Courage

The Mystery within...

Courage to make tough decisions is a frequently recurring need of mine. The gift of fear calls courage forth by heightening my awareness to everything and everyone around me.  The deeper my fear has been, the more heightened my awareness grew until I came to know a loving Source within the natural world and everyone in it. 

Courage led me to search for truth; reject diseased concepts of sin, masochistic obedience, and unholy martyrdom.  My eyes opened to woman’s compliance and its resulting destructive behaviors I knew too well. 

Courage led me to ponder the following recipe for abuse:

Claim masculine superiority.

Refuse to integrate feminine spirituality that honors the body and the earth.

Silence dissenting voices.

Create doctrine and dogma that obscures the sacredness of everyday life.

Claim infallibility.

Courage also led me to edit the Spiritual Works of Mercy and question what if all our beliefs were subject to intellectual and spiritual maintenance?

Grow in grace and wisdom.

Share your beliefs.

Invite positive change.

Bear wrongs patiently.

Forgive offenses willingly.

Be present to the afflicted.

Pray for the living and to the dead.

Courage remains a continuous need in me to remember to embrace my fear; trust my mind, heart and gut, trust the loving Source within, and learn from others’ reactions. 

What if we more often had to courage to grow up and become who we really are?

Conscious Women and Men

The Mystery within...   

I know my consciousness came through darkness and struggle with abuse that I suspect is at the heart of all consciousness.  My first need was for courage.  I list ingredients for courage in "God Never Hurries:"

"Courage Recipe:

Accept my fear.

Trust my mind, heart and gut.

Trust God.

Trust others and learn from their reactions." 

Also from my memoir:  "Early the next morning, while my parents were still asleep, I read an article in a publication called Radical Grace.  A 68-year-old grandmother wrote it to her granddaughter on her graduation in hopes that she could help her choose life.  She wrote of unholy martyrdom, diseased concepts of sin, masochistic obedience, and the need to always search for truth.  Her words touched deeply."  And "…the following morning while they still slept I read another article in the same publication that spoke of women's compliance and the resulting destructive behaviors I know too well."

I recently listened to a video interview between Jungian Analyst Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen M.D. and Sue Monk Kidd http://suemonkkidd.com/media-room/media-features/video/, author of "The Dance of the Dissident Daughter."  In the video Kidd tells of a controversy resulting from a presentation she gave in a convent's space.  A ninety plus year old looking nun in authority called her in the office and questioned if the controversy was true.  Upon confirmation the nun replied, "It's high time people know that God is more than two men and a bird."  Which led me to ponder a recipe for abuse.

Abuse Recipe:

Claim masculine superiority.

Refuse to integrate feminine spirituality that honors the body and the earth.

Silence dissenting voices.

Create doctrine and dogma that obscures the sacredness of everyday life.

Claim infallibility.

What if we all questioned the heart of our spiritual conciousness?