THE PATH

"Hidden within every wound we always find a particular blessing. If we blame ourselves for our personality patterns, we cannot access the gift contained within them and thus only impoverish ourselves further. Whatever we are struggling with, whatever seems most neurotic, can become an important stepping-stone on our way. Whatever problem, question, or confusion we have, whatever seems impossible in our lives - if we go toward it, see it, feel it, make a relationship with it, use it - becomes our path.
It is easy to become discouraged by life's challenges, to ask, 'Why is it so difficult to be human, why do I have to go through this, why am I not more enlightened?' In our despair we fail to appreciate the path quality of human evolution. Enlightenment is not some ideal goal, perfect state of mind, or spiritual realm on high, but a journey that takes place on this earth. It is the process of waking up to all of what we are and making a complete relationship with that."

Toward A Psychology of Awakening: Buddhism, Psychotherapy, and the Path of Personal and Spiritual Transformation
John Welwood

DEAR UNKNOWN FRIEND

I was just recently introduced to this book by
Cynthia Bougeault, author of Mystical Hope. What caught my attention were the reviews on the cover of the book. It read like a Who's Who of those responsible for the renewal of the Christian contemplative dimension in the Twentieth Century;

"There is hardly a line without some profound significance... To me it is the last word in wisdom. It is simply astonishing. I have never read such a comprehensive account of the perennial philosophy."-Father Bede Griffiths

"It is without doubt the most extraordinary work I have ever read. It has tremendous spiritual depth and insight."-Trappist abbot Basil Pennington, OCSO

"This book, in my view, is the greatest contribution to date toward the rediscovery and renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition of the Fathers of the Church and the High Middle Ages."-Trappist abbot Thomas Keating, OCSO

And lastly, an afterward by Swissborn Hans Urs von Balthasar, called by the late Pope John Paul II as "one of the most extraordinary theologians and social scientists, who deserves a special place of honor in the cultural life of today."

In a more extensive review Keating goes on to suggest "it (Meditations on the Tarot) deserves to be the basis of a course in spirituality in every Christian institution of higher learning and what would be even better, the point of departure and unifying vision of the whole curriculum." Well there's an opportunity begging to be appropriated (Integral Institute perhaps?).

THE LOCUS OF TRANSFORMATION

Pogo

This has always been a favorite cartoon of mine and I hesitate to add any comments because I feel in its wonderful simplicity it expresses a truth drawn from the deepest of wells. From time to time you hear from people who have friends in AA or Alanon who have come to the conclusion that the world would do well to head many of the principles promoted in these recovery organizations. One such principle foundational to "working the steps" is performing a fearless and searching moral inventory of the mistakes we were resonsible for amidst our troubles Most people get stuck at the point of truth that "this world and its people were often wrong". But for the fortunate ones that let wisdom permeate their souls, it is realized that the field of battle ( a term that would be familiar to St. Theresa of Avila) is our own back yard. The real hope of changing a conflicting drama in our lives is to change ourselves. In a painful scene illustrating this reality, Jesus drives home this insight to a wounded and demoralized Peter after he had publicly denied Jesus and abandoned him in Jesus' greatest time of need. "When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?' 'Yes Lord,' he said, 'you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Feed my lambs.' Again Jesus said, 'Simon son of John, do you truly love me?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Take care of my sheep.' The third time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, 'Do you love me?' He said, 'Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep. Follow me.' Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back agaisnt Jesus at the supper and had said, 'Lord, who is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he asked, 'Lord, what about him?' Jesus answered, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." Truly this world and its people are often quite wrong, and I pray for the grace to be able to offer them the tolerance, pity, patience and kindness I would hope they might offer me. But the injunction is clear; as to the fate of those who have harmed me, "what is that to you?'. You must follow me."

A GENTLE WHISPER

Auda abu Tayi

A year or two ago I was walking downtown one morning on my way to an appointment when a phrase popped into my mind, seemingly from out of nowhere; "I am a river to my people". At the time I was leading a rather drab lifestyle, homeless and in what would be the last of a series of shelters for those unfortunate men, myself among them, who just couldn't seem to put a life together. This phrase "I am a river to my people" took on a life of its own as I continued my walk down the mean streets of the inner city. It sparked my imagination, warmed my soul and gave a clouded vision, but a vision nonetheless of new possibilities that lay ahead in my future. But why had this phrase come to me in the midst of a dismal life, and what accounted for the force of its impact on me. I couldn't get it out of my mind all that day. Because my grandfather had been killed by a Bedouin near Busrah Iraq in the 1920's, I had been given a copy of Lawrence of Arabia as soon as the video was released, probably in an attempt to help me understand the broader picture of the struggle for independence by the Arabs from British rule. The line that had come to me is from a scene in the movie where Lawrence is trying to persuade a tribal chief, Auda abu Tayi (Anthony Quinn) to join the attack on the Ottoman Garrison at Aqaba. Auda is reluctant so Lawrence employs the tactic of questioning the chief's integrity and ability to lead. Auda's response follows; "I carry twenty-three great wounds, all got in battle. Seventy-five men have I killed with my own hands in battle. I scatter, I burn my enemies tents. I take away their flocks and herds. The Turks pay me a golden treasure. Yet, I am poor, because I am a river to my people! Is that service?" I was embarrassed to even begin to imagine that this "being a river to my people" might be a message directed to me. The enneagram, among other descriptors, attributes to me the defining trait of "ego stinginess". Like everyone, I struggle daily with self-centerness which in my life time has led more than once to some very tragic outcomes. Who am I to be a river. I more resemble the Dead Sea with a few sources of water flowing in, but not a single trickle flowing out. But after I was done bludgeoning myself psychologically for part of the day I remembered a minor event from the night before. Two friends whom I had not seen in a long time entered the shelter where I was living to begin another attempt at putting their lives together. They had no resources and walked into a large kitchen area where we were all eating. I didn't even think about what I was doing, but got up and made them dinner and joined them just to soak up the pleasure of being reunited with two old friends that against all odds and published statistics, were still alive. Perhaps here was something I could build on and begin to develop a stream, even an intermittent stream that might grow into a river some day.
"Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" I Kings 19:11-13 Now I try to remember to anticipate and listen to the "whispers" that ask, "Rick, what are you doing here?"

THE CARING OF THE TEMPLE

Yusuf Islam

Recently I was gifted by an event of grace that characteristically arrived unannounced. PBS was conducting one of its week long fund raising drives, one of life's necessary evils I try to endure with what little poise I have reserved for such things. Earlier this year a long lost taping of the last public concert Cat Stevens performed had surfaced out of no where, having survived in remarkable condition and this wonderful concert was the center piece of the PBS program, repeated several nights that week. I had lost track of Cat, now Yusuf Islam, after he left the professional life of performing music. But hearing him play again was a return to another time, another me, and era of naive but abundant hope and loving expectations for a new world, a future full of promise, depth and meaning. Because the concert was filmed in the 70's all the songs that had come to mean so much to me were center stage. And a line that for some reason has always touched my heart stirred me again as he sang, "my body's been a good friend, but I won't need it in the end". Perhaps these lyrics strike a chord with me precisely because I am a type (five if you are familiar with the Enneagram) who lives as if I had no body. By inclination I am a talking head, living in my mind for the most part with little regard for expression of feelings, emotions, such physical dynamics as health. That is why I am getting so much out of my weightlifting program that is an essential part of this integral path. I'm making modest progress and enjoying it so much I now work out every other day instead of the twice a week schedule I began with. I've added weight to each exercise on a weekly basis, have learned the basics of each exercise and am concentrating more and more on improving my technique. To quote my mentor, "You can have a great training program, the best equipment, a perfect nutritional plan, an ideal rest and sleep schedule, and the most positive attitude in the world, but it will all be largely if not totally wasted if you do not use good exercise technique. In order of priority, exercise technique comes before program design." from Weight Training Technique by Stuart McRobert. Cat Stevens reminded me that I would do well to recast my image of my body as a "good friend" that I want to treat like the loyal companion it has been all along despite no acknowledgment or regard on my part. "Do you not know that your body is the temple, the very sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who lives within you, whom you have received as a gift from God? You are not your own." I Corinthians 6:9.

AMNESIA

Simba and the Lion King

Years ago I had a picture of Simba and the Lion King I picked up at the Disney Store. It had an inscription as well that meant a lot to me which said "Remember who you are!" This, apparently some fatherly advise being passed on to Simba, the "once and future king". Richard N. Bolles in his perennial classic What Color Is Your Parachute puts it thus. "All can see that our life here on Earth is a very physical life. We eat, we drink, we sleep, we long to be held, and to hold. We inherit a physical body, with very physical appetites, we walk on the physical earth, and we acquire physical possessions. It is the most alluring of temptations, in our amnesia, to come up with just a Physical interpretation of this life: to think that the Universe is merely interested in the survival of the species. Given this interpretation, the story of our individual life could be simply told: we are born, grow up, procreate, and die.
But we are ever recalled to do what we came here to do: that without rejecting the joy of the Physicalness of this life, such as the love of the blue sky and the green grass, we are to reach out beyond all this to recall and recover a Spiritual interpretation of our life. Beyond the physical and within the physicalness of this life, to detect a Spirit and a Person from beyond this Earth who is with us and in us--the very real and loving and awesome Presence of the great Creator from whom we came--and the One to whom we once again shall go."

SURPRISED AGAIN: WHERE HAS ALL THE TIME GONE?

Jerry Yang Larry Page & Sergey Brin

I don't watch a lot of TV, a trait that reflects less on my aesthetic development than the fact that I can't afford the ridiculous cable package that includes the History Channel. So what little I do watch on a regular basis consists for the most part of whatever fare Public Television is offering when I'm available to watch. One of my favorite programs on PBS is the Charlie Rose show; a commentator/host who always surprises me with the broad diversity of guests from all walks of life that he attracks to his table. On a recent segment he did a fascinating interview with Jerry Yang, cofounder of Yahoo, and for some time now a bright star in the rapidly evolving technology sector. By a strange coincidence that same day, one of the weekly U.S. news magazines (I believe it was Time) hosted Larry Page and Sergey Brin in an interview honoring these cofounders of Google as the "Persons of the Week". My attention would have been fully engaged regardless of the content and questions covered in these two media happenings airing it would appear by chance almost simultaneously, though on separate networks. But another noteworthy element added even more significance to the brew. Unbeknownst to the two program hosts sitting in studios across town the segments both drew to a close with these young wizards of capitalism being asked the same question; "Looking back on all the chaos and whirlwind that has been so much a part of the speed characterizing the growth of what started out as a youthful impetuous, albeit bold vision of what possibilities lay waiting to be brought to bloom, was there anything that you ever were confronted with on a personal level that took you by surprise, something that even with all your genius for foresight and bold vision you never had planned on?" In so many words their answers were earily similar. "We knew what was possible and what promise the future held, but we never came even close to realizing how fast it was all going to play out, at a speak that hardly permitted an adequate response." How often I feel that I am"dancing as fast as I can", barely able to keep up. I long for just the remembrace of a felt sense of being centered with a quiet mind that is my oft absent friend. This is my prayer, that from time to time, here and there, now and then, God will visit us with His grace and a portion of the coveted serenity our souls hunger for in the midst of this sojourn playing out to the background of such frenetic "interesting" times. I am grateful to all who share this "work" to help insure that the Center does indeed hold.
Blessings

A PHILOSOPHY, A FAITH, A WAY OF LIFE

Ernest Holmes

I have just finished reading The Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes and want to offer my humble comment. Although first published in 1926, it was completely revised in 1936 and with a forward by Jean Houston which was what first caught my eye. The book reminds me a little of A Course In Miracles without the unique prose that so characterizes Miracles. Both offer encouragement for all those who find themselves laboring in the trenches of life. I recall the first paragraph (yes paragraph- check it out) of M. Scott Peck's book The Road Less Traveled that simply stated what most of us have known for some time, "Life is difficult." In Facets of Unity A. H. Almaas describes this condition as people with holes in their spirit that are the result of a lack of "holding", for whatever reason, during the formative years of their childhood. I don't want to say much more specifically about the content of Mind, but I would like to end with one of the many meditations found throughout the text that unexpectedly touched me in a spot that is still tender for me. As I conclude with this brief mediation I am reminded of the words of Jesus when he said, "Truly I say to you, whoever does not accept and receive and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child shall not in any way enter it at all." Luke 18:17

The Night Is Filled With Peace

I wrap myself in the mantle of Love and fall asleep, filled with Peace. Through the long night Peace remains with me, and at the breaking of the new day I shall still be filled with Life and Love. I shall go forth into the new day confident and happy.

I rest in Thee.