Monday, April 25, 2016

A Writer's Duty

The Mystery within...
A National Public Radio program guest caught my ear on a “To the Best of Our Knowledge” broadcast titled "Depolarize Now!"   Elif Shafak, a Turkish writer, was one of four guests speaking on depolarizing.  Shafak highlighted the value of story telling in exposing people to the differences of others non-judgmentally, thereby helping to bring different people together.  She said it is a writer’s duty to ask questions but not provide answers.  It is up to our readers to answer the questions for themselves and ultimately lead each one of us to ask uncomfortable questions of ourselves.  She spoke of a cultural evolution in progress that invites us to empathy and understanding of the other.

The broadcast got me excited about a project I want to start soon--to list all the “What if…” questions that end each God Never Hurries post for the last three years by title and subject matter.  I then want to weave these posts together to create more questions we can ask ourselves that will bring us to more empathy, understanding and compassion for the other. 


What if we all learned how to ask uncomfortable questions of ourselves?

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Goodness Within

The Mystery within...
During times of extreme stress or difficulty I have occasionally experienced a Caring Presence within--separate from myself—but yet a part of me.  Recently I have experienced something similar that I would call a brief invitation to a good cry.  It was fleeting but a comfort to know a good cry is within if I need it.

In a more distant past I am now recalling when the Goodness Within brought life giving acceptance and forgiveness of another when I felt overwhelmed with rejection.  I was having a hard time just functioning so I sat down and did some deep diaphragmatic breathing while saying a prayer I adapted from a former yoga class.

Lord, keep me protected.
Nourish and guide me in my life.
May I help create vitality among one another.
May there be no enmity among us.

When I got to the line, "May there be no enmity among us," my overwhelming feeling of rejection was replaced with a blessed sense of acceptance and forgiveness of the other.  It was a life changing moment that became a catalyst for changes I needed to make in how I lived my life.  Those changes allowed me to tell the tale of other life changing encounters with the Goodness Within in "God Never Hurries." 

From "God Never Hurries:"

"Be not afraid."

"Justice will be kind it will be done over a period of time."

"I hold your hand and all of you, know that we are one."

"Your father will forgive you."


What if we all trusted the Goodness Within to guide us through life changing encounters? 

Monday, April 11, 2016

No Control

The Mystery within...
Serious illness has recently revisited those I care most about and reminded me that I really have no control over what happens to another.  Accepting that fact has taken some of the edge off my angst.  I can pray for the return of health, make chicken soup, be available to help, and offer suggestions.  But I really have no control in the outcome.  Acceptance of that fact feels like grace.

I was grateful for my rain gear and rubber boots as my yellow lab Oliver and I took a break to walk to the woods in a gentle rain.  There, bright green moss covering some rocks is the first color to return to end winter's subdued landscape.  Upon closer inspection, tiny green shoots of new life are beginning to poke through the brown wet carpet of last year's leaves.   And I felt graced again when I realized that this simple pleasure is all I really need in my life to feel complete.


What if relinquishing all control is the way to peace?

Monday, April 4, 2016

Snippets of Wisdom

The Mystery within...
I have a friend who is active in the Black Lives Matter movement who also helps me navigate the world of electronics.  I envied the training she recently attended for her social justice work.  So each time we've met since, I've asked her to share one snippet from her social justice training.

- Stay spiritually nourished was the first snippet.

- Practice good self-care was the second.

- Look for beauty in the world was the third.

Then this past Saturday I attended a mini workshop with Marianne Helm, "Two Perspectives on One Life Lived," presented through stories aimed at making us wise.  Each story was told twice around one set of facts.  The first telling had the protagonist react positively to the given facts; then it was retold but had the protagonist reacting negatively to the same facts.  The positive or negative energy generated from the two versions of each story was astounding.  To reinforce this in our own lives we wrote our own positive and negative reaction story to facts in our previous day.  I left the workshop with a deep knowing that my attitude creates my reality and also has a ripple effect on others.  Even if bad things happen, when I take a closer look, something good can come out of everything. True happiness is within my control for it originates in my mind and heart.

And today as I sat in a waiting room there was a free publication titled "natural awakenings" on a small table next to my elbow.  "Wise words" caught my eye and when I picked it up and turned to the page indicated I found "Bruce Lipton on the Epigenetics Revolution—Our Beliefs Reprogram Our Genetic Destiny" written by Linda Sechrist.  Lipton, a stem cell biologist, is an internationally recognized leader in bridging science and spirit.  Epigenetics (epi meaning above) is a revolution in our knowledge and awareness of heredity.  A few astounding snippets from Sechrist's article:

- Changing our lifestyle, beliefs and perceptions also changes our genetic expression.

- Our perceptions and the way we live, including our spiritual nature, adjusts our genes to manifest either a functional or dysfunctional state of health.

- As more of us hold the intention for living a life of love and peace, the broadcast of that harmonic energy amplifies and those not yet there will eventually entrain to the stronger signal.  This is the shift we need to make for conscious evolution to occur.

- We can't die because our real identity is represented by the invisible environment-derived broadcast, which might be referred to as spirit. 


All of the above reminds me of my November 23, 2015 post Reflecting on Instability and the priest, paleontologist and mystic Teilhard de Chardin.


What if science shows us changing our own individual actions can save the world?