Souljourner...

The Fate of a Mystic

2010-03-23T10:24:00.019-06:00

The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me. Meister Eckhart

On March 27, 1329, Pope John XXII accused Johannes Eckhart of heresy and condemned him to death. Why was Meister Eckhart condemned as a heretic? He dared to make the startling declaration that God and human beings are already bonded together, already in intimate contact. The only obstacle is our consciousness and the construction of dualism that constricts our ongoing divinization. His experience led him to believe that in the secret recess of the soul is the spark of the divine, which is participating in the timeless existence of God. This mystical understanding got him in trouble with the Catholic church and condemned to die as a heretic.

The "myticism" of Meister Eckhart:

To be full of things is to be empty of the divine. To be empty of things is to be full of the divine.

God is a great underground river that no one can dam up and no one can stop.

God is creating the entire universe, fully and totally, in the present now.

There exists only the present instant... a Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence.

On this anniversary of his death, his cogent and soul-stretching words, are invigorating. They nourish me and challenge me to step into the spiritual adventure in which he lived.

World Water Day

2010-03-22T12:51:00.005-06:00

Each year more than one billion of our fellow human beings have little choice but to resort to using potentially harmful sources of water. This causes a silent humanitarian crisis that kills some 3,900 children every day.

Nearly two in ten people in the world have no source of safe drinking water.

• One billion people worldwide have no access to clean water within a 15-minute walk of their homes.

• 25 million people die each year from contaminated water (that's the equivalent of the entire population of Canada.)

• 1.4 billion people lack access to clean drinking water.

• Americans empty 2.5 million plastic water bottles an hour. Each one takes 500 years to decompose if not recycled.

• The average American home uses 293 gallons of water a day, the average African family used 5 gallons of water a day.

(Troubled Water, Anita Roddick)

Water is symbolic of our relationship with the divine, carrying the image of renewal, promise and hope. We are called to live in right relationship with the rest of the world and with creation, and our lives should reflect that. "We need to be careful that our vineyards aren't watered with the water of those living in poverty around the world. The wine of the body of Christ is meant to be enjoyed by all. "

A Two-Faced Divinity

2010-01-03T08:49:00.006-07:00

January, a month named after an ancient Latin divinity, Janus. It is believed that Janus had two faces, back to back, so that he could look ahead toward the future and back at the past. He was said to be the god of doors and journeys, endings and beginnings, transition and change... an appropriate personification for the start of a new year.

It often seems that as I enter a New Year I begin to feel an upsurge of spirit; a sense of new beginnings, doors to be opened. I'm not so good at resolutions, but I do fairly well at reflection. As I make my way into 2010 I can value the symbols of Janus. I will will take moments to think quietly on my personal journey, the continuum of life, of doors opened and closed, transitions and the miracle of self-renewal.

The Devastating Beauty of This Life

2009-11-18T11:37:00.003-07:00

Tradition teaches that Soul lies midway between understanding and unconsciousness. It is that earthy, complex and often mysterious realm of essence. Thomas Moore in his book, Care of the Soul, writes, "Care of the soul is not a project of self-improvement nor a way of being released from the troubles and pains of human existence."

The path of the soul takes us to the brink of precipices and sometimes over them...

This Life

Like you, I go on living as though this life
is not utterly horrific and utterly exquisite.

As though this life does not bring you to your knees
again and again,

Does not give you wings to soar over the canyons with ecstasy.

I, for once,
want to run to the village square
tear my clothes in fury
shake my fists to the heavens
and roar with rage
foaming at the mouth.

I want to fall on my knees in gratitude
let the rain of Grace fall upon me
turn my tear-washed face
towards the sky,

And sing the devastating beauty of
this life.

Mary Papacostaki in, Sister'sSinging

The Tiniest Generosity

2009-11-12T08:49:00.008-07:00

TODAY’S ASSIGNMENT

You are assigned to be a beautiful, good, kind, awakened, soulful person, a true work of art as they say, a true human being. In a world filled with so much darkness, such a soul shines like gold; it can be seen from a far distance; it is dramatically different.

Anything you do from the soulful self will help lighten the burdens of the world. Anything. You have no idea what the smallest word, the tiniest generosity can cause to be set in motion. Be outrageous in forgiving. Be dramatic in reconciling. Be off the charts in kindness. In whatever you are called to, strive to be devoted to it in all aspects large and small.

Be brave, be fierce, be visionary. Mend the parts of the world that are "within your reach." To strive to live this way is the most dramatic gift you can ever give to the world.

____________________________________

"At this moment you can choose kindness or cruelty, love or fear, generosity or scarsity, joy or bitterness." Rabbi Rami Shapiro, the Sacred Art of Lovingkindness

O All-Nourishing Holy Abyss

2009-09-04T13:28:00.002-06:00

From the National Catholic Reporter:

Inside this visible world is another hidden world, the subatomic world. The term used to describe what happens inside this subatomic world is quantum vacuum. Amazingly, 90 percent of each atom is empty space, a vacuum. And the electrons and particles inside each atom appear to be whirling around as they come forth from “nothingness,” only to again disappear back into it.

Brian Swimme, a mathematical cosmologist, explains this action as “elementary particles crop up out of the vacuum itself — that is simply an awesome discovery…that the base of the universe seethes with creativity.” He continues, “I use ‘all-nourishing abyss’ as a way of pointing to this mystery that is the base of being.” Has Brian Swimme’s “all-nourishing abyss” given to us a new wonder-soaked name for the Divine Mystery we so casually call God?

Hidden within everything
is a second energetic cosmos,
all-nourishing wonder
at the heart of all life.

(From A Book of Wonders by Ed Hays)

Better Than Before

2009-06-18T09:53:00.009-06:00

One night four Rabbinim were visited by an angel who awakened them and carried them to the Seventh Vault of the Seventh Heaven. There they beheld the sacred Wheel of Ezekiel. Somewhere in the decent from Paradise to Earth, one Rabbi, having seen such splendor, lost his mind and wandered frothing and foaming until the end of his days. The second Rabbi was extremely cynical: "Oh I just dreamed Ezekiel's Wheel, that was all. Nothing really happened." The third Rabbi carried on and on about about what he had seen, for he was totally obsessed. He lectured and would not stop with how it was all constructed and what it all meant... and in this way he went astray and betrayed his faith. The fourth Rabbi, who was a poet, took a paper in hand and a reed and sat near the window writing song after song praising the evening dove, his daughter in her cradle, and all the stars in the sky. And he lived his life better than before.
Jewish Folktale

Who saw what in the Seventh Vault of the Seventh Heaven? I don't know. But I do know that "contact with the world wherein the Essences reside" causes me to know something beyond my usual hearing, and fills me with a feeling of expansion and grandeur. Carl Jung talks about "the moral obligation"... the idea that we must live out and express what we learn in our decent to soul or ascent to spirit. What do I do with the gift of being breathed upon or touched by, "The One Who Knows"? What is my moral obligation? Maybe its fairly simple. Maybe my work is to show it, give it out, sing it out and live out my life like the fourth Rabbi... better than before.

A Place of Divine Revelation

2009-06-05T13:06:00.009-06:00

I just got back from 5 days in Utah. I've been going to the desert in late spring for almost a decade. There is just something about it's call that I can never seem to resist. The ancients called the desert the place of divine revelation. It's that, but it's more than that. Life is very condensed in the desert. The roots of living things hold on to that last drop of water and the flower hoards its moisture by only appearing in the early morning and late afternoon. As Clarissa Pinkola Estes writes, "Life in the desert is small but brilliant". The desert is not lush like a forest or jungle. It is sparse, dry, wind blown and sun-drenched. It is intense and mysterious and most of what occurs goes on underground. I need periods of living a desert life: times of being small on the surface, but wild and intense underground. And I have to admit, wonderful things can come from that sort of psychic distribution. In the desert I am drawn to all in life that sustains me, I am drawn to the underground; that mysterious, lush and wild place of the soul. It is what happens there that makes the spectacle of the flower possible.

Awaken the Sleeping Spirits

2009-06-04T18:51:00.006-06:00

The real work of this life is not what we do from 9 to 5. The real work is to allow ourselves to be who we already are and have what we already have. The real work is to be passionate, be holy, be wild, be irreverent. To laugh and cry until you awaken the sleeping spirits, until the ground of your being leaves and the universe comes flooding in.

-Geneen Roth

Anima Mundi

2009-05-14T14:12:00.010-06:00

The breath, the life, the spirit, the soul of the world... anima mundi.

There are those who believe the world is a living spiritual being.

This was understood by the ancient philosophers and the alchemists who referred to the spiritual essence of the world as the anima mundi, the “Soul of the World.” They regarded the World Soul as a "pure ethereal spirit diffused throughout all nature, the divine essence that embraces and energizes all life in the universe."

Plato believed this. "This world is a living being endowed with a soul and intelligence... a single visible living entity containing all other living entities." Many of the artists during the Reanissance believed this. They created as if nature was "permeated with life, divinity and numinous mystery." (I like how that sounds!) Carl Jung believed this. It is his thinking that there is a divine light that exists in the very depths of our psyches. My friend Jenny believes this. In her latest blog she writes, "everything is holy". Right on, Jenny! You're in good company.

The Soul's Quiet Voice

2009-05-05T11:22:00.006-06:00

We hear the word soul in song lyrics and read about it in books and poems--it has been analyzed and scrutinized by songwriters, poets and researchers throughout history. Though soul may seem mysterious, it is hardly inaccessible. It is with us all the time, quietly waiting to be discovered. The soul is not only ephemeral but fundamentally ordinary and familiar. It is available to us at all times and exists in all things. Soul speaks to us through iamgery, imagination and intuition. It is our task to be awake to its calling.

"There is a great spectacle, and that is the sea.
There is a greater spectacle than the sea, and that is the sky.
There is yet a greater spectacle than the sky, and that is the interior of the soul."
-Victor Hugo

Diligent Joy

2007-08-20T19:06:00.000-06:00

Elizabeth Gilbert in her book, Eat, Pray, Love writes about happiness. She uses the phrase, "diligent joy". Gilbert says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like good weather if your fortunate enough. But, she goes on to say, that's not how happiness works. "Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you've achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment."

This focus on Deli gent Joy is, not merely a self-preserving and self-benefiting act, but also a generous gift to the world. Clearing out all your misery gets you out of the way. You cease being an obstacle, not only to yourself but to anyone else. Only then are you free to serve and enjoy other people. Only then can your soul hold tight to its good attainments.

Coaching with Spirit

2007-08-12T15:04:00.000-06:00

The Coach Training Alliance speaks to spiritual coaching:

Webster’s dictionary defines spirit as: “the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person.” It is the wisdom within each of us, beyond years and experience. Its origins are mysterious, and many believe that our spirit lives on beyond our body in a non-physical plane.

For some, spirit is indelibly linked with the Divine. Saint Teresa called spirit “the life of God within us.” It is thought that our spirit resides in the center of our bodies near our hearts. Sometimes we refer to it as our heart, receiving messages from there that have the power to awaken our aliveness – “in my heart I know . . . “

“Spirit” comes from the Latin word spiritus, meaning breath. HW Longfellow called it “A vital breath of more ethereal air.” It may be that our spirit is the life force that generates vitality in our bodies: esprit de corps – the spirit of the body, the breath of life.

In the ancient roots of the English language, there is an understanding of spirit that in our culture often gets overlooked. At a stressful pace, we live each day running down tasks. Most of our focus and energy has literally gone to our heads. We tend to give more value to information that comes from our brains, finding their great powers of analysis and judgment. But this is also where fear and anxiety are born, emotions that keep us dispirited – small and weak.

With even a cursory look, spirit can be found in all living beings. It is a great power center just waiting to give direction and meaning to our lives. Whether we believe it to be a connection with God, the source of all life, or each person’s innate wisdom, spirit is a resource that we can draw upon.

Mandala

2007-08-08T14:16:00.001-06:00

The word "mandala" is from the classical Indian language, Sanskrit. Loosely translated it means "circle". It represents wholeness. As a coach, I use this concept as a guide in my practice; it is a concept that provokes powerful questions. What does it mean to be whole? How does this goal bring me closer to connectedness? Alan Seal has said that he believes all coaching is spiritual coaching. Spiritual coaching is about wholeness; bringing clients into connection and balance. Found across cultures, in nature and in art, the mandala is a symbol of the infinite potential within all of us.

Beginnings...

2007-08-08T14:13:00.001-06:00

The Lotus is a type of water lily which rises from muddy waters to blossom. It is a symbol of transformation. Transformation begins as we say "yes" to the soul's journey.