Reading the saints . . .

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-14414-Columbus-Interfaith-Spirituality-Examiner~y2010m6d28-Spirituality-and-Christian-Saints-Peter-and-Paul

. . . continued from my examiner post . . .

Its really important to understand the source and authorship of what you deem as authoritative in your life. My examiner column refers to the witness of Christian Saints Peter and Paul. This means looking seriously at history, archeology, anthropology, sociology and of course the tradition from which the literature came. To say, 'God wrote it; end of story' is simplistic and insults the hearer/reader and also the Source of inspiration. (I'm curious; I want to know what God had in mind; says who and why?) Perhaps you've had a spiritual experience yourself- you think, 'so who are we to criticize the likes of Moses', (or Mohammed, peace be upon him) however many centuries ago that was? Did yours change your life?

It's interesting to study the meaning 'he' derived from his experience/s and the cultural context (or 'she' in the case of many female saints) and the action the experience/s inspired- whether it was a 'voice', a 'burning bush', a vision, or a ghost/spirit. What happened to St. Paul after the Damascus vision? Whether Torah, Gospel, or Buddhist accounts- Theravada, Mahayana, Land, Zen, Tibetan or whatever report inspired the story, inquiring minds want more. When you shut inquiry down, you might also shut down credibility. Inquiry speaks of thirst, a desire for connection.

Many religions are based upon these subjective, personal experiences. The processes to arrive at what are deemed holy scriptures required diligent compilation, challenging editing, difficult and controversial decisions and took place over a period of time. Take the Christian Gospels as an example. . . . 'the Gospels, and all the books of the Bible, are distinct and should not be read as if they are all saying the same thing. They are deciedly not saying the same thing-even when talking about the same subject (say, Jesus' death). Mark is different from Luke, and Matthew is different from John, as you can see by doing your own horizontal reading of their respective stories of the crucifixion. The historical a pproach to the Gospels allows each author's voice to be heard and refuses to conflate them into some kind of mega-Gospel that flattens the emphases of each one.' p70 Jesus, Interrupted by Bart Ehrman

In considering each point of view, each author, each context we arrive at the many strands of thought that go into explaining a sacred life, an incredible person, and a body of oral tradition and witness. We don't have all the answers, but more questions on this incredible (awesome) journey. In this infinite spiritual quest there are big thoughts, big ideas, wonderful inspirations and so much to learn from one another and the rich archives of the world's thoughts and testimonies to what 'holy'/'transcendent' is. Muslims have 99 names for Allah. In Hinduism there are many manifestations of Brahman. What gifts we each offer one another.

One Sunday afternoon, after lingering over a meal, dessert was served. My late mother, then well into her '80's, told a story. I noticed my younger brother frowning. He said to me in the kitchen, "I didn't remember it that way . . . but it was a long time ago and I was young . . . ' I laughed and said, 'Neither did I . . . it happened in my recollection like this . . . ' He posed a question to which I suddenly said, 'Oh yeah, yeah and . . . then . . . this . . . ' It was quite dissimilar from mom's point of view; but we weren't seeing it through the same lens at all. Comparing notes opened new understanding, and triggered old memories, nearly forgotten. We were in the same town, same subject- very different takes on what had happened.

If you share a story of a spiritual or AHA! moment experience, no one will quite perceive it the same way either -merely hearing it, and will see it through different eyes of connection - or judgment, tempered by a unique frame of reference. It's called polyvalence -or, multiple meanings.

A woman I know stated quite categorically that scripture was to be taken literally, 'just the way it is'. A theologian I trained under said, 'we should take scripture seriously, though not literally' with a 'heart of faith'. Yet another individual, a clergy person referred to a very familiar story as a 'legend' and another as 'myth'. Repetition since childhood had made it something different, very real . . . it took getting used to those more accurate terms.

We all know when a loved one says, 'It was hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement,' that he/she is not actually engaged in that activity. (My car thermometer read 100 in the garage yesterday) We appreciate the loved one through the eyes of love, a shared understanding, a mutual struggle as the sweat rolls down our foreheads . . . this is the way; it's referential and experiential. May cooler days and heads prevail in love and laughter in this, the journey of Life.

connecting with inner light

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-14414-Columbus-Interfaith-Spirituality-Examiner~y2010m6d22-Spirituality-Solstice-and-Nature-Religions-101

continued from my examiner column . . .

In a unique way of accessing 'inner light' as a way to connect with the ground of our being, transpersonal psychologist A.H. Almaas in his book, 'The Unfolding Now' talks of the light of true nature. Essentially his spiritual inquiry method is to open up one's experience of the divine so 'you can see more-as if there were more light available. This is referred to as the light of awareness. It is the penetration of the light of your True Nature into your experience.

When you see the truth, when you have insight about what is happening, it is as though a light had broken through. That is what it means to have insight: insight brings enlightenment. . . You see ignorance and shadow clearning away and brightness coming through into your experience. What is the light that does this? It is the light of your nature. It is the light of who and what you are. p 15 (ie. 'children of God') This method of inquiry is about learning to be in the moment and questioning our experience as a way of deepening recognition of our true nature, to arrive at greater authenticity.

So many of the world's religious/spiritual traditions seek to make us aware of our inner light in many ways.

You can probably think of countless quotes from your own and other scriptural traditions. What's remarkable to me as a highly visual person is what photography teaches: 'understand the quality of the light'. The light in the South of France has a unique warm quality. The light in North Germany or Denmark is cool; has clarity. The light in Cabo San Lucas Mexico shines off the Pacific and renders color in a remarkable profusion of hues. Tentative light in November showcases brown tree branches, dying leaves and gray skies as late birds fly south. In February, brilliant sun hurts our eyes on the frozen snow.

Light is energy. The Oracle ThinkQuest site says this, 'Albert Einstein came up with the quantum theory of light in the early twentieth century. He proposed that light was made of up of small tightly knit packs of energy, called photons or quanta (singular, quantum). A quantum's frequency is determined by the amount of energy it contains. Einstein's studies paralleled those of German theoretical physicist Max Planck. Twenty years earlier, Planck had discovered quanta, but had been very confused by it, since the idea of quanta went against all the theories of light as a wave. Today, a combination of the wave theory and the quantum theory are accepted as correct. It still has yet to be determined which is correct, though there is evidence that either could be.'

For me, metaphorically speaking, the quality of light might be indicative of the quality of our Spirit and spirtual practice. Sometimes, everything is clear, bright and even- almost 'picture post card'. Sometimes, our spiritual connection is like a sunrise of promise or a sunset of sweet memories of experiences past. Sometimes, its barely a small candle glow in a dark room of forms and big shadows. Sometimes its reduced to a visual memory and our only fragile connection-human touch and voice. Sometimes . . . its spiritual light seen with the eyes of our soul beyond what can be explained, accompanied by rushing wind, halos of light, bliss, sounds of praise from all that is, emitting energy back in a dance of . . . Life.

Wherever you are this moment, may the Light/(light) find you at peace and in loving awareness. Its all remarkable.

contemplation and experiencing pure consciousness

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-14414-Columbus-Interfaith-Spirituality-Examiner~y2010m6d18-Spirituality-and-who-was-Guru-Arjan-Dev-Ji

continued from my examiner post: . . . .

The research subjects (How God Changes Your Brain by Newberg and Waldman) show that decreased activity in the parietal lobe, or area which governs the sense of self, and can lead to feelings of oneness or unity with the object/subject of contemplation. Newberg says in the case of Franciscan nuns it was closeness to God, for Buddhists it led to experiencing pure consciousness and for the Philadelphia construction worker research subject, an improvement in memory. Yo, Adrian! This is not unlike the feeling neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor reported following her stroke. She later recorded her perception of what happened as her left brain shut down. This led to feelings of absolute bliss as she experienced herself at a particle level, becoming completely one with all around her. http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html

The authors of How God Changes Your Brain report that the loss of a sense of self is known in sports as ‘being in the zone’. One does not have to believe in a religious God figure to have a positive benefit from prayer/meditation! All this strongly suggests a different paradigm for who/what ‘God’ is than the old man on a throne who populates many cartoons. Newberg addresses that too-what our images of God do/mean from a perspective of neuroscience with breath-taking clarity. (More on that in future post). Newberg’s research ‘demonstrates that we have the power to consciously change our brains, and improve our neural functioning . . . (with) permanent changes in single neurons in a matter of days, and as other studies have shown, most forms of meditation will create subtle but significant changes in a couple of months.’ (photo of Taize prayer service by Damir Jelic, 2006)

While many evangelicals object to the intrusion of (Eastern- Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh) meditation practices into schools, the research actually proves that there was ‘decreased test anxiety, nervousness, self-doubt, and concentration loss’ simply by using a deep-breathing technique. Another NIH sponsored study found that African-American adolescents who were trained in a simple meditation (involving relaxation, breathing, and the repetition of a sound) showed a significant decline in ‘absenteeism, school rule infractions, and suspension days.’ p31 Many liturgies (music, chant, response, group prayer) can function in a similar way in religious settings apart from secular ones.
There is so much to learn from not only modern science, but comparative studies-the history of religious thought and practice, and our ancient and recent non-Western cultures that it behooves us to take off our horse blinders and remove our fingers from our ears in believing that practitioners of one denomination or another possess the only route to salvation and are the only ones with a lock on the vast mind/heart of God. It's about time the world's peoples take scientific findings such as these seriously, put down their arms, think a bit and create the conditions for love, peace, healing and learning across all platforms. Oh, yeah.

Check out this delightful You Tube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3YF0WfiqUo&feature=related

How do Celtic spirituality and neuroscience link?

a continuation of my examiner post on Celtic saint Columba . . .
http://www.examiner.com/x-14414-Columbus-Interfaith-Spirituality-Examiner~y2010m6d11-Spirituality-and-a-remarkable-Celtic-saint

John Philip Newell says in Sounds of the Eternal: A Celtic Psalter ‘The depths of who we are as human beings share a birthplace in God. While we may cherish our variously rich religious inheritances, the essence of our being cannot be contained by the boundaries of religion. The soul is neither Jewish nor Christian, neither Muslim nor Hindu. It defies the limitations of any one tradition. As the 14th century mystic Meister Eckhart says, ‘the soul is naked of all things that bear names.’ (photo, left from Iona Robertson, Iona Abbey; photo right from Jens Langner; PET scan of brain) Essentially, we are wired for God at the
created/creation level.

This is echoed in the latest findings from a new field called, ‘neuro-theology’. Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman have written a book called How God Changes Your Brain. Based upon research, the authors show how ‘prayer and spiritual practice can reduce stress; that intense prayer and meditation lastingly change numerous structures and functions in the brain, altering your values and the way you perceive reality.’ Newberg has done countless studies and written extensively on many aspects of spirituality and spiritual practice. His conclusion supports a chaplaincy and interfaith presentation I often make that God cannot be put in one neat denominational/religion box, and that, being on an infinite spiritual quest makes complete sense towards a beneficial difference in ourselves and the betterment of humankind. We share biology (connection with creation-as in Celtic spirituality) and humankind everywhere, and hopefully the trait of compassion.

Heres a tangible example from his research: ‘In a recent brain-scan study I just completed, guided imagery reduced the symptoms of patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder by lowering activity in the emotional centers of the brain and raising activity in the areas that allow us to voluntarily control our feelings and thoughts. Thus, guided imagery techniques can help individuals deal with trauma, as well as a variety of physical and mental illnesses.’ p 188


Here is another fascinating tidbit. Newberg claims: '1. Each part of the brain constructs a different perception of God. 2. Every human brain assembles its perceptions of God in uniquely different ways, thus giving God different qualities of meaning and value. 3. Spiritual practices, even when stripped of religious beliefs, enhance the neural functioning of the brain in ways that improve physical and emotional health. 4. Intense, long term contemmplation of God and other spiritual values appears to permanently change the structure of those parts of the brain that control our moods, give rise to our conscious notions of self, and shape our sensory perceptions of the world. 5. Contemplative practices strengthen a specific neurological circuit that generates peacefulness, social awareness, and compassion for others.' pp6-7 WOW!


He identifies three separate realities which intermingle-one part outside the brain and two internal realities, one subconscious, the other a conscious map. Through-out Newberg’s neuroscience research work, across Buddhist monks, Franciscan (Catholic) Nuns, yoga practitioners, Sikhs and protestants of all kinds, Muslims and agnostics etc. the brain processes spirituality and spiritual response, regardless. None of this should be threatening to any tradition, but embraced as a bridge. What we share is physiology, interdependence and humanity. Now what if we approached each other with that in mind, valuing the creations we are as a basis for building a more loving and peaceful world?

(more from Newberg and others in the sciences as I prepare for our upcoming Spirit Hope Health & Wholeness workshop event #4, July 10th)
copyright 2010, Patricia A. Rodemann

spirituality, corpus christi and the gulf

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-14414-Columbus-Interfaith-Spirituality-Examiner~y2010m6d5-Spirituality-Corpus-Christi-and-the-Gulf

continued from my examiner column . . .

[Pensacola Beach at Sunset photo by agnosticpreacherskid]

The Columbus Dispatch had an article from McClatchy News writer Erika Bolstad ‘Oil from well still black gold’ on Friday, June 4th.

The author contends that ‘the oil giant will salvage much of the oil that’s spewing from the crumpled pipes on the Gulf floor. . . (which) could generate more than $1.4 million in revenue for BP each day. . . . Based on government estimates of the flow rate, the mangled well could produce oil valued at as much as $85 million over the next 60 days . . . ‘

To say, as liturgical Christians do, ‘Lord have mercy’ isn’t good enough. We need to have mercy ourselves, and launch a full-out effort at energy independence from oil which works safely and sustainably with creation rather than exploiting it mercilessly. This Corpus Christi feast day June 3rd/6th honoring the body of Christ symbolically, needs to expand St. Juliana’s vision exponentially. Albert Schweitzer said in the last century, ‘What has been passing for Christianity during these nineteen centuries is merely a beginning, full of weaknesses and mistakes, not a full grown Christianity springing from the spirit of Jesus.’

The real communion transformation is happening with water, oil and compassion, taking place as hundreds of volunteers wash the oil off the feathers of doomed birds. If, as Jesus himself is purported to have said, ‘…6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.' 7 NIV (Lk 12:6). And, in the Hebrew Bible, (Psa 84:3 NIV) ‘Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.’ (Altar as in/of the World- see latest book by Barbara Brown Taylor)

The founder of Creation Spirituality Matthew Fox discusses the need for a new ‘deeply ecumenical council’ which ‘would call forth the wisdom of all the world’s religions. Part of its work might be to declare an ancient but forgotten doctrine: the Cosmic Christ, the ‘pattern that connects’ all the atoms and galaxies of the universe, a pattern of divine love and justice that all creatures and all humans bear within them.’ He calls for a ‘twenty-first century for Mother Earth and her children (which ) is a spiritual vision that prays, celebrates, and lives out the reality of the Cosmic Christ who lives and breathes in Jesus and in all God’s children, in all the prophets of religions everywhere, in all creatures of the universe.’ p 7

Fox, who was director of the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality and then founder of the University in Creation Spirituality (through 2007) is the author of over 28 books, including Original Blessing, and One River, Many Wells. For his theology of Creation Spirituality- that we are born originally blessed (rather than fallen creatures) the Vatican censured and ‘silenced’ him; he was dismissed as a Dominican order priest.

Fox says, ‘True religion is not about institutions, be they mosques, temples, or objects of any kind. It is about relationship. It is about intersubjectivity and not objects and the objectifying of objects that we so often fall into. Creation brings us all together.’ He continues in One River, Many Wells, ‘From Hinduism we hear: Many are the paths of humans, but they all in the end come to Me. Nikhilananda, a scholar on Hinduism, believes that the great religions of the world are not competitive but complementary. One religion is not the enemy of the other, but all religions are faced by common enemies: skepticism, atheism, and perhaps worst of all, severe indifference. . . . In the Bhagavad Gita, God says: I am the thread that runs through the pearls, as in a necklace. Nihilananda adds to this line: Each religion is one of the pearls.’ [Florida Keys Bahia Honda dolphins at play-photo by Mwanner 2008]

‘Hindu mystic Rajjab writes: The worship of the different religions, which are like so many small streams, move together to meet God, who is like the ocean.’

I weep for the Gulf, the waters everywhere . . . that bear and support the Life.

copyright 2010, Patricia A. Rodemann