Have you ever looked back on your life and wished that you could sit your younger self down and give them a few tips? I think about that sometimes, how little things I've discovered later in life would have been really useful when I was younger. Sometimes I'll even call out to my former self, as if maybe I could speak across time.
Of course, that's a bit of magical thinking there, but one thing that might actually be possible is something that can change my life right now - having a conversation with my future self, asking.. what would my future self tell me right now if he could. Excuse me while I go floss...
O.K. As I was sharing with a friend tonight, one thing I'd like to do is have a sort of a spiritual yard sale - I carry all of these things around with me that I don't really need, and get in the way of living my life. They were all things that I picked up, most likely, at other people's yard sales, hoping to adorn my life with something that looked pretty or was useful at the time, but which really "aren't me". Now, they are clutter, and interfere with those things that can really define me. Tonight, more than ever, I am feeling a strong need to focus only on those things that are necessities to being me, and letting go of those things that I put on the display shelves for the sake of impressing company.
The hardest thing to believe sometimes, deep down, is I can be only myself - nothing more and nothing less - and that this is sufficient. I hold on to all these trinkets of ideas and beliefs picked from somewhere else because I am afraid people won't accept me without them. But at some point, I'm going to have to move - to grow - and it's hard to move when I am trying to cart around a bunch of junk - it's hard to grow when I've got barnacles hanging off of me. When I have holes in my life, it is too easy to spackle them with something that will serve the moment, but so much more useful to walk around with a hole until the right piece is added, or the right part of me grows.
This is what I believe my future self is telling me - focus on the important stuff, and release the stuff you don't need. Your life will be so much happier that way, and you'll laugh at the notion of why you ever thought you needed half that junk in the first place.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
What old people wish they'd known when they were 21
Talk about a ballsy blog title - it's almost like I'm giving out the meaning of life or something. hmm....
This is a universal spiritual idea for how one might choose to live their life. It is not limited to the Christian pantheon (though that's the lens I choose to use for my own faith), but here it is:
We find our most fulfilling way in life by connecting a higher power into ourselves and honoring it with our choices as much as possible.
Many people are sitting around waving their metaphoric magic wands at the world trying to make it better for them or cursing things that don't go their way. All this without realizing that they, themselves, are the wands.
There is a fate laid out for everyone - you, me, your friends, your colleagues, your children - waiting for each person to discover their vast potential and step into it. This is what so many 85-year old women and men realize right before they die - what makes many of them wish they could go back and live their lives over again.
Does this make you think twice about how much energy you spend worrying about your kids, your job, your image, or your love life? When we are aligned, things have this miraculous way of taking care of themselves.
Why do I know this, you might ask? Actually, it doesn't matter why I think this way, because if you do, but haven't trusted it until now, then I don't need to say anything.
This is a universal spiritual idea for how one might choose to live their life. It is not limited to the Christian pantheon (though that's the lens I choose to use for my own faith), but here it is:
We find our most fulfilling way in life by connecting a higher power into ourselves and honoring it with our choices as much as possible.
Many people are sitting around waving their metaphoric magic wands at the world trying to make it better for them or cursing things that don't go their way. All this without realizing that they, themselves, are the wands.
There is a fate laid out for everyone - you, me, your friends, your colleagues, your children - waiting for each person to discover their vast potential and step into it. This is what so many 85-year old women and men realize right before they die - what makes many of them wish they could go back and live their lives over again.
Does this make you think twice about how much energy you spend worrying about your kids, your job, your image, or your love life? When we are aligned, things have this miraculous way of taking care of themselves.
Why do I know this, you might ask? Actually, it doesn't matter why I think this way, because if you do, but haven't trusted it until now, then I don't need to say anything.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Hello, Cruel World.
Hello, Cruel World.
This is a link to the one potitical blog where I've been posting on and off for the last 6 years. The place is a little shrill and immature sometimes, so beware, but there are still a lot of good ideas to be had there. The originators of the blog lost their way a bit, but they were part of the blogger revolution that emerged in the 2004 elections and influenced those elections. When I joined the blog, there were only 5,000 people on it, and now there are over a quarter million. The title is a play on the "goodbye cruel world" diaries popular there, where people get fed up with it all and leave in a snit - like I did (mostly) a couple of years ago after trying to stand up for Hilary Clinton to the Obama supporters, even though I was an Obama supporter myself who didn't vote for Hilary Clinton. Anyway, spirituality is perhaps even more political than potilitics, I've learned, so will probably stick to things here.
This is a link to the one potitical blog where I've been posting on and off for the last 6 years. The place is a little shrill and immature sometimes, so beware, but there are still a lot of good ideas to be had there. The originators of the blog lost their way a bit, but they were part of the blogger revolution that emerged in the 2004 elections and influenced those elections. When I joined the blog, there were only 5,000 people on it, and now there are over a quarter million. The title is a play on the "goodbye cruel world" diaries popular there, where people get fed up with it all and leave in a snit - like I did (mostly) a couple of years ago after trying to stand up for Hilary Clinton to the Obama supporters, even though I was an Obama supporter myself who didn't vote for Hilary Clinton. Anyway, spirituality is perhaps even more political than potilitics, I've learned, so will probably stick to things here.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Getting the Givies
Like everyone else, I'm getting a start on Christmas. With the last trick-or-treaters now done for the evening, their evening plunder in hand and refined sugars pulsing through their veins, Christmas season has arrived. Yes, there's the little matter of Thanksgiving, with it's football games and stuffing recipes and perhaps a family gathering, but Thanksgiving is merely a preamble to Christmas. Even while the Turkey's still in the oven, Santa is hijacking the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade and people are setting their alarms for black friday. We are preparing for what we do best in our culture - getting stuff.
The R.H. Macy Company, with it's revamped (and co-opted) Santa Claus, was not the first to hijack what we now think of as the Christmas season. It was actually the Christians who did this. Yuletide was a yearly solstice festival celebrated in northern Europe exclusively by the pagans as far back as 700-800 AD, wherein the Julian calendar marked December 25th as the shortest day of the year and the day when light returned to the world. Though there are conflicting reports on exactly how it happened, the story was that in 1521, a German Lutheran held the first Christmas tree decoration by Christians to replace (what he believed was) a blasphemous spiritual observation with the true "tree of Christ". So, I guess, more specifically, it's the Lutherans who hijacked Christmas :). Other accounts suggest that in many places the pagans were so powerful and influential that the Christians decided to join them instead of trying to convert them. Eventually the Christians became so prominent that their definition of the yuletide season became what most poeple in mainstream culture now observe as "Christmas". Nevertheless, the Christians did, quite literally and effectively, "troll the ancient yuletide carol". As a Christian, I feel compelled to acknowledge that and offer an olive (conifer?) branch to my pagan brothers and sisters.
Nonetheless, just because Mary is more likely to have laid Jesus in a manger sometime in the Spring rather than in December doesn't mean that the Christian messages shared at Christmas time aren't important. (We all inherit imperfect history - remember that the very land we walk upon was also not originally owned by European cultures). Despite the vagaries of Christmas' origins, I am not interested in throwing the Christ child out with the bathwater. In the end, the Christmas season is about learning, and relearning, the gift of giving. It's about hope in dark times. It's about the light of love and peace coming back and filling what my friend calls God-sized holes in our lives.
Which brings me to the "Gimmies". This is a wonderful Berenstein Bears book wherein the young cubs go along with mom to the shopping mall and get a case of "the gimmies". Wanting toys and candy, they resort to rolling around on the floor like tormented devil-children when they don't get their way. I highly recommend this book - and not just for kids. I guarantee you it's a really short read, and very effective at reminding us just how important it is to appreciate everything, no matter how small, in our life. This book tells us that being consumed by our desire to consume is a source of incredible unhappiness - a moment when we are filling the God-sized hole in our lives with something less than our own spiritual truth. While learning to recieve gifts graciously is important and not what I'm challenging here, basing happiness on what you get from the world is a source of suffering.
I am reminded of a buddhist monk I encountered during the time I lived in Thailand, who would talk about the cloth used for his robe. Though monks are well known for living the simple life, he openly boasted about how fine of a cloth he used for his one saffron robe. He talked about painstakingly searching out the finest and most beautiful piece of cloth obtainable. When asked why someone as humble as a monk would adorn themselves with such finery, he explained that an enlightened life did not mean robbing meaning and enjoyment from all earthly things - it meant fully enjoying and appreciating the meaning of all things in our lives.
Look around your house. I mean it. Get up and walk around to each room - the garage, the storage closets - everything. Take stock of all your stuff. You're supposed to have done this already. In fact, you're supposed to have it written down somewhere.. you know.. in case your house burns down and you need to report it to the insurance company. How long would it take you to just write down all the stuff you had? Overwhelmed? Well, then go here and laugh about it all. Remember to laugh.. none of this is judgement, it's awareness. With awareness, I hope, comes the ability to laugh at ourselves. How much does the stuff in our lives really fill our spiritual selves? Yes, we use that wok pan, and it's good to have the fondue maker just in case in 2015 we decide we have to have a fondue party. Or that book about learning Chinese, or the 15 flower vases, or the 52" flatscreen TV that was the upgrade over the 48" flatscreen TV. I won't even start with exercise equipment. Now, despite all the stuff you still have, think about all the stuff you still think you want, or need. What would you put on your Christmas list? What will fill the hole in your life right now? As you do this, think about all the things you've bought in the last year (or the last week). How much have those things contributed to your life? Can you even remember them?
Like that monk with only a single saffron robe, two millenia ago there was a couple wandering the countryside with very little. They had nothing but a donkey, a few supplies, and a baby to be born. When Jesus was born, even the kings who came brought only things that could be easily carried, and I'm sure the last thing Mother Mary was thinking about was gold and incense. She was giving birth - creating life - bringing a new light into the darkness. She was giving a gift of life, and in doing so, was receiving the most precious gift of all - somone to love. Even outside of the Chiristan story, this is the most powerful story in the world. It is the story of giving life and learning the gifts of love.
Just as you took stock of all of your possessions, now take a moment and take stock of all of your moments of giving and receiving over the last year (or the last week). How much has this contributed to your life? The note you wrote to someone who was sad, or the prayer you prayed, or the time you volunteered your time for a friend, or a stranger - what has this brought to your life? Be selfish - really ask yourself if it meant something to you personally and not just because "it was the right thing to do". Compare, with the things on your Christmas lists, that smile on the face of a someone blessed by your gifts, or the joy you received from writing that thoughtful letter, or that time you spent with your grandmother, or your children, or somebody in a time of need. How many of those dollars you have given to charity would you like to get a refund on - how many hours spent with someone you love would you like back to do something else? Compare the life where you did none of these things, with the life you actually lived. How does this life of giving feel? This is what it means to be overwhlemed with, not the Gimmies, but "the Givies". And i'm guessing it feels pretty good.
My prayer for each of you is that, at Christmas time, you get an incurable case of "the Givies", because this will beat any deal that black friday, or Macy's, or anyone else trying to sell you "Christmas", can possibly come up with.
Don't fill the holes in your life with anything less.
The R.H. Macy Company, with it's revamped (and co-opted) Santa Claus, was not the first to hijack what we now think of as the Christmas season. It was actually the Christians who did this. Yuletide was a yearly solstice festival celebrated in northern Europe exclusively by the pagans as far back as 700-800 AD, wherein the Julian calendar marked December 25th as the shortest day of the year and the day when light returned to the world. Though there are conflicting reports on exactly how it happened, the story was that in 1521, a German Lutheran held the first Christmas tree decoration by Christians to replace (what he believed was) a blasphemous spiritual observation with the true "tree of Christ". So, I guess, more specifically, it's the Lutherans who hijacked Christmas :). Other accounts suggest that in many places the pagans were so powerful and influential that the Christians decided to join them instead of trying to convert them. Eventually the Christians became so prominent that their definition of the yuletide season became what most poeple in mainstream culture now observe as "Christmas". Nevertheless, the Christians did, quite literally and effectively, "troll the ancient yuletide carol". As a Christian, I feel compelled to acknowledge that and offer an olive (conifer?) branch to my pagan brothers and sisters.
Nonetheless, just because Mary is more likely to have laid Jesus in a manger sometime in the Spring rather than in December doesn't mean that the Christian messages shared at Christmas time aren't important. (We all inherit imperfect history - remember that the very land we walk upon was also not originally owned by European cultures). Despite the vagaries of Christmas' origins, I am not interested in throwing the Christ child out with the bathwater. In the end, the Christmas season is about learning, and relearning, the gift of giving. It's about hope in dark times. It's about the light of love and peace coming back and filling what my friend calls God-sized holes in our lives.
Which brings me to the "Gimmies". This is a wonderful Berenstein Bears book wherein the young cubs go along with mom to the shopping mall and get a case of "the gimmies". Wanting toys and candy, they resort to rolling around on the floor like tormented devil-children when they don't get their way. I highly recommend this book - and not just for kids. I guarantee you it's a really short read, and very effective at reminding us just how important it is to appreciate everything, no matter how small, in our life. This book tells us that being consumed by our desire to consume is a source of incredible unhappiness - a moment when we are filling the God-sized hole in our lives with something less than our own spiritual truth. While learning to recieve gifts graciously is important and not what I'm challenging here, basing happiness on what you get from the world is a source of suffering.
I am reminded of a buddhist monk I encountered during the time I lived in Thailand, who would talk about the cloth used for his robe. Though monks are well known for living the simple life, he openly boasted about how fine of a cloth he used for his one saffron robe. He talked about painstakingly searching out the finest and most beautiful piece of cloth obtainable. When asked why someone as humble as a monk would adorn themselves with such finery, he explained that an enlightened life did not mean robbing meaning and enjoyment from all earthly things - it meant fully enjoying and appreciating the meaning of all things in our lives.
Look around your house. I mean it. Get up and walk around to each room - the garage, the storage closets - everything. Take stock of all your stuff. You're supposed to have done this already. In fact, you're supposed to have it written down somewhere.. you know.. in case your house burns down and you need to report it to the insurance company. How long would it take you to just write down all the stuff you had? Overwhelmed? Well, then go here and laugh about it all. Remember to laugh.. none of this is judgement, it's awareness. With awareness, I hope, comes the ability to laugh at ourselves. How much does the stuff in our lives really fill our spiritual selves? Yes, we use that wok pan, and it's good to have the fondue maker just in case in 2015 we decide we have to have a fondue party. Or that book about learning Chinese, or the 15 flower vases, or the 52" flatscreen TV that was the upgrade over the 48" flatscreen TV. I won't even start with exercise equipment. Now, despite all the stuff you still have, think about all the stuff you still think you want, or need. What would you put on your Christmas list? What will fill the hole in your life right now? As you do this, think about all the things you've bought in the last year (or the last week). How much have those things contributed to your life? Can you even remember them?
Like that monk with only a single saffron robe, two millenia ago there was a couple wandering the countryside with very little. They had nothing but a donkey, a few supplies, and a baby to be born. When Jesus was born, even the kings who came brought only things that could be easily carried, and I'm sure the last thing Mother Mary was thinking about was gold and incense. She was giving birth - creating life - bringing a new light into the darkness. She was giving a gift of life, and in doing so, was receiving the most precious gift of all - somone to love. Even outside of the Chiristan story, this is the most powerful story in the world. It is the story of giving life and learning the gifts of love.
Just as you took stock of all of your possessions, now take a moment and take stock of all of your moments of giving and receiving over the last year (or the last week). How much has this contributed to your life? The note you wrote to someone who was sad, or the prayer you prayed, or the time you volunteered your time for a friend, or a stranger - what has this brought to your life? Be selfish - really ask yourself if it meant something to you personally and not just because "it was the right thing to do". Compare, with the things on your Christmas lists, that smile on the face of a someone blessed by your gifts, or the joy you received from writing that thoughtful letter, or that time you spent with your grandmother, or your children, or somebody in a time of need. How many of those dollars you have given to charity would you like to get a refund on - how many hours spent with someone you love would you like back to do something else? Compare the life where you did none of these things, with the life you actually lived. How does this life of giving feel? This is what it means to be overwhlemed with, not the Gimmies, but "the Givies". And i'm guessing it feels pretty good.
My prayer for each of you is that, at Christmas time, you get an incurable case of "the Givies", because this will beat any deal that black friday, or Macy's, or anyone else trying to sell you "Christmas", can possibly come up with.
Don't fill the holes in your life with anything less.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Religious World Tour: The Mormons
In the spirit of learning about the spiritual path of all people, I am doing a little series on the different religions that are popular in our world. As context, religioustolerance.org (great site worth checking out) estimates that there are 19 major world religions organized into 270 large religious groups. Christianity is the largest of those groups, with 2.1 billion people worldwide (33%) practicing about 34,000 different forms. Though my personal hope is for there to be as many unique pathways to God as there are people in the world, we put ourselves and others in boxes, for both good and bad reasons. Anyway, just one of those 34,000 Christian groups are Mormons, who are the lucky winners of my first "religious world tour" blog entry.
In 1820, near Palmyra in western New York state, 14 year-old Joseph Smith began his spiritual journey as a Methodist, where he came across this scripture from the book of James 1:5:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Ask, and it shall be given. Disenchanted by infighting and turf wars between competing protestant faiths (hmm.. sounds very familiar), he did what he had done most of his young life to find clarity - he went to the woods to meditate. This time, he was armed with the knowledge that he needed only to ask God for wisdom. What he experienced there is what Mormons now call the "First Vision", and he emerged with what he felt was a divinely-inspired mission to restore Christianity to it's most primitive roots - it source.
Things got even more and more interesting. In 1827, Smith was visited by a resurrected pre-Columbian Prophet named Moroni and given the Golden Plates laid out in a form of Egyptian herioglyphics, which Smith translated into the 500-page book of Mormon over a period of 60 days. His methods of divination were as fascinating as the purported sources of the prophecies - ancient prophets who evidently arrived to the New World 600 b.c. To be clear, Joseph Smith's visions and the Book of Mormon are attributed to, not middle-eastern, but mostly American-based prophets, which geographically places the birth of Mormonism in North America. Another interesting (and perhaps related) bit is that Nature was a strong influence for Mormons, a connection which continues today. With the Bible and Book of Mormon, Smith (along with his new wife Emma, Oliver Cowdry, and Martin Harris who had helped him interpret the stones) started the Mormon Church on April 6, 1830.
A short aside here, as many who read that last paragraph may be saying... "OMG!!! what a bunch of hooey!!". Remember that if you're a Christian, you believe that the visions came from a guy who claimed to be a son of God coneived from immaculate conception, died, and came back to life - or that the Bible, which has been translated in several different langauges, contains entirely accurate infiormation. Also, for all you smug science-leaning people out there, you hang your hat on life on earth beginning because lightening hit a bunch of warm mud-puddles and randomly created DNA, one of the most complicated chemical substances known. Or that reality can actually be defined by empirical observations organized into testable operating theories by human minds, and based on nothing but what we as humans can measure and experience. With EVERY belief system, we accept certain facts as truth without bothering to (or without being able to) truly understand the underlying forces. Every one of us, despite what we believe about ourselves, operates in this world with an incredible amount of blind faith in our world view - just like the Mormons. I personally find this very comforting.
The Mormons got around, and their rapid expansion was not met with enthusiasm by their protestant contemporaries. Their persecution is historical fact, and the only reason Brigham Young became the leader of the Utah Mormons is that Joseph Smith was murdered by mobs in Carthage Illinois on June 27, 1844. This was after mobs had chased them from New York, Ohio, and Missouri. It's interesting that Smith aligned himself with the indigenous Americans, because the religious persecution his people endured, while not nearly so violent and on a different scale, was nevertheless similar. Near my hometown in northwest Missouri, there was an actual attack on the Mormons in 1838, killing 21 and resulting in their expulsion from the State of Missouri completely - meaning that if you were a Mormon you either had to leave the state, or face death. After Smith's death, the church split and reorganized, with some following Brigham Young to Utah, in 1847, and others forming the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ-latter day saints. Obiously, this is just the tip of the historical iceberg, but it's a very cool history worth checking out.
Like many organized religions, Mormons have combined their spriritual teachings and guidance with a strong focus on evangelism and active participation in political arenas. Their political power, and ability to assert that power over others in a shared society by outnumbering people in a region and voting in blocks, explains much of why non-mormons dislike them as well as why their own followers are so well served by them. You can, and perhaps occasionally do, call the Mormons a lot of things - but "ineffective" shouldn't be one of them. They have doubled in size about every 15 years for the last 180 years, and now number over 14 million worldwide. They are exceptionally competent business people, and have built strong cultural, political, and religious institutions that reach around the world. Like many heirarchical, evangelical religions, I personally think that many past and present Mormon leaders struggle with the very same ego-driven human agendas that Jesus, and Joseph Smith, were hoping to overcome. Even Smith initated martial law for a time during his time as a mayor in Nauvoo, Illinois, and as Governor of Utah Brigham Young's relationship with power was always alot more evident than his relationship with God (in my opinion).
Wow.. this takes awhile. So, what do Mormons actually believe that compares or contrasts with other religions? A formative idea is the Great Apostasy, that after the death of Jesus and the 12 Apostles, the religious authority chain was broken, and only restored by Joseph Smith's revelations in the book of Mormon. So the book of Mormon picks up the Bible from that point on, and "corrects" biblical translations according to the divine interpretation of the modern prophet (e.g for the LDS, president Thomas Monson) and the general authorities supporting him in the church leadership. Like Christianity, most Mormons believe in the resurrection of Christ as the true Son of God, but from there it is a fairly specific ideoogical code as dictated by the church patriarchy of that sect of Mormonism/LDS/RLDS etc.. This provides a remarkable degree of cultural and religious structure to it's adherents, as continually defined by the president and general authorities as interpreted from the "Standard Works" (The Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearly at Great Price). This explains the highly structured lifestyle and world view most of us are generally familiar with in Mormons - abstinence from all addictive substances and premarital sex, missionary service, pure tithing, frequent prayer, and strong adherence to church-driven norms and social requirements. While many would consider this nothing short of a cage, many Mormons feel enormous benefits from this lifestyle - not only for the spiritual security of maintaining a life of grace and spiritual salvation (which they call "Exaltation"), but for the social security of a self-contained community of like-minded people.
So, the next time you meet a Mormon, realize that they are a person too, on their own spiritual path, and get to know them. They may leave disappointed that you haven't chosen their path, or they may leave thankful that you took a moment to listen to and value theirs, but either way you have nothing to lose. By the way, there is a great Mormon Blog here where you can learn all about what especially young Mormons are thinking and talking about.
In 1820, near Palmyra in western New York state, 14 year-old Joseph Smith began his spiritual journey as a Methodist, where he came across this scripture from the book of James 1:5:
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Ask, and it shall be given. Disenchanted by infighting and turf wars between competing protestant faiths (hmm.. sounds very familiar), he did what he had done most of his young life to find clarity - he went to the woods to meditate. This time, he was armed with the knowledge that he needed only to ask God for wisdom. What he experienced there is what Mormons now call the "First Vision", and he emerged with what he felt was a divinely-inspired mission to restore Christianity to it's most primitive roots - it source.
Things got even more and more interesting. In 1827, Smith was visited by a resurrected pre-Columbian Prophet named Moroni and given the Golden Plates laid out in a form of Egyptian herioglyphics, which Smith translated into the 500-page book of Mormon over a period of 60 days. His methods of divination were as fascinating as the purported sources of the prophecies - ancient prophets who evidently arrived to the New World 600 b.c. To be clear, Joseph Smith's visions and the Book of Mormon are attributed to, not middle-eastern, but mostly American-based prophets, which geographically places the birth of Mormonism in North America. Another interesting (and perhaps related) bit is that Nature was a strong influence for Mormons, a connection which continues today. With the Bible and Book of Mormon, Smith (along with his new wife Emma, Oliver Cowdry, and Martin Harris who had helped him interpret the stones) started the Mormon Church on April 6, 1830.
A short aside here, as many who read that last paragraph may be saying... "OMG!!! what a bunch of hooey!!". Remember that if you're a Christian, you believe that the visions came from a guy who claimed to be a son of God coneived from immaculate conception, died, and came back to life - or that the Bible, which has been translated in several different langauges, contains entirely accurate infiormation. Also, for all you smug science-leaning people out there, you hang your hat on life on earth beginning because lightening hit a bunch of warm mud-puddles and randomly created DNA, one of the most complicated chemical substances known. Or that reality can actually be defined by empirical observations organized into testable operating theories by human minds, and based on nothing but what we as humans can measure and experience. With EVERY belief system, we accept certain facts as truth without bothering to (or without being able to) truly understand the underlying forces. Every one of us, despite what we believe about ourselves, operates in this world with an incredible amount of blind faith in our world view - just like the Mormons. I personally find this very comforting.
The Mormons got around, and their rapid expansion was not met with enthusiasm by their protestant contemporaries. Their persecution is historical fact, and the only reason Brigham Young became the leader of the Utah Mormons is that Joseph Smith was murdered by mobs in Carthage Illinois on June 27, 1844. This was after mobs had chased them from New York, Ohio, and Missouri. It's interesting that Smith aligned himself with the indigenous Americans, because the religious persecution his people endured, while not nearly so violent and on a different scale, was nevertheless similar. Near my hometown in northwest Missouri, there was an actual attack on the Mormons in 1838, killing 21 and resulting in their expulsion from the State of Missouri completely - meaning that if you were a Mormon you either had to leave the state, or face death. After Smith's death, the church split and reorganized, with some following Brigham Young to Utah, in 1847, and others forming the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ-latter day saints. Obiously, this is just the tip of the historical iceberg, but it's a very cool history worth checking out.
Like many organized religions, Mormons have combined their spriritual teachings and guidance with a strong focus on evangelism and active participation in political arenas. Their political power, and ability to assert that power over others in a shared society by outnumbering people in a region and voting in blocks, explains much of why non-mormons dislike them as well as why their own followers are so well served by them. You can, and perhaps occasionally do, call the Mormons a lot of things - but "ineffective" shouldn't be one of them. They have doubled in size about every 15 years for the last 180 years, and now number over 14 million worldwide. They are exceptionally competent business people, and have built strong cultural, political, and religious institutions that reach around the world. Like many heirarchical, evangelical religions, I personally think that many past and present Mormon leaders struggle with the very same ego-driven human agendas that Jesus, and Joseph Smith, were hoping to overcome. Even Smith initated martial law for a time during his time as a mayor in Nauvoo, Illinois, and as Governor of Utah Brigham Young's relationship with power was always alot more evident than his relationship with God (in my opinion).
Wow.. this takes awhile. So, what do Mormons actually believe that compares or contrasts with other religions? A formative idea is the Great Apostasy, that after the death of Jesus and the 12 Apostles, the religious authority chain was broken, and only restored by Joseph Smith's revelations in the book of Mormon. So the book of Mormon picks up the Bible from that point on, and "corrects" biblical translations according to the divine interpretation of the modern prophet (e.g for the LDS, president Thomas Monson) and the general authorities supporting him in the church leadership. Like Christianity, most Mormons believe in the resurrection of Christ as the true Son of God, but from there it is a fairly specific ideoogical code as dictated by the church patriarchy of that sect of Mormonism/LDS/RLDS etc.. This provides a remarkable degree of cultural and religious structure to it's adherents, as continually defined by the president and general authorities as interpreted from the "Standard Works" (The Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearly at Great Price). This explains the highly structured lifestyle and world view most of us are generally familiar with in Mormons - abstinence from all addictive substances and premarital sex, missionary service, pure tithing, frequent prayer, and strong adherence to church-driven norms and social requirements. While many would consider this nothing short of a cage, many Mormons feel enormous benefits from this lifestyle - not only for the spiritual security of maintaining a life of grace and spiritual salvation (which they call "Exaltation"), but for the social security of a self-contained community of like-minded people.
So, the next time you meet a Mormon, realize that they are a person too, on their own spiritual path, and get to know them. They may leave disappointed that you haven't chosen their path, or they may leave thankful that you took a moment to listen to and value theirs, but either way you have nothing to lose. By the way, there is a great Mormon Blog here where you can learn all about what especially young Mormons are thinking and talking about.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Watch more sunrises
There is a comforting certainty to dawn. It is inevitable, even if just hours before it's arrival seemed hopelessly in doubt. It welcomes each of our days with the most powerful force we can experience in our physical world. Assuming that astronomists and molecular physicists are onto something, the energy of our sun creates and created most of the available energy on our planet - even the wind and fossil fuels originate from our sun.. Meanwhile, with a little help from it's ancestral cosmic forces, it's seemingly chaotic and incessant nuclear explosions built complex molecules from a virtual void of subatomic soup. From an astronomical supply of positive and negative energy, came, quite literally, everything that matters in our world. From void and darkness, came meaning and light.
Furthermore, as glorious and powerful as a sunrise is, it is only a glimpse into the vast forces out there. And even our experience of the sun and the universal powers beneath it are limited by the capacity of human sensation, including all of our self-important scientific discoveries and observational instruments. The explanations for all "that is" above are tantalizingly incomplete. Science itself admits this, when it is behaving itself.
So what does this all mean? Well, we can start by watching more sunrises. Just because we're not consciously experiencing or intellectually understanding all of the Power around us, doesn't mean it's not open to us. We just need to open to it.
We live in a virtual world. Every day, more hugs are replaced by facebook "pokes" and little red stars on our Blackberries or (insert relevant icon)'s on our iPhones. Dinner parties and staff meetings give way to blog chats and conference calls. Walks in the woods are permanently rescheduled by increasing demands from our technology or organized activities for the kids. The times we could spend just being, with ourselves, with Spirit, or with our loved ones, are elbowed out of our lives.
But while that little "ding" on our computer that tells us we have mail gives us a little jolt of anticipation, think about how far from it's energetic source it had to come to get here. Billions of years ago, forces of this universe made our beloved Sun and with it co-created matter on Earth. These forces breathed life into that void with such impossible complexity that human ingenuity become possible. Humans fashioned language ordered society, invented computers, and clumsily harnessed these creations to the forces of God. Then, a few seconds ago, one of those humans typed a message into a computer and sent it to you through binary code. The result? A series of letters appeared on your email telling you that some political candidate is unworthy to be re-elected, or that some nutritional supplement will make you younger, or thinner, or more virile, or that your friends are trying to connect with you through impossible distances of space and time.
The reason that sunrises are so powerful is that they demand a space in which we pause, quiet all of these contrived forces, and witness our closest physical example of the vast power of this Universe. They are still strong enough, if we allow ourselves to experience them, to pull us into that sacred space that, at least for a moment, reconnects us with God. A even that miraculous sunrise is just a tiny peephole into the Divine..
So the next time you are in some dark void of life, where you are seeking some elusive hope or meaning, witness a sunrise and all it's promises. Close your eyes, and open up to the power that is beneath, and within, all things - including you. Especially you. Then open them again and remember how many miracles greet us with each new day - how many miracles lie dormant inside of you, waiting for their own dawn.
Furthermore, as glorious and powerful as a sunrise is, it is only a glimpse into the vast forces out there. And even our experience of the sun and the universal powers beneath it are limited by the capacity of human sensation, including all of our self-important scientific discoveries and observational instruments. The explanations for all "that is" above are tantalizingly incomplete. Science itself admits this, when it is behaving itself.
So what does this all mean? Well, we can start by watching more sunrises. Just because we're not consciously experiencing or intellectually understanding all of the Power around us, doesn't mean it's not open to us. We just need to open to it.
We live in a virtual world. Every day, more hugs are replaced by facebook "pokes" and little red stars on our Blackberries or (insert relevant icon)'s on our iPhones. Dinner parties and staff meetings give way to blog chats and conference calls. Walks in the woods are permanently rescheduled by increasing demands from our technology or organized activities for the kids. The times we could spend just being, with ourselves, with Spirit, or with our loved ones, are elbowed out of our lives.
But while that little "ding" on our computer that tells us we have mail gives us a little jolt of anticipation, think about how far from it's energetic source it had to come to get here. Billions of years ago, forces of this universe made our beloved Sun and with it co-created matter on Earth. These forces breathed life into that void with such impossible complexity that human ingenuity become possible. Humans fashioned language ordered society, invented computers, and clumsily harnessed these creations to the forces of God. Then, a few seconds ago, one of those humans typed a message into a computer and sent it to you through binary code. The result? A series of letters appeared on your email telling you that some political candidate is unworthy to be re-elected, or that some nutritional supplement will make you younger, or thinner, or more virile, or that your friends are trying to connect with you through impossible distances of space and time.
The reason that sunrises are so powerful is that they demand a space in which we pause, quiet all of these contrived forces, and witness our closest physical example of the vast power of this Universe. They are still strong enough, if we allow ourselves to experience them, to pull us into that sacred space that, at least for a moment, reconnects us with God. A even that miraculous sunrise is just a tiny peephole into the Divine..
So the next time you are in some dark void of life, where you are seeking some elusive hope or meaning, witness a sunrise and all it's promises. Close your eyes, and open up to the power that is beneath, and within, all things - including you. Especially you. Then open them again and remember how many miracles greet us with each new day - how many miracles lie dormant inside of you, waiting for their own dawn.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Jesus Freaks
What would Jesus do? Talk about a loaded question... Just hearing it invokes all of the answers I've heard following it - agendas for peace, justifications for war, for conservative ideology, and liberal ideology, for helping immigrants, for rebuking gays. So much of how people experience "Jesus" in our world relates to how He is used and symbolized by any number of these agendas. But, how much of people's experience with "Jesus" is based on their actual personal relationship with him? I believe it is entirely a person's choice to believe what they will about Jesus. However, I have a stronger opinion about when people hijack Jesus, or people's relationships with Jesus, for unrelated agendas. Instead of lifting His name on high, they take the low road by judging others or preaching guilt to control the intensely private relationships that people have with Spirit.
As a disclaimer, I'm a Jesus freak of sorts myself. I think the guy was pretty cool, and I'm pretty much 100% on board. I believe that His message of pure, unconditional love for others is about our only chance for survival as a species. I like that he told people to detach from the love of wealth, or social standing, or power, or ego, so that we all might know the endless power and rejeuvinating Spirit of God. I am floored by his ability to discern authenticity in people and connect us with legitimate sources of power within ourselves and with God. I believe that he saw in all people a perfect spirit, an absolute potential of God, that we only needed to unlock - something that to Him was so easy to acheive. And yet, He still had so much patience with us. He realized that we fell short - often - in our walks of Faith. He forgave us, and in doing so taught us to forgive ourselves. He wept, for the tragic consequences of our ignorance, and He smiled, for the thousand of miracles he found each day from the most unlikely places. He freed us from the Law and the distant God of old, and united us with freedom and life through Faith. When I feel the hope of Jesus, these are the things that light my path. Saying all of this, that is only my path, and I won't freak out about yours.
There are many types of Jesus Freaks, and many are, in my opinion, harmless. Just like when people get excited or passionate about anything, they have different ways of communicating that, often through their own selective lenses or insecurities. They may project this excitement onto you, assuming that you feel the same way about Jesus that they do, or that you should. Or they may simply just go on and on about how great Jesus is like someone who just won't stop talking about a really great band they just discovered. Or, fearing being alone, they may encourage you follow their same path to Jesus to accompany them - and it's a way to connect to a friend. I think that all of this is fair game, and even if people who get excited about something that you are not can be annoying, that's really your issue - not theirs. If you are judging someone else's choice of a path, you are diminishing them as a person and taking away their power. More on this below...
However, there is a more extreme form of Jesus Freak who do not play fair - those who use judgement and guilt to manipulate and control others. Even more dangerous is that some people abuse the power of Jesus and Christianity as a moral justification tool and use it for a narrow selfish agenda. I don't begrudge passion, or people's independent spiritual/religious choices. However, it violates every thread of my spiritual world view for people to annoint themselves as God and use that position to undercut the power and legitimacy of others. That is abuse, and is the polar opposite of what Jesus taught about unconditional love. In short, it is NOT what Jesus would do. This type of Jesus Freak is a false prophet, and a deceiver, and is doing more to diminish and disenfranchise people from the message of Christ than anything I can imagine.
As a disclaimer, I'm a Jesus freak of sorts myself. I think the guy was pretty cool, and I'm pretty much 100% on board. I believe that His message of pure, unconditional love for others is about our only chance for survival as a species. I like that he told people to detach from the love of wealth, or social standing, or power, or ego, so that we all might know the endless power and rejeuvinating Spirit of God. I am floored by his ability to discern authenticity in people and connect us with legitimate sources of power within ourselves and with God. I believe that he saw in all people a perfect spirit, an absolute potential of God, that we only needed to unlock - something that to Him was so easy to acheive. And yet, He still had so much patience with us. He realized that we fell short - often - in our walks of Faith. He forgave us, and in doing so taught us to forgive ourselves. He wept, for the tragic consequences of our ignorance, and He smiled, for the thousand of miracles he found each day from the most unlikely places. He freed us from the Law and the distant God of old, and united us with freedom and life through Faith. When I feel the hope of Jesus, these are the things that light my path. Saying all of this, that is only my path, and I won't freak out about yours.
There are many types of Jesus Freaks, and many are, in my opinion, harmless. Just like when people get excited or passionate about anything, they have different ways of communicating that, often through their own selective lenses or insecurities. They may project this excitement onto you, assuming that you feel the same way about Jesus that they do, or that you should. Or they may simply just go on and on about how great Jesus is like someone who just won't stop talking about a really great band they just discovered. Or, fearing being alone, they may encourage you follow their same path to Jesus to accompany them - and it's a way to connect to a friend. I think that all of this is fair game, and even if people who get excited about something that you are not can be annoying, that's really your issue - not theirs. If you are judging someone else's choice of a path, you are diminishing them as a person and taking away their power. More on this below...
However, there is a more extreme form of Jesus Freak who do not play fair - those who use judgement and guilt to manipulate and control others. Even more dangerous is that some people abuse the power of Jesus and Christianity as a moral justification tool and use it for a narrow selfish agenda. I don't begrudge passion, or people's independent spiritual/religious choices. However, it violates every thread of my spiritual world view for people to annoint themselves as God and use that position to undercut the power and legitimacy of others. That is abuse, and is the polar opposite of what Jesus taught about unconditional love. In short, it is NOT what Jesus would do. This type of Jesus Freak is a false prophet, and a deceiver, and is doing more to diminish and disenfranchise people from the message of Christ than anything I can imagine.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Why are we here? We're all just playing hooky from Heaven for awhile :)
I often fantasize that, if i were a reincarnationist, my story is that I actually had my "last lifetime on earth" awhile back, but i love this place so much that I keep begging to come back. I'm not personally a reincarnationist, but it's sort of fun to think about.
Inside of me, I know that nothing but the attachment to more mundane pleasures keeps me from the divine purposes of my life. This is the Hooky reference - you know - the Pinnochio thing? Getting distracted by short-lived worldy gratification - the metephoric "high fructose corn syrup" of life - and neglecting the things that are more meaningful to our spiritual development. This is what keeps us from becoming the authentic spirit of what's possible. Each of us knows what these things are - these trappings, and attachments, and addictions - that keep us from doing what we "should" do.
"Should". What a word, huh? The dictionary says this word is used to express obligation, or duty - expectations. Conditionality. Like Pinocchio, when we invoke "should" we immediately think about how much trouble we're going to get into if we screw up. This word focuses us outside of ourselves, and actually gives us a cop-out - as if our behavior is subject to a fear of retribution from an outside force. But in the end, we are kept from asking the most important question of all - how do these decisions I make for priorities in my life effect me? How do they relate to the goal of fulfilling the wonderful potential of my spirit? How do these decisions keep me from becoming the "real me", just like Pinnochio looking to become a real boy?
We make decisions every moment about how to prioritize our lives - and EVERYONE looks back at those decisions and has several per day that make them think "why in the hell did i do that?". Though it's a little cliche to say that life is a series of choices, life is a series of choices. It is useful to spend enough time reflecting - through prayer, or meditation, or journaling or whatever - to map out our spiritual priorities and at least be aware of those. A higher prioirty is something that best feeds our spirit, nourishes it and helps it grow, and a lower priority is something that leaves us crashed out - the sugar crash, or hangover.
Here's the most important thing: Get rid of the "should"s. Remember that "should"s keep you focussed externally and not internally. Focus on your wants, but the deep spiritual wants according to your own priorities. Remember that the yoga session, or exercise routine, or volunteer gig, or reconnection with a really good friend, or meditation retreat, or bible study are things that you WANT to do - that are honoring the beautiful and wonderful story that is you. Ask for the help of Jesus, or the Universal Spirit, or Mother Mary, or perhaps even a close friend or other type of spirit guide, to infuse you with the purity of love and give you the strength to access your channel with God.
Here's the next-most important thing: Accept that unbelievably beautiful and integral human trait of imperfection. Just love that part of yourself and embrace it. Laugh about it. Give yourself a break. The more you fall prey to fear of failure and self-loathing of judgement, the farther you will be from the loving spirit that will connect you with Spirit and help you to remember what's most important.
Life is a series of choices, and all of them, no matter how far you've strayed, lead us back home to the beauty that is destined for us... Even if sometimes we play hooky from what Heaven had in mind.
Inside of me, I know that nothing but the attachment to more mundane pleasures keeps me from the divine purposes of my life. This is the Hooky reference - you know - the Pinnochio thing? Getting distracted by short-lived worldy gratification - the metephoric "high fructose corn syrup" of life - and neglecting the things that are more meaningful to our spiritual development. This is what keeps us from becoming the authentic spirit of what's possible. Each of us knows what these things are - these trappings, and attachments, and addictions - that keep us from doing what we "should" do.
"Should". What a word, huh? The dictionary says this word is used to express obligation, or duty - expectations. Conditionality. Like Pinocchio, when we invoke "should" we immediately think about how much trouble we're going to get into if we screw up. This word focuses us outside of ourselves, and actually gives us a cop-out - as if our behavior is subject to a fear of retribution from an outside force. But in the end, we are kept from asking the most important question of all - how do these decisions I make for priorities in my life effect me? How do they relate to the goal of fulfilling the wonderful potential of my spirit? How do these decisions keep me from becoming the "real me", just like Pinnochio looking to become a real boy?
We make decisions every moment about how to prioritize our lives - and EVERYONE looks back at those decisions and has several per day that make them think "why in the hell did i do that?". Though it's a little cliche to say that life is a series of choices, life is a series of choices. It is useful to spend enough time reflecting - through prayer, or meditation, or journaling or whatever - to map out our spiritual priorities and at least be aware of those. A higher prioirty is something that best feeds our spirit, nourishes it and helps it grow, and a lower priority is something that leaves us crashed out - the sugar crash, or hangover.
Here's the most important thing: Get rid of the "should"s. Remember that "should"s keep you focussed externally and not internally. Focus on your wants, but the deep spiritual wants according to your own priorities. Remember that the yoga session, or exercise routine, or volunteer gig, or reconnection with a really good friend, or meditation retreat, or bible study are things that you WANT to do - that are honoring the beautiful and wonderful story that is you. Ask for the help of Jesus, or the Universal Spirit, or Mother Mary, or perhaps even a close friend or other type of spirit guide, to infuse you with the purity of love and give you the strength to access your channel with God.
Here's the next-most important thing: Accept that unbelievably beautiful and integral human trait of imperfection. Just love that part of yourself and embrace it. Laugh about it. Give yourself a break. The more you fall prey to fear of failure and self-loathing of judgement, the farther you will be from the loving spirit that will connect you with Spirit and help you to remember what's most important.
Life is a series of choices, and all of them, no matter how far you've strayed, lead us back home to the beauty that is destined for us... Even if sometimes we play hooky from what Heaven had in mind.
Blog Mission Statement
I wish this blog were just a mirror... literally. I wish it were just a looking glass where everyone who came here saw only the perfect and pure reflection of themselves as God does. Instead of these words.. coarse contrivations subject to so much misinterpretation .. anyone who read this saw only what I am going to spend all of this space trying to convey to you - the beauty and power possible inside of everyone. When I look at people every day, that is what I see - it's all I see - their Spirit, just as it was intended.
But it's not here, on this side of the computer screen, just like it's not "out there" in all those vague and vacant corners of the world we all live in. It's not in the sermons of either ordained or self-appointed clergy, nor in the epiphanies of authors, or musicians, or politicians, or enlightened meditation masters. There is no book, or movie, or philosophy or religion, or substance, or extrinsic experience, which holds the defining truth of You.
Only you do.
How do you find it? How do you find that real "you" inside of you? You listen for the voice of God that is within you and calling to your spirit. Many people out there are vying for the right to tell you what that voice is and what it wants you to do. Some of them mean well, while others are much less interested in your well-being, but none of them are God. As a friend of mine reminded me as well, you can find God everywhere, in everything, but all of these things are merely reflectoins of light, which starts from within. God speaks to you alone, when it comes to the story your Spirit is supposed to write.
My prayer is that this blog will be a catalyst for people to find and live out the intended story of Spirit given to all of us. This is who we are all meant to be, and is the greatest gift the world can get.
But it's not here, on this side of the computer screen, just like it's not "out there" in all those vague and vacant corners of the world we all live in. It's not in the sermons of either ordained or self-appointed clergy, nor in the epiphanies of authors, or musicians, or politicians, or enlightened meditation masters. There is no book, or movie, or philosophy or religion, or substance, or extrinsic experience, which holds the defining truth of You.
Only you do.
How do you find it? How do you find that real "you" inside of you? You listen for the voice of God that is within you and calling to your spirit. Many people out there are vying for the right to tell you what that voice is and what it wants you to do. Some of them mean well, while others are much less interested in your well-being, but none of them are God. As a friend of mine reminded me as well, you can find God everywhere, in everything, but all of these things are merely reflectoins of light, which starts from within. God speaks to you alone, when it comes to the story your Spirit is supposed to write.
My prayer is that this blog will be a catalyst for people to find and live out the intended story of Spirit given to all of us. This is who we are all meant to be, and is the greatest gift the world can get.
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