Refreshing Reflections

Monday: Bucket List
No private jet, Jesus never traveled very widely himself. And when he got to his destination at day's end, his accommodations were never very cushy.  But more importantly, when he arrived, it seems great joy and raison d'être came to him while using his limited time remaining on earth for others.

Tuesday: A Lover's Voice
How are we to articulate our deeply personal and unique experiences of this Sense or Presence or Lover's Voice that is as close to us as our breath? (I'm convinced that language is the biggest barrier we face here. Yet, ironically, it's all we've got.) Perhaps a first step is to acknowledge our ineptitude and its grandeur. 

Wednesday: Forget Something?

To love and let ourselves be loved. That's vital. The rest of the time, let's keep laughing.

Thursday: Taken
I thank you, God, for creating me in your likeness--and for uniquely recreating something of your very self in me. Though I know I can never fully understand or realize the truth and scope of this gift, I will live my days in joyful discovery of your essence within me--and in all of your creation.

Friday: Forest of Prayers
Let us pray...

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:
The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom 
     sustain our hope and come on earth.
With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, 
     now and for ever. 

Amen.

Forest of Prayers

Today I invite us to spend some quiet moments with this version of the Lord's Prayer from the New Zealand Prayer Book. Each phrase is like a lovely tree we can gaze up into while leaning against its magnificent trunk or while lying on the ground beneath it. Together, they make for a stunningly beautiful forest of prayers in which we can safely lose ourselves.

Let us pray...

Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,

Source of all that is and that shall be,

Father and Mother of us all,

Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!

The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!

Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!

Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.

In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.

In times of temptation and test, strengthen us.

From trials too great to endure, spare us.

From the grip of all that is evil, free us.

For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever.

Amen

Taken

Richard Rohr, in his book Immortal Diamond: The Search for Your True Self  writes...

Your soul is who you are in God and who God is in you. You can never really lose your soul; you can only fail to realize it, which is indeed the greatest of losses: to have it but not have it (Matthew 16:26). Your essence, your exact "thisness," will never appear again in another incarnation. As Oscar Wilde said, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

     I thank you, God, for creating me in your likeness--and for uniquely recreating something of your very self in me. Though I know I can never fully realize or understand the truth or scope of this gift, I will live my days in joyful discovery of your essence within me--and in all of your creation.

Forget Something?

According to a recent poll of 2000 adults conducted for the Post-It Brand of 3M, the average person forgets four things a day. 

"Only four? You're kidding!" you say. (Perhaps you and I are above average in something after all.)

No, seriously... 4. And the top ten we're most likely to forget? 

1. What we went into a room for
2. Our keys
3. An item on our grocery list
4. Someone's name
5. Where we put our pen
6. Taking meat out of the freezer
7. Responding to an email
8. Posting something
9. What we were looking for on line
10. Where we parked the car

So, how'd you do? Oh. Well, could be worse, you know, like...where you work or...that you work. Etc.) 

Again, seriously this time! Forgetting things is frustrating and may occasionally feel life-threatening but, in the grand scheme of things, not so much. When you really stop and think about it, what is surprising is the number of things we do remember each day!

More importantly, there's a helpful distinction to be made between what is vitally important that we remember and what is not. I would argue that the list above falls into the category of "not." What is? Consider e. e. cummings' poem "i carry your heart with me."


i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

To love and let ourselves be loved. That's vital. The rest of the time, let's keep laughing.

A Lover's Voice

"Start with the breath," meditation experts advise us, recommending long, slow, deep, smooth breaths. This helps the body enter into a state of deep relaxation. It also helps the conscious mind to turn off so that the unconscious mind can turn on. Long. Slow. Deep. Smooth. Long. Slow. Deep. Smooth.

Someone once suggested that I “breathe from the heart.” What a nice thought!  Like slow dancers pleasingly intertwined in each other's embrace, in this picture our heart and lungs swing and sway together, creating life for us. Sweet.  

So, I was focusing on breathing from my heart while meditating when I heard a voice say, "Now...breath from my heart." Whoa! Where did that come from? It sounded like an invitation to dance. But with whom?

All I know is it felt like it was coming from somewhere deep inside me--as close as my breath--that somehow, it was me and at the same time, it was beyond me. Actually, it's a "voice" with which I am very familiar...one I'm in frequent conversation with, especially while praying or meditating...a voice that I listen for and trust keenly...a lover's voice that has profoundly touched and shaped me throughout my life. And yes, it is an invitation to dance.

I choose to believe it is what many call "God" although I believe that this, too, is a metaphor which, like all metaphors, works well for some but not for others. It's one among many, all of which give us but a glimpse of something greater than any one of them--or all of them. 

How are we to articulate our deeply personal and unique experiences of this Sense or Presence or Lover's Voice that is as close to us as our breath? (I'm convinced that language is the biggest barrier we face here. Yet, ironically, it's all we've got.) Perhaps a first step is to acknowledge our ineptitude and its grandeur. 

“Human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.”  Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

  

Bucket List

Back in 2007 Rob Reiner's hit movie The Bucket List thrilled us with not one but two of the greatest titans in the acting world; Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. It was tender at times, hilarious at others. Watching each of them individually, we gained insight into some of the heart wrenching, personal agony of dealing with terminal illness. Watching the two of them together, we vicariously experienced the ecstasy that can come from the kind of deep, rich, abiding friendship which they enjoyed. While critics gave it mixed reviews the general public, self included, loved it. In fact, we loved it to the tune of some $175 million in worldwide box office receipts.

The movie's greatest success, however, was not actually financial. It was social, and therefore far greater! The Bucket List's 'wish list' theme struck the cord of one of our culture's deepest values with such force that it spawned a phrase that has become commonplace in our language even today; With surprising frequency, we hear people refer to what's on their bucket list. Truth be told, we've probably said it ourselves.

Excuse me for being blunt but, with our focus on the movie's excellent acting, compelling story line and box office receipts, aren't we missing something pretty big here? Like, say, the movie's questionable premise; that the essence of one's life is to be found in determining what you want on your bucket list and then doing everything you possibly can to make those things happen before you kick that bucket.  

"It's different," you say, "if you know you only have a short time to live." Well, thanks for making my point for me, i.e. I can agree with some of that line of thinking, but you and I use the bucket list mentality even though we have no idea when we're going to die. ( Hopefully later rather than sooner.) In so doing we make this mentality into our compass, taking both our current bearings and future heading from it. 

Our bucket list is a 'to do' list of pleasures. Even seeking 'fulfillment' and 'personal meaning' in life are exercises in self-gratification. Same old, same old. These words are just socially affirmed because they have attractive spiritual connotations. (Read Anthony de Mello's Awareness on what he calls 'enlightened selfishness'). My bucket list is all about me. It’s all about serving and satisfying my ego.  Again, I beg your imperturbability here, but weren't we supposed to grow out of that sort of thinking while we were still in the sandbox? Did we not get that memo? Worldly speaking, we certainly haven't learned to play nicely together!

Could our premise be the problem?

No private jet, Jesus never traveled very widely himself. And when he got to his destination at day's end, my guess is, his accommodations were never very cushy. But he, too, had good friends. And, as in the characters played by Freeman and Nicholson, we see in him both the ecstasy of life and the agony of death. But more importantly, when he arrived (and his definition of "arrived" was way different from ours), it seems great joy and raison d'être came to him while using his limited time remaining on earth for others.

Hmmm.

Refreshing Reflections

Sunday: Musings Under the Fig Tree
This blog’s purpose is to create a cool, comfortable place where we can sit, relax and chat. Hopefully, it will be a place of refreshment, inspiration and maybe even transformation for all who come here.

Monday: It All Begins With Ashes

Ash Wednesday reminds us that just as Christ taught and personally experienced, we can move through life's many little deaths and back into life—in some eternal sense that begins even today—right here, right now.

Wednesday: The Gift
The season of Lent which begins today is all about acknowledging our spiritual path. This is something we can only truly do if we acknowledge the path of others as well...whether they come in our particular wrapping or not.

Thursday: Fast Forward
The real intent of fasting is to help us more deeply understand and more joyfully live in intimate relationship with God and all "things." This is why, biblically speaking, we are called not just to fast from, but to fast forward...to fast for some purpose that is out there beyond ourselves. What might that be? Well, here's the nice thing: We each get to choose.

Friday: Wait and See
Practicing meditation is both spiritually meaningful and practically helpful. It primes us for whatever is next, grounds us in a palpable peace, increases our creativity, and helps us prioritize what matters and what doesn't. Most of all, through meditation we can experience the sense of a safe, loving “presence." Is it a gentle encounter with God, the divine, our higher power? Whatever your terminology, I think so. What about you?

Wait and See

I'm a believer…in meditation. Wait! Before you click away, let me explain.

I make time for meditation in my day. Everyday. I do it for one BIG reason. It works for me. Twenty minutes? Once in, sometimes considerably longer. It’s both spiritually meaningful and practically helpful. It primes me for whatever is next. It significantly increases my creativity. It grounds me in a palpable peace in the middle of busy, high-octane days. It prioritizes my day/week/life with astonishing efficiency and effectiveness. And the frosting? It often gives me the sense of a safe, loving “presence." Is it a gentle encounter with God, the divine, our higher power? Whatever your terminology, I think so.

Wait! Don’t freak yet.

How? Lots of methods out there, but here are some basics: I find a comfortable, reasonably calm place (Peripheral noise? Absorb it.) and sink in. Remember Mom saying, “Just sit still!” Go there.

Wait! We're getting close.

Then, I do my best to eliminate potential external interruptions. Phone muted? I tablet things I can’t forget. Next, I close my eyes and just breathe. Some people light a candle, etc. Occasionally I'll prime the pump with a bible passage, a quote or someone's writing that I've been inspired by, but usually I just breathe. Long...slow...deep...smooth breaths.

Wait! Almost there.

Next, I mentally release internal distractions like strong, unpleasant emotions, "shoulds" and scripts. Most of all, I try to unhook from me, myself and I. Then I wait. I breathe and I wait. In a still silence I...

Wait and See. 

And I mean SEE! See things clearer than ever before. Connect dots I’ve never connected before. Feel a sense of deep well being like never before. It feels great. And seriously, once you’re "all in" meditation, even five minutes of this can be mesmerizing. It’s like being in flow or zoning. And it just gets better.

One or the other. For many of us, either we live such highly velocitized lives that making time for meditation seems ludicrous or we've resigned ourselves to being so bored (and boring?) that even to consider practicing it seems like a lot of work. But! If you’re already doing it then you know its value, in which case I’m preaching to the choir. If not, and you're game, get ready! You'll be surprised at how quickly you’re singing its praises.

“Be still, and know that I am God…” (Ps. 46:10)

Fast Forward

A classic theme in the season of Lent is fasting.  It is one of the traditional "Lenten Disciplines" along with prayer, repentance, study and works of love. The fact that it exists as one of these might imply that the rest of the year we are free to focus on its counterbalance: feasting. And don't we love that idea! If this agrees with your line of thinking then I've got very good news for you: We don't have to wait till Lent is over to feast.

But, of course, there's a caveat.

People frequently think in terms of fasting from something; foods, especially sweets, and, for some reason in particular--chocolate. (Please, pick on something else!) Actually, refraining from most any of our guilty pleasures will probably qualify according to this definition of fasting.

But biblically-speaking, there are two things worth reminding ourselves of here. First, fasting is more than a physical behavior. It's actually, first and foremost, spiritual in nature. In this definition a physical act takes on symbolic value as it points us to the spiritual dimension of our lives. In other words, the real purpose of our fasting is not to help us lose weight. Sorry.

"But..." you object, "...that should make God happy, too, right?" Ha! Nice try! But no. Such thinking is totally ego-centric and precisely the opposite of fasting's real intent; to help us more deeply understand and more joyfully live in intimate relationship with God and all "things."

The second reminder is this: Biblically speaking, we are encouraged not just to fast from something but for something. We are called to fast forward...to fast for some purpose that is out there beyond ourselves. What might that be? Well, here's the nice thing: We each get to choose. John the Baptist might have had this idea in mind when he said of Jesus, "He must increase and I must decrease." (John 3:30)

Consider the following words from UCC Church of Canada Sunday School Curriculum and then let's walk the walk together. Try one of these for a day, a week, or for the whole season of Lent. Or, let's be creative and make up our own fast/feast Lenten discipline. Then we will really be doing Lent.

Fast from pessimism; Feast on optimism.

       Fast from criticism; Feast on praise.

Fast from self-pity; Feast on joy.

       Fast from bitterness; Feast on purposeful silence.

Fast from jealousy; Feast on love.

       Fast from discouragement; Feast on hope.

Fast from complaining; Feast on appreciation.

       Fast from selfishness; Feast on service.

Fast from fear; Feast on faith.

       Fast from anger; Feast on patience.

Fast from self-concern; Feast on compassion for others.

       Fast from discontent; Feast on gratitude.

The Gift

Be it a birthday, a holiday, or some other special occasion, we're often amused when watching young children open gifts. We joke about their fascination with the wrapping rather than the gift itself!

I wonder. Are we adults any different even when it comes to much more substantial things? Take religion, for instance. Could this be a way of understanding what we’ve done with Christianity and Judaism and Islam, Hinduism, Shintoism--and all the rest of the world's religions? Are these not just the wrapping rather than the gift within each of them?

I consider myself a follower of Jesus Christ. To say that being one has profoundly shaped my life would be an understatement. Way under. I'm extremely grateful to all who have nurtured and walked with me down this particular spiritual path. But even I am leery of being called a "Christian" these days--because of the packaging associated with the term. Most Christians, and I suspect, most other religious types as well, have become so fixated on the wrapping, (i.e. the interpretation of their sacred scriptures and the creation/promotion of their doctrines, dogma, traditions, practices, etc.) none of us can see that, like little children, we are frequently more fascinated with the gift wrapping than with the gift inside! 

Yes, gift wrapping has its purpose. It highlights the significance of the gift. It adds to its specialness and it protects it. But it pales in comparison to the gift, doesn't it? Shouldn't it? Is it any wonder then, why "non-religious" types want nothing to do with us church/synagogue/mosque-goers? Might this not be a significant reason why many people so quickly acknowledge they are spiritual but not religious? If so, I'll have what they're having!

So what is the gift inside? Is it God? Spirit? Our "higher power?" Nirvana? Well-being? Unconditional love? Is it this moment--the present in all its potential and splendor? Is it life? Our aliveness? Collective consciousness? Karma? Joy? Beauty? Ground of Being? Might it be all of the above? Might it be something that lies far beyond all doctrines and dogma, beyond all words and language? Might it be something that is so indescribably wonderful and powerful that it can only be experienced beyond the packaging...and then respectfully and reverently expressed in the presence of another being? Now we're getting close.

I won't speak for you, but for me, whatever the gift is, I want to be fascinated with it rather than with all things external. And I believe I actually need you to help me do this because I have a hunch that you and/or the relationship between us--no matter how distant--just might be the gift.


ADDENDUM

For those among us who are followers of Jesus Christ, the season of Lent which begins today is all about acknowledging our spiritual path. This is something we can only truly do if we acknowledge the path of others as well...whether they come in our particular wrapping or not.

It All Begins With Ashes

Ash Wednesday, February 18th, begins the 40-day liturgical “season” of the Christian church year known as Lent. The Ash part of its title is morbid, I know, but serves a helpful two-fold purpose. One, it reminds us, as ancient liturgies chant, “You are dust and to dust you shall return.” We all die—a point so powerful that it can inform and transform how we live…if we will let it do so. Two, the metaphor of Ash Wednesday reminds us that just as Christ taught and personally experienced, we can move through death to life—in some eternal sense that begins even today—right here, right now.

This liturgical season, like each of the other five (Easter, Pentecost, Advent, Christmas and Epiphany), focuses on a particular part of Christ's life. Lent, which culminates in the celebration of Easter, directs our attention to the final earthly stage of it as described in the Bible. It begins with the first of three announcements to his closest disciples that he is “turning his face to Jerusalem” where he will suffer, be crucified and die a very human, if not humane, death (Matthew 16:21). It ends with his resurrection to new life (Matthew 28:6)—and a new way of being in the world—a new beginning…something we all long for at times.

During this season of Lent, I invite you to take a few moments each day to focus on what it means to experience Christ (or God, or the Sacred, the Holy, a Higher Power, etc.) in your life.  Each post will offer some personal reflections and/or words of those who inspire me in my spiritual journey. Your comments will enrich the conversation.

I'll meet you there…under the fig tree.

Musings Under the Fig Tree

Since ancient times the fig tree has been prized for its succulent and nutritious fruit. But that’s not all! Certain species of the tree grow to great size, providing lovely shade beneath their outstretched leafy arms. They also produce surface roots, which in time—a long time—grow large enough to create raised “benches” for informal seating. In dry, temperate climates (like the Middle East) these trees grow prodigiously and their lovely combination of shade and seating creates cool, comfortable places for people to sit, relax and chat.

First century talmidim (disciples) of the Talmud, the Jewish Book of Oral Law, went a step further. They received lessons from their Rabbi in these outdoor classrooms. In fact, “under the fig tree” became a colloquialism for anyone who sat beneath the shade of a Rabbi’s instruction to feast upon the sweet fruit of his teachings--whether it took place under an actual fig tree or not. In time, the phrase became a metaphor for any place of study, prayer and contemplative conversation.

This blog’s purpose is to create just such a cool, comfortable place where we can sit, relax and chat. Hopefully, it will be a place of refreshment, inspiration and maybe even transformation for all who come here.

TODAY.
LET'S GIVE THE WORLD & OURSELVES A GIFT.
LET'S TAKE TIME TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE THINK.