Mother as Refuge

You follow the footprints of the Beloved across manifold spiritual landscapes.  You catch the same ancient, spicy aroma of love in Judaism that you have tasted in Islam. Your attraction to the lush sensuality of Hinduism does not in any way preclude the way you rest in the intellectual purity of Buddhism. Contemplating the Tao Te Ching strengthens what the Hopi elders have taught you: that the Earth is alive, that she is your Mother, that she is the love of your life.

From Wild Mercy, Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics by Mirabai Starr 

A Prayer for Mothers Day

I open myself to the Source of all creation.  It is both mother and father and all that is seen and unseen.  It created me out of Its perfection and it only knows my wholeness. As I open my spiritual eyes I recall that place within that knows this like I know my own name and I take refuge.  I am safe, I am loved, I am home.

As I raise my awareness to this essential reality in my life, my mind and my heart open as my vision clears and I look upon the world as the mother.  I chose to love myself, I chose to love what I label “other”.  Like the preverbal mother, I see all creation as the child.  Sometimes it behaves in ways I approve and promote and sometimes in ways I can’t fathom, but it is still the child, the creation of the One and I chose love, no exceptions.  And it is the power of this love that heals and reveals a greater good, a clearer understanding and a pathway to what is mine to do to be this powerful love in action.

While my thoughts and emotions may wander in the din of a world crying out for love, I come home again and again to this eternal truth that we are One in the heart of the Mother of creation and that she is calling us home to Her love to remember the power and presence that we are made of.

I take refuge in the Mother, I take refuge in prayer, I take refuge in Love.  I am one with the love of my life.

I am blessed beyond measure and with a grateful heart I let this be.

and so it is, amen, ashe, blessed be

Watching My Mind Move From Fear to Love

I recently read an article about Global Warming that claimed the planet would experience total devastation by the year 2100.

I watched my mind move from Fear to Love.

Fear did a quick calculation and said, "Oh, I'll be ok; I won't be around by then."

Then Love spoke and said "But what about those you leave behind?"

Fear keeps us small under the guise of protecting us, but it has no real power.  It is only Love that has true power to create change in our lives.

From A Course in Love:

Love is the name you give to much you fear,  You think that it is possible to choose it as a means to buy your safety and security.  You thus have defined love was a reaction to fear.  This is why you can understand love as fear's opposite. This is true enough. But because you have not properly recognized fear as nothing, you have not properly recognized love as everything.

My invitation to you this week is to watch your mind and listen to how it responds to things.  The voice of Fear will be loud and seem to provide logical solutions.  The voice of Love will be more subtle and will remind you of who you truly want to be in this world.

Happy Harvesting!

Knowing Oneness in Our Diversity

Guest blog post from my colleague Rev, Johanna Janssen

Oneness

by Lillian Dewaters

Nature, I am one 
 with Thee--
 Oh, what joy 
 this brings to me;
 'Tis thy substance, pure, divine,
 This individual life of mine.
 No need of sickness,
 lack or fear,
 Thyself is all
 there can be here;
 Thou in me and I in Thee,
 Life of wondrous
 unity.

 Nature, I am one with Thee— Blessed Truth which freeth me;
 All past mystery melts away,
 And now dawns the perfect day
 When plain Truth
 we can discern
 And all longing hearts can learn.
 No other fact,
 then, can there be,—
Thou art All and ALL
 is Thee.


As Black History month draws to a close and Women’s History month beings, I remember with Lillian that there is truly only One…  One Spirit, One Divine Higher Power, One God.  It is all that everyone and everything is, everywhere, always - infinitely so.  It expresses well beyond what I perceive with my senses, and yet at the same time, all of it (like a hologram) is present in even the smallest string particles AND in the 99.9% of space between them…  Indeed It is all.  It expresses in and through and as me, and all of creation and beyond.  Infinite in Its Diversity AND One.  As this is Truth for me, this Truth holds for each of us reading this SMT; for all of us, everywhere.  As I speak these words for myself, I speak them for all because we are one.

So today, as I go about my life I practice the Presence, I practice witnessing my self in relation to all.  When I feel pulled to judgment, I remember that I am that which thou art, and thou art that which I am, and see the ‘other’ as me, recognizing in judging another, I judge myself.  This goes for any action, circumstance, and event too; regardless whether I like it or not!  In realizing this, I am able to gently transmutate the judgment into unconditional acceptance of the oneness that I am, that all is.  While still possibly disagreeing, I am able to allow the expression as God.  And if I still feel called to action in response to a situation, a person, a statement, an event - I now act from the experienced oneness. Maybe I’ll ask for clarification, maybe I simply remain in the tragic gap - fully present to the thoughts, feelings, emotions of disharmony I am experiencing, and still fully present to the person or situation.  Whatever my action may be (including inaction), I know it is from our Oneness rather than from our separateness - and that makes all the difference!

Then I rest and let God do the rest…  Knowing the ‘how’ is not up to me, in this moment I open myself to Divine Guidance, and fully willing to be changed at depth and to take action when called, I surrender into the Oneness.  With thanksgiving I simply let it all go.  I let it be so.  Thou art all and all is thee.   

And so it is.

Becoming an Interdependent Human-Doing

How do we cultivate a sense of Oneness while navigating our differences?  We look for our common values.  We begin to understand our interdependence in the world.

Wait- what does this have to do with Spirituality in Action and Finding your Voice?  

My friends it has everything to do with it.  

Spiritual activism requires that we develop the consciousness or the understanding as the Dalai Lama speaks to it, to see our brothers & sisters as ourself.  When we cultivate an understanding and compassion for one another then we can take action while being grounded in the power of Love.

When we take action from fear, the results are temporary.  When we take action from love, the results are more sustainable.

Fear works to mitigate something external, and Love works to bring forward something eternal that comes from our true nature as spiritual beings having our human experience.

Fear separates and love unites.  Fear destroys, love creates.

We must face our fears or risk being driven by them.

"A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."                                                                  Albert Einstein

This optical illusion of separation causes us to act from fear which is a child of a belief in separateness.  My invitation is to choose to act from love - its children are compassion and kindness and its family is Oneness.

We are so interdependent and yet we live from this idea that independence is the goal.  

We come into this world completely dependent on other human beings for our survival, in fact, humans are one of the few mammals that require a long period of parenting to survive.  Despite this fact that we need others to thrive, our culture has created a greater value of independence than interdependence.  Independence is prized and interdependence is generally seen as a weakness.  

Interdependence is our super power… we need each, and we thrive when we realize this and work together toward our common good. 

Suffering is real, change is necessary but discernment is vital.  Perspective is necessary.  It helps us to break through our delusion of separateness and see our Oneness.

There are real issues facing the world today…  Our society continues to value separation.  It’s up to us to change the tide.  We do that first in consciousness and then in action.

“Many times a day I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men [and women], both living and dead.”   

                                                                                                              Albert Einstein

The Dalai Lama speaks to this as well when he shares the exercise of each time you sit down to a meal, take a moment to appreciate all the people involved in bringing this food to your table.  Even the dishes you eat off of are part of this web of livingness that aided in you having what seems like a simple and independent action of making and having a meal.

This week my invitation is to raise your awareness to all the many hands that go into all that you eat and wear and drive and live in.  Cultivate a genuine appreciation for all the "human-doings" that went into supporting this life you are living.

Happy Harvesting!

Seeking Our Common Good

The longing in our heart is the language of the One Love that lives within. It speaks to us in another tongue trying to remind us about that which we seek, we already are, we just haven't realized yet.

There is a common good, common to all, and we discover it when we allow ourselves to recognize our connection to one another. 

In his book, Beyond Religion, Ethics for a Whole World, His Holiness the Dalai Lama talks about secular ethics which he defines as the values that serve the greater good or ethics that are both inclusive and beyond religious beliefs.  

“Secularism is to imply mutual tolerance and respect for all faiths as well as for those of no faith tradition.”  HH Dalai Lama

His Holiness goes on to suggest that there that there are basically two world views.  

"To put the matter at is simplest, there are some who believe, at one end of the spectrum, that we are by nature fundamentally violent, aggressive, and competitive; while others, at the other end take the view that we are predominately disposed toward gentleness and love."

Of course there is a lot of wiggle room between these two perspectives.  I'd like to think that humanity is at its core good and that perhaps at one end of this continuum are individuals whose needs are great and not met.  Perhaps the aggressiveness we experience in others is a response to the world around them that is not meeting their needs.  And at the other end of the spectrum are individuals whose needs are met and find it easier to draw on their internal nature of 'gentleness and love'.  That both world views are just two sides of the same coin, so to speak.  One draws from external circumstances and the other, from internal experience.

It’s pretty easy to be spiritual when our basic needs of safety, satisfaction and connection are met.  Not so easy when we are in an experience that threatens those needs.

So our practice is to come down from the mountain top and learn how to walk out this philosophy in the world.  It's the art of being in the world AND of it. 

Seeking our common good requires that I acknowledge and embrace my humanity so that I can see my sister/brothers humanity; and once we remember that we belong to each other, together we can rise up and connect through our common values.

So here is something to contemplate for this week:

• What part of your own humanity are you resisting or struggling with?  
• Is it possible that this resistance is holding you back?  
• Who would you be if you loved what you are struggling with, what is your challenge trying to tell you?

Happy Harvesting!

Oneness and the Power of Kindness

February's theme is Oneness.

It's a big idea.  Oneness isn't something you can point to or easily see because we are immersed in it.  Probably the best synonym for what Centers for Spiritual Living means by Oneness is Panentheism.  The belief that Spirit is greater than the universe itself and includes and saturates all life.

I love this quote from Ernest Holmes, author and founder of the Science of Mind philosophy and Centers for Spiritual Living:

"We are in the Water of Infinite Life as the fish is in the ocean.  The Spirit of Life is all around us. It flows through us. It permeates everything and flows through every condition. And yet we are still looking for it."

So how does one experience Oneness?

I think it's sort of like the wind, we can't see the wind but we can see the effect of it.  We see the leaves blowing in the wind or a flag waving in the wind, but we don't actually see wind itself.

I'd like to think Kindness is like that.  One of the many effects of Oneness.  We extend ourselves to others in kindness as a way of connecting, caring for and having compassion for one another.

I tripped across this lovely story (from Elizabeth Gilbert) about kindness recently that I'd like to share with you.  It demonstrates the power of a kind act that reminds us that we are all in this together.

Some years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who were deeply irritated—with one another; with the rainy, sleety weather; with the world itself. Two men barked at each other about a shove that might or might not have been intentional. A pregnant woman got on, and nobody offered her a seat. Rage was in the air; no mercy would be found here. 

But as the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver got on the intercom. "Folks," he said, "I know you've had a rough day and you're frustrated. I can't do anything about the weather or traffic, but here's what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don't take your problems home to your families tonight—just leave 'em with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I'll open the window and throw your troubles in the water. Sound good?" 

It was as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight. People who'd been pretending for the past hour not to notice each other's existence were suddenly grinning at each other like, is this guy serious? 

Oh, he was serious. 

At the next stop—just as promised—the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited. One by one, all the exiting commuters placed their hand just above his and mimed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. Some people laughed as they did this, some teared up—but everyone did it. The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at the next stop, too. And the next. All the way to the river.

As we explore this idea of Oneness this month, let it remind us that we are all in this together.  While we are all many and varied, we are also interconnected.  Oneness shows up in the effects of our actions in the world.  How will Oneness show up through you, what acts, words or deeds will you demonstrate as your part of the whole of humanity?

The reflection practice this week is to pay attention to how you show up in your little slice of life.  Consider how you can use kindness to be the peace, love, beauty or joy you want to see in the world.

Love,

Alice 

Don't Mistake Avoidance for Enlightenment

or Building a Life Grounded in Truth Part 2

This week we are considering how to use spiritual laws in our lives.

"We are in the world and of it and it is good that this is so".  

 Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind pg 56.2

Dr. Holmes goes on to say the world is ok when we view it correctly.  

I think it is easy to interpret "viewing it correctly" as choosing only to see what we individually label as good.  But when we do that, are we in the world and of it or are we trying to rise above it so that it doesn’t touch us? Honestly, only you can answer this question.  

Holmes is clear that “we will not refuse to help the helpless or lift up the fallen, but we will refuse to wallow in the mud because of our sympathies”.  This takes skill building.  

Do not think that just because you don’t experience something that it does not exist.  And please don’t mistake your avoidance for your enlightenment.  It takes the skills of self awareness and alignment to recognize which state we are in; and the two go hand in hand as we practice mindfully being present in the world and with each other.

Maybe correctly viewing the world's state of affairs or a friends challenges means that we acknowledge the situation, and then rather than immediately praying it away, we pause long enough to stand in love and see the human condition that now exists in the human experience so that we can walk through it and into a greater wholeness.

Reflection Practice

Consider what is grabbing your attention this week?  Can you mindfully be present with what comes up long enough to see what this situation is bringing up for you?  Take a few minutes to investigate your feelings.  Go beneath the feelings and allow your inner wisdom to guide you to what wants to be known by you, why is this situation or person grabbing your attention?  Journal or contemplate this and see what you discover about yourself?

Building a Life Grounded in Truth Part 1

Welcome!
I am dedicating this blog to Center For Spiritual Living’s 2019 theme Spirituality in Action

For January our topic is Grounded in Principle
There is a tradition at Centers for Spiritual Living where we review our principles during the month of January.  We intentionally come home to our basic ideas.  So far we have reviewed the first 3 chapters of the Science of Mind book by Dr. Ernest Holmes.

The Thing Itself - Absolute Cause - The Seed
The Way It Works - Absolute Law - The Soil
What It Does - Absolute Manifestation - The Plant

When we understand the creative process, how the Universe moves from consciousness to form, we can align ourselves with this process and learn to work with it. Ideas and thoughts are like seeds.  The universe needs us to decide what seeds we want to plant.  Universal principles or spiritual laws then accept these seeds as our ideas or thoughts that we are planting.  It (the Universe) is just the medium, like soil, for our ideas, our beleifs and our thoughts.  The ideas we nurture and cultivate become our reality, our experience... the plant.

As individuals that practice and integrate spiritual principles in our lives (can I call us spiritual live-ers?) we understand this powerful process.  Our words and thoughts are creative.

We know truth,
We speak truth and then
We experience truth.

Quote:
"The arrogant have not perceived the simplify of faith, but the pure in heart see God.  The farmer has seen the Heavenly Host in his fields.  The child has frolicked with It at play. The mother has clasped It to her breast and the fond lover has seen It in the eyes of her beloved.  We look too far away for Reality."    Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind

Affirmation:
There is a power for good in Universe greater than I am, and I say YES! to its' perfect expression through me!

Reflection Practice:
Consider what truth you want to experience today; what values do you want your reality to be reflective of?  What ideas and thoughts are you seeding to that end?

Spirituality in Action in 2019

Welcome!

This year Centers for Spirituality is focusing on Spirituality in Action.  Each month we'll look at a principle and how we can incorporate it into our lives and begin to walk it out into the larger community.

Here is the program for 2019

January    Grounded in Principle
     Book of the Month - Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes

February  Seeking the common good & Oneness
     Book of the Month - Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World
                                     by H.H. Dalai Lama
March       Choosing Integrity, being truthful in facts & motives
      Book of the Month - The Inward Journey by Dr. Howard Thurman

April         Promoting Diversity through unity and inclusion
      Book of the Month - Stained Glass Spirit by Tracy Brown

May          Demonstrating care for each other through Compassion
      Book of the Month - The I of the Storm by Dr. Gary Simmons

June          Protecting the vulnerable & Empowering each other
      Book of the Month - A New Republic of the Heart by Terry Patten

July          Advocating freedom of thought and Creativity
      Book of the Month - The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton & L. Hardin

Aug          Respecting other nations & peoples, being Grateful
      Book of the Month - The Gentle Art of Blessing by Pierre Pradervand

Sept          Ensuring good stewardship of creation through Love
      Book of the Month - Spiritual Ecology:The Cry of the Earth 
                                          by Llweellyn Vaughan-Lee
Oct           Cherishing the human family and our Unity
      Book of the Month - The Principle of Oneness by Russell Anthony Gibbs

Nov           Practicing moral Spiritual Leadership
      Book of the Month - The Tao of Leadership by John Heider

Dec           Celebrating all spiritual paths  
      Book of the Month - Thou Art That by Joseph Campbell

** Some books may change as we get closer to the monthly topic

Each week I'll post a brief summary of the ideas from the previous Sunday's talks and offer a reflection practice for you to consider.

Here's to a powerful year of taking these powerful principles into action.

Love,
Alice