Too busy

   Why

Interesting question

   Who said we had to be busy

      Was it you

      If not who

Is my worth wrapped up in my busyness

   If so how

Another interesting question

   Are the non busy people less worthy

      Who defines our worthiness or lack

How do I feel when I am doing nothing

   Guilty

      If so why and guilty about what

Who said doing nothing is worthless

   Probably someone who was extremely busy

      Or someone defined by their busyness

Maybe doing nothing is worth more than doing a lot

   Another interesting question

The month of December is built for busyness

   Could we dare to be less busy

      Just a question

Dear Spiritual Companions,

When is Grace not grace?  When there are strings attached.  We are in the season of stopping and saying thank you for the blessings in our lives.  As we do that I invite you to think about how many of those gifts you earned and how many were simply freely given.  In addition, I invite you to ponder which ones bring more of a smile to your spirit.  I enjoy reaping the harvest of my labors, but somehow the surprise of receiving something I haven’t earned means even more to me.  A sunrise over the Mississippi touches my heart.  An email from a good friend with another bad joke means so much.  A smile from the check out person or someone I pass along the street warms me.  A wonderful day filled with friends or family is truly Grace to me.  I have done absolutely nothing to receive those gifts and I don’t have to pay for them in any way.   I can just marvel at the wonder of life.

I recently attended a funeral service for a family member.  I was struck at how grace was hinted at, but there were strings attached.  The person was assured of now returning to God’s Love, BUT what about the rest of us.  Have we done the work of reconciliation with God for ungodly actions on our part?  Death was not looked upon as gift, but rather as a threat.  My spirit began to shrivel inside of me.  I began to revert back to being a child and my Mother catching me doing something I wasn’t supposed to be doing and hearing those scary words, “Wait until your Father gets home!”  I was in fear and trembling until he arrived home.  What would my punishment be?   I don’t remember what my Dad did, but I do remember the fear I felt!  As “The Course in Miracles” states the opposite of love is not hate it is fear.  When Grace is Grace there is only Love, when there are strings attached to grace there is only the Fear of what happens when I get home to God!

The other thing that bothered me with the Service was the fact that only those who were a part of that Church could come to the Table and receive Communion, and only those who were in good standing!  The rest of us could go and receive a blessing, but only if we  received it by holding our body in a certain way.  I cringed and did not go forward.  I honor someone else’s tradition, but I do not honor traditions that are built on strings attached.  There are rules to be followed, there is the institution that has to be saved at all costs, there is this God that has to followed in specific ways or you will not receive the ultimate reward – Heaven.  There isn’t the willingness to accept people as they are in their faith journey.  There isn’t the ability to assure individuals there is nothing wrong with them.  When we understand Grace we are not defined by what we do or not do, but rather by who we are made in God’s Image.  Jesus came to address these issues, not how often you attended church or whether you were worthy to receive God’s Love.  This is true of all the World Religious Leaders who came at a time when a particular culture had lost the message of Grace.  A Grace Full God chooses to reveal the Godly Nature not in one way but in endless ways.  We don’t have to fear what will happen to us if we are not a part of this religion or that one.  Grace tells us we are accepted no matter what we believe or how we worship.  Again there are no strings attached.

The grace less places see each of us as somehow being defective so the leaders or their creeds need to control our behavior.  They have replaced grace with themselves.  The Grace Full places are filled with the notion that there is nothing wrong with us, in fact if we think there is it is there calling to help us eliminate those lies.  What I have discovered in this human adventure is God’s Desire for us to come to the continued realization of who we are in God and the letting go of the mistaken identity we have of ourselves as being in some way bad.  We do not attain heaven, it is given to us.  What we do with Heaven will be up to us and God’s Helping Hand.  To be set free then is to come to realize how God truly works.  The ultimate human dilemma is the notion that there is something wrong with us.  No matter how hard we try we will never do it right so we are out of the god’s club.  It is a vicious life denying cycle of continuing to fall short of God’s Grace.  On the other hand, if Grace is real then not being able to attain our own goodness allows us to accept only God as Good.  This is not a condemnation it is a way out into Love.  We do not attain Love it is given to us.  We do not attain perfection it is already in us.  We are made in the Image of God and nothing will change this fact, no matter who says it isn’t true.

I walked out of that church liberated not by the Minister or having followed the rules.  I was liberated because I knew God Loved me no matter what!  That sounds like God in action to me and I don’t have to wait until I get Home to feel my Parent’s Unconditional Love.  That is Grace to me, how about you?

Peace

Gary

Full of thanks

   That is how I feel

Not because it is Thanksgiving

   But because life was made for being full of thanks

To have only one day to say thank you is sad

   24 hours is simply not enough time

      It takes a life time

Every moment is seen as gift

   Every person an invitation

      Every happening an adventure into the now

The greatest present to be thank full for is

   The present

It is the only place we truly live

   Full of wonder and awe

Every second is new

   Bursting with possibility

      To live life as never lived before

No wonder we are thank full

   Or full of thanks

Dear Spiritual Companions,

One of the real blessings in life is the individuals we meet along the way.  When I think of how God is able to open the door to placing certain people in my life at the right moment it takes my breath away.  When I married couples I would often say to them, “Did you ever think of how many individuals had to come together down through the ages, at just the right moment , so you two could find each other in this moment.  Your commitment to loving each other will have powerful consequences?”  Your marriage is not an accident, if anything you could say it is a Holy Coincidence!  What then is our part in these incredible moments of Love evolving perfectly in our lives?

To answer that question I believe the first thing we need to do is accept that God works in just the right way at just the right moment.  There is an Eastern Spiritual Thought which I hold dear to my heart.  Before we come to this life we sit down with God and talk about what this human life can be so we can grow in our spiritual relationship with God.  Our plans are built on our previous life times with their various circumstances.  Once we accept what is necessary we are free to be born.  Some people may say if this is true then we have lost the ability to change our minds.  That is a human statement because our choice occurred before we came to this earth.  In fact our struggles with what to do or not do is still our choice, it is just based on the choices we made earlier with God in the spiritual realm.  Some may say this is another example of God manipulating us.  How can this be though if we talked this over with God before we came?  We know what we need to learn here and so we encounter various experiences that enhance our learning.  The moments of integration between the physical and spiritual realities are called Ah Hah Moments.  For an instant everything makes sense.  This is what I call an Eternal Moment.  The duality of the physical and spiritual realms become what they have always been – ONE!  In that moment we no longer have to debate the realities of either realm because they now make perfect sense! 

Let me put this into practical terms better known as keeping it simple!  Because we are human beings having a spiritual experience we often downplay God’s Hand working behind the scenes.  Here is an example of what I am talking about.  I think the death of someone I know is the worst possible thing that could happen physically.  It may be a bit easier to take if the person is older and has lived a long life.  It may even help that the person has been sick for a long time and now is free of this body and its various pains.  BUT in spite of this there still is that, but I am all alone feeling or thought.  This kind of thinking is based on the thought – the only reality that exists is this physical reality.  If this is true than when I die I die for there is nothing else.  No wonder we have so much trouble with death.  But what if there was more?  If this is true we can be open to the gift the spiritual reality provides -  There is more then just this human life.  My earlier example of the couple getting married is an indication of the Mystery of God.  If God bestows Love on us through others then why can’t God also bestow Love on us through the gift of death?  It is hard to encounter the death experiences of life, but it is even harder if we are not able to see the larger picture.  The mystics, poets and spiritual folk provide insight to God’s larger picture.

This is what I have learned along the way.  Death does not have the last word!  When this physical life comes to an end our body is laid to rest in some way it is true, but there is more.  We now can be released from the prison of limited thought and experience of this physical life to be free in the spiritual realm of unlimited possibilities and endless time.  Now we can see how the person we loved has not gone anywhere or left us.  We are free to see the only thing that truly is around us is the spiritual and so when we leave this body we are still here in spirit.  I once did a funeral for an older gentleman and afterwards his widow and son came up to me with beautiful looks on their faces.  They said it was so wonderful to see the bright light behind me when I was doing the service.  They said they knew their loved one was still with them.  I never saw the light, but then it wasn’t intended for me.  God’s love revealed the reality of the spiritual realm for them.  The ones who we love are still with us and in fact they are even more present because they are not limited by this physical world. 

This is the way God works.  I cannot prove it to you for it is a matter of trusting what you cannot see.  There is so much more to life if we embrace the Mystery of God.  We might even believe we sat down with God before we came and chose the best direction for our lifetime.  If you believe in mystery you might delight in realizing how those earlier choices provide insight into the ultimate choice being found in the supposed no choice of this physical lifetime.

Peace

Why do we seek fame

   When meaning is found in the service few know we are doing

Why do we seek approval

   When it is already ours from God

Why do we seek self hatred

   When self love is all that exists

Why do we fret about the insignificant

   When significance is found in not paying attention to the small stuff

Why do we seek peace through violent actions

   When true peace is found in laying our lives down for others

Why do we seek busyness

   When inner harmony is found in slowing down

Why do we seek riches

   When we are already rich in the way that matters most – Love

Why do we seek answers

   When life is found in the questions

Why do we seek the end of fear

   When God is found in the sharing of our fear

The answer is found in being human

   Where we seek a truth that does not exist

Once we discover this we are free

   To simply be

      No longer seeking what we have and will always have

         A Divine Image based in God

Dear Spiritual Companions,

Did you ever fight with life?  For example, things are not going the way they are supposed to so you fight to make them different.  I think that is a fairly common human trait.  Life can be uncomfortable and disillusioning at times so what better thing to do than to change it.  This is where I was living recently.  I was feeling uneasy and this is always a personal reminder that something is up.  I then hope and pray that I will not feel this way too long.  Finally at the right time a break through comes.  This time it was the realization that I was fighting life and what was happening to me.  The old thoughts  of you should be doing this or that to make life different crept back into my mind.  I was not c0mpleting things that I knew had to be finished.  In my quiet time it with God it finally came to me – “You are fighting life!”  Now what, I asked?  Stop was God’s response!  But how I thought.

I am still adjusting to my latest step in life – retirement.  I am finding out what I am called to be and thereby do.  All of my adult life I have lived the servant role.  It has been clear that  I will continue to have ample opportunities to still be a servant in my last part of  life.  It doesn’t make a lot of sense that this is a problem.  I find life very fulfilling when I am being there for myself and others.  So what is happening in me?  I came to realize I am fighting how servant hood is unfolding and its timing in my life.  What is the answer?  Let it be what it is!  Let what be what it is?  Life.  That seems self evident, but for some reason we find it unacceptable?  Why?  My hunch is, because like a child, we want what we want when we want it.  What makes this even more difficult is in our childishness we are not sure what we want so even if we get it we are not satisfied.  The hole in our soul raises its head at this point and we are faced with the human condition of believing we lack something.  Notice this isn’t a spiritual condition, but rather one we have created during this human lifetime.

How do we arrive at the spiritual condition of knowing we have everything we truly want?  You may not like this, because I know I am not totally thrilled myself with the answer - we are already one with this condition.  It is our focus that is foggy.  We are centered on what we have been taught – the physical reality is all that matters.  We thereby allow the ups and downs of life to drive our emotions and body.  A great example of this is found in the image of Life being like a river.  On the surface of the river is our human reality and the waves of not having this or things not working out the way we want it to which toss’s and turn’s us this way and that.  If we slow down and are a little quiet we start sinking deeper into the spirit.  The further we go down into the depths of God the more peaceful and calm life becomes.  When we get to the bottom of things we realize we have everything we need.  God is breathing into our spirit whatever our heart desires.  When we float back up to the surface, if we remember this gift of peacefulness, we are no longer tossed and turned by what the world offers.  This becomes the moment when the peace that passes all human understanding arrives.  We no longer find ourselves fighting anything.  We are free at last – until the next teaching of this human existence.

My uneasiness is gone now for the most part.  I find comfort in letting my retirement be whatever it is.  I am finding the joy again in being able to do what I want to do.  I do not have to force things, even if they are not going my way or the way my loved ones want them to go.  Why I can even let my sports teams lose on occasion.  What I thought was so important really doesn’t matter after all.  If I die in the next few minutes I can go with a peaceful smile on my face and a knowledge that I will be returning to the Love of my spirit – God.  Does it truly get any better than this?

Peace

Gary

What is my passion

   What tickles my toes when I think of it

      What can I hardly wait to do

What do I love to think about when I am alone

   Or even with people

What is my favorite feeling

   What does it create inside me

What kind of persons do I love to be around

   The ones who believe in me more than I do

How much time do I spend with my passion 

   If life is limited how am I living it

What if God’s first words to us after death were

   Did you enjoy it

      What would I say

Passion is

   Enthusiasm

   Excitement

   Essence

   Effortlessness

   Ecstasy

The Explanation marks in life

   Indicate Passion for life

      When we simply accept every moment as it is

         No matter what is happening

Dear Friends,

I know that one of the key elements to a life of Service is Compassion.  It doesn’t matter what World Religion you espouse, compassion is a key factor.  To me compassion can simply be defined as feeling with someone or something.  Notice it doesn’t go into fixing whatever is going on with someone, but rather just feeling with them.  In doing Spiritual Direction with individuals I have found it tempting to want to offer thoughts on how to eliminate their problem, but the only direction I truly offer is how they can get back to God. The answer to whatever is going on or whatever solution is possible lies between them and God.  By feeling with another I can ask the question which will open the door to a deepening of who they are in God.  Listening and being compassionate is often viewed as some sort of weak sister to DOING something.  I have learned sometimes it is better to be silent than to offer words that only fill up the emptiness.

One of the discoveries in my life has occurred in thinking it is easier to be compassionate towards another than myself.  Not true!  In fact, we have the thought process backwards.  We think if I can be compassionate towards another then I will finally be able to do the same for myself.  What I have learned along the way is deep down in me there are certain things I think, feel or do which are not only unacceptable for me but also for others.  I may say it is alright for another to think feel or do something, but if I am honest it isn’t true.  Only by being compassionate with myself can I ever be the same way with another.  The spiritual adventure is most alive when I encounter those deep dark unacceptable thoughts or feelings.  By daring to live with them I can find out how to live through them.  Living fully in God is leaving no inner stone unturned.  There may be a few things to face before we can get to that place however.  Let’s talk about those.

The first and most important one is related to our concept of God.  Do we believe in a God who accepts us as we are or do we have to jump through some hoops to get god’s approval?  Most religions are selling a god who demands hoop jumping.  These thoughts are acceptable and these are not.  These feelings are alright to feel and these are not.  These actions are given god’s ok and these are not.  It is not worthy of a god person to not do this or that.  With a god like this we never measure up to the holy standards of perfection.  In addition compassion doesn’t come from this kind of god.  Instead we hear words like these – What is wrong with you?  I give you all this and you can’t do this or that for me?  Why can’t you be like Jesus or Buddha?  You know who this kind of god sounds like? - Our parents or other authority figures in our lives.  It is never quite good enough and so feel guilty or are filled with shame.  How sad!  For generations the holy books have either portrayed a false god or been interpreted to convey a tyrant god.  Until we realize this and allow God’s Spirit of Compassion to forgive us and forget those unforgiveable actions or most importantly quiet these notions we will be stuck, stuck in a compassionless journey.  Leaders in all areas of life will continue to manipulate us or threaten us with the end of God’s Love.  That deep yearning inside of us for something more will remain empty.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  If we dare to go against the “authorities” and listen to the inner Authority we will begin to feel at home in our skin.  We will begin to feel the Compassion of a God who Loves us Unconditionally.  No more have to’s or ought’s!  No more guilt or shame over something we have thought, felt, did or didn’t do.  Now instead of running and hiding from the supposed bad in us we can embrace it.  we can now ask the question the Apostle Paul asked, “Why do I do things I don’t want to do and don’t do the things I want to do?”  We are not called to be God. but rather God like.  We are not called to be Christ, but rather to put on the mind of Christ.  What better teaching in life then to discover when I am trying to be God or living up to some unattainable lifestyle?  How can a God of Love find any problem with us when we fall short of the mark and want to understand or discover why?  Or even if we are oblivious to such things?  Maybe perfection isn’t in getting it right, but rather in being unconditionally loving to yourself?  Could this be the source of compassion?  Could this also be the source of compassion for others? – No matter what?

St. Augustine said some words that initially disturbed me, but now I find peacefulness in their guidance.  He said, “Love God and do as you please!”  What do you think?