January 14, 2011

Seemingly, all religions, belief systems, spiritually oriented organizations—organized or not—hold as a basic precept that you should do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. This principle takes many forms but the idea is the same, and for many this is called the Golden Rule—a precious metal symbolizing a precious idea. We can take this one step further and consider putting someone else’s needs ahead of our own, understanding in some manner—if not recognizing it consciously—that someday we may be in need of help, or solace, or comfort, or understanding and we would like to believe that someone would come to us with an open hand of caring. Being there for the another person and giving them help in their time of need is a high form of love. Generosity and kindness increase spiritual awareness. We learn that doing the best for others often results in recognizing the best in ourselves.

January 13, 2011

In the beginning, there was love, and the love inspired and informed the Creative Force, which sent this love into every corner of the universe and into everything in it, from the largest sun, to the smallest particle. Every rock, and tree, and stream, and animal, and being . . . everything was imbued with love. And, because everything was filled with love, each in its way expressed it and shared it, one to the next. The rocks, the trees, the streams, the animals, and the beings, all glowed with love, and each knew it was loved. As time passed, each became aware of itself as separate from the next, and in this, each forgot they were filled with love and they were to share this love, one with the other. And into the spaces left by the withdrawal of the formerly all-permeating love, doubt sprouted and grew into vines of fear studded with thorns of hate. As decades and centuries and millennia passed, it was forgotten that the real substance and foundation of the universe is built on and through love. Now is the time to prune away the sprouts and vines and thorns and to remember, to feel, to reclaim the love that is our very existence and inheritance. Truly, we are love and all that is around us is love. It is time to become reconnected by and through love. Namaste!

January 12, 2011

When a tragedy (plane crash, mass shooting, bombing) or disaster (earthquake, hurricane, tsunami) occurs, we gather together, light candles, sing hymns, stand silently in prayer, sending peace, healing, and love. Our spirits reach out to each other and to those suffering and in pain. We gather, knowing that in that gathering, in the oneness this brings to our spirits, we can soothe and sustain. We can ask, as a group, for healing. This is not a baseless exercise; our beliefs and faith inform our actions and we know we are sustaining a positive change in the situation. Our real selves, our spirits, overcome the physical separateness we experience on this plane, and reach towards each other not simply for solace, but because it is in the nature of spirit to gather, to bring together positive energy, and send forth love and peace to balance the negative. Now, think . . . if we come together— without disaster or tragedy— with that same level of dedicated action and intention as a community, as a country, as a world, what effect we could have! Dwell on peace and love without ceasing! Namaste!

January 11, 2011

Natural disasters and manmade tragedies occur to impel us towards compassion and empathy. What happens to one, happens to us all. No matter the distance between the event and the witnesses, all are affected. Each disaster, each tragedy is part of a larger dynamic, the purpose of which is to learn. It is not comfortable to say this world is an illusion, that this plane of reality is an illusion, but the reality is the continuity of the spirit, and no matter the outcome of any event, the spirit remains intact and part of the whole. If we fill our world with hate, we feed the energy of hate and separation. If we fill the world with love, we feed the energy of love and community. Disasters and tragedies occur seemingly with greater frequency the more we speak of and practice negative ideas. Each event that brings pain and sorrow to others challenges us to practice compassion, empathy, love, and generosity. Namaste!

January 10, 2011

[Please Note: Comments and questions are welcome. As appropriate, these will be responded to in a timely posting.] ***On 1/8/11, the comment asks if it is not now time to soften the boundaries. Is it a good policy to focus on the sense of separation, which appears to feed subsequent conflict and self-destruction?*** One may acknowledge the river, its rocks and slippery moss, its current at times rapid and at other times calm, but one must learn to safely enter and cross the river in order to gain the knowledge of how to safely do so, and gain the experience of reaching the other side. It is the overcoming of the physical constraints of the body that is the primary motivation of the incarnate spirit—those who recognize this need to reach beyond self to those who are not aware of the reality of their physical/spiritual existence and help them realize their purpose and connection with the whole. It is appropriate to acknowledge that for incarnate beings there exists physical separation, but it is imperative to reach beyond this illusion. Although we appear as disparate creatures, the purpose of being here is to overcome appearances and bring everyone into community. Namaste!

January 9, 2011

Creative expression is one way we can relate to and communicate with each other spiritually while physically bound. The desire of the spirit to communicate its unique vision of the world, indeed, its intuitive acknowledgment of various levels of reality attached to this physical world gives the arts their breath—the creative act is like breathing out a tone . . . the breath supports the sound, an expression from deep within the spirit, expressing itself via the physical vehicle in which it finds itself. All acts of creation exist as a continuation of and are informed by the original act of creation when the Creative Force breathed into existence the many-colored chord that is the tangible and intangible universe, all vibrating in a perpetually growing harmony. In the still of the stillest nights, we can hear the sound of the universe—the “music of the spheres” it is sometimes called—echoing that first sound and expanding and embellishing it. The arts allow us to touch the Creative Force and celebrate that our oneness springs forth from that first and ever expanding first creative moment. Namaste!

January 8, 2011

One of the reasons we are here on this physical earth plane is to experience and gain the lessons that come from being separated from each other. As harsh as this may sound, the truth is that when we are on the spirit plane as spirit, we are always connected in the energy and there is no barrier between us. Because the energy we are and in which we exist there flows within the same rate of vibration as that of love and peace, there are no interpersonal challenges that would initiate growth. In order to deepen our appreciation of this, and to learn how to deepen our commitment to the whole, and thus continue to attain a higher state of being, we decided to take on the challenge of relating to each other while in physical form. On this physical plane we have to overcome that difficult separation by learning how to overcome the physical barrier in order to connect our spirits through empathy, kindness, compassion, and love. Namaste!