I was ‘independent’ and showed such a demeanour of ‘togetherness’ that they felt as though the relationship was one-sided. At first I was not clear on what this meant or how I could grow from these comments. So, I simply put the knowing out into the universe that I would have what I needed to make the next step of my journey.
Following this treatment the memories I just related came to mind over a series of days.
In reviewing the memories of days past and reflecting upon this post I begin to see the connection between the past and the present. How insidious those hidden beliefs can be. I clearly had a hidden value system of independence. After all, why were friends to be trusted? They’d only say mean things, and leave you when the going got tough. If you weren’t buying the drinks, who were you anyway? And those that I should have been able to trust the most were filled with anger and expressed abuse when their own insecurities caught them.
As I look to this moment I know that I have the awareness to surround myself with the friends that support and love me. I deserve friends that nourish me. And my friends deserve, in me, someone who is open and loving in return. I find the right way to be loving, supporting, strong and open with my friends, which in turn provides them with a basis upon which to feel as though there is a relationship of give and take.
Friday, July 10, 2009
It Might Just Rain...?
I read an email the other day that included a piece written by Stephen Levine. "Fear is MY pain, compassion is THE pain."
What resonated for me was the realization that the bigger pain that calls for our compassion is echoed by the personal pain that we feel as individuals. But do not be confused by the words bigger or little. This is about the bigger picture and our personal experience within it.
When we forget the nature of things, or who we are, and the Infinite Potential we have acccess to it becomes easy to be distracted by both the personal and bigger pains about us. How easy it is to feel pain, forget ourselves and become overwhelmed by it. How subtle it is to unconsciously (or consciously) feel the bigger pains around us. And in turn, when we do not understand this we confuse both the bigger and personal pain. The result, we feel pain.
How distracting that must be.
What resonated for me in Stephen's comment was that it reminds us of the nature of things. The pains we feel are not actually our suffering. They are opportunities to realize that these pains are not us, they are about us. Pain is like a coat. We can put it on and wear it, and suddenly we find a practical application when it keeps us warm. Sometimes pain is a very necessary part of our learning, and our growth.
But the coat is not who we are. It is something we pick up and put down as the situation warrants. Likewise, pain is something that we pick up and put down. Sometimes we become absorbed in the story of the pain. We start putting on the coat because we look out the window and see clouds even though there is no rain. Then we might find ourselves putting on our coat because it rained yesterday. And before we know it, we are wearing the coat all the time.
How is this relevant? What can you do with this? I think the first step is to make a choice to acknowledge how you wear your coat, or your pain. Can you be honest with yourself? Do you confuse the pain around you with your pain? Do you recite the story behind your pain and take comfort in it? If answers begin to come up ask yourself what might be causing this behaviour or pattern of thinking.
Perhaps the first step is realizing that you now wear your coat all the time, just in case?
What resonated for me was the realization that the bigger pain that calls for our compassion is echoed by the personal pain that we feel as individuals. But do not be confused by the words bigger or little. This is about the bigger picture and our personal experience within it.
When we forget the nature of things, or who we are, and the Infinite Potential we have acccess to it becomes easy to be distracted by both the personal and bigger pains about us. How easy it is to feel pain, forget ourselves and become overwhelmed by it. How subtle it is to unconsciously (or consciously) feel the bigger pains around us. And in turn, when we do not understand this we confuse both the bigger and personal pain. The result, we feel pain.
How distracting that must be.
What resonated for me in Stephen's comment was that it reminds us of the nature of things. The pains we feel are not actually our suffering. They are opportunities to realize that these pains are not us, they are about us. Pain is like a coat. We can put it on and wear it, and suddenly we find a practical application when it keeps us warm. Sometimes pain is a very necessary part of our learning, and our growth.
But the coat is not who we are. It is something we pick up and put down as the situation warrants. Likewise, pain is something that we pick up and put down. Sometimes we become absorbed in the story of the pain. We start putting on the coat because we look out the window and see clouds even though there is no rain. Then we might find ourselves putting on our coat because it rained yesterday. And before we know it, we are wearing the coat all the time.
How is this relevant? What can you do with this? I think the first step is to make a choice to acknowledge how you wear your coat, or your pain. Can you be honest with yourself? Do you confuse the pain around you with your pain? Do you recite the story behind your pain and take comfort in it? If answers begin to come up ask yourself what might be causing this behaviour or pattern of thinking.
Perhaps the first step is realizing that you now wear your coat all the time, just in case?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Religion versus Spirituality?
As a part of our Practitioner training we were assigned a task to read 'Return to the One' by Brian Hines. This interpretation of Plotinus' Enneads is far from being a light read, but I have to confess that I am delighted at having this mini-project through the summer. As a book that challenges you to consider one's philosophy it is already becoming a source of daily contemplation.
A passage caught my attention yesterday. Hines suggests that, we can push away mysteries prematurely when we accept beliefs and concepts about the true nature of life's mysteries too quickly, rather than as hypotheses to be confirmed or denied by personal experience. This struck me as a common theme I am seeing that emphasizes the difference between spirituality and religion.
It strikes me that a failure to directly experience something for ourselves leads us to the trap of not knowing what we do not know. Acccepting our 'unknowing' with humility in the face of life's mysteries affords us the opportunity to directly experience, and so confirm or deny a hypothesis for ourself. This personal experience can lead to a deeper understanding. And more importantly, the more we come to appreciate that what we know against the enormity of the Infinite Mysteries the more we realize that what we actually 'know' is insignificant.
Perhaps it is worth taking a step back. The other day when discussing the finer points of the Bible with two Jehovah's Witnesses it occurred to me that I was being asked by my visitors to accept the Bible at face value. In short, their religious claim was self-validating - as a listener I was referred to this scripture making the claim for proof of this claim.
It should be made clear that I am not attempting to discredit such an approach as the sum total of conversion to religion. But it does occur to me that if we engage in a religion by accepting a self-validating claim as proof (which calls upon me to make a leap of faith) then how is such a faith based on direct experience? The challenge then becomes if we make that leap of faith, and invest in it, would subsequent enquiries not be biased by the investment we had now made.
Or to put it more simply, would we not want to be right?
Perhaps the suspicion central to this entry is that unless we take a leap of faith following a direct experience is there not a danger that we will in fact argue for that which we believe to be true as opposed to knowing it is true? And in turn, if we base our arguments upon a self-validating scripture could we limit ourselves to being open to those things which are validated yet run contrary to the very self-validating scripture that we base our belief system upon?
So many questions. I shall finish by saying that this summer of reading is already turning into a great experience for me. The more I journey upon this life the more I am coming to love the seeking of wisdom.
A passage caught my attention yesterday. Hines suggests that, we can push away mysteries prematurely when we accept beliefs and concepts about the true nature of life's mysteries too quickly, rather than as hypotheses to be confirmed or denied by personal experience. This struck me as a common theme I am seeing that emphasizes the difference between spirituality and religion.
It strikes me that a failure to directly experience something for ourselves leads us to the trap of not knowing what we do not know. Acccepting our 'unknowing' with humility in the face of life's mysteries affords us the opportunity to directly experience, and so confirm or deny a hypothesis for ourself. This personal experience can lead to a deeper understanding. And more importantly, the more we come to appreciate that what we know against the enormity of the Infinite Mysteries the more we realize that what we actually 'know' is insignificant.
Perhaps it is worth taking a step back. The other day when discussing the finer points of the Bible with two Jehovah's Witnesses it occurred to me that I was being asked by my visitors to accept the Bible at face value. In short, their religious claim was self-validating - as a listener I was referred to this scripture making the claim for proof of this claim.
It should be made clear that I am not attempting to discredit such an approach as the sum total of conversion to religion. But it does occur to me that if we engage in a religion by accepting a self-validating claim as proof (which calls upon me to make a leap of faith) then how is such a faith based on direct experience? The challenge then becomes if we make that leap of faith, and invest in it, would subsequent enquiries not be biased by the investment we had now made.
Or to put it more simply, would we not want to be right?
Perhaps the suspicion central to this entry is that unless we take a leap of faith following a direct experience is there not a danger that we will in fact argue for that which we believe to be true as opposed to knowing it is true? And in turn, if we base our arguments upon a self-validating scripture could we limit ourselves to being open to those things which are validated yet run contrary to the very self-validating scripture that we base our belief system upon?
So many questions. I shall finish by saying that this summer of reading is already turning into a great experience for me. The more I journey upon this life the more I am coming to love the seeking of wisdom.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
