Making Room for Grace

The eyes experience less stress when they look upon a wider horizon."  - R.D. Chin

We are at the midway point in our Journey of Awakening and as synchronicity would have it this week we are looking at the principle and practice of finding our calm centered place.

But wait, isn't this too passive during these challenging times? A part of me, and perhaps a part  of you, might object, and think, not now! There's a voice in my head that offers these contrarian arguments.

In the throes of turbulent times, when life has us bobbing and weaving, ducking and darting amidst the slings and arrows of rampant change and upheaval, it seems a bit daunting if not Pollyannaish to believe we could actually find a peaceful sanctuary inside us. Many people I know are doing their level best to keep the "wolves from the door" and eke out a livable wage, or are consumed by the care and feeding of a family or a business straining to stay afloat in the low tide of the current economy.

In the face of the daily challenges of living this human experience is it truly relevant and most helpful to instruct on the prioritization and how-tos of inner peace? Don't we need to get busy doing something to reverse or at least mitigate the situations that trouble us?  Shouldn't we be devising strategies of recovery and visioning new sources of revenue, and learning to become more efficient producers?  Who can afford the luxury of sitting around contemplating and meditating?

Perhaps you can relate to this rant.  And the world at large and western culture will offer consensus that doing something is far superior to "just being." And yes, a balanced wisdom would agree that there is work to be done, that we must put "feet to our faith" to bring human effort to the mix of solutions to our problems. But the problems are not just "out there" as isolated pathologies in our lives, they have a inner causes and consequences that must be equally addressed.  Here's the voice of a deeper truth speaking.

We must carve out time to explore the inner realm of our being with as much urgency as we pour into solving the outer challenges in life. It is only in discovering the "more" of us that our difficulties are put into perspective amidst the whole context of Life. When we begin to quiet the mind that would rather rant, we make room for Pure Presence, an ineffable sense of unfettered Life, to grow in our awareness.  Our difficulties, even the most painful, no longer occupy the whole room of consciousness as something infinitely larger is realized.

We do not seek the calm of the mind in order to escape our problems but to help us disidentify with them.  We may still see our problems from the centered mindset, but we know we are not our problems, any more than the clouds represent the sky. From this place, we are more likely to seek resolution over solution.  Life from the perspective of its vastness does not require as much for its fulfillment as the surface mind that is plagued by ceaseless desires and never ending preferences.

This is the reason for a spiritual practice that calms and centers our mind.  To make room for Grace - the sweet embrace of loving presence that fills us with a knowing that no matter what comes or goes in the outer, we are safe and secure in its Unconditional Embrace. Take a moment ...whenever you can, to sit in the vast sanctuary of pure Being. It may take a bit of time, but it will give you back much space - a space of Grace.

The Ethics of Awakening

It is, I believe, as Mencius, the grandson of Confucius, says, that just as water unobstructed will flow downhill, we, given the chance to be what we are, will extend ourselves in kindness.  So, the real and lasting practice for each of us is to remove what obstructs us so that we can be who we are, holding nothing back.  If we can work toward this kind of authenticity, then the living kindness--the water of compassion--will naturally flow.  We do not need discipline to be kind, just an open heart. 

-Mark Nepo - The Book of Awakening

As we enter the third week of our Essential Spirituality series we turn to the theme of "living ethically." At first blush, any discussion of ethics and morality would seem to be tainted from the start by subjectivity and relativism --so as to make it incompatible as a universal spiritual practice. I had to struggle to find the deeper vein of truth in this topic. Here's what came through.

In our post-modern world, ideas of right and wrong, and lofty principles of righteous living are summarily rejected by our radical insistence upon personal freedom in all matters of choice.  We value a plurality of viewpoints over a strict dictum. Anything that resembles a sweeping mandate, whether it's pointed at the way we think, feel, or act, is distrusted because we see fallacy in a one-size-fits-all moral code. This hyper need for independence is not all good for us (my moral judgment).  The downside is easily recognizable. Absent any foundation upon which to evaluate questions of right and wrong we are left hanging on legitimate ethical questions. An attitude of what's wrong for you may be right for me preserves personal choice but it ignores a fundamental fact that supersedes any man made code. What gets ignored is the interconnectedness of all life. 

Acting from personal preferences does not occur in a vacuum.  The ripples of our choices, our words, our silence, our actions and inactions reach and impact people, ecologies and economies.  Nature has not forgotten this fact. Unburdened by questions of right and wrong, nature operates according to an unspoken ethic of coexistence -  instinct without awareness. It needs no legislation or mandate - its innate wisdom conducts its affairs so as to support life - engender growth, diversity, harmony and abundance for everybody and  everything in the neighborhood.

Of course, we have that natural wisdom within us as well. Perhaps it's been clouded by free will taken to the point of hypervigilance in a post modern world. Yet this tendency that moved us into greater levels of independence perhaps is now turning back on itself by eroding the awareness of our intrinsic dependence on each other and our environment. We are a global tribe on a fragile homeland. Our shared humanity and the Life spirit is the golden thread that inextricably links us together.  This is a fundamental law of Life, not a choice. If we reject the Law, we will not find freedom - only more suffering. Only truth frees us.

Beyond, or perhaps beneath, the post modern impulse to do as we please, is an evolutionary impulse, that motivates us from a deeper awareness of who we truly are and our relationship to the whole of life. As the boundaries of me and you dissolve so will notions of separate interests. This is the basis for an evolved morality in which clear conscious understanding motivates clear and compelling right action. We can become more sensitive and recognize this thread of interconnectedness running though our lives and our relationships.  This alone might bring us to the height of ethical living - rooted not in external maxims but our own internal knowing. It will probably also be the day we are most free and most happy.

Transformative Spirituality

There within ourselves, we finally find the most profound, the most meaningful, and the most important discovery any human being can make. Within ourselves we find our deepest self, our true Self, and recognize that we are not only more than we imagined but more than we can imagine.  We see that we are creation of the sacred, intimately and eternally linked to the sacred, and forever graced and embraced by the sacred.

- Roger Walsh, from Essential Spirituality

Last Sunday evening UCOD hosted a screening of Dalai Lama Renaissance films, Pts I & II. The experience was more intimate and moving than I imagined it would be.  Even though I had seen the first film several times before I was nonetheless profoundly moved again, as I witnessed the transformative power of His Holiness' deep and resolute commitment to spiritual Truth.  

We live in a conflicted world where deeply embedded religious ideologies have become battle lines and radical fundamentalism stands against mutual respect, dialogue and human compassion. As I heard the Dalai Lama express his unwavering concern for the welfare of the Chinese people, the country responsible for the near destruction of the Tibetan culture and the death of thousands of monks, and his own exiled existence, I was awe struck by such amazing compassion.  In that moment I could see that such radical compassion rooted in the perennial perspective which recognizes the spiritual essence in every person on this planet, is the greatest and perhaps single hope of creating a world that works for all. It is that field that the Sufi poet, Rumi described as, "a field beyond ideas of right and wrong" where we could all meet. This field is a place in the heart where there are no walls to separate us. It is the single chambered heart of Oneness, where there is recognition of our common essential nature that harmony arises naturally and effortlessly.

This recognition of our deepest and truest Self, is the crown jewel of spiritual practice. It is not however necessarily the effect of religious ideas and practices, which are often rooted in beliefs and behaviors that are externally focused.  It remains however as the central message at the heart of every religion stemming from the mystical experience of its founder.

It is the greatest of discoveries because it is the one and only true satisfaction to all that we seek for and long for in our life. So how do we get there?

For the next seven weeks we are going to explore 7 spiritual practices at the heart of the world's spiritual disciplines as outlined in Roger Walsh's book, Essential Spirituality, The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind.  Our purpose will be eminently practical as we enter into the practices that can move us out of our seeking, craving, troubled minds into the realm of our true nature, (Christ or Buddha nature, or Atman selves).

Pray Knowing

No matter our religion or spiritual views, the longing to have an active relationship with something greater than ourselves is universal.  There are a thousand names for God and a thousand ways to pray yet beyond labels and forms of worship, we all share a yearning to know and be known by the Divine.

Because we are offspring of the Divine, we carry within us the imprint of our creator. We also carry the deep remembrance of our true nature that calls to us to heal the divide and restore our primary relationship with Life. The urgency of this calling and our response to it is often related to how well we are doing on our own. When our lives are relatively peaceful and to our liking, the call can be just a whisper in the background.  When our life "hits the fan," the volume and intensity of the call can be like a siren in our heart that brings us to our knees in surrender, to prayer, and perhaps most blessedly, to insight.

In Unity, our prayers are entirely self-directed.  There is no capricious God apart from us withholding our good. There is only the presence of God in its fullness at every point in space and time radiating its blessings in every direction.  This sweeping realization can both soothe us and trouble us.  We love the notion of an unconditional loving God that is always there for us.  The discomfort arises when we realize in those dark hours of our lives, that God has not left us, we have left God.  Like the prodigal, it is up to us to reverse our wayward search in order to find the loving parent who awaits our return home.

Prayer is our attempt to correct our perception of any separation between us and the Divine and see the answer in the midst of us, even as us.  Author, Eric Butterworth said it this way, "prayer is not a matter of conquering God's reluctance, but of attuning ourselves to God's eternal willingness."

Any words or practice or mantra that closes the gap in our awareness of the Infinite arms that constantly enfold us is useful to bringing us to a place of remembrance and comfort. As Buddha noted, "better than a meaningless story of a thousand words is a single word of deep meaning which, when heard, produces peace."

A simple phrase, such as God is here, God is now or Be Still and know repeated slowly and mindfully can calm the raging waters of our mind and soothe our aching hearts. Even a minimal choice, to pause momentarily in our busyness and take 3 conscious breaths can, in an instant, change our reality. In that simple practice we can suspend history and mystery, find a moment of timelessness, and let ourselves be enfolded by the One whose heart beats with ours.

This Sunday we have a dynamic and powerful presenter, Sheila Gautreaux-Lee offering a message to move us through the tough times, with a talk entitled, Praying Through A Storm. She will be joined by a passionate and soulful soloist, Bajan.  You will be lifted and inspired.