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Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Can You Tell Me About the Moon?

Experience is essential to knowing. If you have seen the moon, but I have not, none of your words can lead me to know the moon as you know it. If you have tasted a mango, but I have not, none of your words can lead me to know the taste as you know it. If you have known God, but I have not, none of your words can lead me to know God as you know God.

If the moon is reflected in all the bodies of water, and I look at the reflections, I only have a hint about the moon, but also I might think there are hundreds of moons, all living in the waters.

Ignorance can be fed by partial or second-hand information. 

Important things for our successful journey on earth include actually and fully becoming Love, seeing fully, being compassionate and coming to Know God by whatever name you use to identify the Divine Presence.

Others can point The Way, but each of us must walk The Way ourselves. 

Some things are simple. Just get a mango and eat it. The journey of awakening spiritually can be complex. There are many paths, but some lead nowhere or in circles or to dark places. Jesus told us to look at the fruit - what does this or that produce? 

I re-read "Perennial Philosophy" almost every year. I find snipets of the same ideas across the ages, from every corner, discovering the same things. Voices from everywhere tell of Oneness, of all creation testifying to the incarnation of the Divine in all people, all animals, all plants, all of creation singing out the song of Oneness.

I contemplate a flower, and I touch that song. I silently bless a passerby, and I feel our connectedness. I meditate, and I know God in my soul and in all.

Seeking such experience means stopping being controlled from the outside, including the frenzy of social media, news, etc. It is the task of our lives to not get sidetracked by the lures of the shallow and crazed, but to turn to Peace and Beauty, to Love and Eternal Light and let our imprisoned splendor shine as a beacon of hope to the those lost in the frenzy.

May your light so shine.

Monday, April 25, 2022

Aristotle and Me

This morning I awoke thinking of Aristotle's Golden Mean - live neither too far to the right nor too far to the left, but walk the Golden Mean. Extremes lead to dark and unhappy places. Being off balance is not a positive thing.

Then I thought of Paul's comment of looking through the glass darkly, and then face to face. The glass is darkened and distorted partially by extreme biases, closed minds, the my way or the highway mentality.

Extreme points of view held by the extreme right or the extreme left produce the same results - violence, hostility, anger, alienation, paranoia, judgments, damnation of others not in one's extreme group, and never peace and happiness. Extremes are the dark glass of no clarity, distortions, and falsity.

How does one get back to the Golden Mean, if we find ourselves out on the extreme limb. I think we have to first examine ourselves. I often think of Thoreau's words, An unexamined life is not worth living. I agree, and I notice for those out in the extreme regions of life, it is very difficult to get them to honestly examine themselves and their situations and positions. I suggest asking oneself some questions such as:

  • Do I usually/often take the position that those who do not agree with me are in some way dumb, bad, perverse, totally wrong, even dangerous? 
  • Am I sure that I am always right?
  •  Do I get angry/irritated when others speak from some other point of view?
  • Am I ever able to have a calm and civil discussion with someone who sees things far differently than me?
  • Can I entertain the thought that it might be at least interesting to hear the other's point of view?
  • Am I happy, at peace, joyful, meeting each person, each moment with love, curiosity and acceptance?
  • Do I have friends of divergent points of view, accepting their right to see through their glass without angrily trying to make them look out of my glass or trying to shut them up?
These, and other such questions, can open at least a tiny spark of light to begin a more wholesome and balanced approach to life.

As for me, I find it absolutely fascinating to learn about other people, other ideas, other ways. If my current understandings are valid, nothing disturbs them. BUT, if I hold false ideas, misunderstandings, etc, I want to know and let them go. I know that the Divine is Infinite, so I know that I can never know all. I can keep growing in knowledge and understanding only if I do not hold fanatically to any one thing.

In this moment of history, I see far too many who have veered off to the far right or far left, and are causing unnecessary upheavals all over the place. There is nothing to fear from honest debate. There is a great deal to fear from extremes of the closed minded. Let us get back to the Golden Mean. It might just restore and save us all.

Monday, April 18, 2022

Feral Life

 fe·ral /ˈferəl,ˈfirəl/adjective

  1. (especially of an animal) in a wild state, especially after escape from captivity or domestication.
    "a feral cat"
    Similar:
    wild
    untamed
    undomesticated
    untrained
    unused to humans
    unbroken
    not broken in
    not house-trained
    not housebroken
    Opposite:
    tame
    pet
    • resembling a wild animal.
      "a feral snarl"

    • A theory began to develop in my mind recently, after I read about feral cats taking over an unused stadium. At the same time all sorts of human news spoke of random violence, shooting, stabbing, pushing under rail cars, illegal this and that, and on and on.
    Then I read a recent poll about religion. 29% responded "none" when asked about their religion. Then I read about the high incidence of single-parent households, disintegration of the family and even demonization of the nuclear family. I read about the immense drug problem, and that being the main cause of death of young adults. Of course, world strife, war, invasions, etc were on every news source. It seemed that a significant portion of civilization was coming apart at the seams (as a quilter, I know how important strong seams are 😊).

The idea that some people are turning feral crossed my mind. Some people were not being "domesticated," that is, not learning the moral code that has been developed over eons, the code that has held civilized life together.

Re-ligeo/religion means to bind to the mores and ways of any particular religion. Since no major religion teaches pushing people under trains or shooting at party goers or zoning out on drugs, it is obvious that these people are not taught how to be part of a functioning human community, so they have gone wild, or feral.

With Pandora out of the box, so to speak, how do we civilize these feral people? Can we civilize them? Can we turn this around?

My first thought is to find a spiritual group that has a long history of teaching love and peace and self-responsibility, and take yourself, your children and your grandchildren there regularly. Whether your heritage is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sik, Baha'i, Hindu, New Thought, etc - find a spiritual home where you feel you can fit.

Stop buying, watching, and playing movies, games, books, etc. that make violence normative. Find others that teach kindness, helpfulness, love, forgiveness, joy, peace, unity, adventure, and all things that uphold the best of humanity.

Encourage and support activities that promote healthy youth from arts and music programs to sports programs.

Decide to be part of the solution.

Together we can do it.

Friday, April 15, 2022

Tearful

I feel so tearful. For a couple of weeks, I've felt tearful, unlike the usual me.

There are some personal things I'm dealing with healthwise and situational too. Yet, it is more than that.

It's as if I feel the people of the world weeping. I hear the cries coming from across the planet. I hear the people in China boarded up in their apartment buildings, starving, jumping out of windows, crying out in fear. I hear the cries of the people in Sri Lanka as their country descends into chaos. I hear the cries of Russian parents by the thousands. whose sons and daughters are dying in Ukraine, and their cries over frozen money and little food and immense inflation. I hear the cries of the Ukrainians in the millions as they endeavor to protect their homeland, as they flee, as they die. I hear the cries of inner cities taken over by drug cartels and human traffickers, and as their sons and daughters are randomly killed by drive-by shooters and by drugs. It seems the people of earth are crying out all at once.

I hear them in my heart. Do you hear them?

Oh Divine Presence, we hear Your people cry out. Guide us as to how to respond, what to do. What are You calling us to do? What can be done? Shine Your Light into our souls and lead us to bring peace to this planet. Surely together we can bring an end to this weeping that is coming from all spots on earth. Your dear children suffer en masse. Comfort Your children and inspire us with Your Guidance. We listen...

Saturday, April 9, 2022

Topsy Turvey

 As I look out upon this world, it appears that there is disturbance of a dark kind in countless areas:

  • Of course the war going on with the brutal invasion of Ukraine and the terrible consequences for both people. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Who could call this "good"? Who could stand before God and explain this away?
  •  There is the attempt to sexualize and groom little children, tell them porn is ok, tell them details about sex and call it school curriculum. It seems that felony child abusers are now approving of how to teach children that they are coming for them. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Who could call this "good"? Who could stand before God and explain this away?
  • Marxists are now using race in the same way the Bolsheviks used class, using the same words, slogans, attacks on free speech, etc, in an attempt to bring down the free West. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Who could call this "good"? Who could stand before God and explain this away?
  •  The government opened our borders, paving the way for a flood of decent people plus cartels with their sex slaves and drugs, terrorists and unknown hundreds of thousands. It appears like an attempt to end America. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Who could call this "good"? Who could stand before God and explain this away?
  • Certain elements of our society have decided that truth is not important, control is important, specifically control to one point of view. Debate is squelched. Lies, big lies are told. People with questions are shouted down. False charges are made. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Who could call this "good"? Who could stand before God and explain this away?

I could go on, and I'm sure you could add your own items to this list. 

It is dizzying. So much is topsy turvey. I feel like I'm down the rabbit hole with Alice.

I refuse to give up.

Lord of all, lead us, guide us, show us the way to peace, to saving freedom, to being the persons You created us to be. Fill us with insight and courage. Shine Your Light in all of the dark places. Let Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, today and every day. May it be so!