Mythmaking

continued from my Examiner column . . .

This morning's Advent meditation is from Richard Rohr, Franciscan priest & author who says, "Remember: Your life is not about you. You are about life!"
Adapted from Radical Grace: Daily Meditations, pp. 387-388 As surely as we, and everything else around us gives witness to the awesomeness of 'Life', we pause to realize how radical an insight this is in the face of a culture which reinforces 'It's all about me!' 'It's all about you!'

So much of our awareness is individual and self-focused. Even our leading popular religious figures perpetuate the distortion. For Joel Osteen, so much is about one's negative attitude and God desiring abundance for all. This message is not what the 'kingdom/reign of God' that Jesus talked about addresses.

Other cultural distortions are deeply rooted. Witness the arrival of Santa Claus to historic churches that over 100 years ago celebrated gifts brought by the Christ Child, as it was originally celebrated in Europe. Witness the endless repetition of hymns that sing of things that were not actually reported that way in the scriptures to sentimental music. Thus, myth, seen as a framework to apprehend meaning in our lives, is later treated as a big fat lie, which,

'wink wink' we all participate in, or frankly just don't care about, or hold tightly to traditions and don't even question them. It's time to put aside childish things and think broader, bigger, globally and cosmically. There's no need for lies in the face of the BIG TRUTH in which we live, move and have our beings. The BIG TRUTH gives meaning, value and awe.

The late Thomas Berry says, 'That the human is a subsystem of the Earth system is most clearly evident in the economic order. To advance the human eveonmy by subverting Earth's economy is an obvious absurdity. Yet our entire commercial-industrial system is based on this absurdity. Unitl recently, little mention of this self-destructive aspect of contemporary economics was made in the scores of books written on economics and management. . . . The effort to interpret our immediate experience of the universe simply through our scriptural data involves a serious distortion in our way of thinking. It subverts the very basis of our primordial experience of the divine in the manifestations offered us throughout the universal order of existence. . . . anthropocentrism has turned into a profound cultural pathology. ' pp96-8-98 The Sacred Universe , Earth, Spirituality and Religion. To translate: the sole focus on me, myself and mine at all costs is killing us and the planet. If we use the bible as a scientific and governing framework in the face of all our ancient and new knowledge, we are making a tragic error.

For Berry, the universe is the sacred text, animating and enveloping reality. Our delusions, systems and myths are bringing us closer to extinction. Berry explains that 'The human might be described as that being in whom the universe reflects on and celebrates itself and the deep mysteries of existence in a special mode of conscious self-awareness. Our human role is to enable the universe to reflect on itself in a special mode of consciousness. . . our individual human self is fulfilled in our family self, our community self, our Earth self, our and our universe self. In the Christian world, the believing person is fulfilled by our larger Christ-self, as Saint Paul tells us in his epistle to the Colossians: in Christ 'all things hold together.' In Buddhism, the believing person is fulfilled through participation in the Buddha nature. We find a similar teaching in Confuciansim.. . Every mode of being is needed, for every being shares in the great community of existence. . . . Each being receives its identity, honor, and value through its role in the universe. Within this larger universe, the planet Earth constitutes as single integral community.' pp95-96

Note: each being does not receive its identity, honor and value through what it consumes.

Visit a conservatory this Christmas. Check out an aquarium. Go to a planetarium this holiday season. Appreciate Asian food. Connect with the BIGGER story, the creation story in its universal and cosmic dimension. Christmas is about beginnings, the 'flaring forth of the primordial energy' into ever evolving manifestations and incarnations of transformation and love. (The old pervert in the red suit meanwhile, is teaching our children that the one with the most toys wins. He's winking in a nod to unbridled capitalism and credit balances run amok.)

Spirituality, Ignorance and Sin

continued from my examiner column, http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-ignorance-and-sin

Matthew Fox, theologian, features a chapter on the meanings of sin from perspectives of theologians and biologists with citations from both communities, and present day examples. He says one of the issues in contemporary society is that ‘we have lost the drama of a sense of evil and sin- angels, demons, powers, principalities’ (of earlier religious/mystical thinking, and) ‘We have substituted psychology for spirituality-a psychology that, like our religion, lacks cosmology (as much of the Protestant and modern era has) is a weak substitute for the quest for the sacred as a wrestling with cosmic powers.’ [Thus,] ‘morality easily gets reduced to moralizing.’

There is a terrible price to ‘reductionism committed on sin itself’- Fox cites 20th century genocide as an example. This brilliant discussion expands upon personal and social sin. p 31 Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Lessons for Transforming Evil in Soul and Society

One of the central charges against people of faith, is that too often our religious traditions became bogged down in doctrine, heady theologies with no proof, rules and regulations, an insistence on correct belief and moralizing which stifled any attempt at creativity, justice, love and reform. This was tackled head on by the brilliant poet and mystic, Rumi, in a similar vein to what native Americans and Chinese peasants alike had to say about self-righteous Christian missionaries. He sings,

‘They say you bring the word of God

Yet all I hear is talk of good and bad-

Nothing of love and truth.’

from A Garden Beyond Paradise: the mystical poetry of Rumi by Jonathan Star

Twentieth century theologian Karl Barth addressed our failure to love and even to comprehend or acknowledge our complicity in systemic sin as a root cause of great misunderstanding in human religious thinking, and it is that which condemns us. ‘The wrath of God is the judgment under which we stand in so far as we do not love the Judge; it is the ‘No’ which meets us when we do not affirm it; it is the protest pronounced always and everywhere against the course of the world in so far as we do not accept the protest as our own; it is the questionable-ness of life in so far as we do not apprehend it . . . . The judgment under which we stand is a fact, quite apart from our attitude to it. Indeed, it is the fact most characteristic of our life. . . .’ p 116 Karl Barth, Theologian of Freedom ed. Clifford Green

It would be too easy in Barth’s view to reduce the profound religious-spiritual dimension to a consideration of mere ‘social justice’ or legislating morality through the political process as is often attempted. ‘Belief in God is revolutionary, he argued. In one published sermon he said that ‘the vile’ of capitalism was the consequence of a world without God (and) he contrasted this with the Christian hope of a new world brought into being by the ‘living God.’” ‘We should expect more of God,’ he wrote in another article, and look for something better ‘beyond war and capitalism.’ p 14 Theologian of Freedom. This strikes at the heart of those who would align any religion too closely with the state and its economic interests.

The Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hahn addresses one of the 'conditions' humans suffer, that of 'anger'. (note the change in emphasis- he did not call it 'sin'.) He says ‘According to the Buddha’s teachings, the most basic condition for happiness is freedom. Here we do not mean political freedom, but freedom from the mental formations of anger, despair, jealousy, and delusion These mental formations are described by the Buddha as poinsons. As long as these posons are still in our heart, happiness cannot be possible. In order to be free from anger, we have to practice, whether we are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or Jewish. We cannot ask the Buddha, Jesus, God, or Mohammed to take anger out of our hearts for us. There are concrete instructions on how to transform the craving, anger and confusion within us.’ For Nhat Hahn we need to 'take care of' our own suffering and help others do the same.

It is, an enlightened view apart from the cycle of punishment-revenge-condemnation and subsequent guilt/remorse/shame. He offers five mindfulness trainings in Appendix B of the book ‘Anger’. My hope is that someday, we seek to understand the root causes and solutions to the pain in life in order to transform it.

(photo is from St. Mathew's Church, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi, India and features a Calvary Scene behind the Altar of a catholic church, artwork by Anuragk Gupta Medium Resin and Epoxy. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons by Agtingeart.)

Spirituality and simplicity

Continued from my examiner post . . . http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-and-simplicity . . .

As we approach the end of a chapter, there is a sense that we know a change is approaching, though there may be a general sense of confusion and/or anxiety. That is a time to examine the situation, setting aside one’s emotion, coupled with relaxing into understanding and compassion.

Thich Nhat Hahn instructs on what the Buddha taught on his ‘Discourse on Mindful Breathing.’ He explains, ‘Breathing in, I recognize my feeling. Breathing out, I calm my feeling.’ He says, ‘Mindfulness helps you be concentrated and look deeply. This is true meditation. The insight will come after some time of practice.’ You are approaching a change. Become friends with yourselfyou’re your situation, before you turn the page. Ask, ‘what are you teaching me, now?’

You can put that book down for a time, returning to it mindlessly, forgetting what came before. You can stay with it, angrily, anxiously turning that page to find out what happens next, in a state of anxiety. You can approach the new chapter with relief. You can skip ahead to try and peek at the ending before realizing you have to pay your dues and live through each chapter first. It is a lesson in mindfulness.

Thich Nhat Hahn tells the story of a woman who meditated on the name of the Buddha for years only to become angry when a neighbor interrupted her. The neighbor suggested how angry the Buddha might be if she had been calling his name repeatedly for so many years. He suggests that when one prays without being present or follows rituals mechanically it does not allow for spaciousness of spirit or openness of one’s heart. In this way one never touches the living essence of the life and teaching of the one whom they follow. It’s like living one’s story without being aware of what is happening.

Lord knows, there is plenty of mindlessness all around. Meditation is helpful in this. Practicing ‘the essence’ allows for a sense of joy and clarity; a deep sense of communication. Oh, that is where I am. It is an awakening. When one turns the page in an awakened state, the next chapter is a totally different thing. The key to approaching any change, in fact, living with where we are, is entering a stage of mental refuge, a place of mindfulness.

Thich Nhat Hahn reminds us that nothing is permanent within the constructs of what we call our ‘self.’ He says, ‘The Buddha taught that a so-called ‘person’ is really just five elements (skandhas) that come together for a limited period of time” our body, feelings, perceptions, mental states, and consciousness. These five elements are, in fact, changing all time. Not a single element remains the same for two consecutive moments.’ P 133 Living Buddha, Living Christ. How beautiful that is. And how meaningful each moving, ever-changing storyline, intersecting with every other.

[photo from painting by Frederic Remington, American Artist. Titled, 'The Belated Traveler']

Spirituality and Springtime

continued from my examiner column http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-and-springtime . . . .

In learning from nature's seasonal cleansing rituals we understand there are cycles of destruction followed by growth; it is a sacred reality. It seems a necessity, an impersonal process of which all are a part regardless of any artificial religious claim. After our harsh winter, this Spring seems particularly welcome and yet, watching flooding in Australia, the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and reading about massive ice sheets falling off the glaciers, one can only wonder about the scope and scale of this massive global enterprise. We are so interdependent and yet behave as if we are simply not a part of the sacred whole.

The Taoists may have had this in mind with the philosophy of 'The Way'- things are neither good nor bad, but all have their place and reason, time and season. It all simply is. We work to understand and contribute goodness and compassion to the mix, realizing that there will always be natural evil; always be injustice . . . yet we try to alleviate suffering and make a difference; contribute love and understanding to the mix. Ever inventive, humans create myths and mythic characters to try and understand it all. Yet we are in a new place and time as a species, which makes each spring all the more poignant with massive extinctions underway and die-offs of entire species. It makes the time of ashes on our foreheads (Christians) and color sprayed upon each other (Hindu), costumes and revelry (Jewish) and honoring the ancestors (Shinto) all the more deeply moving and tres symbolic as our holidays fall upon the time of the full moon, the Vernal Equinox.

One of the great figures of recent past is Passionist priest and scholar, Thomas Berry, who wrote The Sacred Universe and The Great Work- among others. Berry earned a doctorate in world religions and chaired the American Teilhard Community (de Chardin) from 1975-1987. He was awarded 8 honorary doctorates- see http://www.earth-community.org/bio.htm. Caroline Webb, student of Berry, writes that ‘Thomas Berry understood, as few others have done, that with the degradation of nature goes a diminishment of the human. There can be no lasting advancement for humans if it entails devastation for other beings and the great systems of planetary functioning. Over and over again he states that if we only view nature as an object to be used, our future existence is in peril. We cannot exist long-term unless we re-join the community of life from which we emerged, that has shaped us in every regard and is the revelation of ultimate and sacred reality.’

In fact, his insights are the fertile soil out of which many now find inspiration and the seed for their own writing. Read some of Berry’s breath-taking quotes here: http://www.earth-community.org/quotes.htm With the nuclear disaster in Japan and television commentators once again talking about disruptions in oil production in the Gulf, one wonders how many times we get to revisit the opportunity to transform ourselves and our planet. Yet the planet is a self-healing organism as one sees in Chernobyl which is doing fine with-out people. If you are looking for a good read connecting the world’s spiritual traditions with environment, anything of Berry is food for thought.

Another Catholic ‘heretic’ Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr, writing for the Huffington Post explains that Christians need to revision their tradition. ‘Two thousand years ago was the human incarnation of God in Jesus, but before that there was the first and original incarnation through light, water, land, sun, moon, stars, plants, trees, fruit, birds, serpents, cattle, fish, and "every kind of wild beast" according to our own creation story (Genesis 1:3-25). This was the "Cosmic Christ" through which God has "let us know the mystery of his purpose, the hidden plan he so kindly made from the beginning in Christ" (Ephesians 1:9). Christ is not Jesus' last name, but the title for his life's purpose.’

Rohr unpacks this further and ties three religions together, citing the theological thought of an early Christian philosopher, Thomas Aquinas. "The immense diversity and pluriformity of this creation more perfectly represents God than any one creature alone or by itself," adds Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274) in his Summa Theologica (47:1). He continues, ‘For most of us, this is a significant shaking of our foundational image of the universe and of our religion. Yet if any group should have come to this quite simply and naturally, it should have been the three groups of believers that call themselves "monotheists". Jews, Christians, and Muslims all believe that the world was created by one God. It would seem to follow therefore that everything, everything without exception, would bear the clear imprint and likeness of the one Creator.’ From Creation as the Body of God, Posted: March 4, 2011

So to take this one step further, the imprint of Creation/Creator is that of rebirth, re-awakening, new chances, hope, the riotous color of Springtime and increasing light, the playful joy of love, self sacrifice for love and the very celebration of life itself even in the midst of turmoil and chaos, uncertainty and fear.


[Image titled 'a Rajah and his wife celebrate Krishna festival (Holi)' and is from Holi celebration: "Handcoloured engravings by Frederic Shoberl from his work 'The World in Miniature: Hindoostan'. London: R. Ackerman, 1820's." Columbia.edu Wikimedia Commons.]

Mysticism

continued from my examiner column . . . http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/marcus-borg-weighs-on-mysticism-at-weekend-event-review

Marcus Borg has made a significant difference in contemporary Christian circles. In his book, The Heart of Christianity he explores different ways of viewing scripture. You will not find him to be the kind of guy who says, 'The Bible said it and we take it the way it reads and that's all she wrote!'

Having studied and been in conversation with the world's best scholars and linguists, you will find great depth and sensitivity to not only Hebrew and Greek scriptures, but each of the stories and figures in the prophetic biblical tradition. You can read more about some of his books/stance/vision. http://www.aportraitofjesus.org/borg.shtml I think he

keeps a lot of folks in the Christian fold for whom traditional evangelical Christianity and literalism has gone awry, though Christians on the 'right' would completely disown him or even consider him 'Christian' by their standards. After his last visit to Columbus several years ago, I corresponded with him and found his response to be sensitive and amazingly insightful.

Borg not only knows his material inside and out, but presents it with exquisite sensitivity and compassion. He understands his audience/s and connects with them. Two examples for all to take to heart: 1. The 'kingdom of God'/reign of God is about justice, mercy, compassion for all.

Too often in creedal and confessional Christianity it has been reduced to a mere comma in the creed, between his birth to a virgin and death/resurrection, when it encompasses his entire life/mission and message.

2. Borg reminded us of the chief commandment which is 'to Love God First and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.' Period. (And the implications of what that means). He discussed the historic disagreements over obtuse things which led to the schisms within the church and 'who knows what the hell that even means?!' today.

For Borg and those who heard him, it, (The Christian Message Today) is about relevance, meaning and transformation. Christianity now is not about a 'pie in the sky afterlife notion of heaven and hell, but transforming this world equitably for ALL.' That's big. Really big. It means growing up and taking responsibility; recognizing God created 'the world' and it is good . . . not just humans; the whole shebang. This is what makes Marcus Borg a leading figure in Christianity. He calls this religion to answer for it's aberrations and mis-steps, in true prophetic tradition like Amos, Micah, Jeremiah . . . You have to respect Borg's honesty and straightforward approach, soundly grounded in scholarship but informed by the big vision.

[Christ represented as Sol invictus. 3rd/4th c. AD. Vatican necropolis under St. Peter's Basilica, Mausoleum M. Mosaic, two-dimensional work of art, older than 100 years]

spirituality and the 'broken spirit'

Continued from my examiner column . . . http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-and-broken-spirit

Events in our lives such as losses- jobs, financial position, love relationships, torn associations & affiliations, and death of loved ones can cause us to have a broken spirit. Culturally, poverty, accidents, homelessness, acrimonious divorce, natural disasters, bankruptcy, custody battles, lawsuits, substance abuse, alcoholism, physical abuse and neglect, and prejudice/racism result in ‘broken spirits’, a sense of defeat co-mingled with deep seated pain. Fractures in our religious and spiritual beliefs can also have this effect. In a body-mind-spirit approach, one has to consider the totality of impact on each being, and our interdependent collective being.

Dealing with disappointment, doubt and disillusionment from the behavior of religious figures or institutions can result in a ‘broken spirit’. (I'm sure you can think of plenty of examples.) Finding the whole religious–ritual experience to be a tedious obligation rather than an uplifting, spirit-building, healing and highly relevant hour or two that includes positive relationship building is also indicative of a ‘broken spirit’.

Many people hide this and pretend everything is okay until they face a crisis in meaning: ‘What’s it really all about?’ ‘Where is the meaning in my life?’ ‘What good am I anyway?’ ‘Who cares if I live or die?’ It’s easy in a desperate state to fall prey to cults, hucksters and false promises of charismatic people with little real spiritual substance and a whole lot of flash. This can later lead to a complete lack of faith and downright negative rejection of anyone and anything associated with any tradition, or a wholesale change of religion. Healing is about coming in touch with one’s soul, with who you really are, grasping what is authentic, and finding resilience for this moment.

The effects of a ‘broken spirit’ show up in declining membership in congregations that have experienced turmoil. Folks can and do just walk away. Many abandon childhood faith or parental faith traditions. In my chaplaincy internship sabbaticals with large trauma hospitals, I’d guess roughly 1/3 of the patient census had any active current affiliation with any religious institution.

In the face of physical illness, emotional and spiritual considerations are very real. A high percentage of patients had experienced a loss or other traumatic event within the previous year or two. For many, vague memories of religious stories or events simply did not offer enough to connect them with a vibrant living, intellectually meaningful faith or a heart-centered compassion building approach. Most did not meditate, though many did pray and consider themselves to have a belief in ‘God’. This is not unlike findings the large Pew Research surveys on religion reports.

Its important to realize we’re all on this life journey together. Maybe you feel like you’re in a lifeboat right now . . . but there is a captain and you’ve got a life-preserver, and you’re on your way to safety and home. It often helps to think symbolically through difficult times. Symbolism through color, art, collections, nature, movement, writing, music helps express deeply important meaning, non-verbally.

On my desk is a bright pink butterfly shaped box. Inside I keep the sayings from Yogi tea bags for a shot of instant inspiration. There are sea shells, a smooth stone to remind me of Dad from his hospice experience, a blue jay feather from the pergola covered with fragrant wisteria, rose petals from mom’s favorite colored roses, a tiny rubber horse my brother bought me the day we went for Chinese lunch, a last lunch together . . . nothing valuable and everything valuable because they’re great and meaningful memories. The important things in life usually aren’t monetary, consumer or status related.

Life contains difficult and painful memories and nostalgic and sweet memories. All are the stuff of meaning. All define and express what we’ve come through and who we are in a given moment. We hold the painful things like dark birds in our hands, and release them. Take a deep breath and watch them fly away. Though you see them in the tree, they no longer have the power to affect you as they did when you held them. You are whole, and valuable for who you are, where you are, and you’re going to be okay.

This photo came out this way on its own of grieving dad who lost 2 sons. Note the 2 trees in the hole of light. Slightly accentuated with Photoshop. The Dad died of cancer within a few years of this photo.

Spirituality and what is non-duality

Continued from my examiner post: http://www.blogger.com/www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-and-what-is-non-duality-101

The non-duality website explains further that the understanding of ‘non-locality’ moves from the cosmic to the microscopic, eventually arriving at atoms. Atoms, it turns out have protons and neutrons in a central nucleus with electrons spinning around this core of particles and these are made up of even smaller ‘particles’ in the form of waves which can exist in other points of space.

Advaita author and scholar, Dennis Waite describes it like this, "Still more recently, science claimed that all of the different particles are themselves made out of different combinations of just a few particles called quarks and that those are the ultimately existing things. But they have not yet progressed far enough. The simple fact of the matter is that every ‘thing' is ultimately only an attribute, a name and form superimposed upon a more fundamental substantive.'

He continues, 'We make the mistake of thinking that there really is a table, when actually there is only wood. We make the mistake of thinking that there is really wood, when actually there is only cellulose and sugars and proteins. We make the mistake of thinking there is protein when this is only a particular combination of atoms. Ultimately, everything in the universe is seen to be only name and form of a single substantive." (endless-satsang.com/advaita-nonduality-oneness.htm)

His book, ‘The Book of One’ expounds upon what he has derived from studying the Vedas and Sanscrit. The Advaita website says a central problem we all face in the science-religion discussion is this: ‘Whichever religion might be under consideration, it has to be acknowledged that writers of major scriptural texts have attempted to record important information for posterity. There are many reasons why such attempts might seem to fail. The historical context in which they were written is now often poorly understood. Truths are often couched in obscure terms or hidden in the depths of seeming irrelevancies (which were probably not irrelevant to the culture which originated them). Vague or ambiguous presentation may have been used because writers at that time were persecuted for attempting to communicate ideas considered heretical by the prevailing society. Translations, too, inevitably lose something in the process – often their essential meaning! And stories written down only after many generations have communicated them verbally, with varying degrees of artistic license, may not be altogether factual.’

The author http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/thebook/scripturesSecondEdition.htm describes why this is less true of ancient Hindu philosophy in his view, ‘Ishvara is everywhere, in and through everything. The IshopaniShad is effectively a meditation on Ishvara. It begins: 'The Lord pervades everything – whatever exists in this universe of ceaseless movement. . . . everything can be regarded as a form of Ishvara, in the way that a wave is a form of the water constituting the ocean. Ishvara is the sum total of all things, in the way that the ocean is the sum total of all waves, representing the macrocosm, whereas the individual jIva is the microcosm.’ Essentially, very ancient and very modern, both in the resonance with the findings of theoretical physics. Can one have it both ways in a marriage of religion and science? Conservative Christians are very uncomfortable with this notion.

Authors Mather and Nichols (Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions and the Occult-Zondervan) sharply disagree with Vedanta and the concepts here, ‘Traditional Christology does not allow for the spiritualizing of Christ . . . In classic Christian thought, humankind’s goal is not to achieve God-consciousness (although this is certainly an idea close to the nineteenth-century Christian theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher), but rather to receive atonement for sin, become spiritually reborn through faith in Christ, and at death, remain forever alive to worship and serve the triune God who has created, redeemed, and sanctified him. Human beings do not ultimately become God, but by virtue of the divine image (Gen 1:26) are destined to become like God (1 John 3:2).’ P 301 In this, it is to establish 'the truth' as through one pair of glasses in an entire store-full, to correct/clarify one's vision. Yet, we each have a unique prescription . . . for who we are. In the bigger schema, some don't even need correction; their vision is perfectly 20/20.

The authors Mather and Nichols address the notion of freedom from karma and attainment of knowledge of the absolute: ‘Christianity does not share these ideas. Salvation is centered around the person and work of Jesus Christ as confessed by the church in its Apostles’ and Nicene creeds. Salvation is not escape from ignorance. It is release from the bondage of sin.’ p 301 ibid This then, negates the idea of wrong-doing resulting from ignorance of our true nature and the effects of our actions on the interdependent other/whole, and choses instead to call it by classical Christian definitions of 'sin' or 'evil'- deliberate, intentional bad, from which we need to be rescued/saved.

There is simply lots to think about. In her article 'The Paradox of Consciousness, The Individual Is the Collective' from Light of Consciousness Spring 2011, Debra Greene, PhD applies the idea of non-duality to consciousness- beyond the micro-scopic and beyond the cosmic to a more personal view through psychological underpinnings. She says, 'consciousness is collective. It is much more than an individual state of mind. Consciousness is a dynamic field of all awareness. Everyone contributes to and draws from the composite collectivity of consciousness. . . . the collective consciousness appears to be an ultra-high frequency energy/information structure that we are tuned into. It exists as a universal field that we simultaneously contribute to and are conditioned by.' p 56 She explains that problems of the world are problems of the mind-as former Czech President Vaclav Havel said. She synthesizes what it means: 'Good, in this light, is anything that takes us in the direction of unity, of essential wholeness and profound interconnection.'

Perhaps the mystics in all faith traditions ‘get it’ most easily and the rest just write the rules of belief, which may or may not be embraced, ritualized, taught/handed down or practiced. In the end, as the species faces a 50% or higher probability of widespread starvation and extinction by 2050, what really matters most?

Spirituality and your sacred story

continued from my examiner column, www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-and-your-sacred-story

Have you ever written your spiritual autobiography; how and why you came to believe what you believe and what’s important to you? Think about what your first inkling of the presence of God was? What were your earliest teachings like? Has anything changed in your spiritual/religious life since then and how? What was your conception of the sacred at high and low points in your life? When did you feel most connected/supported and how/where are you now? You might wish to comment . . .

One of the masters’ level courses at seminary required us to make genealogies. We studied family systems and family systems therapy. This was a fascinating exercise. You could see instances where famous siblings became estranged, or certain individuals remained single, and those patterns repeated themselves in the professional well-known examples we evaluated- like Emily Dickinson to the Kennedy's. There were physiological issues which repeated –like alcoholism, mental illness, out of wedlock births, or child-less couples. Death patterns emerged- such as suicides.

Talents such as music, writing, speaking etc. showed up. Some say it’s the family karma, others would attribute specific traits to genetics. Do check out the Bert Hellinger's website link in my examiner column. Buddhist monk and prolific author Thich Nhat Hahn tells of pausing before the photos of ancestor monks and honoring them. I love that. Our upstairs foyer was what I called 'gallery of the ancestors' -full of photos. During our recent move, photos & albums filled 13 smaller boxes.

What physical traits do you bear? Whom do you look like? I look very much like my paternal grandmother’s one OstFriesen sister in profile who was also child-less, married to a kind, intelligent pastor, and held many similar interests. Then, I look keenly at my maternal Irish grandmother's oil portrait coming out of my office, and we share the gaze and smile. The intuitive gift links us.

One branch of my family tree goes back to nearly Viking days. With 1-27th International Day of Commemoration of the Memory of Victims of the Holocaust, I recall our family had to prove they were not Jewish; yet the Nazi SS troops burned down the top of our windmill which was used by Allied forces as a landmark to a hidden landing strip across the channel.

My grandmother’s great grandfather several ‘great grandfathers’ back, had placed boulders along the edge of the property to deter the Vikings from landing there near the North Sea, she related. An ancient Celtic stone church was built on an island in the North Sea, visible on a clear day and walkable when the tides were out. (It is thought half my tree was likely Celtic in origin.) During a fierce storm in the late 1700’s, the entire island sank. Sailors going over the site reported hearing church bells. She was the keeper and teller of the family legends. Sunday dinners were a major experience listening to her fascinating tales and treasuring her wisdom. Do you have family legends? Is there a matriarch or patriarch in your family who collects and tells them? What a treasure. Take time to jot down your own notes of each ancestor as a clue to who you are now. What were they like? You?

Worthington area psycho-therapist, Jan Arthur, stresses the importance of resilience for the now of our lives; not tomorrow or next month, but in the right now. Sometimes its the only way we get through. It’s because we know change happens, good and bad, and resilience helps us cope in a healthy response to what is going on. How is your storyline shaping up lately? What do you do to maintain resilience? What are your goals looking like and how do you write the next chapter of your script?

[Photo by Sylius from 1908, Wikimedia Commons Free Usage. Family of Volodymyr Barvinok, Ukrainian scientist, writer, participant of Ukrainian independent government 1918-19. Left to right: Volodymyr Barvinok, Evhenija Barvinok (his wife), parents of Evhenia, Natalka and Stepan Volovik and , Volodymyrs son Boris, Volodymyrs grandmother, Volodymyrs parents Anna and Ivan Barvinok]

Interspirituality and Dr. King's dream

continued from my examiner column . . . http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/king-s-speech-and-what-is-inter-spirituality-101 . . .

Brother Teasdale was not afraid to call it the way it is. If we fill ourselves with filth, it’s going to come out of us. Broken environments are more likely to break us. Physiologically, we know our brains become re-wired by repetition and what we ‘feed’ ourselves with, and steep ourselves in. Abuse is more likely to beget abuse. Brother Teasdale addresses this in the article 'America as an Interspiritual Superpower: A Vision to be Realized'.

He says, ‘ . . . American culture is morally confused and steeped in ambiguity. It is confused about abortion, the death penalty, war, and the tolerance of all kinds and levels of violent behavior. In this, Hollywood is greatly to blame’ [And this between media hype about the Golden Globes and Oscars] ‘It is responsible for this culture of violence to which we are subject because we live here. It feeds us a steady diet of violent films, videos, and TV series, and so, maintains this cultural malaise of addiction to all sorts of violence. We are accepting of this situation because of the spiritual illiteracy that exists at the basis of our world. It makes us ambiguous about these matters to which we are constantly exposed.’ So how does all this affect us? There are studies showing a powerful link.

Teasdale claims, ‘Spiritual illiteracy and moral confusion result in psychological dysfunction, affecting every aspect of our lives: our relationships in the family, friendships, our work environment, and how we relate to associates, our aspirations, ambitions, dreams, and fears, even our health. This psychological dysfunction has to do with ignorance, incapacity in our relationships, a lack of sufficient generosity, the desire for entertainment and fixation on consumerism.’ That pretty much covers the sorry state of the culture portion of the article for Brother Teasdale. But there is hope.

How do we expect different outcomes than we see in the suicides of young bullying victims, the mental unraveling of the shooter and even events in the daily news? I met a remarkable Mennonite couple through IACO (Interfaith Association Central Ohio), who took a program on non-violence to the schools. Many are shocked there is another way. Young inner city kids exposed to violence were surprised. If each of us reached only a handful in a meaningful way-feeding/clothing/caring/sheltering/listening/modeling/teaching, what a remarkable difference it could make. That was their vision.

As I watched two young school girls playing highly graphic, hand-held video games (pretty much bang-bang you’re dead) while waiting for my car; I reflected on how ancient cultures might have prepared to hunt a woolly mammoth. (I suppose hunger can psych one up to run like heck with a spear in the midst of a group of screaming friends-now we substitute a football for a spear . . . :)and call it 'game day'). Maybe we’re not so different. As we enter 'the survival era' in a time of post-peak oil and the affects of climate change escalate, things could really become challenging; maybe this is a preparatory phase. Until we learn to practice that compassion of which we preach, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride. See several different (and opposing) points of view on ‘inter-spiritual’:

http://www.blogger.com/www.topia.net/interspirituality.html

http://www.isdna.org/

http://www.interfaithstudies.org/spirituality/interspiritualitypossible.html

http://www.interfaithstudies.org/spirituality/spirpossexamples.html

http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/interspirituality.htm

[Note: phto is from Md. Saiful Aziz Shamseer is titled 'Children of Bangladesh'. Mother left child unattended to seek work. Wikimedia Commons]

spirituality, age and life-stage

continued from my examiner post http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-age-and-life-stage

The world is full of people at different stages of development, consciousness, faith and enculturation all at once. You can probably apply the broadest common denominator to legal and governmental systems.

For instance in Kohlberg’s Six Stages of Moral Judgment, Level I ‘Pre-conventional’ shows the reasons for doing right are ‘avoidance of punishment and the superior power of authorities’. One ‘sticks to the rules; adheres to obedience for its own sake; seeks to avoid damage to persons and property’. The social perspective of this stage is an ‘egocentric point of view where one doesn’t consider the interests of others or relate to more than one’s own point of view’. Actions are considered physically, rather than the psychological interests of others.

(From Riemer, Paolitto, Hersch 1983 Promoting Moral Growth: From Piaget to Kohlberg) Moving through the stages, Level III Stage 6 is ‘universal ethical principles’ wherein ethical principles are universal principles of justice, and human rights are more important than laws- which might violate the dignity of human beings.

Now, here’s a wild card discovered within recent years: past, present and future co-exist not only in our memories, but in the collective consciousness and in the quantum realm where time is just a concept and the reality is eternity. To un-pack that, the universe contains and is composed of all the billions of ‘pieces/fields’ of matter and energy all in movement and change, and that includes the sum total of each and all of us; all inter-related. It no longer makes sense to ‘do theology’ or practice faith without considering the findings of science which reveal and shed light on all our beliefs and prejudices alike and the implications of believing/acting that way.

However, the mythological dimension from our ancient faith traditions may offer the metaphors for understanding life in a rich new way through artwork, chant, music, dance and other symbolic ways. Science and faith can marry beautifully. For example, the benefits of meditative practice are confirmed through neuroscience and 'best practices' uncovered. (See my earlier posts).

It’s an important time to view ourselves in a compassionate light as works in progress, cultures in progress, civilizations in progress, theologies in progress. I’ll reflect more on this in an upcoming post on ‘sin’ versus ‘ignorance’. Until then, ask yourself, what’s your Weltanschauung/(worldview)? How has it changed since your infancy; through each decade or less . . . what pivotal events rocked your world and ‘God concept’ beyond those taught by your religious tradition? Until next post, Peace, Pax, Pace.

[Photo by Madman- Creative Commons Attribution license 3.0. A

greenstone (serpentine) figurine showing a a male (per Joralemon) or female (per Coe) "presenting" a were-jaguar infant, a common theme in Olmec art. The adult is seated on what Joralemon calls a "Cloud Throne". Middle Classic Period; Height: 11.4 cm (4.5 in)]

Spirituality and the Divine Feminine

continued from my examiner column http://www.examiner.com/interfaith-spirituality-in-columbus/spirituality-mother-of-god-and-the-divine-feminine

Scholars of the world’s great religions enlighten us with practices and manifestations of the deity in Buddhism, and Hinduism which embrace the female principle; the divine feminine, through differing manifestations such as Kwan Yin, Durga, Parvati, Sita, etc.

Valerie Kaur, a Sikh writes about ‘Women as Equals’ in http://www.sikhwomen.com/ ‘A drastic distinction between the roles of the male and female exists in all the history of modern human societies. Women have grown to accept, not without resentment though, the male-dominated atmosphere of the world. Because people use religious doctrine to define their life styles, religious views in both the East and the West seem to condone, even encourage, the unequal treatment of women. In the 15th century, Guru Nanak established Sikhism, the first religion to advocate emphatically the equality of all people, especially women. In a continent characterized by severe degradation of women, this bold declaration, along with others, determined to erase the impurities of the Indian society. However, prejudices and injustices based on gender linger even today.’

She cites the following references from Sikh scripture: (SGGS Page 473 Shabad 1748) ‘From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman. That mouth which praises the Lord continually is blessed and beautiful. O Nanak, those faces shall be radiant in the Court of the True Lord.'

From (2)’SGGS Page 604 Shabad 2292 ‘The Beloved Himself enjoys every heart; He is contained within every woman and man. O Nanak, the Beloved is pervading everywhere, but He is hidden; through the Guru, He is revealed. '

And from (4,2)’SGGS Page 223 Shabad 706 ‘In the earth and in the sky, I do not see any second. Among all the women and the men, His Light is shining. (3)’

The famed 'Father of the Protestant Reformation', Martin Luther has plenty to say on the role of women, writing in a similar medieval time frame. “The word and works of God is quite clear, that women were made either to be wives or prostitutes.” Works 12.94
“Even though they grow weary and wear themselves out with child-bearing, it does not matter; let them go on bearing children till they die, that is what they are there for.” Works 20.84 Yet his writing on marriage and his love for wife Katy are splendidly inspiring. Its all about CONTEXT and the HISTORICAL/CULTURAL ground. It seems necessary to take a broad view and a long view and then a depth view.

There are many feminist and womanist scholars who undertake research to mine
the depths of history, anthropology and culture to provide us more complete pictures
of the nuances of belief, doctrine, practice and how they affect us politically, culturally
and socially. For instance in the book ‘‘Women, Men, and the Bible’ Virginia Ramey Mollenkott has argued on a deeper level that Jesus’ mission was to exemplify a new way of relating, contrary to traditional dominance-submission patterns. Jesus came as the suffering servant rather than the Davidic ruler man Jews expected. He modeled mutual submission and reciprocal respect. Only as a male could he effectively model this since women and slaves were already in submission by cultural decree.’ P41 Inclusive Language in the Church.

The author, Nancy Hardesty points out that Jesus became flesh, not male; it is a case of God becoming ‘human’. Thus, ‘son of god’ might better be translated as, ‘child of God’. A Hebrew feminine gender word for God’s presence is 'Shekinah' or divine energy and power which fills us with intelligence and skill. A Presbyterian pastor was careful during the ‘80’s movement to gender-neutralize patriarchal language to note that ‘God’ should be seen as neither male nor female but ‘Spirit’. Language is ever important to us because it shapes our beliefs and core values.

Hardesty cites another example of mis-translation where 'King James Translators made the deacon Phoebe in Romans 16:1 a ‘servant of the church’; the NAS and NIV translations repeat the error. The New English claims she ‘holds office’ and Revised Standard calls her ‘a deaconess.’ The Living Bible calls her ‘a dear Christian woman’ and yet the same word gets rendered ‘minister’ when applied to Paul and Apollos and male officers of the church.’ p 78. She says, p 80 ‘many texts of Scripture are made to appear much more male-oriented than they are in the Greek and Hebrew.’ It is a caution to us all in the 21st century to listen with care, read with diligence, question the source and know that human beings are equally valued in the Kingdom of God and should be treated as such.

[photograph is by Jastrow, 2006 from the Vatican Museums Pio Clemention, Sala a Croce Greca from Tusculum. The Roman mosaic is of Tondo with Athena and aegis. It dates from the 3rd century CE framed with a modern mosaic from the 18th century.]