Seeing as to how I'm going to see the Dalai Lama speak on the 10th of December....here are a few of his wise words....
"We have bigger houses but smaller families;
More conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
More knowledge, but less judgement;
More experts, but more problems;
More medicines, but less healthiness;
We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.
We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever
but have less communication.
We have become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are times of fast foods but slow digestion;
Tall men but short character;
Steep profits but shallow relationships.
It's a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room."
His Holiness, The XIVth Dalai Lama
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
The Implications of Spiritualism
Every religion is founded on the fact that there are some principles in man that defy death and survive. Orthodoxy has built a system of reward and punishment hereafter, based, to a large extent, on the acceptance of certain creeds, dogmas and doctrines.
Nearly every sect has taught in the past, and may still do today, that acceptance of their particular brand of teaching was the only SURE and ONE passport to heaven – RUBBISH!
Obviously, the people who are TRULY competent enough to tell you what happens in the life beyond this are not theologians, who can only speculate and theorise, but mere individuals who live there and speak from personal experience.
You soon learn from the dwellers in the after-life that their earthly religious views do not determine their spiritual status in the Beyond. Many an avowed agnostic has reached a higher spiritual sphere than individuals who were most punctilious in their church attendance but neglected the application of ethical principles to their lives. “Womanisers, rapists and even murderers do go to church to absolve their sins”
The truth about religion is that creeds do not matter. Whether you accept the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith or not, believe in the Nicene Creed or not, are a Christian, Jew, Buddhist or Parsee - all these have no relevance to the things that matter.
There is only one acid test regarding your spiritual status when you die. It is the way you have lived your daily life. We learn that all the actions we have performed, the words we have uttered and thoughts that have risen in our minds, are indelibly registered on our spirit body. For that reason we are known, after death, for what we are.
We take with us the character that we have moulded in our earthly lives. This determines our position hereafter. We cannot cheat. We cannot pretend. The sinner, to use a very clumsy word, cannot escape the consequences of his actions by uttering a magical formula on his deathbed and thus have all misdeeds absolved for him. A ‘born again whatever’ doesn’t count for anything, if he or she continues to do ill and speak ill. They must make restitution for whatever wrong he or she has committed. There is no progress for them until they have done so.
It is a mockery of divine justice to believe that the saint and the sinner are on level terms from the moment they die. And it is not true. The essential fact that is stressed by all who have had any lengthy experience of spirit life is that we are personally responsible for the life that we live, that is, of course, if we are normal human beings.
Forgiveness does not release us from personal responsibility. The mere fact that the one whom we have wronged is willing to overlook our action does not alter the wrong we have done. A true balance can be struck only when we have made retribution.
The Spiritualist is always conscious of an urge from the other side of life which stresses that real religion consists of the way one’s daily life is led. You may call this morality and not religion, but religion cannot be divorced from ethics.
Spiritualism enables you to realise that in all ages, prophets and seers have been inspired by revelations emanating from the spirit world. But these revelations were suited to the age in which they came, nothing more.
The Spiritualist does not despise the inspiration of the past. He recognises that the same natural laws which enable him to obtain revelation today caused the ancients to receive it in their time. But the world has altered, even in the last 2,000 years. New conditions have arisen and science enthroned as one of the latest gods to be worshipped.
There are different problems and difficulties to be mastered. It is foolish to argue, as some clergymen do, that God inspired the children of the year called one and has nothing to say to His children of the twenty first century. It is ignorant and foolish to argue that God had a special preference for Palestine that He does not possess for any other country today.
It is not necessary, in religion, to live in the past. Spiritualism proves that the fountain of inspiration still flows into the world, wherever it can find the necessary channels.
Spiritualism is not only ‘A’ religion. More than that, it IS religion itself. Without Spiritualism, religion is meaningless. Almost every religion was founded around a medium, in whose presence psychic phenomena, wrongly called "miracles", occurred and who could be inspired from the same sources that are still at work.
Properly understood, Spiritualism will be the means of unifying opposing religions, proving that none of them is superior to the other, but that each possesses SOME grain of truth.
Here, in Spiritualism, is the nucleus of a brotherhood of man and a religious United Nations that would give religion its rightful place in the world, enabling it to become a force to inspire humanity in its highest ideals.
How foolish does the thought of a "holy war" become, viewed with this new knowledge? You can look with pity on the frequent wrangling of theologians and the bickering over scriptural interpretations, realising these are trivial. Whether you accept them or not makes no real difference to life here or hereafter.
Spiritualism has no creeds or dogmas, but most Spiritualists accept what are known as the Seven Principles. These were given through mediumship at a time when it was necessary, for churches owning or leasing property, for a Spiritualist organisation to declare its religious beliefs. The law demanded that this body, the Spiritualists’ National Union, should submit the religious principles on which its members agreed. These principles are:
1. The Fatherhood of God.
2. The Brotherhood of Man.
3. The Communion of Spirits and the Ministry of Angels.
4. The Continuous existence of the Human Soul.
5. Personal Responsibility.
6. Compensation and retribution hereafter for all good and evil deeds done on earth.
7. Eternal Progress being open to every soul.
Even acceptance of these Seven Principles caused controversy. Many Spiritualists said they would not be bound by any formal statements of belief. To surmount this difficulty it was decided to give Spiritualists’ National Union members complete liberty of interpretation.
These principles very aptly sum up the religion of Spiritualism. Sincere religious people could not quarrel with any of them. To a large extent, they would be accepted by most modern minds in the Church.
Spiritualists recognise that every individual must work out his spiritual salvation and that, in the end, man must stand on his own feet. They know that we cannot transfer the burden of our responsibilities to somebody else’s shoulders. We get out of life just what we put into it - no more and no less.
We are here to equip ourselves for the next stage of life. Earth is the school of our experience. If we fail to learn our lessons here, we will have to learn them when we pass on.
We take with us the character we have evolved. Nobody else can evolve it for us. We accomplish our own growth and evolution by the way we live our lives. Selfishness and greed thwart the character. Altruism and idealism help the spirit to grow.
These are natural laws. Man cannot cheat them for they operate piteously. The more good that we do, the better the persons we are. The more we fail to help others, the worse we are.
This is no new teaching. It has been taught through the ages by seers, prophets, saints and mystics. Spiritualism proves it. The purpose of life is not to enrich us materially at the expense of others. If we do, in reality we are the poorest of all - poor in spirit and character.
Opportunities for service come to each one of us, irrespective of our lot or position in life. We can always do good, if we choose, no matter who or what we are. We can be kind to others no matter whether we are princes or paupers.
Spiritualism is the declared enemy of materialism. It proves that man survives death by a natural law of the universe. It provides mankind with a religion founded not on faith, or fear, but on knowledge.
Spiritualism demonstrates that God is the ‘Father’ of all people. God is not a Christian, Jew, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Methodist or a Spiritualist. Nor is God even an Englishman, as some people seem to think! God is not Black, nor White!
Whether you are orthodox or agnostic, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, a cabinet minister or a crossing sweeper, dictator or peasant, you cannot alter the law of cause and effect as it operates in your life. That is the great message of Spiritualism.
Because you are spirit, you survive death. And because you are spirit you are alive today. The spirit within you, which causes you to live, is the same spirit that animates every member of every nation, of every race and of every colour. Spiritually, the people of the world are one. Spiritualism reveals the spiritual oneness of all mankind. God has made us all members of one vast spiritual family.
When that fact is understood and applied in human, national and international life, war will be driven from the face of the earth. Man will have learned not to kill his spiritual brother.
Properly understood, Spiritualism will become one of the greatest forces for good in the world. When its truths have spread far and wide, and the majority of people accept its teachings and regulate their lives accordingly, a new era will dawn for humanity.
Nearly every sect has taught in the past, and may still do today, that acceptance of their particular brand of teaching was the only SURE and ONE passport to heaven – RUBBISH!
Obviously, the people who are TRULY competent enough to tell you what happens in the life beyond this are not theologians, who can only speculate and theorise, but mere individuals who live there and speak from personal experience.
You soon learn from the dwellers in the after-life that their earthly religious views do not determine their spiritual status in the Beyond. Many an avowed agnostic has reached a higher spiritual sphere than individuals who were most punctilious in their church attendance but neglected the application of ethical principles to their lives. “Womanisers, rapists and even murderers do go to church to absolve their sins”
The truth about religion is that creeds do not matter. Whether you accept the Thirty-Nine Articles of Faith or not, believe in the Nicene Creed or not, are a Christian, Jew, Buddhist or Parsee - all these have no relevance to the things that matter.
There is only one acid test regarding your spiritual status when you die. It is the way you have lived your daily life. We learn that all the actions we have performed, the words we have uttered and thoughts that have risen in our minds, are indelibly registered on our spirit body. For that reason we are known, after death, for what we are.
We take with us the character that we have moulded in our earthly lives. This determines our position hereafter. We cannot cheat. We cannot pretend. The sinner, to use a very clumsy word, cannot escape the consequences of his actions by uttering a magical formula on his deathbed and thus have all misdeeds absolved for him. A ‘born again whatever’ doesn’t count for anything, if he or she continues to do ill and speak ill. They must make restitution for whatever wrong he or she has committed. There is no progress for them until they have done so.
It is a mockery of divine justice to believe that the saint and the sinner are on level terms from the moment they die. And it is not true. The essential fact that is stressed by all who have had any lengthy experience of spirit life is that we are personally responsible for the life that we live, that is, of course, if we are normal human beings.
Forgiveness does not release us from personal responsibility. The mere fact that the one whom we have wronged is willing to overlook our action does not alter the wrong we have done. A true balance can be struck only when we have made retribution.
The Spiritualist is always conscious of an urge from the other side of life which stresses that real religion consists of the way one’s daily life is led. You may call this morality and not religion, but religion cannot be divorced from ethics.
Spiritualism enables you to realise that in all ages, prophets and seers have been inspired by revelations emanating from the spirit world. But these revelations were suited to the age in which they came, nothing more.
The Spiritualist does not despise the inspiration of the past. He recognises that the same natural laws which enable him to obtain revelation today caused the ancients to receive it in their time. But the world has altered, even in the last 2,000 years. New conditions have arisen and science enthroned as one of the latest gods to be worshipped.
There are different problems and difficulties to be mastered. It is foolish to argue, as some clergymen do, that God inspired the children of the year called one and has nothing to say to His children of the twenty first century. It is ignorant and foolish to argue that God had a special preference for Palestine that He does not possess for any other country today.
It is not necessary, in religion, to live in the past. Spiritualism proves that the fountain of inspiration still flows into the world, wherever it can find the necessary channels.
Spiritualism is not only ‘A’ religion. More than that, it IS religion itself. Without Spiritualism, religion is meaningless. Almost every religion was founded around a medium, in whose presence psychic phenomena, wrongly called "miracles", occurred and who could be inspired from the same sources that are still at work.
Properly understood, Spiritualism will be the means of unifying opposing religions, proving that none of them is superior to the other, but that each possesses SOME grain of truth.
Here, in Spiritualism, is the nucleus of a brotherhood of man and a religious United Nations that would give religion its rightful place in the world, enabling it to become a force to inspire humanity in its highest ideals.
How foolish does the thought of a "holy war" become, viewed with this new knowledge? You can look with pity on the frequent wrangling of theologians and the bickering over scriptural interpretations, realising these are trivial. Whether you accept them or not makes no real difference to life here or hereafter.
Spiritualism has no creeds or dogmas, but most Spiritualists accept what are known as the Seven Principles. These were given through mediumship at a time when it was necessary, for churches owning or leasing property, for a Spiritualist organisation to declare its religious beliefs. The law demanded that this body, the Spiritualists’ National Union, should submit the religious principles on which its members agreed. These principles are:
1. The Fatherhood of God.
2. The Brotherhood of Man.
3. The Communion of Spirits and the Ministry of Angels.
4. The Continuous existence of the Human Soul.
5. Personal Responsibility.
6. Compensation and retribution hereafter for all good and evil deeds done on earth.
7. Eternal Progress being open to every soul.
Even acceptance of these Seven Principles caused controversy. Many Spiritualists said they would not be bound by any formal statements of belief. To surmount this difficulty it was decided to give Spiritualists’ National Union members complete liberty of interpretation.
These principles very aptly sum up the religion of Spiritualism. Sincere religious people could not quarrel with any of them. To a large extent, they would be accepted by most modern minds in the Church.
Spiritualists recognise that every individual must work out his spiritual salvation and that, in the end, man must stand on his own feet. They know that we cannot transfer the burden of our responsibilities to somebody else’s shoulders. We get out of life just what we put into it - no more and no less.
We are here to equip ourselves for the next stage of life. Earth is the school of our experience. If we fail to learn our lessons here, we will have to learn them when we pass on.
We take with us the character we have evolved. Nobody else can evolve it for us. We accomplish our own growth and evolution by the way we live our lives. Selfishness and greed thwart the character. Altruism and idealism help the spirit to grow.
These are natural laws. Man cannot cheat them for they operate piteously. The more good that we do, the better the persons we are. The more we fail to help others, the worse we are.
This is no new teaching. It has been taught through the ages by seers, prophets, saints and mystics. Spiritualism proves it. The purpose of life is not to enrich us materially at the expense of others. If we do, in reality we are the poorest of all - poor in spirit and character.
Opportunities for service come to each one of us, irrespective of our lot or position in life. We can always do good, if we choose, no matter who or what we are. We can be kind to others no matter whether we are princes or paupers.
Spiritualism is the declared enemy of materialism. It proves that man survives death by a natural law of the universe. It provides mankind with a religion founded not on faith, or fear, but on knowledge.
Spiritualism demonstrates that God is the ‘Father’ of all people. God is not a Christian, Jew, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Methodist or a Spiritualist. Nor is God even an Englishman, as some people seem to think! God is not Black, nor White!
Whether you are orthodox or agnostic, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, a cabinet minister or a crossing sweeper, dictator or peasant, you cannot alter the law of cause and effect as it operates in your life. That is the great message of Spiritualism.
Because you are spirit, you survive death. And because you are spirit you are alive today. The spirit within you, which causes you to live, is the same spirit that animates every member of every nation, of every race and of every colour. Spiritually, the people of the world are one. Spiritualism reveals the spiritual oneness of all mankind. God has made us all members of one vast spiritual family.
When that fact is understood and applied in human, national and international life, war will be driven from the face of the earth. Man will have learned not to kill his spiritual brother.
Properly understood, Spiritualism will become one of the greatest forces for good in the world. When its truths have spread far and wide, and the majority of people accept its teachings and regulate their lives accordingly, a new era will dawn for humanity.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Spiritual VS. Religious
Traditional religions are faced with interesting and critical times, particularly in the ever more secular West; at the same time, a pluralism of spiritualities and non-traditional religions are at rise…..
There begins a quest and an ever growing hunger for spirituality - while religion, for many, has become a questionable subject.
There is a substantive difference between religion and spirituality, and yet they seem to need each other in order to be life-giving and redeeming.
The main focus of many people today is a longing for an authentic God experience. You can say that a mystical wind is blowing through the different religions, which among others causes much restlessness and insecurity among settled religious structures and church officials of religions.
People today are searchers, searching for experience: you can say it with other words: People today are searching for spirituality, which they frequently hardly can find in the traditional religions.
What does one mean by ‘religion’?
Religion = religare = to connect:
· the human person unites himself with the Divine or is initiated into this unity
· the divine and the human being are brought into contact with each other, by different forms of culture, rites and liturgy
Therefore: religion is always a by culture determined certain form of expression of a
religious experience, and that’s why always ambivalent!
When talking about religion we immediately talk about a way to ’Salvation and Liberation’. This is the central message of all the three Abrahamite religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam and all the three of them embrace as their objective the Salvation and Liberation of all human beings.
Salvation (in the sense of wholeness) and Liberation: this exactly is the great desire which each human being carries along in the depth of his heart.
It is the essence of religion to bring the person closer to God und to his fellow human beings, in order to participate in the Divine plan of salvation to work on Liberation towards a life in fullness, a redeemed and redeeming life in the Here and Now, in the concrete life situation of each human being.
But we always have to consider: God cannot be received ‘single’. He can’t be experienced outside of a concrete tradition of human beings, not outside very detectable and persistent attempts to find meaning, context and future.
The Divine manifests itself in the history of concrete human beings, as salvation history, rooted in the past, but working forth in the present, showing the way into a good future (Jer 29, 11).
We need to be aware that Christianity doesn’t have a monopoly position anymore.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Diversity of Religions - Unity of Spirituality
What religions unite:
· deep spiritual unity: springs forth of the same divine origin
· her objective is salvation (wholeness) of each human being
· Religion: symbolical expression of spirituality
à Spirituality = In-depth dimension of Religion
The Divine as unreachable mystery
· Searching for the unreachable mystery à already touched by the Absolute!
· a mystery which has to remain without name and form:
- Jews: you may not make an image of God (Lev 19,4)
- Christians: Jesus wants us to pray to God as our father in heaven (Mt 6,9):
heaven = archetypical symbol of the mysterious and infinite
- Muslims: ”Allahu Akbar” = God is the greatest, the unreachable
- Buddhists: deeply touched by the mysterious character of the ultimate reality; it is not possible to give her any name; it’s the Absolute = Emptiness, Nothingness
· Continuously openness for the mystery of God: Deus semper major!
God as personal being
· as personal beings we are dependent upon a ”Personal You”
à We have a deep longing for a personal God
· out of eternal silence comes forth the Divine Word
Jews: Yahweh = Ex 3,14 = God is with us and among us Christians: Joh 3,16.
Muslims: Allah, the most high, revealed His Word by Mohammed, in order that the human beings can find the right way.
Buddhists: don’t know a personal God; but in Buddha a light is shining, so strong that it can bring each human being to final salvation.
God as all penetrating Spirit
· seeing God in everything and seeing everything in God
Jews: Jahwe, the God in their midst (sjekina)
Christians: Jesus = Incarnation of the Word of God, present in everything as light and life
Muslims: the mercy of God is at work among us
Buddhists: the healing power of the inner light shines healingly forth in the hearts of all
à Ethical attitude
Jews: trust
Christians: love
Islam: obedience
Buddhists: compassion
- Intense consciousness of the Divine Presence in our world
- Transformation of live in accordance with this consciousness and witnessing it
Whenever and wherever a religion gets out of touch of its basic essence, and works against the salvation, growth and liberation of the human person, it looses its identity, value and meaning.
Then, there need to be reform movements:
And we see it happen looking into our own church history:
· After Vatican II the well settled Western Theology has been broken up to new life. More and more theologians united themselves with the quest for emancipation of their people.
- liberation theology = rooted in the concrete experiences of the poor with a explicit
option for the poor .
Her method: observation - discernment - action. The word is put to action = dabar!
- And this has to be the task of religion: not just continuing the biblical history by
proclaiming, but concretely living out the Word, resp. striving towards it.
· Half of the human race, that is women often have been oppressed by religions. Men are the mediators of salvation and representatives of the Divine, whereas most of the faithful are women.
And until now our church is characterized by patriarchy: a pyramidical system of hierarchical structures in church and society. Still many of our clerical structures have an oppressive effect - and how can you combine this with the essence of any religion as a way to salvation and liberation?
Feminine theology tries to go into dialogue in searching the truth, striving towards a discipleship of equals.
Religion can (and must) be redemptive, but also can contribute to or be abused for interests of power and oppression.
Protest and resistance against any form of suffering have to be the central content of any religion. Authentic religion must call forth compassion in view of the suffering and oppressed human being, wherever in the world, if they really want to give witness to connectedness (religare).
When a religion helps a person to grow in dignity and freedom, giving him the space to unfold and to become the person he/she is supposed to be, then the religion is truly a witness of God’s presence in our world.
And God may have then thousand names and different shapes, but always he brings about salvation and liberation in a human being.
As spiritual directors we belong to a religion concerned with salvation and liberation. But people today hardly can experience this in our religion. We have to be alert of this and look critical into the whys. How come that the breath of God (= spirituality) for many people today can hardly be found in our churches? While at the same time they are longing and searching for it in many different places.
And what are the implications for us?
Spirituality as life-experience embraces the whole of life: all what is breathing between God and men
Spirituality is not so much interested in God (à theology) of man (àanthropology) but looks at the relationship between God and men. The question is always:
What is happening between the mutual relationship of Divine reality and the human person?
And this becomes our first concern.
The divine - human relationship is characterized by a dynamic of growth. The God relationship cannot be caught in a static picture, like a video-picture on ‘pauze’.
Its exactly the continuous movement, which is so typical for the mutual relationship between God and men which the tradition of spirituality calls “process of transformation” .
- Gen 1,26: “And God said: now we are going to create human beings. They will be like us and resemble us.”
There are three important implications for spirituality:
· somehow there is a deep inner knowing that the human being is because he is created by a loving God. Our life is not our possession but we owe it to Someone greater than us.
More and more people today are realizing this inner truth.
· We are created out of nothingness into the image of God. You can look at our very first beginning as transformation into creation.
· the human person molded into the image of God is created to be like Him.
This is the spiritual way as a way of continuous transformation each human person is invited to go. It is a way characterized by continuously falling and getting up again -of, to say it with other words: in our life history we undergo moments of de-formation, re-formation, and again and again we are born out of nothingness, until finally, mutually, the human person is transformed in God and God in him - glory.
- as spiritual directors we are accompanying this process of transformation towards
redeemed and liberated life in fullness:
“The glory of God is the human being fully alive”.
We see how close spirituality follows the Divine-human-relationship, the fundamental basic and root of what we call religion.
The classical picture which in almost all religions is used as a metaphor for this process of transformation is the way.
Spirituality belongs to all religions. Every religion knows that the human being comes to a growing similarity with the Divine Image only by a inner, spiritual way.
Walking this way the human “I” can stretch out for the Divine “You” and also vice versa: it is the way where Divine “You” is stretching out and approaching the human “I”.
Christus is the way in Christianity.
Torah is the way in Judaism.
Mohammed is the way in the Islam.
The metaphor about the way does not say anything about the direction of the way - forward or backward or in meander…
The process of transformation doesn’t know any notion like ‘progress’, ‘stagnation’ or ‘regression’. Important is only: to go.
A process of transformation takes place in so called models of transformation. Such a model is a given space with the intention of a process of transformation (like for example religion). But the transformation cannot be forced. The word ‘becoming’ is here essential.
· the model of transformation ‘marriage’ intends two people becoming partners
· the model of transformation ‘study’ intends to become studied
· the model of transformation ‘religious community’ intends someone to become brother or sister
If we are already partners, there’s no need to marry; if we are already studied, we don’t need the study;
Implications for Spiritual Directors
Consequences of a healthy and mature Spirituality
· maturity asks for autonomy; but still religion often and on a wide scale is socializing women into the role of conformity and passivity.
- Christian doctrine and praxis do have contributed to this, instead of support women on their way to inner maturity
· Some women are thinking that religious maturity can only be achieved by total refusal of the biblical tradition, while others are convinced that their spiritual development requires that men and women should walk together and accept the challenge of a reconstruction of the commonly accepted male dominated Christian tradition.
· total equality of men and women
· the spirituality of a woman is different than the spirituality of a man: both need to search for a spirituality fitting to them;
· the psycho-existential and the socio-cultural explicitly needs to be considered and expressed
à the spirituality of women is always essentially liberation spirituality.
Women are more and more conscious of the predominant male experiences in the spiritual formation of women, which allows little choice to exercise other than ‘male’ virtues.
God is male and men are divine, while the OT is much more balanced in its language and talks about God as male and female.
They are searching for action in contemplation, solidarity, trust, openness, hospitality. Joy and celebration are important.
· spirituality is holistic, embracing all of our relationships: with nature, with others, our work and our free time.
Forms of spirituality are traces of the human searching for God in a world of human inter-activity.
For one part is spirituality a human undertaking, with moments of growth and deformation, solitude and transcendence, a process of searching which gives the human person his identity and where the reality of God becomes integrated and incorporated.
The identity of a woman expresses itself with a different voice than the identity of a man. Male identity expresses itself more in ‘separation’ and ‘individual achievement’, while female identity expresses itself more in ‘context and relationship’, responsibility, care and ‘inter-dependence’.
Modern critique towards religion
· protest against the impertinences of a ‘religious’ tactic that tries to cajole and pressure modern man, scientific and technological man, into having religious needs which he does not have.
This “religiousness” is negative, ambiguous, moralizing: it preaches on one hand that one must run to God and the Church/Temple as a refuge from life, yet once one has given the sacred its due, one can be unashamedly secular as regards making money and enjoying the good things of life, provided one maintains a rigid and negative set of standards in the matter of sex. One need not worry too much about things like war, civil rights, and so on, regarded as moral issues. One leaves such things to the secular authorities, and one prays for those concerned to get the right answers.
Religiousness preaches a need of and a dependence on God in order to emphasize a need of and dependence on certain specific religious forms, a definite style of life which sets itself up as the only authentic Christianity and which relies heavily on externals. (Thomas Merton)
· God is more than a working hypothesis, to fill in gaps left open by a scientific world view.
It is the realization of the presence of God in this present life, in the world and in myself, and that the task as a [insert religion] is to live in full and vital awareness of this ground of my being and of the world’s being. Acts and forms of worship help one to do this, and the Church/Temple, with her liturgy and sacraments, gives us the essential means of grace. Yet God can work without these means if He so wills. When I entered the Church/Temple, I came seeking God, the living God, and not just “the consolations of religion”.
(Thomas Merton)
· There is a substantive difference between religion and spirituality:
The former (religion) answers our questions while the latter (spirituality) “questions our answers”.
The message of Thomas Merton was a modern version of an ancient call of pietistic critique - religion without spirituality is fundamentalism, spirituality without religion is sentimentality.
There begins a quest and an ever growing hunger for spirituality - while religion, for many, has become a questionable subject.
There is a substantive difference between religion and spirituality, and yet they seem to need each other in order to be life-giving and redeeming.
The main focus of many people today is a longing for an authentic God experience. You can say that a mystical wind is blowing through the different religions, which among others causes much restlessness and insecurity among settled religious structures and church officials of religions.
People today are searchers, searching for experience: you can say it with other words: People today are searching for spirituality, which they frequently hardly can find in the traditional religions.
What does one mean by ‘religion’?
Religion = religare = to connect:
· the human person unites himself with the Divine or is initiated into this unity
· the divine and the human being are brought into contact with each other, by different forms of culture, rites and liturgy
Therefore: religion is always a by culture determined certain form of expression of a
religious experience, and that’s why always ambivalent!
When talking about religion we immediately talk about a way to ’Salvation and Liberation’. This is the central message of all the three Abrahamite religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam and all the three of them embrace as their objective the Salvation and Liberation of all human beings.
Salvation (in the sense of wholeness) and Liberation: this exactly is the great desire which each human being carries along in the depth of his heart.
It is the essence of religion to bring the person closer to God und to his fellow human beings, in order to participate in the Divine plan of salvation to work on Liberation towards a life in fullness, a redeemed and redeeming life in the Here and Now, in the concrete life situation of each human being.
But we always have to consider: God cannot be received ‘single’. He can’t be experienced outside of a concrete tradition of human beings, not outside very detectable and persistent attempts to find meaning, context and future.
The Divine manifests itself in the history of concrete human beings, as salvation history, rooted in the past, but working forth in the present, showing the way into a good future (Jer 29, 11).
We need to be aware that Christianity doesn’t have a monopoly position anymore.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Diversity of Religions - Unity of Spirituality
What religions unite:
· deep spiritual unity: springs forth of the same divine origin
· her objective is salvation (wholeness) of each human being
· Religion: symbolical expression of spirituality
à Spirituality = In-depth dimension of Religion
The Divine as unreachable mystery
· Searching for the unreachable mystery à already touched by the Absolute!
· a mystery which has to remain without name and form:
- Jews: you may not make an image of God (Lev 19,4)
- Christians: Jesus wants us to pray to God as our father in heaven (Mt 6,9):
heaven = archetypical symbol of the mysterious and infinite
- Muslims: ”Allahu Akbar” = God is the greatest, the unreachable
- Buddhists: deeply touched by the mysterious character of the ultimate reality; it is not possible to give her any name; it’s the Absolute = Emptiness, Nothingness
· Continuously openness for the mystery of God: Deus semper major!
God as personal being
· as personal beings we are dependent upon a ”Personal You”
à We have a deep longing for a personal God
· out of eternal silence comes forth the Divine Word
Jews: Yahweh = Ex 3,14 = God is with us and among us Christians: Joh 3,16.
Muslims: Allah, the most high, revealed His Word by Mohammed, in order that the human beings can find the right way.
Buddhists: don’t know a personal God; but in Buddha a light is shining, so strong that it can bring each human being to final salvation.
God as all penetrating Spirit
· seeing God in everything and seeing everything in God
Jews: Jahwe, the God in their midst (sjekina)
Christians: Jesus = Incarnation of the Word of God, present in everything as light and life
Muslims: the mercy of God is at work among us
Buddhists: the healing power of the inner light shines healingly forth in the hearts of all
à Ethical attitude
Jews: trust
Christians: love
Islam: obedience
Buddhists: compassion
- Intense consciousness of the Divine Presence in our world
- Transformation of live in accordance with this consciousness and witnessing it
Whenever and wherever a religion gets out of touch of its basic essence, and works against the salvation, growth and liberation of the human person, it looses its identity, value and meaning.
Then, there need to be reform movements:
And we see it happen looking into our own church history:
· After Vatican II the well settled Western Theology has been broken up to new life. More and more theologians united themselves with the quest for emancipation of their people.
- liberation theology = rooted in the concrete experiences of the poor with a explicit
option for the poor .
Her method: observation - discernment - action. The word is put to action = dabar!
- And this has to be the task of religion: not just continuing the biblical history by
proclaiming, but concretely living out the Word, resp. striving towards it.
· Half of the human race, that is women often have been oppressed by religions. Men are the mediators of salvation and representatives of the Divine, whereas most of the faithful are women.
And until now our church is characterized by patriarchy: a pyramidical system of hierarchical structures in church and society. Still many of our clerical structures have an oppressive effect - and how can you combine this with the essence of any religion as a way to salvation and liberation?
Feminine theology tries to go into dialogue in searching the truth, striving towards a discipleship of equals.
Religion can (and must) be redemptive, but also can contribute to or be abused for interests of power and oppression.
Protest and resistance against any form of suffering have to be the central content of any religion. Authentic religion must call forth compassion in view of the suffering and oppressed human being, wherever in the world, if they really want to give witness to connectedness (religare).
When a religion helps a person to grow in dignity and freedom, giving him the space to unfold and to become the person he/she is supposed to be, then the religion is truly a witness of God’s presence in our world.
And God may have then thousand names and different shapes, but always he brings about salvation and liberation in a human being.
As spiritual directors we belong to a religion concerned with salvation and liberation. But people today hardly can experience this in our religion. We have to be alert of this and look critical into the whys. How come that the breath of God (= spirituality) for many people today can hardly be found in our churches? While at the same time they are longing and searching for it in many different places.
And what are the implications for us?
Spirituality as life-experience embraces the whole of life: all what is breathing between God and men
Spirituality is not so much interested in God (à theology) of man (àanthropology) but looks at the relationship between God and men. The question is always:
What is happening between the mutual relationship of Divine reality and the human person?
And this becomes our first concern.
The divine - human relationship is characterized by a dynamic of growth. The God relationship cannot be caught in a static picture, like a video-picture on ‘pauze’.
Its exactly the continuous movement, which is so typical for the mutual relationship between God and men which the tradition of spirituality calls “process of transformation” .
- Gen 1,26: “And God said: now we are going to create human beings. They will be like us and resemble us.”
There are three important implications for spirituality:
· somehow there is a deep inner knowing that the human being is because he is created by a loving God. Our life is not our possession but we owe it to Someone greater than us.
More and more people today are realizing this inner truth.
· We are created out of nothingness into the image of God. You can look at our very first beginning as transformation into creation.
· the human person molded into the image of God is created to be like Him.
This is the spiritual way as a way of continuous transformation each human person is invited to go. It is a way characterized by continuously falling and getting up again -of, to say it with other words: in our life history we undergo moments of de-formation, re-formation, and again and again we are born out of nothingness, until finally, mutually, the human person is transformed in God and God in him - glory.
- as spiritual directors we are accompanying this process of transformation towards
redeemed and liberated life in fullness:
“The glory of God is the human being fully alive”.
We see how close spirituality follows the Divine-human-relationship, the fundamental basic and root of what we call religion.
The classical picture which in almost all religions is used as a metaphor for this process of transformation is the way.
Spirituality belongs to all religions. Every religion knows that the human being comes to a growing similarity with the Divine Image only by a inner, spiritual way.
Walking this way the human “I” can stretch out for the Divine “You” and also vice versa: it is the way where Divine “You” is stretching out and approaching the human “I”.
Christus is the way in Christianity.
Torah is the way in Judaism.
Mohammed is the way in the Islam.
The metaphor about the way does not say anything about the direction of the way - forward or backward or in meander…
The process of transformation doesn’t know any notion like ‘progress’, ‘stagnation’ or ‘regression’. Important is only: to go.
A process of transformation takes place in so called models of transformation. Such a model is a given space with the intention of a process of transformation (like for example religion). But the transformation cannot be forced. The word ‘becoming’ is here essential.
· the model of transformation ‘marriage’ intends two people becoming partners
· the model of transformation ‘study’ intends to become studied
· the model of transformation ‘religious community’ intends someone to become brother or sister
If we are already partners, there’s no need to marry; if we are already studied, we don’t need the study;
Implications for Spiritual Directors
Consequences of a healthy and mature Spirituality
· maturity asks for autonomy; but still religion often and on a wide scale is socializing women into the role of conformity and passivity.
- Christian doctrine and praxis do have contributed to this, instead of support women on their way to inner maturity
· Some women are thinking that religious maturity can only be achieved by total refusal of the biblical tradition, while others are convinced that their spiritual development requires that men and women should walk together and accept the challenge of a reconstruction of the commonly accepted male dominated Christian tradition.
· total equality of men and women
· the spirituality of a woman is different than the spirituality of a man: both need to search for a spirituality fitting to them;
· the psycho-existential and the socio-cultural explicitly needs to be considered and expressed
à the spirituality of women is always essentially liberation spirituality.
Women are more and more conscious of the predominant male experiences in the spiritual formation of women, which allows little choice to exercise other than ‘male’ virtues.
God is male and men are divine, while the OT is much more balanced in its language and talks about God as male and female.
They are searching for action in contemplation, solidarity, trust, openness, hospitality. Joy and celebration are important.
· spirituality is holistic, embracing all of our relationships: with nature, with others, our work and our free time.
Forms of spirituality are traces of the human searching for God in a world of human inter-activity.
For one part is spirituality a human undertaking, with moments of growth and deformation, solitude and transcendence, a process of searching which gives the human person his identity and where the reality of God becomes integrated and incorporated.
The identity of a woman expresses itself with a different voice than the identity of a man. Male identity expresses itself more in ‘separation’ and ‘individual achievement’, while female identity expresses itself more in ‘context and relationship’, responsibility, care and ‘inter-dependence’.
Modern critique towards religion
· protest against the impertinences of a ‘religious’ tactic that tries to cajole and pressure modern man, scientific and technological man, into having religious needs which he does not have.
This “religiousness” is negative, ambiguous, moralizing: it preaches on one hand that one must run to God and the Church/Temple as a refuge from life, yet once one has given the sacred its due, one can be unashamedly secular as regards making money and enjoying the good things of life, provided one maintains a rigid and negative set of standards in the matter of sex. One need not worry too much about things like war, civil rights, and so on, regarded as moral issues. One leaves such things to the secular authorities, and one prays for those concerned to get the right answers.
Religiousness preaches a need of and a dependence on God in order to emphasize a need of and dependence on certain specific religious forms, a definite style of life which sets itself up as the only authentic Christianity and which relies heavily on externals. (Thomas Merton)
· God is more than a working hypothesis, to fill in gaps left open by a scientific world view.
It is the realization of the presence of God in this present life, in the world and in myself, and that the task as a [insert religion] is to live in full and vital awareness of this ground of my being and of the world’s being. Acts and forms of worship help one to do this, and the Church/Temple, with her liturgy and sacraments, gives us the essential means of grace. Yet God can work without these means if He so wills. When I entered the Church/Temple, I came seeking God, the living God, and not just “the consolations of religion”.
(Thomas Merton)
· There is a substantive difference between religion and spirituality:
The former (religion) answers our questions while the latter (spirituality) “questions our answers”.
The message of Thomas Merton was a modern version of an ancient call of pietistic critique - religion without spirituality is fundamentalism, spirituality without religion is sentimentality.
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Virus of Religious "Faith"
I will NEVER tell someone to stop believing in his/her religion. I have always respected someone’s believes.
But there comes a point at which I will say stop. And, for some reason, the fundamentalists and extremists, ESPECIALLY certain Abrahamic religions are very good at triggering that point.
I once met a boy and his father, roaming the MRT Station in Bishan (Singapore Train Station), spreading the "good word". They approached me, passed me a comic leaflet of Satan and Jesus, and being 'saved'. I was from a Catholic school, and was VERY open to learning about other religions. So I listened to what he had to say, since my friends were late.
I always liked to talk to people who are SO into religion. I like to see at which point they try to convert you. Especially extreme Christians are always at the verge of telling you how great Jesus is. Have you ever experienced that with someone who thinks of Buddhism as his religion? That's why it’s so interesting.
So, this guy man tries to wrap his head around my point of view which were pretty 'radical' because he was a 'frog in a well'. I believed that I could believe in Jesus and any other God. I kept explaining to him that I did believe in Jesus. He kept insisting that I MUST only believe in Jesus. There is only one God! My question to him was, how can a so-called mono-theistic religion believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, angels, a million saints, super angels etc, and STILL insist it's followers should only believe in ONE JESUS?!
I also told him about my impression that every Christian I’ve talked to thinks he has the right to claim a message. Every time they think to be an ambassador of something I wouldn’t understand until I come over and join their little meeting every ___day in Church. [Mind you, I loved chapel services in SJI(My catholic secondary school), HATED it in my Junior College (Methodist College). Same religion. Same Jesus.]
Guess what. He took his son and walked away.
This was about 10 years ago.
Blind faith is as damaging as a plague. Even if a BILLION people believe, they ALL can be wrong.
Richard Dawkins video about the "Virus of Faith" below is worth a watch.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7619161192220036050&hl=en
Saturday, September 19, 2009
LaVeyan Satanism
The desire to feed my curiosity of the many religions that exist in our world today, has led me to the 'Dark side'. Yes. Satanism. Yes I said it. Now I'm going to burn in hell. I think not.
Reading about this fascinating, yet predominantly practical religion, has led me to one conclusion - there is always a flip side to everything. Unless we are able to detach ourselves, and observe from another angle, we are forever going to be ignorant.
Mostly practical......
It is a personal opinion that many people use religion as a shield (I've mentioned this before) to 'protect' themselves and others use it as a form of identity. Religion as a whole is boundlessly enthralling and fascinating. Rituals, on the other hand, have a lot to be desired. Charles Eisenstein writes about this is his book. "The Ascent of Humanity" - http://www.ascentofhumanity.com/chapter2-10.php
and Richard Smoley too - http://www.modernpaths.com/library/rituals/
Some people can accept it, some people can't. Such is life.
Reading about this fascinating, yet predominantly practical religion, has led me to one conclusion - there is always a flip side to everything. Unless we are able to detach ourselves, and observe from another angle, we are forever going to be ignorant.
"The highest form of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about" - Wayne Dyer
Anton Lavey founded Satanism on very very practical rules/commandments.The Nine Satanic Statements
- Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
- Satan represents vital existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams!
- Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deceit!
- Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates!
- Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek!
- Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of concern for psychic vampires!
- Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development,” has become the most vicious animal of all.
- Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!
- Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!
The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth
- Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
- Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
- When in another’s lair, show them respect or else do not go there.
- If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat them cruelly and without mercy.
- Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
- Do not take that which does not belong to you, unless it is a burden to the other person and they cry out to be relieved.
- Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.
- Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
- Do not harm young children.
- Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
- When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them.
The Nine Satanic Sins
- Stupidity — The top of the list for Satanic Sins. The Cardinal Sin of Satanism. It’s too bad that stupidity isn’t painful. Ignorance is one thing, but our society thrives increasingly on stupidity. It depends on people going along with whatever they are told. The media promotes a cultivated stupidity as a posture that is not only acceptable but laudable. Satanists must learn to see through the tricks and cannot afford to be stupid.
- Pretentiousness — Empty posturing can be most irritating and isn’t applying the cardinal rules of Lesser Magic. This is on equal footing with stupidity for what keeps the money in circulation these days. Everyone’s made to feel like a big shot, whether they can come up with the goods or not.
- Solipsism — Projecting your reactions, responses, and sensibilities onto someone who is probably far less attuned than you are can be very dangerous for Satanists. It is the mistake of expecting people to give you the same consideration, courtesy and respect that you naturally give them. They won’t. Instead, Satanists must strive to apply the dictum of “Do unto others as they do unto you.” It’s work for most of us, and requires constant vigilance, lest you slip into a comfortable illusion of everyone being like you. As it has been said, certain utopias would be ideal in a nation of philosophers, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, from a Machiavellian standpoint) we are far from that point.
- Self-deceit — It’s in the “Nine Satanic Statements”, but deserves to be repeated here. It is another cardinal sin. We must not pay homage to any of the sacred cows presented to us, including the roles we are expected to play ourselves. The only time self-deceit should be entered into is when it’s fun, and with awareness. But then, it’s not self-deceit!
- Herd Conformity — That’s obvious from a Satanic stance. It’s all right to conform to a person’s wishes, if it ultimately benefits you. But only fools follow along with the herd, letting an impersonal entity dictate to you. The key is to choose a master wisely, instead of being enslaved by the whims of the many.
- Lack of perspective — Again, this one can lead to a lot of pain for a Satanist. You must never lose sight of who and what you are, and what a threat you can be, by your very existence. We are making history right now, every day. Always keep the wider historical and social picture in mind. That is an important key to both Lesser and Greater Magic. See the patterns and fit things together as you want the pieces to fall into place. Do not be swayed by herd constraints: Know that you are working on another level entirely from the rest of the world.
- Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies — Be aware that this is one of the keys to brainwashing people into accepting something new and different, when in reality it’s something that was once widely accepted but is now presented in a new package. We are expected to rave about the genius of the creator and forget the original. This makes for a disposable society.
- Counterproductive Pride — That first word is important. Pride is great up to the point you begin to throw out the baby with the bathwater. The rule of Satanism is: If it works for you, great. When it stops working for you, when you’ve painted yourself into a corner and the only way out is to say, "I’m sorry, I made a mistake, I wish we could compromise somehow," then do it.
- Lack of Aesthetics — This is the physical application of the Balance Factor. Aesthetics is important in Lesser Magic and should be cultivated. It is obvious that no one can collect any money off classical standards of beauty and form most of the time, so they are discouraged in a consumer society; but an eye for beauty, for balance, is an essential Satanic tool and must be applied for greatest magical effectiveness. It’s not what’s supposed to be pleasing: It’s what is. Aesthetics is a personal thing, reflective of one’s own nature, but there are universally pleasing and harmonious configurations that should not be denied.
Mostly practical......
It is a personal opinion that many people use religion as a shield (I've mentioned this before) to 'protect' themselves and others use it as a form of identity. Religion as a whole is boundlessly enthralling and fascinating. Rituals, on the other hand, have a lot to be desired. Charles Eisenstein writes about this is his book. "The Ascent of Humanity" - http://www.ascentofhumanity.com/chapter2-10.php
and Richard Smoley too - http://www.modernpaths.com/library/rituals/
Some people can accept it, some people can't. Such is life.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
It was meant as a joke, but it may be very real - Why religion is STILL the static between You and God
A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand.
He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies.
The head monk, says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."
He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held in the archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot.
The young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing.
"We missed the R! We missed the R! We missed the R!"
His forehead is all bloody and bruised and he is crying uncontrollably.
The young monk asks the old abbot, "What's wrong, father?"
With A choking voice, the old abbot replies,
"The word was...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Sufism
A friend of mine asked me, what does Hinduism mean to you, do you believe God is one, do Hindus have different versions of God? I gave her an answer, but this 'war' of spiritual vs religious was actually playing out in my head. Any lay person can be religious. It's easy. TOO easy. It's a herd mentality. It's repetitive. It's outdated. It's non-relevant. It's become tiresome. It's become the act of doing without knowing.
Being spiritual, on the other hand, is TOTALLY undefined. It's personal. It's special. It's the road less travelled, because you're the only one really on it.
For some reason, I decided to find out about the most questioned religion at this point, to find out whether it is TRULY God who has directed all the evil that has happened, or whether Man has taken what he wanted from the scriptures, written by a messenger from God(Human) and caused all this mayhem because he ego deemed it right. According to "GOD" of course.....
Then I remembered something.... in the midst of all the furor of Islam and the questionable practices by the crazy fundamentalists within their people, there had to be a shining light..... the mystical Sufism....
Sufism – What is it?
Sufism (Sufism) may be best described as a mystical practice that emphasizes certain unique rituals for guiding spiritual seekers into a direct encounter with God. Muhammad is considered their chief prophet and many consider Sufism to be a mystical brand of Islam.
Sufism is a difficult term to actually define because its meaning is supposed to have derived from various words, with differing connotations:
- Bishr ibn al–Harith has said that, “the sufi is he whose heart is sincere towards God.” Thus, one of the words from which Sufism is supposed to have derived is safa meaning pure -- this due to the purity of the sufis’ heart.
- Others have derived sufi from the word saff; this refers to the sufis’ “first rank” before God. Sufis believe that they are in a prominent position in relation to God. The term suffab -- meaning, “People of the Bench” -- and the word suf which refers to the Sufis habit of wearing wool are two more popular supposed derivations of the word sufi.
Sufis teach that Sufism may be practiced with any religion -- it is the “heart” of religion. No one faith or belief is questioned; each can follow his own church, religion, or creed.
Sufism – What do Sufis believe about God?
Sufism holds a doctrine of God which is extremely lofty. Here is an excerpt taken from one of their descriptions of God:
- “. . . ‘before’ does not outstrip him; ‘of’ does not vie with him for precedence; ‘from’ does not accord with him; ‘to’ does not join with him. . .”
Sufis believe that God is responsible for everything they do, every act that they, as his servants perform. If not, then they would be equal to God, doing whatever they wanted. Thus God is responsible for every thought and deed. God can do with his servants whatever he wills, whether it is to the servant’s advantage or not.
One of the important rituals in Sufism is the zikr. During a zikr, one remembers God through meditation, chant, and movement -- certain attributes of God are repeated until the seekers become “saturated” with God. This ritual supposedly, shatters and transforms them. As they spin and whirl around for hours, they reach a state of ecstasy and purity where the heart is only conscious of God. The seeker surrenders his or herself to total abandonment -- a total emptying of self.
More to come.....
Sunday, August 02, 2009
The truth about being alone....
We can be alone in a room, yet not FEEL alone.
When I am engrossed in a good book I do not feel alone. When I am exercising or writing I do not feel alone. When I'm watching TV, I do not feel alone.
The human species is designed as a social species —we interact with each other in nearly every aspect of living. So, the desire to socialize comes up even if our personal activities are fulfilling to us. Loneliness is felt when we have become dependent on someone or something outside of our own being to 'provide' personal happiness.
Being alone, and also feeling lonely, comes when we have not yet discovered that our personal fulfillment comes right out of our depths, right from our depth of consciousness, from communion with our Source.
Contact with our Source is socializing with the Presence that is always with us as a listening ear, that warms and energizes us with feelings of harmony, spurring us on to be positive and productive in the world.
"In contact with our Source we are never alone
The unseen presence our infinite and daily companion..."
To develop consciousness of the Unseen Companion, listen to the soft wind within, developed in meditation and carried out into daily living. When we learn how to socialize with our Source, we will find that we always have a companion with us, that we are really never 'alone'.
"Being alone without being lonely happens
when we discover the Divine Presence within
And our fulfillment lies in taking the gifts of this Divinity,
warmth and energy, peace and contentment
into our social interactions"
As we improve the quality of our character, we become more aware of our state of happiness—the state of happiness hidden from us till we consistently act for the best of each situation.
We may think that happiness is an acquisition, and therefore buy more and more things. Soon we observe that depending on the momentary high experienced in an acquisition is truly temporary, and that in order to stay happy all time, we would have to acquire a never-ending stream of objects. We also might think that another person gives us happiness by paying attention to us. Again, this would mean a person would have to be focusing on us all the time, in order for us to feel happiness all the time. (The infamous 'neediness' shown in many a couple, who depend on each other for happiness,existence,identity,meaning....)
Neither by trying to acquire a stream of possessions, or by constantly expecting or trying to coerce a person to focus all their attention on us, do we experience a baseline of happiness.
We all want happiness—so where is happiness?
Happiness is the outcome of harmony. And, harmony is the outcome of living moment to moment in alignment with the highest good of the moment. When we live peacefully and usefully, we are living harmoniously—we feel happy.
So, happiness is with us all the time as a state of our own being—brought to the forefront in our lives when we are living harmoniously in the world. In this realization we can see that each of us has happiness ever available, from within ourselves, experienced when our attitudes, decisions and actions are in harmony with peacefulness and goodness. Once we are able to live with ourselves, independent of anyone else's influence or presence, and are able to comprehend the true magnitude of our Presence; once we make peace with the One within, we are truly able to live in happiness.
Simply put, Harmony = Happiness; Happiness = Being able to be alone with YOU!
"Happiness brought to the forefront of our lives
when we improve the quality of our character
through acting harmlessly in the world
by acting with care in the world"
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Eclipses
The Three Eclipses in July and August 2009
By Janet MoonWebsite: www.SparrowMoon.com
The Eclipses Are Coming - A Triple Wallop! July and August, 2009
July 7, July 21, and August 5, 2009
Eclipses bring changes, good and bad. Usually they come in pairs twice a year, but this summer we will have 3 eclipses: a lunar, a solar, and then another lunar.
Most of us find changes difficult, even if they are positive. With all the changes we have been dealing with over the past year due to the collapse in the economy, I'm not sure any of us will really want to deal with any more. Well... like it or not, change is coming. Do we want to sit around and cry, or do we want to accept the challenges and grow into richer and more spiritually healthy human beings? It's our choice.
The first two eclipses will be in Cancer and Capricorn, and the third will reflect between Leo and Aquarius. (I have good news for Leos and Aquarians; this will be your last set of eclipses. It will be another 8 years before they come back to your signs.)
The lunar eclipses will be penumbral eclipses, which means that just the edge of the earth's shadow will be crossing the moon. But, the solar eclipse on July 21 will be a total eclipse, so it will pack a strong wallop.
The first eclipse will be a lunar eclipse on July 7th at 5:38 AM EDT. If we were only dealing with the eclipse itself, we may find that the event would be less dramatic. But, there will be other stellar aspects happening over the days leading up to the eclipse, so get ready for drama. The eclipse will consist of the Sun in Cancer at an opposition to the Moon in Capricorn, and Saturn over in Virgo will be making a positive aspect between the two. Normally I would say that there could be some positive changes in business and at home if we've been working hard. But, Mars the ruler of energy and sex will be fighting with Neptune and Jupiter, and Venus, the goddess of love, will be upset with Pluto. There could be lots of fights, disputes, auto accidents, jealousy, and financial losses on top of the eclipse energy.
The second eclipse on July 21st (July 22nd Europe) at 10:35 PM EDT will be a total solar eclipse at 29 degrees Cancer. The 29th degree is a karmic point, and it can bring out the heroes. People born with their suns or rising signs at the 29th degree of any sign often like to rescue people. This time, not only do we have a powerful eclipse at a karmic degree, it's also going to be aspecting Uranus and Pluto. And, we have other planets doing their things at the same time. There is a good chance that relationships will breakup and investments will show major losses around this time. But, there is also a chance that some will "take the bull by the horns" and initiate major changes in their lives. Some of those changes will be absolutely brilliant, but some will be dealing with major losses. It's not unusual that people who are ill and tired often pass over during eclipses, but this eclipse may bring even more deaths... and some not anticipated.
The third eclipse will be the final eclipse in Leo and Aquarius on August 5th. It will be at 8:39 PM EDT, and it will be visible from about the eastern 2/3 of the US. I would call it more of a normal eclipse, since it won't be aspecting any other planets. And the other planets of the zodiac will not be at war with one another. It's still going to be an eclipse, and there will be changes to deal with. But, after the previous 2 eclipses, this eclipse may feel more like an aftershock. And, if you want to do something different, with Leo and Aquarius involved, throw an eclipse party!
Okay, now it's time to pull out our natal charts and see how these eclipses are going to affect us personally. First off, look and see which of your houses the eclipses will be occurring in. That will be the major determiner of what area of your life will be affected. Next, if the eclipse makes an aspect, especially a conjunction or square, to a power point (ascendant, nadir, descendant, or mid-heaven), it could bring some tremendous changes. If any of the eclipses aspect one of your inner planets (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Sun, Moon), then the changes will be personal. Which planet is being aspected and the house that the planet is located in will determine what aspect of your life will probably be dealing with those changes. If the eclipse is at an aspect to one of your outer planets, it will probably affect you more on a community or generational level. (Like, maybe a bunch of the baby boomers decide to retire early. I have not examined the ephemeris that closely to give any absolute predictions.)
The eclipse on July 7th will be at 15 degrees 32 minutes Capricorn. That means the Moon will be at 15 degrees Capricorn, and the Sun will be at 15 degrees Cancer. Any planets or points between 13 and 17 degrees (within a 2 degree tolerance) in Cancer and Capricorn are going to be dealing with the biggest changes. Planets or points in between 13 and 17 degrees in Libra and Aries are going to be dealing with unwanted changes, and some of those changes may be forced upon them. Planets and points between 13 and 17 degrees in Scorpio, Pisces, Taurus, and especially Virgo, may find that they actually initiate some wanted changes.
Our total solar eclipse on July 21st will be at 29 degrees 26 minutes Cancer. Cuspy Cancer/Leo's are going to be dealing with a lot of drama during this time. Any planets between 27 degrees and 1 degree on the cusps between Libra and Scorpio, and Aries and Taurus are not going to be happy at all. Be careful, there could be accidents. Planets or points between 27 degrees and 1 degree on the cusps between Capricorn and Aquarius, may find that they are doing the rescuing. The points and planets on the cusps between 27 degrees and 1 degree between Scorpio and Sagittarius and Pisces and Aries may actually see some positive changes from this eclipse.
And, the final eclipse on August 5th will be at 13 degrees 35 minutes Aquarius (with the Sun at 13 degrees 35 minutes Leo). Planets and power points between 11 and 15 degrees in Aquarius and Leo will be dealing with the biggest changes. Planets and points between 11 and 15 degrees in Scorpio and Taurus will be griping about the changes they have to deal with. Planets and points in Sagittarius, Aries, Libra, and Gemini could be dealing with fallout from other people's changes.
We can often feel the effect of eclipses up to a month before the actual eclipse, and to give you a perspective, its been said that the energy of an eclipse is approximately 10 times that of a full or new moon. If you are not sure how the eclipses will be affecting you, contact an astrologer. Even a 10 or 15 minute reading should clear up most of your confusion.
About the Author: Janet (Sparrow) Moon is a professional psychic and astrologer. You can visit her web site for more articles about upcoming events in astrology, and to subscribe her daily astrology general tendencies forecast. Website: www.SparrowMoon.com
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Home Remedies or the Doctor?
It's the Swine Flu pandemic.... most of us are sick. Whether we've actually got the Swine Flu, only a Doctor can tell us, after he or she runs his million tests. Who's got time for that now, during exams??? Please....
So you've got a cough? Dry? Chesty?
Home Remedy #1 - Egg Coffee
-Break an egg in a cup, and add a tablespoon (or two, if you've got a sweet-tooth) of condensed milk
-Beat the mix with a fork
-In another cup, add coffee powder (as much as you want), and boiling hot water, till about 3/4
cup.
-Pour the egg-condensed milk mix into the coffee, and stir well.
-Drink this HOT!!!
Sore Throat???
Home Remedy #2 - Honey and Lemon
-Squeeze half a lemon (no seeds) into a cup
-Add a bit of honey in
-Add boiling hot water and mix
-Drink this HOT!!!
Stuffed Nose???
Home Remedy #3 - Vapour Treatment
-Use a pail preferably
-Add boiling hot water till half way
-Add a few fingerfuls of Vicks Vapour Rub (Or Mentholatum)
-Place your head over the pail and cover with a towel (So you get the full vapour treatment)
If all this hardly does anything, then,well, you're probably scr***ed! Go see the Doc! :)
So you've got a cough? Dry? Chesty?
Home Remedy #1 - Egg Coffee
-Break an egg in a cup, and add a tablespoon (or two, if you've got a sweet-tooth) of condensed milk
-Beat the mix with a fork
-In another cup, add coffee powder (as much as you want), and boiling hot water, till about 3/4
cup.
-Pour the egg-condensed milk mix into the coffee, and stir well.
-Drink this HOT!!!
Sore Throat???
Home Remedy #2 - Honey and Lemon
-Squeeze half a lemon (no seeds) into a cup
-Add a bit of honey in
-Add boiling hot water and mix
-Drink this HOT!!!
Stuffed Nose???
Home Remedy #3 - Vapour Treatment
-Use a pail preferably
-Add boiling hot water till half way
-Add a few fingerfuls of Vicks Vapour Rub (Or Mentholatum)
-Place your head over the pail and cover with a towel (So you get the full vapour treatment)
If all this hardly does anything, then,well, you're probably scr***ed! Go see the Doc! :)
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Psychology VS GOD-o-logy
Psychology isn't a solution. It never is, it will never completely solve anything. It provides an outlet, a vent, a temporary relief. God bless the souls who persevere everyday and try and help, but unless we choose to REALLY help ourselves, we won't be getting anywhere. Long term, long lasting solution? GOD-o-logy. I'm not preaching. Neither am I philosophising. This is by no means a quick fix. It takes heaps of work, energy, commitment, discipline and belief.
Some of us have gone through so much of hurt/pain/anguish in our lives, we feel we are undeserving of EVERYTHING. Fair enough. What irks/irked me is/was when I hear the words "I don't deserve GOD" Who is ANYONE to tell you, you are undeserving of GOD? Who are WE to deem us undeserving of GOD?
Most of our parents teach/have taught us that we are undeserving. In the raising of children the word "No" is heard usually far more often than the word "Yes." This may be a natural consequence of raising a child and trying to teach the child what is right and what is wrong. But over time the "Nos" add up to such a great discrepancy against the "Yeses" that a child may develop low self-esteem. When one has low self-esteem, low confidence, vulnerable and down one does not feel deserving.
This is a general non-deserving feeling. With the "Nos" echoing in our head, everything we turned our desire upon, the first thing that came to mind consciously or unconsciously was a denial of that desire. This desire or holding off or away, came to feel like it was God holding us off or away.
And then some others who were/are in religious establishments that told/tell us that we were unworthy of God's love. We were to gain God's love by believing a certain way and or living a certain way. If we did not do this, we were outside of God's love. Being outside of God's love we began to feel as if we were undeserving. Obviously, this does not engender a close feeling with God.
You've got to come to realise that being a child of the Divine, a product of the Divine, you are always going to be accepted by God. And part of acceptance means that you are always loved by God. When you are loved by God as a daughter or son, then all that God has, is yours as well. And if you are loved by God as a daughter or son you are deserving. It cannot be any other way. You must decide to believe this. This decision to believe is an action step that you can and must take. You need to take back control of how you feel about yourself.
When you feel you are deserving, and you are, you will feel a closeness to God returning.
What can you do to demonstrate to yourself and that you are deserving? Simple - Working from the inside out. When you truly feel you are deserving on the inside, what would you do on the outside to demonstrate that to yourself? Certainly you can treat yourself to a special something. But don't overdo that and come to feel bad about yourself another way. Helping another person whom you know feels undeserving? Wouldn't that be a way to reinforce and demonstrate to yourself how deserving you are? Volunteering some time at a place where needy folks gathered? You are honouring other persons as deserving though they are down on their luck and this shows honour to yourself. Think about what you can do to honor the deservedness you find within yourself. Do it today. Do it now. And you will see that, as much as the next person deserves God, you do too!
Some of us have gone through so much of hurt/pain/anguish in our lives, we feel we are undeserving of EVERYTHING. Fair enough. What irks/irked me is/was when I hear the words "I don't deserve GOD" Who is ANYONE to tell you, you are undeserving of GOD? Who are WE to deem us undeserving of GOD?
Most of our parents teach/have taught us that we are undeserving. In the raising of children the word "No" is heard usually far more often than the word "Yes." This may be a natural consequence of raising a child and trying to teach the child what is right and what is wrong. But over time the "Nos" add up to such a great discrepancy against the "Yeses" that a child may develop low self-esteem. When one has low self-esteem, low confidence, vulnerable and down one does not feel deserving.
This is a general non-deserving feeling. With the "Nos" echoing in our head, everything we turned our desire upon, the first thing that came to mind consciously or unconsciously was a denial of that desire. This desire or holding off or away, came to feel like it was God holding us off or away.
And then some others who were/are in religious establishments that told/tell us that we were unworthy of God's love. We were to gain God's love by believing a certain way and or living a certain way. If we did not do this, we were outside of God's love. Being outside of God's love we began to feel as if we were undeserving. Obviously, this does not engender a close feeling with God.
You've got to come to realise that being a child of the Divine, a product of the Divine, you are always going to be accepted by God. And part of acceptance means that you are always loved by God. When you are loved by God as a daughter or son, then all that God has, is yours as well. And if you are loved by God as a daughter or son you are deserving. It cannot be any other way. You must decide to believe this. This decision to believe is an action step that you can and must take. You need to take back control of how you feel about yourself.
When you feel you are deserving, and you are, you will feel a closeness to God returning.
What can you do to demonstrate to yourself and that you are deserving? Simple - Working from the inside out. When you truly feel you are deserving on the inside, what would you do on the outside to demonstrate that to yourself? Certainly you can treat yourself to a special something. But don't overdo that and come to feel bad about yourself another way. Helping another person whom you know feels undeserving? Wouldn't that be a way to reinforce and demonstrate to yourself how deserving you are? Volunteering some time at a place where needy folks gathered? You are honouring other persons as deserving though they are down on their luck and this shows honour to yourself. Think about what you can do to honor the deservedness you find within yourself. Do it today. Do it now. And you will see that, as much as the next person deserves God, you do too!
Footprints
One Night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonged to him and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you you'd walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me." The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
Monday, June 15, 2009
The night is darkest before the dawn....
"Human pain does not let go of its grip
at one point in time. Rather, it works its
way out of our consciousness over time.
There is a season of sadness.
A season of anger.
A season of tranquility.
A season of hope..."
– Robert Veninga
_____________________________________________________________________
Two proses/poems that were penned during dark times.....
Maybe I’m tired of this bullsh*t,
Of the way you’ve been treating me,
No matter what I say,
You don’t seem to see,
All the things you do and say,
Have burnt me on the inside,
Sometimes I feel like drowning you,
In all the tears I’ve cried,
Because most of those tears,
Are all because of you,
Of the hurtful things you say,
Of the hurtful things you do,
I don’t WANT to care anymore,
I just can’t help that I do….
You were never my friend,
And here I was, who once thought;
Our friendship would never end.
You’re a/an ______,
I feel like I should hate you,
But then again, I’m forced to flip,
And find that I really can’t.
I can’t seem to run,
I can’t seem to hide.
I have to face you,
You and your sharp tongue.
There is nothing you seem to do that changes anything,
‘Cept your words, that either seem to pierce me
Or make no difference ‘cos they seem so fake.
You’re a horrible person,
And a spoilt little brat.
I want you to wake up one day,
And see, maybe feel, all you have put me through,
That when I said what you did hurt,
You’d know what I said was true,
And when then one day comes,
you’ll be all alone in your room,
Listening on the phone
Having someone say,
“He’s really gone, really gone for good….”
You won’t know when,
You won’t know how,
But when you weren’t looking,
When you chose not to care,
I’ll just walk away,
Away from all the hurt and pain
People will talk,
Heck, you can even cook up some excuse
Others can say whatever they want to
Cos they wouldn’t have a clue,
Only you will know that me leaving;
Was ultimately caused by YOU.
Anger
at one point in time. Rather, it works its
way out of our consciousness over time.
There is a season of sadness.
A season of anger.
A season of tranquility.
A season of hope..."
– Robert Veninga
_____________________________________________________________________
Two proses/poems that were penned during dark times.....
Hurt/Pain/Reason Enough to Walk Away
Of the way you’ve been treating me,
No matter what I say,
You don’t seem to see,
All the things you do and say,
Have burnt me on the inside,
Sometimes I feel like drowning you,
In all the tears I’ve cried,
Because most of those tears,
Are all because of you,
Of the hurtful things you say,
Of the hurtful things you do,
I don’t WANT to care anymore,
I just can’t help that I do….
You were never my friend,
And here I was, who once thought;
Our friendship would never end.
You’re a/an ______,
I feel like I should hate you,
But then again, I’m forced to flip,
And find that I really can’t.
I can’t seem to run,
I can’t seem to hide.
I have to face you,
You and your sharp tongue.
There is nothing you seem to do that changes anything,
‘Cept your words, that either seem to pierce me
Or make no difference ‘cos they seem so fake.
You’re a horrible person,
And a spoilt little brat.
I want you to wake up one day,
And see, maybe feel, all you have put me through,
That when I said what you did hurt,
You’d know what I said was true,
And when then one day comes,
you’ll be all alone in your room,
Listening on the phone
Having someone say,
“He’s really gone, really gone for good….”
You won’t know when,
You won’t know how,
But when you weren’t looking,
When you chose not to care,
I’ll just walk away,
Away from all the hurt and pain
People will talk,
Heck, you can even cook up some excuse
Others can say whatever they want to
Cos they wouldn’t have a clue,
Only you will know that me leaving;
Was ultimately caused by YOU.
Anger
Anger turned my heart into a toxic waste ground.
Without a chance, without a fight.
Mercy was defeated, Trust was destroyed
Love, murdered, Hope then faded
Out of mind, out of sight
It ruined everything that was built,
on the foundation of my being
Anger became immortal,
draining the life from all my thoughts
and from all that I had within.
Mercy was so weak
or maybe unsupported,
but the loss of feeling, the loss of love,
was the greatest victory
that anger had over me.
There was no time
no strength, no will or power,
to cast away this monster,
that had imprisoned me,
in this poisonous hellhole.
Oh, anger, stab my dying nature
and set me free of you,
stop living inside this rotten corpse
and turn yourself into a spot of dust...
If life were that easy....we would be oh-so-lucky
But as we know, there lies a greater force…..
A force of nature, a force of God,
A force as brutal, as it is forgiving,
A force to cleanse, a force to heal,
A force that teaches, a force that disciplines,
A force that destroys every ounce of ego you may have
So you can fight, you can scream,
But when the time does come, and it WILL come,
No force, however great it may be, stands a chance
For Karma, baby, is as hungry, if not, more hungry….
She’s that rabid bitch that comes around…
And come around, she will. For sure, she will.
And she will give back, tenfold what was dished out.
You will die fighting her, or you get beaten down just enough to learn.
I’d rather you learn, like all of us do always
Because dying is the coward’s way out,
And you’ve shown more than enough to prove you are one.
A coward, a pussy, a low-life, a fake,
A whiner, a loser, an abuser, a trouble maker
Not a man, not a woman, not a f*ked up mother or a b*st*rd father,
Not a friend, not even a foe, not even worthy of the dirt and grime in the slums of slums.
Your existence is a lie, yet the damage you caused is irreversible.
I was weak, so you seemed strong.
You took full advantage, but you were so wrong,
To think you could run after all that you had done.
Turn around buddy, Cos Karma, she comes,
To strip you of your happiness, your peace,
Your lie of a life, your illusion of any love
To take your blood, your sweat,
Your tears and Your ALL……..
When you feel the pain, when you feel what I feel,
When you have cried and when you have cringed,
When you have felt like your insides on fire,
When you have experienced hell on earth,
ONLY THEN
Will Mercy triumph, Will Trust return,
Will Love emerge, Will Hope prevail.
So laugh all you want, smile all you can,
Live the lie you’re living, enjoy what little you can.
For till you taste your own medicine, all the bitterness of it,
You are nothing, no one, nonexistent, a mirage….
Just a figment of my imagination, plain ol' Maya....
What the ego has fueled and filled...
Live and learn....
Without a chance, without a fight.
Mercy was defeated, Trust was destroyed
Love, murdered, Hope then faded
Out of mind, out of sight
It ruined everything that was built,
on the foundation of my being
Anger became immortal,
draining the life from all my thoughts
and from all that I had within.
Mercy was so weak
or maybe unsupported,
but the loss of feeling, the loss of love,
was the greatest victory
that anger had over me.
There was no time
no strength, no will or power,
to cast away this monster,
that had imprisoned me,
in this poisonous hellhole.
Oh, anger, stab my dying nature
and set me free of you,
stop living inside this rotten corpse
and turn yourself into a spot of dust...
If life were that easy....we would be oh-so-lucky
But as we know, there lies a greater force…..
A force of nature, a force of God,
A force as brutal, as it is forgiving,
A force to cleanse, a force to heal,
A force that teaches, a force that disciplines,
A force that destroys every ounce of ego you may have
So you can fight, you can scream,
But when the time does come, and it WILL come,
No force, however great it may be, stands a chance
For Karma, baby, is as hungry, if not, more hungry….
She’s that rabid bitch that comes around…
And come around, she will. For sure, she will.
And she will give back, tenfold what was dished out.
You will die fighting her, or you get beaten down just enough to learn.
I’d rather you learn, like all of us do always
Because dying is the coward’s way out,
And you’ve shown more than enough to prove you are one.
A coward, a pussy, a low-life, a fake,
A whiner, a loser, an abuser, a trouble maker
Not a man, not a woman, not a f*ked up mother or a b*st*rd father,
Not a friend, not even a foe, not even worthy of the dirt and grime in the slums of slums.
Your existence is a lie, yet the damage you caused is irreversible.
I was weak, so you seemed strong.
You took full advantage, but you were so wrong,
To think you could run after all that you had done.
Turn around buddy, Cos Karma, she comes,
To strip you of your happiness, your peace,
Your lie of a life, your illusion of any love
To take your blood, your sweat,
Your tears and Your ALL……..
When you feel the pain, when you feel what I feel,
When you have cried and when you have cringed,
When you have felt like your insides on fire,
When you have experienced hell on earth,
ONLY THEN
Will Mercy triumph, Will Trust return,
Will Love emerge, Will Hope prevail.
So laugh all you want, smile all you can,
Live the lie you’re living, enjoy what little you can.
For till you taste your own medicine, all the bitterness of it,
You are nothing, no one, nonexistent, a mirage….
Just a figment of my imagination, plain ol' Maya....
What the ego has fueled and filled...
Live and learn....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)