Mother Earth: Ground of Being

To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.- William Blake

My earliest experiences of spiritual insight occurred in the sanctuary of the natural world. Long before I found the divine in worship and meditative practice, I encountered the sacred in the harmonious and peaceful milieu of a quiet creek that ran beyond my childhood home. This special place offered the promise of stillness during those times as a child when I retreated from the family drama in the house. In this natural environment I could see, touch and appreciate the harmonious interaction of many living things. In contrast to a volatile home environment, life in the creek followed predictable, comforting patterns. The scent of trees, the songs of birds and frogs, and insects were soothing balm to a young heart stung by angry and frightened human voices. The gentle current of water beckoned me to follow its path and I did. In this flow I was buoyed, carried and led along a path of tranquility. Perhaps unknowingly I was drawn by the promise of something untouched, unexplored, a life and life force beyond the confines of life as I knew it at home.

Encountering the sacred in nature predates the earliest written scriptures. The ancient indigenous people did not need a special day to honor the Earth. It was a daily practice rooted in an ongoing realization. At some point, for reasons not clear, God was sent to reside exclusively in the heavenly realm and became an absentee landlord who reigned above and apart from the earth. As part of this relocation process, mankind was awarded dominion over the earth and its creatures for its benefit. What has followed is not surprising, since once anything is seen as Godless, all manner of insensitive, loveless behavior in relationship to it is easily justified.

But there is a new consciousness emerging that is restoring the sacred view of the earth. It is even born out by the latest quantum scientific observations, and reversing the old science that viewed the universe as a great, meaningless machine. More and more of us are sensing the invisible web that connects all of life, restoring our sacred vision to all of nature, that now bridges the wisdom of the earliest people to the awakened heart and informed mind of today's conscious earth dwellers. Akin to all spiritual practice, it involves a shift in perception, having eyes to see beyond appearances, and availing ourselves of an intuitive knowing of the presence of the divine in every place and every thing. Once we experience this omnipresence of spirit, God comes off the cloud of unknowing and becomes a local, present-moment reality and all the earth becomes holy ground.

We're all susceptible to this vision. In a moment, a sunset, or an expanse of wildflowers, or any beautiful expression of nature can break us open to seeing anew. Like Jacob in the Jewish Torah, we suddenly recognize that "the Lord is in this place - and I did not know it," and we can understand Jesus profound utterance that "the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."

If we give sway to the intuitive awareness that recognizes the sacred all around us, we are doing perhaps the most we can possibly do to heal our relationship with mother earth. And with a renewed sense of love and appreciation, we will find all the right ways to bless and serve this hallowed land, our earth home.

The Holy Purpose of Relationships

When you meet anyone, remember it is a holy encounter. As you see him, you will see yourself. As you treat him, you will treat yourself. As you think of him, you will think of yourself. Never forget this, for in him you will find yourself or lose yourself. - A Course In Miracles

As I've written before, I am fond of the paradox found in spiritual teachings. Paradox is like a self generating machine that produces the fuel it requires to function. Paradox in spiritual conundrums reveals the answer within the question, usually as a simple reversal of logic. We find that we receive in the act of giving. We find our search for happiness in the world eventually spins us around to find the treasure buried within ourselves. Perhaps the most difficult paradoxical teaching to accept and practice is in the area of relationships - for spiritual insight suggests that other people are the key to knowing and accepting ourselves.

Why is it that we cannot find our self in ourselves alone? The answer lies in who we truly are - not a small isolated self set apart from the billions of others selves on this planet. This is a purely egoist perspective, which is a dead end that will only deepen a sense of separation and keep me from knowing the greater I am that includes others. As spiritual teacher and author, Robert Perry writes, "Your true Self is a shared Self. It is something you share with everyone and everything. You cannot see that if you are looking only at yourself. You cannot see the ocean by examining a drop of water with a microscope."

Here is the sublime paradox of self knowledge: it arises with awareness beyond self, to the Self that includes everyone. Oneness becomes real to us when the distinction between I and thou, dissolves. Every encounter with another can become a "holy encounter" because it offers us an opportunity to see through the appearance of separateness and behold the essential Self that we both share. This is a foundational premise of Unity philosophy which declares that we are all children of God, individualized expressions of the Life and Intelligence that is our true parent. Just as a sunbeam cannot be separate from the sun nor a wave be apart from the ocean neither can we be apart from the One Life that is our source.

This way of seeing others is transformative knowledge that can rock our world, as it saves us from the deeper suffering of separation. It is a new way of seeing my brother or sister that removes the scales of judgment from my eyes so that in them I am able to behold their inherent goodness (true nature). It is such holy perception that allowed Jesus to exonerate the adulterous woman about to be stoned by the condemning crowd, exalt the prostitute who washed his feet with her hair, and finally to forgive those who betrayed, abandoned and killed him.

To know ourselves as we truly are, we must see others as they truly are. It is perhaps the most arduous and challenging of spiritual practice and yet, paradoxically, what it asks of us is precisely what it offers us. It is in seeing the inherent goodness in others that we help them find their way home in God, and then, in one of the most beautiful compensations of life, we discover that it is our way as well.

Life After Loss

We live in a time and culture where accumulation has become such a normative behavior that many of us struggle with doing with less. More than once we've heard the comment that the current financial crisis arose as a sort of cosmic lesson to help us separate our greed from our need.

However we interpret this economic predicament, there is a powerful spiritual opportunity seeded in any great loss. We are forced to face the question of who we are when something has been stripped away from our lives. We may discover that we have invested our identity in our economic status, or career stature, or in physical or mental prowess. Who am I without a level of economic security, or physical ability or worldly position takes us to the heart of the perennial spiritual question.

Is there life after loss? The promise of new life is what Easter is all about. Easter is a time when we celebrate new life. The new life of spring. The resurrected life of Jesus. The spiritual life that we each express on earth. The Christian Sabbath is on Sunday so that we can remember life after death. Not just life for Jesus after crucifixion. It's about the eternal life that we all experience, after a physical death (our ongoing spiritual journey) but it's also about the continuing life that we are granted after the crucifixions and the losses of our lives. Life, like energy, cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore, we can release all forms, no matter how precious to us, and believe that we can still have a life, even an abundant life, as Jesus promised and demonstrated. This is a belief worth clinging to, since it's undeniable. There's life after divorce. There's life after a major illness. There's life after job loss or bankruptcy. There's life after the death of a loved one.

Jesus as way shower is such a powerful teacher of how to live with boldness and passion. His example of being willing to put everything on the line, defend against nothing, and face the greatest fears humanly imaginable with equanimity, begs the question, what can't we live without. It may be that what we think we can't live without, is what keeps us from really living. People who have released addictions might agree.

Beyond Success or Failure

From the human perspective, the way to a good and happy life is to maximize our successes and minimize our failures in life. Whatever situation we face we hope we'll come out on top; prevail with our preferences and be met with favor and acceptance. We want our ideas to matter, our plans found cogent, and our actions effective. Conversely, we wince at the thought of failure; plans that go south, being rejected, people who neither understand us nor stand with us. We readily embrace favorable results, with measurable profits and the good opinion of others and shun the disastrous outcome, with nothing to show for our efforts when even our friends won't hang with us.

Holy week that begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter provides the stark contrast of apparent success and failure experienced by Jesus. At the beginning of this week Jesus seems to be experiencing extraordinary success, with adoring crowds worshiping him as he entered Jerusalem. From the human perspective, Jesus is winning the popular vote hands down, and garnering a hero's welcome such as a victorious king might receive returning from a triumphant battle. But in just a few days the bloom comes off the rose, the table is turned over, and Jesus becomes an embattled messenger. He is vilified, betrayed and abandoned by his closest friends to face alone the worst fate imaginable. From our mortal mind's eye this scenario is the epitome of a miserable failure.

Beyond appearances this week of highs and lows, carries a much deeper message that can serve as powerful metaphor for the days, weeks, or moments of ups and downs that arise in our own journey. From the spiritual perspective, articulated and demonstrated by the one who maintained that his kingdom was not of this world, the outer events were not the real measurables from his journey. Jesus would likely agree with the assessment that notions of success and failure are two sides of the same coin. That coin is judgment born of limited human perception.

Jesus was not caught up in the adulation that sought to externalize his value, nor the condemnation that sought to destroy him. Jesus knew who he was and knew his mission was to speak and live the message of Truth regardless of whether that message brought him praise or blame. The truth that he said would set us free, liberated Jesus from identification with external image or public stature regardless of the latest poll results.

Jesus invited us to follow in his way - a way of transformation where the outer voices do not define us nor limit us. Jesus listened to the inner voice of Spirit, perhaps the very earliest advice on how to avoid identity theft.

No matter what may arise on the road of life, we do not have to lose ourselves in it. By staying true to our spiritual purpose, and remaining online with the Divine, we can succeed in the true mission that we share with Jesus - to bear witness to the eternal Spirit in which we live and move and have our very being.

Are You Receptive?

"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are."

-Malcolm S. Forbes

For the last 4 weeks we have been looking at success and abundance from the perspective of the engaging story in the book, The Go Giver. Each of the themes and laws outlined in the preceding lessons invited us to become a giver to life - a message that contradicts the logic of the surface mind that tells us that is through getting we receive.

Now in week five, we take a final look at the paradox to understand the important role of being a receiver in this flow of abundance and success. This is trickier than it appears. Like an advanced yoga posture, holding a posture of receptivity is easier said than done.

While we may readily notice where we are blocked in our giving, it may take a deeper look to see how we are blocked in receiving. At first thought, we may think we are more than willing to receive; that our arms are wide open to graciously accept any windfall of good and plenty the universe sees fit to bestow upon us. But is that really true?

There are plenty of messages (many from religious teachings) that exalt the giver, and devalue the receiver. We've heard it said that it is better to give than receive. We've heard the proverbs and adages that denigrate the rich, equate wealth with immorality, and the like. We've been told we are sinners and not worthy of good, that only by the grace of God we are saved from our deservedly lowly condition. Though many of us no longer hold that view philosophically, there are likely shreds of unworthiness that linger in our consciousness and deflect the good that might come to us.

The Real You Will Stand Up

"Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, 'This is the real me,' and when you have found that attitude, follow it." - William James

It would seem to be the most natural and simplest of tasks to know ourselves and to be ourselves. After all who knows you better than you, and who is better equipped to show your true face to the world than you are? The virtue of being true to ourselves has been extolled by every great philosopher, sage and enlightened master. Jesus referenced our tendency to keep our essence hidden and invited us to let our light shine for all the world to see. Buddha in his parting words to his disciples counseled, "Be lamps unto yourselves; be your own confidence. Hold to the truth within yourselves as the only truth." Perhaps most famous of all is the line from Shakespeare, to thine own self be true.

So if being ourselves is so natural, and ancient wisdom confirms its virtue and value, why is it so difficult to carry out? It seems to me that we all suffer from varying degrees of identity crisis, or perhaps more aptly identity amnesia.

I think most of us learned to be inauthentic as an adaptive response to life. Like auditions for the role of our life, we discovered how we acted determined whether we were accepted on the world stage. It may not have seemed entirely up to us whether we could just be ourselves. The rewards of authentic expression may have been overshadowed by the risks of being real in the presence of others. So we chose the safer role back then, at the cost of our true self expression. But that was then, and we no longer need to believe what is no longer true for us. If we are still hiding our light, and betraying our true self expression, we are denying our own freedom, and missing out on the greatest joy in life.

Sometimes life has a way of breaking us open to authenticity, sometimes through breaking us down, and we discover as Anaïs Nin observed, "the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." My spiritual life has been an unlayering process, in that my joy in living has been directly proportional to my ability to shed the masks and old skins of who I thought I should be in the world. Our existence is validated and appreciated best by showing up as we truly are, not by our ability to conform. It is your and my uniqueness that is our special gift that brings value to the world and joy to us in its expression.

Each of us has a song to sing, a dance to dance and nobody can do it quite like we do. Let's give ourselves permission to get back on the stage of life and play the part of our true self, without masks, disguises, or make up. It's the role of a lifetime that you've been waiting for...and it has success written all over it.

The Truth Beneath the Contradiction

"How wonderful that we've met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making some progress." - Niels Bohr, quantum physicist

The spiritually centered life is rife with paradox. To uncover the greatest of truths we must be able to sit in the disquieting milieu of uncertainty and contradictions. We must question our basic assumptions about the way it is, until we discover a context in which the contradictory makes sense. As Carl Jung put it, "Only the paradox comes anywhere near to comprehending the fullness of life."

Jesus was a master of life, and a master of paradoxical teachings. Perhaps he used paradox to disrupt the ordinary thinking mind of his students; to upset the equilibrium of the world's logic, so a new way of seeing life might break through the crack of confusion. When we hear a declaration such as the last will be first or those who save their lives will lose it, while those who lose their lives will save it, our common sense of truth rejects the seeming contradiction, and we're left to seek a deeper reality where these assertions could be true. This gets us moving in the right direction. In order for us to uncover our true nature we must look beyond the surface of our bodies, circumstances and thoughts into the deeper realm of our being.

I personally love the paradoxical truth teachings because they act like a splash of cold water against my tendency toward drowsiness that allows me to nap on the surface of life. Though I am a believer in the wisdom of Jesus' teachings I am apt to fall asleep and return to believing only in my senses to appraise life. This slumber transports me down a rabbit hole of fear into a world of scarcity with its myriad iterations of not enough.

When I contemplate the paradox in a truth teaching I cannot stay on the surface for long. In order to find the truth in the seeming contradiction I must allow my mind and heart to rise into a realm of spiritual understanding, where the contradiction dissolves, and the deeper truth is laid bare and made plain.

We are in our third week of the Go Giver series, which essentially says that it is in giving that we receive. In this paradoxical, seeming contradictory assertion, lies the power to move us out of scarcity into abundance and true success. We must be willing to dwell upon and act upon this principle until its deeper truth is made real for us. That is the inner and outer practice. Ask yourself, how is it true that when I give, I receive? The answers will become the guidance you truly seek to live the uncommon life where generosity and abundance happily coexist.