Remembering To Remember

I just came back from a trip to western North Carolina where a very good friend recommended a book entitled The Spiritual Awakening of the Great Smoky Mountains, self published by Page Bryant (1994) Waynesville, NC.

As was Original Wisdom: Stories of an Ancient Way of Knowing, by Robert Wolff [Inner Traditions Publishing, 2001], which I wrote about last month (Understanding The Whole Helps Understand The Parts; Msg-3-Feb-2016), Page Bryant was able to verbalize many of the feelings and intuitions I have been experiencing without being able to express them well. Using different words, she is expressing this identical overpowering sense of Oneness, where there is no distinction between subject and object, that I have been experiencing yet have not found the appropriate words.

During a brief morning meditative moment this week, a spot of clarity about these nature-related thoughts of Oneness flooded my mind. I want to share those with you today.

Page Bryant writes about her own sense of Oneness she embraces when visiting the Great Smoky Mountain National Park: “Though the entire area is beautiful and helps to put me in a calm and open state of mind, I am particularly drawn to the beautiful little roadside waterfalls found throughout the area. These wonderful moist, green spots are delightfully fragrant with the smells of the rich soil, the moss-covered fallen trees, and the negative ions that seem to reach inside and caress the soul. The first time I visited such a site I was almost instantly propelled into an altered state of what I call pure ‘nature consciousness’… that precious frame of mind and heart that stirs and opens my deepest senses and emotions in complete safety and compassion for all that lives; the state that brings my ‘connection’ with all that lives into full consciousness….” (p. 34-5)

She writes a lot about Native American rituals and ceremonies – many connected to very specific Smoky Mountain sites of the ancient Cherokee. She wrote: “I believe that ceremony is one of the most valuable tools we have to bring about a change in our consciousness, for healing the earth and ourselves, and for getting into conscious touch with the [spirit and energy of the plant, animal, and mineral kingdoms].” (p.157-8)

As she was describing the role of ceremony and ritual within Cherokee culture, I became very aware that, for me, what she seemed to be saying is that ceremony or ritual has the ability to help me remember to remember the power of intuition or experiential (not cerebral) knowing. I need always to remember to remember the awe inspiring occurrence of this kind of intuitive knowledge – a knowing that simply overpowers my intellect. It is not knowledge I have deduced. It is the knowing that I know to be true because I experienced its truth for me.

She goes on to describe some of this knowing. “We must, if we and our planet are to survive, return to a remembrance that the Earth is alive! … We must, once again armed with a knowledge of the sacred dances and songs, lift ourselves out of the mire of apathetic materialism … that we might heal ourselves from the ecological and spiritual tragedies which have resulted from our almost total reliance upon our intellect. I take nothing away from the value of logic and reason and feel it to be a necessary part of our approach to knowledge and understanding. But omitting intuition and by not bringing our intuitive faculties to bear upon whatever knowledge we gain, we run the risk of the precise one-sidedness of materialism so apparent within society today. Science and the lifeless mechanical world it permits to exist is not all there is. [To take a successful journey to explore an intuitive awareness of unseen energies and life forces] we must carry with us the tool of [openness and] willingness; a willingness to have a honest sense of desire and expectation in order to become aware of earth’s living energies and the mind to think of the world as a whole being that is held together by a real living, unifying energy which links us all – every place to every other place, every soul to all other souls, and, ultimately, the Earth and her children…” (p. 69-70)  

This call for remembering to remember reminded me the other morning of the Christian ritual of the Last Supper and Jesus’ words to the disciples: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” But after reading Bryant and Wolff, along with the messages of A Course In Miracles (ACIM) and the wisdom of AA, it helped me put this experiential sense I have been having in a new light. Perhaps Jesus wasn’t saying “Remember me, I’m going to die for you in order to satisfy the judgment of my Father” (a critical tenet of Christian dogma), but saying: “Remember, we are all One. Every person is but a reflection of you. The act of all of us tonight sharing together one cup and one loaf is symbolic of that reality. Please do not forget that.”

Take what you want from this message and leave the rest. Oh! Find and embrace a small waterfall regardless of the weather today. Perhaps it will connect and enrich you.

Although these messages are mostly for me, thanks for listening. As always – feel free to forward this message to your friends, family, and those accompanying you on your spiritual journey.

Don

#1 Mar 2016

Copyright 2016

Freedom of Religion Doesn’t Mean What Some Want It to Mean

It is absolutely no coincidence that freedom of (and from) religion is the very first of the agreed-to 10 Constitutional Amendments referred to as the Bill of Rights.

In the mid-19^th Century Alexis de Toqueville (1805-1859), a French historian and philosopher, toured the United States to see for himself how our fledgling democratic republic was working. The results of his observations appeared in his signature work, Democracy in America, published in 1835 (Vol. 1) and 1840 (Vol. 2).

One of his significant contributions was his observation concerning the impending opportunity of “…the majority raising formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion,” if, in fact, the democratic process spilled over from America’s arena of politics to the arena of everyday social life. This idea of de Toqueville’s led, later, Lord Acton (British Historian, 1834-1902) to coin the famous phrase: “The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority….” 

In his opinion de Toqueville saw the very detrimental possibility in our society that voting on political/legal/economic policies would morph into similar “voting” on social/cultural/personal values as some form of un-official national policy. His complete observation was: “In America the majority raises formidable barriers around the liberty of opinion; within these barriers [someone may write or think] what he pleases, but woe to him if he goes beyond them.” Remember, this was 180 years ago.

Watching some of the debates for the GOP presidential nomination and hearing some of the commentaries (both conservative – FOX – and progressive – MSNBC), I am struck by how much the religious views of our candidates play in the nomination/election process. It’s as if voters want to hear how religious and spiritual our elected (or nominated) officials say they are. How utterly inappropriate this is, according to our Constitution. As stated by Phillip E. Johnson (American Educator, 1940 -) “The restriction of religion to private life therefore does not … threaten the vital interests of the majority religion, if there is one, and it protects minority religions from the tyranny of the majority.”

This raises, for me, the question: Why is the opinion (to use de Toqueville’s term) of religion so critically important in an election cycle?

My initial answer? Fear and Ignorance. To assuage their fear and the world their fear thinks it sees, folks perceive their religious “world view” as paramount in their decision-making. They have to find something that will provide them with a certainty of faith. They have found that certainty – not in their personal transformation and acceptance in the Kingdom of God – but in the literal words of the Bible. Any verse anywhere in the Bible is the Word of God, and if verses contradict each other, then that’s an illustration of the mystery of God.

I discussed this issue in my book (pages 345-46) under the heading of “Recognizing the Dangers of Bibliolatry.”

“There is always a tension between the faith itself and our attempt to communicate it in a rational language at a given historical period. A relatively static authoritarianism, either of the Roman Catholic type or fundamentalist/evangelical type, so confuses the authority of the Church, the Bible, and the faith of the people that the tension, which is between God, as we understand God, and our human understanding, is removed. Without that tension the doors are opened to idolatry – in this case a blind worship of the Bible itself – or Bibliolatry.”

As Karen Armstrong pointed out in her book, The History of God, fundamentalists cannot conceive that I experience and think about God differently than they, which may be different from that Abraham experienced as a middle Bronze Age nomad or as Paul experienced as a first-century Jewish Roman citizen.

Back to an election cycle: It seems fearful religious conservatives have extended that belief-form (everybody everywhere thinks of God in the same way) to apply the Founding Fathers. Surely, Franklin, Jefferson and Paine, all of whom referred to “God,” must believe as we biblical literalists believe. The problem is they didn’t. They were essentially Deists. God was the prime (or first) mover. The Creator. God didn’t interfere in personal lives and liberty. Jefferson’s Bible had been all crossed-out except for those passages, especially parables, which began “Jesus said....“

When biblical literalists use a quote from Isaiah or Deuteronomy to justify their actions/beliefs they are denying the message of Jesus the Christ. He said He was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. His was the new message from God. The Gospel. The Good News – the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear. He gave us three commandments to follow, replacing the Ten Commandments of the Israelites.

But religious conservatives cling to the Old Testament and its Ten Commandments. It’s simpler. It’s easier. But it’s incorrect, and it’s a grave error when it’s used as a litmus test for politicians.

To elevate the Bible in ways that overshadow the Gospel of the Lord is a supreme sacrilege. To pursue a political end of enacting legislative laws to ensure the apparent “sanctity” of the United States so God will once again bless us above all other nations is an act of unbelievable un-love in the name of the God of love.

Thanks for listening and, as always, feel free to share this message with my blessings.

Don

#2 March, 2012

Separateness Is So Very Important To My Ego-Mind

My mind is often like a dog at a beach – digging and digging to uncover negative thoughts, feelings and fears, and then rehearse ugly scenarios, or rehash old problems.

Recently I read the following message from a site I subscribe to. It’s a collection of sayings with a brief commentary on AA’s spiritual wisdom. It’s called “Wisdom of the Rooms” and is posted by Michael Z.  Like my posts, it is free. [Want to subscribe, as well? Visit: http://www.theWisdomoftheRooms.com]

"If only my mind would leave me alone," I often think. I have what I call a "digging mind." Like a dog at the beach, it digs and digs and digs in a problem, a worry, or in some other imagined potential problem area or scenario often without my approval or awareness. It loves to uncover negative thoughts, feelings and fears, and then rehearse ugly scenarios, or rehash old problems.

“My digging mind is not only relentless, but it is consistently negative as well. I never find it digging in a positive or hopeful place…. No, driven by a hundred forms of self-centered fear, it searches the beaches of disappointment and failure, and digs away.

“R&R always meant physical relaxation to me. It wasn't until I heard this saying that I thought to give my digging mind a break as well. In fact, before this saying I didn't realize how active my mind stayed when I did try to rest and relax. Today I realize the importance of reigning in my digging mind and allowing (sometimes forcing) it to rest and relax as well. Giving myself a break - a total break - provides me with the renewal and space I need to let the love and light of my Higher Power in. Today, I've learned how to truly rest and relax.

“R&R stands for rest and relaxation not rehearse and rehash!”

The single thought that struck me right between my eyes was the comment “…it is consistently negative…” That is a right-on description of my monkey mind, which I often refer to as the shitty committee that lives in the universe between my ears. It is absolutely and dependably negative. It blames, shames, wonders “why me?” finds fault, sees the glass half empty, reignites my fears of scarcity and lack, reinforces my belief that I am (and will continue to be) somehow “less than.”

Rationally, I know all my negative issues have nothing to do with actual reality – it is always an inside job. It is simply my perception. It is my attitude. It is my outlook. It is my propensity to be fearful and anxious. It is my constant tendency to look outside myself for the source of my problems or the source of my solutions.

When I stop to think, it is actually really arrogant. It is arrogant to believe that my perception harbors the real truth of the universe. It is arrogant for me to believe my perception of what the Bible (or any sacred writing) is really saying is the only correct one. It is arrogant to believe I truly know what is best for me – the guy who believed I had to have alcohol in my system 24-hours-a-day to feel normal and never, EVER, considered this to be abnormal.

I heard an Evangelical preacher on YouTube describe, in light of Jesus’ instruction to forgive someone 70 times 7, that “…Well Jesus lived 2,000 years ago and He didn’t know about Muslims and terrorists.” The preacher was really saying, “I cannot fathom forgiving a Muslim or Terrorist. Therefore, neither can God.” That’s absolute arrogance. Yet, I do it all the time. So do you. Just not in such a dramatic fashion.

My ego-mind has to constantly convince me that my perception of reality is accurate – and certainly more accurate than yours. It accomplishes this by reinforcing its belief in my separateness. It is always telling me, in thousands of different ways, that I am really a body – 5’-8” – and nicknamed “bird legs” when in high school. Somewhere in this body is my soul or spirit. It will continue to live on after my body dies. My soul or spirit will then go on to live forever in Heaven or Hell. Implicit in all this is the constant message: “Don, you are your body; it has a soul; All others are in ‘different’ bodies with ‘different’ souls.”

If my ego-mind can convince me that all my issues are “out there” somewhere, then I will remain separate from you and everyone else. The “everyone else” includes God, the Holy Spirit, Jesus the Christ, and spirit guides or angels. They, too, are separate from me. Yes, I believe they love me, but they are somebody else. They are somewhere I am not. They are in a form I am not. They are not here unconditionally. They are here with me only if I acknowledge them, believe certain things about them, say certain things, profess certain things. If I don’t, they’re outta here and I am toast.

I pray and sometimes it seems to work and sometimes it doesn’t. When it doesn’t my first thought is “what did I do wrong? Why aren’t they listening to me now?”

As I’ve said before in these messages, when I concentrate on training my mind to understand it’s an inside job, to think of me – not as a body – but as an already-loved eternal spirit simply having a human experience, then I can connect with you. Then, I know you are also an already-loved eternal spirit simply having your human experience. My already-loved eternal spirit, your already-loved eternal spirit, and the Holy Spirit are truly as one. Just as we are.

I am already loved. I make mistakes rather than commit sins. I am guided rather than being saved. Just as I am, I am as God intended, although I get in my own way, which prevents me from fully living what God intended. I am still loved. I am still guided by the whispers of the Holy Spirit. I just need to quiet my mind – stop digging at the beach – so I can hear (and heed!) Spirit’s message for me now.

Thanks for listening and, as always, please forward this message to your friends and family.

Don

#3 February, 2012  

One Big Ball of Wax – The Bible, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus

Last week’s message [How Many Commandments Are There – Really?] discussed the relationship between the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Three Commandments. I asked the question, ”What is the role of the Ten Commandments for Christians, and where do Jesus' Three Commandments fit in?” [A refresher: Jesus’ Three Commandments are 1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, strength, and mind; 2. Love your neighbor as yourself; 3. Love each other as I have loved and served you]

I think Christian congregations venerate the Ten Commandments (a) because they are simple and easy to depict, and (b) because it verifies, for them, the central importance of the Bible. This allows someone to use any verse(s) in the Bible in conjunction with any other verse(s) indiscriminately. Convenient? Yes! Misleading or Inappropriate? Absolutely!

It appears to me that many biblical literalists have identified the Bible, the reality of the Holy Spirit, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as all the same thing. I’ve heard biblical literalists claim that Jesus really wrote the entire Bible. They say this because they believe the Holy Spirit and Jesus (and the scriptures they presumably wrote) are all of equal weight, equal validity, equal importance. They are the same thing.

This certainly provides some comfort for their fears. Find some verse in the Bible that makes sense to you, regardless of its appropriate context and meaning, and voila! One has God’s Truth to bolster them. Neat, quick, easy, and very, very dangerous.

Of course, providing comfort for fear applies to more than the Bible. I’ve seen people use the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in much the same way. Many of us in the fellowship of AA refer to these members as “Big Book Nazis.” There are those that do the same with the text of A Course in Miracles – there is only one “right” way to interpret whatever section everyone’s reading. There are those that do the same thing with the faith-based secular religion of American capitalism which has been so virtually married with fundamentalist Christianity that you would think that Jesus’ swaddling clothes were red, white and blue. After all, doesn’t the Bible say “God helps those who help themselves?” No, it doesn’t. That quote is from Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard Almanac – presumably copied from earlier European pamphlets.

Obviously, this whole discussion of using the Ten Commandments and worshipping the Bible has to do with fear, which AA describes as Future Events Appearing Real, and how to alleviate it.

Fear is an awful emotion. It is the opposite of faith, acceptance, and love. It is the absolute primal emotion of the self-absorbed Ego. It is pervasive, insidious and produces death in all its forms – physical death, financial death, or social embarrassment, just to name a few obvious forms. The more insidious forms, however, are the ones that concern me.

“Like what?” you may be thinking. Well, here’s a couple for starters:

Anxiety or fear of being “found out” – about anything! It’s whatever it is I’m currently pretending to be for you or around you that I don’t want you to know about. Whenever I work to maintain a pretense that I’m richer, smarter, calmer, more serene, less controlling or possessing more self-control, more spiritual, or funnier, I have this sinking feeling in my gut – “The me you think you are talking to or listening to isn’t the real me.”

A flip side to this same anxiety is my attempt to avoid making a mistake or my attempt to minimize the consequences of a mistake. This kind of anxiety is equally insidious for me. It implies there is some form of a perfect answer, a perfect conclusion, a perfect response, a perfect plan, or a perfect analysis. All I need to do is find it. To make a mistake is a failure. It is being “found out” as a flawed fraud. I can never be “good” enough, correct enough, right enough, smart enough, sensitive enough, observant enough.

It is a very sick place for me to be.

When I’m in that sick place, it is the most “natural” thing in the world for me to trust the reality of my perceptions. My perceptions – in this sick state – are tailored to my “story:” I’m a well-educated, sensitive, politically progressive, sober, creative, overall nice guy with a sense of humor and moving on a strong spiritual path. You know, I still like the way that sounds. And it’s all true – in the universe that exists between my ears – but it has nothing to do with reality.

In November 2011 [Penn State, The Church, and my Ego – Part 2] I wrote:

“… what I learned is the critical importance of always trying to use 2 little words: "…for me." I came to understand that my thoughts of ‘right, normal, accepted, and Christian’ were influenced more by my cultural/racial/educational/economic sense of identity than by dogma or some form of religiosity. I found if I could simply add the prepositional phrase "for me" to the end of most sentences, truth would begin to penetrate all the way to my True Self.  For example, rather than saying, ‘The Bible is the source of truth in spiritual issues,’ I began saying the ‘Bible is my source of truth in spiritual issues because that makes sense for me.’"

Now, when I’m in my sick little place, I try to pause, take a deep breath, and recognize that someone using the Bible in a literal, worshipful, idolatrous way to alleviate his/her fear is no different than I am. We simply use different literal, worshipful, idolatrous tools.

·      Conservatives may be using the Bible, simplistic fundamentalist dogma, Fox News commentators, Republican Party talking points, an over-blown ideal of American capitalism, or die-hard patriotism as their tools to alleviate fear, doubt, anxiety.

·      Liberals may be using Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Unity, A Course in Miracles, a 12-Step Program, Democratic Party talking points, MSNBC commentators, Bill Moyers, or Paul Krugman as their tools.

All of us, however, are forgetting that the realities of this world are real only if we perceive ourselves as a human body having a soul/spirit rather than perceiving ourselves as an already loved eternal spirit currently having a human experience.

A Course in Miracles (ACIM) states that what we do is based on how we perceive the events and people around us. In short, what we do showcases what we really believe. The actual quote is “You respond to what you perceive, and as you perceive so shall you behave.” (Text: Chapter 1, III.6)

So, if you look at what you actually do, think and say, what might someone conclude about your actual beliefs? I’ll let you answer that for yourselves.

Thanks for listening and, as always, it's okay to forward this, if you choose.

Don

#3 January, 2012