I woke up feeling good today

   I woke up just the opposite yesterday

      Nothing had changed

      But somehow everything had changed

No matter what I do this seems to be my life

   How I wake up is out of my control

“Oh really” I hear my inner voice say

   Isn’t it true that I am out of control

      “Yes” the voice inside of me says

So what is this oh really

   “You are not in control

      But you are in charge” the voice says

Semantics I say

   It is just semantics

But the voice says “oh no more than that”

   How so I ask

“You cannot control the outer world

   But you are in charge of how it will affect you inwardly”

      So says that still small voice

Say more I plea

   “No one can control what others may or may not do

   No one control an accident

   No one can control what a government does

   No one can control an economy out of whack

      But we are in charge of how we respond”

By George I think I get it  

   It maybe raining tomorrow when I have a picnic planned

      But the sun is still shining inside of me

I can wake up tomorrow and handle whatever comes my way

   Because it can’t get inside of me

      Unless I invite it in

“Being in charge sounds Godly” the voice whispers

Dear Spiritual Companion,

I have a number of devotional materials that I read little bits of everyday.  This is one of my spiritual disciplines and it works for me.  Today I was reminded of the difference between punishment and love.  When we think of God, by whatever Name we might call God, what is our first thought?  A God who punishes or a God who Loves?  What we are really talking about is do we know a god we created or a God who Created us?  One of the reasons I spend so much time with God is so I don’t create a god in my image, but rather let God continue to create me in God’s Image.  As Anne Lamott said, “If your God hates the same people you do it means this can’t truly be God.”  I may want my god to be a hit man, but I truly need a God who loves me and especially the ones I hate.

Where did the notion of a God as a punisher come from?  It is quite apparent it came from the writers of the Holy Books of many religions.  The problem we have with this is we are told they were divinely inspired when they wrote about God as a vengeful, angry being.  The truth is the authors were divinely inspired when they wrote the words that created such a God, but their humanness got in the way of who God really is.  Like everyone today they were a part of God, but were not God.  This means they like us are limited by our human viewpoint.  No one sees clearly, but only partially.  Our desire for seeing God in a certain way oversees God’s desire to be seen as God is.  No matter how holy a person sounds or how high a pedestal we place them upon, we need to check out with God whether their words or actions ring true with who God is.  If we dare to believe what I have written and are responsible for our own relationship with God then we can begin to see God a bit more clearly.

If you are still with me then we can ask the real question, Can a God of Love be a punisher?  If god is a parent like us then of course god must punish.  How else would god be able to control us and get us to be good?  Three crucial points.  First we project onto God our notion of the identity of a  parent .  If we need to control our children or have them turn out good then sometimes we are forced to resort to some kind of punishment.  We are not better than god so god must do the same thing.  After all this is what we have been taught during our lifetime and for hundreds of years.  It must be true!  But just for the sake of argument what if this is wrong?  What if God isn’t like us, but rather we are like God?  This leads us to the next two crucial points about being in control and being good.  My discovery of life is the older I get the less control I have.  Maybe this is because I am getting closer to death where I have no control.  Along with that idea comes the thought that I don’t have to be good to get into heaven or nirvana, at least if god isn’t a punisher.  If God is love then Hell, the ultimate punishment, becomes none existent.  No need to punish people by taking away one’s love.  Now I can see that if I am created in God’s Image I am already good.  I don’t need to work at being good, I just need to accept that I am goodness.  I don’t have to stop doing something, but rather start accepting my identity found in God’s Love.  Interesting thought isn’t it?

Anxiety and unease goes with the thought of punishment.  Peace and harmony goes with the truth of Love.  The battle is over, Love has won and we are free.  Why don’t we hear more of this?  Well because it would put a lot of people out of the religious business and the foundation of who we were would be in jeopardy.  This gives credibility to why the outstanding spiritual folks of different religions were killed.  You can’t have people going around talking about love without any punishment to back it up.  Love isn’t enough by itself.  We humans need more than just Love to keep us in line.  My question becomes WHY?  If we dare to ask that question we might find ourselves on a whole new spiritual path, one that leads to the Big G God rather than today’s little g god we created out of fear.

As you can probably tell I do not believe in a God who punishes.  When we make our transition God will be waiting with the everlasting arms of Love to carry us Home.  The question I will be asked is not why didn’t I do this or that or why did I do this or that?  No the question we will be asked is, “Did you enjoy your life?”  Sounds like a Lover to me.

Peace,

Gary

Dear Friends,

I recently did a retreat on Spiritual Disciplines.  I discussed how those disciplines keep us in the present moment.  Try to stay in this moment and I can assure you it isn’t as easy as it sounds.  The past or future crash in and take us out of this moment.  In my quiet time this morning the idea of this letter came to my spirit.  If we are to move into this moment we need to take something with us – God!  If we do this then we will not only be able to live fully in this moment, but we will also be able to move confidently into the future.

What is it about God which we bring with us?  Love certainly.  The stories from the Bible or any Holy Book describing God will also be with us.  What about peace?  Now there is a word you can chew on.  Is peace the absence of conflict?  I don’t think so.  The power of peace is the sense of well being which occurs in the midst of conflict, problems or whatever usually upsets us.  Is it any wonder Jesus said, “Peace I bring to you, my peace, but not as the world does.”  Jesus’ kind of peace comes from having lived all those moments in the now when our world was crumbling, yet we knew everything was working for good.  Whatever is happening in our lives now can no longer distract us from the truth – God being present.  How can anything defeat us?  With this kind of peace we can smile.  That is a simple act which defeats any challenge we face.  The next time you are finding life drag you down smile.  Then smile with a friend or even someone you don’t know.  It may feel like you are getting away with something and you are.  You are getting away with no longer being dragged down by the events of life.  You will find yourself being lifted up be a God who is greater than anything, any event or challenge of this life.

Now if you want to take the ultimate step use all of this information as you face the future.  How about a life where there is no need to worry about what is going to happen?  This is called moving confidently into the future.  When the problems of life do raise their heads their power has been diffused.  Illness, money concerns, potential problems fade in the Peace of God.  The world can give us techniques to stay well, but sometimes they don’t work.  If we win the lottery money concerns will grow even greater.  The endless challenges of life will eventually wear us out.  But there is something we can always depend on – God!  Confidence in the future with God not only adds peace to that time, but also to the present moment.  Wow what a God!

Peace,

Gary

An apple a day keeps the Dr away

   This saying has been proved false

Oh my what can we do

   Replace it with a true statement

      OK

Focus on one blessing a day

   Keeps a negative thought away

      That’s better

But there are so many blessings a day

   How can we choose just one

Oh my what can we do

   Choose more than one

      OK

Focus on more than one blessing a day

   Changes our whole outlook on life

      That’s much better 

This can become habit forming

   Which changes the habit of focusing on the negative to the positive

      Now our lives will be transformed

Change leads to transformation

   Transformation is not just for one day like change is

      No transformation is for a life time

The enlightened spiritual folk didn’t come to change things

   No they came to transform them

What path will we choose

   We may find we don’t need an apple to chase the Dr away

Dear Friends,

As we enter the month of September one of the thoughts which come to my mind is the celebration of Labor Day.  The work we do is so important, but how do we define work?  Do we have to be paid for our labor?  If so that quickly restricts our definition of work.  Does what we do have to have value?  If so what is and is not valuable work lifts its head.  Do we have to do something to be considered working?  If so then things like prayer and simply being lose their meaning.  All of this is to say we need to expand our definition of work is we are linking into God’s definition of work.  As is so often the case God’s ideas are different than ours.

Sometimes we put all kinds of effort into some kind of work and it doesn’t turn out successful.  If we define ourselves by the work we do then the next step is to realize we are not successful at what we are doing.  That is true by the world’s standards, but necessarily God’s.  This becomes a tricky business doesn’t it?  Was Jesus a success?  Not if you look at how many people were present at the Cross.  The world and religious community would say he was an utter failure.  When you return to the story three days later God is saying something else.  This also applies to other spiritual leaders.  Buddha sat under a tree for a long time waiting for enlightenment. Would the world say he was using His time wisely by sitting under that tree for all those years?  Probably not, but God used that time to reveal something to a number of Buddha’s followers.  Like the faithful who have gone before us, how do we find out what God’s ideas are for us?

Through the work of prayer and listening becomes our answer.  Sorry world, but this entails the work of doing nothing.  Talk to most people and they won’t find much value in that occupation of our time.  How often people reflect on what a waste it is for the worldwide monks of different religions to waste their time praying and chanting.  But in God’s Realm they may be the very ones who are holding everything together in this crazy world.  How can this be you ask?  Because they are praying and listening to God so the rest of us might be able to hear over the din of this noisy world encouraging us to waste our time with the useless doing someone else thinks is right for us.  If we are all One spiritually then what they do does matter to us.  Life becomes so much easier when we are simply following the direction our spirit is lifting up to us in our quiet prayer time.  The outer world and our outer world still has its problems, but like the fish who go deeper into the water when there are storms above the water, so we do the same by being quiet.  Will those worldly issues matter when our life comes to an end?

This brings us back to reflecting on our own labors.  God places tasks before each of us. Some fit the general interpretation of getting paid for what we do, some do not.  Some things go as we plan for them, some do not.  Obviously we rejoice when everything goes smoothly, but the longer I live the more life doesn’t work out the way I planned.  My mind goes back to a Man called Jesus who spent three years teaching, preaching and healing only to be rejected, scorned and forgotten by those He trusted most.  Were His labors in vain?  Was God leaving Him abandoned?  Well we know the rest of the story – Resurrection!  This is what happens to us when we labor and things don’t work out.  Like Jesus we may not see the end of the story, but there is always an ending filled with God’s Love which is Success.  As you celebrate Labor Day, I invite you to reflect on your own labors done in the Name of God.

Peace

Gary

Dear Spiritual Companions,

I was reflecting on what I would be writing this week while I was having my weekly conversation with my oldest daughter.  She told me about her nephew who at age 7 said these words, “Sara how can I shut off my thoughts?  Even when I am thinking about nothing I am thinking about something!”  This child has to be an old soul, someone who has been here many times before.  His words are profound and lead us deeper into the journey of life.

No matter what World Religion you study there is always a Creation Story.  It seems we humans need to be assured God has made everything.  Being a Christian my knowledge of God creating my world is found in the first chapter of the book of Genesis.  “In the beginning God created…….”  Before there was anything there was God – so goes the story.  Out of Nothing – No Thing God creates Some Thing !  I put an exclamation point there for emphasis.  Have you ever tried to make something out of nothing?  This is what I do when I write my prose or poems, but in a limited way.  I have something to work with – the words and thoughts that are already there.  The thing that is different with God is God started with Nothing.  God created the molecules, atoms and smallest particles out of No Thing.  In fact, if you discuss this with a scientist they will tell you that when we take atoms or molecules down to their smallest particles there is actually nothing there but space.  So our world is made up of No Thing.

It has fascinated me how religious folk can be threatened by the scientific community.  The only threat comes if we want others to think the way we do, which means fundamentally.  Did God create the Earth in seven days?  Yes if you take the Christian Creation Story literally.  The scientists have proven the earth was actually created in billions of years.  There is the fundamental difference, 7 days versus billions of years.  BUT if we look deeper into what the story is about, God creating our world, then it doesn’t matter how long it took. Now we can embrace the Mystery of God creating Some Thing out of No Thing.  So many people want to take the mystery out of life and replace it with God created everything in seven days and one of those was a day of rest!  How sad and limiting of Life.

Now back to what that old soul said, “Even when I am thinking of nothing I am thinking of something.”  That, of course is true of all of us.  When I am in prayer and my thoughts have slowed down to a trickle I stand on tip toe watching God create Some Thing out of my No Thing thoughts. God’s Thoughts suddenly and mystically become my thoughts.  My nothing becomes God’s Some Thing.  I now see life in new ways.  What used to be so important, what the world is selling – fear, war, violence, achievement, being right, control and on and on becomes what it truly is – an illusion.  There is nothing there of value.  It will all go away one day at death to be replaced with God’s Some Thing.  When we shut off our minds of illusion we find God’s Mind of Enlightenment.  God’s Light shines into our darkness and we are shown how God is making Some Thing very profound out of our nothing physical life.  This time and place, this journey of a physical lifetime is here to remind us that we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience.  This then tells us God is using our physical lives to teach us about the Creation out of our no thing life the Some Thing which adds to the depth of our eternal adventure of our Soul.

Like the 7 year old we just need to realize that when we shut down our no thing minds we discover that now God’s Some Thing Mind reveals Itself.

Peace

Gary

Dear Friends,

There is a growing spirit of joy which is filling my heart.  Just about the time I believe life couldn’t get any better it does.  Sometimes I think my relationship with God couldn’t get any better – WRONG!  God continues to tell me in my thoughts that I am and always will be loved.  I have a very precious relationship with my wife Karen.  We recently celebrated our 43 wedding anniversary.  God has filled us with a rich and abiding love for each other.  It has been a gift, but one which we have had to work toward faithfully.  On top of that I have been blessed with two incredible daughters.  Being a child of the 60′s I have felt that the revolution, or any change in the world, will begin in the family.  Next to Karen my daughters have filled my heart with richness.  They have been open to the gift they are and have worked diligently to flesh God’s Love out in their lives.

I celebrated the 32 anniversary of my Ordination this past May.  Little did I know what God had in store for me.  There have been many highs and lows along the way.  That is the way it is when you live in community and share life with others.  I know I did what I was called to do.  It feels so right inside when one is blessed with this kind of inner knowing.  Now that I am retired I am ready to take on the next tasks God is placing before me.  This web site with its various writings is the first thing.  I am now ready to send some of those reflections and poems to various devotional magazines.  I also am about to embark on the writing of my next book.  This one will be of prose rather than my first book of poetry.  The second calling of retirement is to continue to offer spiritual direction to individuals interested in deepening their relationship with God.  Last I am now working as a consultant and public relations person for CRC Trucking Company’s’ “Pay It Forward” program.  We offer to the challenged schools in the New Orleans area an opportunity to grow with the surrounding community.  Yes just about the time you think God couldn’t bless you any more it happens – God says “Oh yes I can!”

Earlier in my life I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop.  For the good times to not just slow down, but to also stop.  Isn’t that the prevailing mood of this day and age?  When is the goodness going to end?  When is the next terrorist attack going to occur?  When will the economy fall apart again?  And on and on!  Now I am not a Pollyanna person.  I know life is not always successful or good, at least as the world describes it.  Many proclaim a God who blesses you with bounty or good times.  That is correct, but only as it pertains to what is happening inside our spirit.  On a rainy outer day God provides a Son who walks with us or for us.  When life falls apart God says I am greater then those problems or even life itself.  I am Life Eternal.  When the other shoe drops and it often does, God’s inner shoe of Love will drop too stomping out our fears.  After we have grieved the outer pains and trials of life, we find a God bringing a Son to Shine into our hearts.

There is an expression that says, “Attitude Is Everything.”  How true.  When our outer glass of life is half empty our inner glass of spirit is not only half full, but also totally full with the Unconditional Love and Acceptance from God.  It is up to us to believe it.

Peace

Gary

How did we get to today

   Versus yesterday or tomorrow

I think the answer is found in one word

   Attention

What are we paying attention to in this moment

   Provides the revelation of where we are

Worries or thoughts of tomorrow lead us

   To something that doesn’t exist

   Or maybe worse won’t exist in the future we create 

Regrets or thoughts of yesterday lead us

   Again to something that no longer exists

   Or maybe worse drags us down into the pit of lost opportunity

Why does attention to this moment cause us to leave it for the future or past

   When in truth this is the only moment we have to live

Could it be

   Fear or concern of living this moment

      With what it has to offer

We’d rather be distracted by what doesn’t exist

   Tomorrow or yesterday

      With its illusion of control

Only as we take a deep breath of this moment

   Will we find what truly takes our breath away

      Paying attention to the Now

Dear Spiritual Companions,

I read these words by Father Richard Rohr this morning, “How you do anything is how you do everything.”  Rohr is a great Wisdom figure of our day.  Individuals who speak with the gift of Wisdom say things that reach right into our hearts.  What they say is meant to be pondered in the deepest recesses of our minds.  It is intended to percolate so our rational mind can interact with our mystical spirit.  This allows our human adventure to embrace the eternal presence of God.  Here is what Rohr’s words mean to me.  I relate my ideas not to have you think like I do – How boring? – but rather to spur your thinking.

Every day when I come to the end of my morning walk I stop into the Shell Convenience Store for my morning coffee.  They pay minimum wage to the clerks so they come and go quite frequently.  I try to reach out to them as quickly as possible.  Another new clerk started recently and so when I paid for my coffee I gave her my smile, some kind words and told her I would see her the next day.  After a couple of days of responding to her question, “How are you today?’ and my usual response of, “Great because I am here with a person like yourself” we began to bond.  Today when I went in and handed her my coffee card to be signed so I would eventually get a free cup, she checked three spots instead of the usual one.  I was deeply touched.  It wasn’t a big thing she did, but it spoke of a kind gesture on her part to me.  We connected spirit to spirit.  Could it be the little things we do make a difference?  I wonder.

We often are caught up in the big things in life aren’t we?  What is my talent we ask ourselves?  As we look for it in the big things we do, how many times do we miss it in the anything we do?  So much of life is the little things isn’t it?  How we greet our mate or partner first thing in the morning.  How we rise up out of bed saying, “Oh no another day or wow another day to live!”  Whether we look someone in the eye when we say hello or just pass them by without a word.  The funniest thing about how we do anything is mostly about who we are.  Others may not even notice us but all those anything’s result in a life time of everything.  What we bring to this life in attitude ends up becoming the life we live.  We see it over and over again.  The same thing can happen to two people, but with radical differences.  Two people grow up in the same miserable family system and one comes out smiling and rejoicing in life while the other spends their life time bemoaning how this could happen to them.  The littlest anything we do is found in the way we see life unfolding for us.

This life is a gift.  Everything in it is meant for our good, even the bad!  When do we learn the most, good times or bad?  I have discovered it is in the bad.  Don’t get me wrong, I love when my life is going along smoothly.  It is delight when my sports team wins or I have a success.  But when I encounter a defeat, illness or problem this is when life opens at my feet.  I need to be willing to embrace the unfairness of what is happening with another or the pain of my illness.  Now I see the more found in the supposed bad of life.  I am not defeated by it, but rather strengthened when I face the supposed negative times.  Suffering comes not from facing the pain, but from running away from it.  It’s true, how I do anything is how I do everything.  My life can be full of various defeats, but the victory is found in growing through them and finding the gift in them.  I can enjoy my life or suffer through it.  The choice is up to me and I believe the same is true for you.  The answer will be found in how we do anything today which will result in a lifetime of everything we do.

Watch out someone may punch your coffee card more than once because of a little thing you did.

Peace,

Gary

The moon

   One of God’s Heavenly Bodies

      Interacting with our world

Waxing and waning

   Growing and lessening

      Creating waves on the Ocean of Life

Half the time being seen

   The other half hiding

      Just like our prayer time

We can believe because we see it

   We can believe even if we don’t

      Either way it doesn’t change the fact it is there

         Just like God’s Love

If there are no clouds it adds light to our darkness

   Sometimes it plays peek a boo

      Other times it totally hides from view

         Could it be our sight is clouded

The moon is a metaphor for our lives

   Personal or spiritual

      It makes no difference

         It speaks to us in a silent walk of looking up into the heavens

How does God reveal the Heavenly Spiritual Moon

   To the times of darkness in our lives