By T. F. “Pepper” Link, Ph.D.
Does your heart glow in the dark? Have you collected all the nectar from the honey tree? Do you have a ‘spiritual practice? Did you know that prayer allows God to think through us…? Do you expand your consciousness through a prayerful embracing of the heart of God? What do you do everyday that is not only routine and ritual but reverently respectful? Do you pray breathingly?
“What” do you do that is radically transfiguring? What do you do each day that is bigger than yourself, . . . that is joyously inundating, and allows you to focus on the luscious fruit of spiritual awakening?
A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices. Rumi, the great mystic poet wrote, “Startle us back to the truth of who we are.” Who we are, is what we were before we were human beings…i.e., we were, AND are ‘human spirits.”
We are pretty nasty as a culture. Now that we have other disasters on which to focus our attention, (the Tsunami, the Gulf Hurricane, the Floods in the East U.S., the earthquake in Asia, the war in Iraq, the fight against terror), we can focus less on beating each other up so much. We can become internationally violent and patriotically good. It takes a considerable threat to make us behave. While war, and/or international disasters may unite us they will not cure us…they will not bridge the void of spiritual emptiness.
Your emptiness can be filled with the spiritual poetry from your soul. However you choose to do that either by writing a poem, reading the Bible, hugging a tree, listening to the sound of the wind, smelling the fragrance of Mother Nature! Perhaps this poem will help you to discover your spirituality!
How To Be a Poet
Make a place to sit down. Sit down. Be quiet. You must depend upon affection, reading, knowledge, skill-more of each that you have - inspiration, work, growing older, patience, for patience joins time to eternity. Any readers who like your work, doubt their judgment. Breathe with unconditional breath the unconditioned air. Shun electric wire. Communicate slowly. Live a three-dimensional life; stay away from screens. Stay away from anything that obscures the place it is in. There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.
Accept what comes from silence. Make the best you can of it. Of the little words that come out of the silence, like prayers prayed back to the one who prays, make a poem that does not disturb the silence from which it came.
by Wendell Berry
Spiritual Perspectives
In Experiential Spirituality and Contemporary Gnosis (http://www.dianebrandon) Diane Brandon writes:
“And this emphasis on spirituality and consciousness reflects an acknowledgment that we are, in essence, spiritual beings – and beings of pure energy, as consciousness is a form of energy – even though we are “in the body.”
As Wayne Dyer says, “We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” This is a paraphrase of an idea first developed by Christian theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
As Deepak Chopra says, “…our bodies are contained within our consciousness, not our consciousness contained within our bodies.”
Lifestyle
The gnostic approach of experiential insight and revelation of truth may be closest to the New Age methodology of prayers and spirituality.
To be alive, in the truest sense of the word, means to be filled with life, to be able to receive whatever life brings—until it brings us nothing more. To live fully and freely means to welcome, without expectation, all sides of life: joy and suffering, peace and war, pleasure and pain, insight and ignorance, hope and disappointment, success and failure, clarity and confusion. Whatever noble aims we may have or necessary efforts we may make, this is the only real freedom—the freedom to say “yes” to what is, and to remember now and here the mystery and miracle of our aliveness, of the pure awareness that we are.
– Dennis Lewis
Bridging the Gap – …from ’emptiness to eternity… is to have some basic means for crossing the chasm of doubt and lack of belief. It is important to have the opportunity for greatness by becoming all that you are through enlightenment, conscious awareness, by giving your self to holiness. Religion is one thing and spiritual practice is another. Create an altar of hope, a sacred spot to place the nectar that you gathered from the honey tree of life. You can attain your own fullness by ‘basic practice’ through several channels. Among many there are four presented here. They are:
Reverence, Grace, Being Present and Forgiveness.
Reverence is the way of radical respect. It recognizes and honors the presence of the sacred in everything – our bodies, other people, animals, plants, rocks, the earth, and the waters. It is even an appropriate attitude to bring to our things, since they are the co-creations of humans and the Creator.
Nothing is too trivial or second class for reverence. But it has to be demonstrated with concrete actions. Don’t abuse your body – eat right, exercise, get enough rest. Don’t abuse the earth by being wasteful of its gifts. Protect the environment for your neighbors and future generations.
Reverence is also a kind of radical amazement, a deep feeling tinged with both mystery and wonder.Approaching the world with reverence, we are likely to experience its sister — awe. Allow yourself to be moved beyond words.
Why the spiritual practice of reverence may be for you.
There is one unmistakable message in the spiritual practice of reverence: because everything is touched by the sacred, everything has worth. This practice, then, builds self-esteem. Its opposite is irreverence, the “dissing” of the Creation. Examples aren’t hard to come by: pollution, wasteful consumption, cruelty to animals, exploitation of forests, overuse of the land. On a personal level, irreverence may manifest as ennui, a kind of world-weariness. Or it may take the form of a defiant disregard for the feelings of others and a reckless, devil-may-care, use of resources.
Grace is a gift of God. Because it comes to us at God’s initiative, there are some things we can’t do about grace. We can’t earn it. We can’t control it. We don’t have to deserve it.
If grace is out of your hands, so to speak, how do you engage in the spiritual practice of grace? Accept that you are accepted. Practice receiving. Receive objects, love, help. Notice when presents and presence come to you without your effort. Grace confounds certain very natural human tendencies. We want to believe we are in control. We assume there are specific moves we can take to ensure that we are rewarded. We expect God’s gifts to be doled out according to some recognizable plan.
But grace does not work that way. Instead, it teaches us to let go and let God. Not only are we not in charge, we don’t have to be. We just need to stay open to receiving the sacred. Receptivity, in turn, requires that we give up shame — those persistent feelings that we are unworthy, that we don’t deserve all that we have, that we’re not as good as people assume, that we’ve messed up, that our whole life is a mistake. Grace doesn’t listen to that litany. It isn’t based on a scorecard. Grace happens.
Why the spiritual practice of grace may be for you:
Grace confounds certain very natural human tendencies. We want to believe we are in control. We assume there are specific moves we can take to ensure that we are rewarded. We expect God’s gifts to be doled out according to some recognizable plan. But grace does not work that way. Instead, it teaches us to let go and let God. Not only are we not in charge, we don’t have to be. We just need to stay open to receiving the sacred.
Receptivity, in turn, requires that we give up shame — those persistent feelings that we are unworthy, that we don’t deserve all that we have, that we’re not as good as people assume, that we’ve messed up, that our whole life is a mistake. Grace doesn’t listen to that litany. It isn’t based on a scorecard. Grace happens.
Being present in the spiritual life always has a double meaning. There’s present, as in here, in attendance. And there’s present, as in now, a moment of time. What is the spiritual practice of being present? Being here now.
The world’s religions all recommend living in the moment with full awareness. Zen Buddhism especially is known for its emphasis on “nowness.” Hindu, Taoist, Jewish, Moslem, Christian, and other teachers urge us to make the most of every day as an opportunity that will not come to us again.
Also under the rubric of being present is the traditional spiritual exercise called practicing the presence of God. This means recognizing that God is here now moving through our everyday activities, no matter how trivial they might seem.
Why the spiritual practice of being present may be for you:
The contrasts to being present are living in the past and living in the future. We do the former when we hold on to regrets. We constantly review things that have already happened, trying to explain them in terms of our own or someone else’s actions. Often this kind of thinking leads to guilt or blaming.
We live in the future when we make assumptions or fantasize about what could happen and then become attached to those expected outcomes. This habit usually results in disappointment. Whether we are consumed with positive expectations (optimism) or negative projections (pessimism), we are not living in the moment.
When you find yourself constantly reacting to your experiences in one of these ways, when you always want to be otherwise and elsewhere, it is time to be present. The companion of this practice is contentment.
Forgiveness there are three kinds of forgiveness, all interrelated. There is self-forgiveness, which enables us to release our guilt and perfectionism. There is the forgiveness we extend to others and receive from them, intimates and enemies alike. And there is the forgiveness of God that assures us of our worth and strengthens us for this practice.
All the spiritual traditions raise up the value of forgiveness, but many people still find it to be a nearly impossible ideal. Just start somewhere. Look truthfully at one hurt you have not been able to forgive. Identify any associated feelings you might have, such as anger, denial, guilt, shame, or embarrassment. Imagine what it would be like to live without feeling this offense. Then let it go.
Other steps may be necessary for healing — a confession of your contribution to the conflict, making amends, changing behavior, a commitment to the community — but giving up your claims for, and sometimes against, yourself is where you have to begin.
Why the spiritual practice of forgiveness may be for you:
We all know the obvious symptoms that could be relieved by forgiveness — feeling so wounded that we want revenge, constant brooding over a long list of petty grievances, feeling so guilty we don’t know how to approach someone we have offended, worry that the hurt could happen again. Bitterness and stubbornness can also be signs that forgiveness is called for, especially when these attitudes are associated with a need to be recognized as the one who is right.
In contrast to these limiting behaviors, which usually erect walls between ourselves and others, forgiveness is freeing. It means that we can move out of our previous position and move on with our lives. Best of all, it enables us to be reconciled with our neighbors and with God so that once again we feel part of the greater community of the spiritual life.
There are others: faith, hope, joy, love, peace, play, unity, vision, kindness, silence, yearning…find the one or more that fits and features your desire for coming into your consciousness so that you CAN BE ALL of who you are, WHERE-EVER you go, AT ANY POINT in time.
Six dimensions of faith and practice are identified by Richard J. Foster, author of Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home. These are described as being at the core of the Christian tradition: contemplative, holiness, charismatic, social justice, evangelical, and incarnational. They all grow out of Jesus’ ministry — his prayer and intimacy, purity of heart, life in the Spirit, advocacy of justice and shalom, proclamation of the evangel, and sacrament of the present moment.
Contemplative tradition or the prayer-filled life, for example, is organized around various profiles: Anthony of the Desert as the historical example, John the Beloved as the biblical expression of the movement, and Frank C. Laubach as the contemporary figure. Foster then outlines ways in which the contemplative tradition has enriched the Christian path. He also lists its potential perils. The chapter concludes with suggestions for practicing the contemplative tradition.
Foster’s eagle-eye overview of Christian history vividly conveys its variety and its colorful characters including Dietrich Bonhoeffer (holiness tradition), John Woolman (social justice tradition), Billy Graham (evangelical tradition), and Dag Hammarskjold (incarnational tradition). At the end of the book, the author presents an additional 200 notable figures and significant movements in church history.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
– Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart encompass our infinite thanks for these bountiful gifts; we thank you God for the condiments of life. (adapted from a prayer by Dr. Paul Maier, ordained minister, professor of antiquity and consultant to Public Television and the Discovery Channel).
It has been said that religion is a personal set, or institutionalized system of attitudes, beliefs, and practices, or the dogma of a religious body. “Spirituality” is the way you live that belief. It is from the Late Latin referring to “of breathing.” It is concerned with sacred matters and related values.
Blessings to you in your search for “spirituality.” That word, blessings, is so powerful. It evokes an image of a pastor from an earlier period who almost always ‘blessed his parishoners’ at the close of service with the familiar words from the Book of Numbers, Chapter 6: verses 24-26),
“May the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord’s face shine upon you and be gracious unto you, may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”
A blessing is a hopeful prayer. A blessing was one way of asking for God’s divine favor to rest upon others. The ancient blessing in these verses helps us understand what a blessing was supposed to do. Its five parts conveyed hope that God would (1) bless and keep them (favor and protect); (2) make his face shine upon you (be pleased); (3) be gracious (merciful and compassionate); (4) turn his face toward them (give his approval); and (5) give peace (calm the spirit). When you sign your name on a letter with the word “blessings,” the implication is that you are invoking (asking for) God’s assistance in bestowing these ‘gifts’ on the person to whom you are sending the letter.
In essence, the ‘act’ of offering this ‘blessing’ to others (or to yourself, for that matter), is, in effect, asking Him to do these five things. The blessing you offer will not only help the one receiving it, it will also demonstrate love, and encourage and provide a model of caring to others. Conveying ‘hope’ that God would act simply by your appending one word to a document is no small thing, and is, in fact, a very great gift to offer in any event, and for whatever reason.
Blessings,
T. F. “Pepper” Link, Ph.D.
Dr. Link is the President Live S.M.A.R.T., L.L.C., Live S.M.A.R.T., L.L.C. – A health care organization dedicated to excellence in research, psycho-education, and behavioral medicine. This business owns and operates “Pepper Press Publications,” which publishes both the “Pepper-Gram” and “The Connecting Link.” These publications are designed to offer messages of insight and education with the goal of improving your mental health.
References:
- “How To Be a Poet” by Wendell Berry from Given: New Poems. © Shoemaker Hoard, Washington, D.C. Reprinted with permission.
- The Soul/Body Connection www-spiritualityhealth-news/com/ad/click
- Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Foster, R.J.
- Dyer, Wayne, The Power of Intention, OPB, 2005
- The Alchemist, A Newsletter, Hodkins, Evan, Director
- Lewis, C.S. English 65, Fantasy, Brown University, 2004 Victorian Web.org/courses.
