Friday, February 22, 2013

Humbled by God and Man

"If religion is to bring light to our broken world, we need, as Mencius suggested, to go in search of the lost heart, the spirit of compassion that lies at the core of all our traditions." -Karen Armstrong

I met a man the other day who only wanted to talk about the God that he had pushed aside when he discovered the lure of scientific data and the truth that lay behind his experiments of a lifetime.


I wasn’t in the mood to defend God or my concept of God as the Source and Substance of All Reality. I wasn’t going to initiate the selling of any God yet again. I, too, had conducted my own experiments during my lifetime. Sharing them at this time was not an option for me.


Instead, I noticed how a sadness settled over my heart and my chatter ceased.


My God was always Compassionate, Merciful, Thoughtful, Encouraging, Ineffable.


His God was angry and vengeful and thoughtless.


I looked through him to the boy who had lost his faith in frustration and fury.


I would have defended my definition of God, but I feared his rejection and his mockery. But, most of all, I feared that I would be misunderstood.


To begin to learn about God, one must begin from not knowing. From the dark places of the soul that await the light places within the heart. From alienation and abandonment through to brokenness and bereavement. This place of deepest dread brings one to a humbling experience that alone leads to healing and awakening.


I had spent my life drawing myself away from the separateness that I feel for the other. The call to lead a religious and spiritual life compells me to overcome this attitude. We are all part of God, and God is inside each of us.

I surrendered my need to "teach" and "to instruct" this man who only wanted to talk about the God that he had pushed away so early in his life. Somehow, my presence in his life would have to suffice. My speech ultimately would have been insufficient.


Friday, February 15, 2013

Souls in the Snow

The snow blanketed the hills of Maryland like a still life photo, as even and as crystal clear as the first snow of creation. The sun set sparkle to the weighted tree limbs, and the sound of the dripping down of the snow’s waters filled my ears with morning’s murmurings.

The occupants were asleep. Forever. The stones on top of their grey tombstones were in stark contrast to the newly whitened ground. The black walkways gave us easy access to the cemetery’s wide-open spaces.

We had come to purchase burial plots on Valentine’s Day for a beloved, for the near future, for perpetuity. An ordinary event in the life of a human being who knows that we do not live forever and that preparations need to be made.

We found a loving pathway into the heart of this soul-fulll cemetery as we carved our footprints into the solitary snow.

We would remember the welcoming snow today and, when the time to lay here in eternal peace arrived, we would remember again, this real-life picture. Perhaps, this is all we need to long for.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Meaning Makers

Do you believe in the magic of synchronicity? Do things happen for a reason? Can we make meaning out of the good times more easily than we can make meaning out of the bad times? Does everything have a purpose beyond our comprehension?

Life may consist of a random string of unconnected events, or each happening may flow like a river with a pulse and a rhythm that moves our stories forward. No matter the belief, no matter the scene, we continue to be the meaning makers of our own lives.


How can it be otherwise?

Friday, February 1, 2013

My Soul Speaks

If your soul could talk to you … what would she say?

I asked myself this question during my morning teachings.

My soul responded without hesitation: "Relax. You are exactly where you should be as you evolve and prepare your soul for your next inner quest."

What are you preparing your soul for?