On Vines, Branches, and the Inner Light
August 5, 2009
Filed under Apostle Paul, Bible, Buddhism, Celtic Christianity, Change Your Life, Christian Living, Christian Meditation, Christian Mysticism, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Discipleship, Evangelism, Global Church, God's Kingdom, God's Love, God's Story, Gospel, Grace, Inner Light, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Kingdom of God, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Paul's Teachings, Personal Discipline, Personal Growth, Personal Renewal, Personal Vision, Quaker Spirituality, Renewal of the Mind, Scripture, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation
Tags: Christian Meditation, Christianity, Contemplation, Discipleship, Mysticism, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Growth
L. Dwight Turner
Keep watch over your heart, for therein lie the wellsprings of life. [Proverbs 4:23]
Abide in my love….[John 15:9]
For the Christian, these scriptures imply that life is to be lived from the inside out. This is something that cannot be reiterated too often. The wellsprings of life flow from within. Christ calls his followers to tap into the divine source of power residing within. Without this vital connection we can do nothing. It is only by realizing that there exists within us a Divine Light that gives us both life and power that we can begin to accomplish any task that Christ has set before us. If we are to be successful in working with the indwelling Holy Spirit in the process of spiritual transformation, we must have an experiential understanding of the fact that the core of the Christian life involves connecting with the Divine Source, which is the Inner Light.
When this awareness finally dawns in our hearts and minds, we can exclaim along with the apostle John:
See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. (1 John 3:1 NAS)
What happens when a person begins to abide more consistently in the Light of the Holy Spirit? What sort of changes is wrought in his or her character and what impact does this have on daily life? Thomas Kelly tells us:
They become a holy sanctuary of adoration and of self-oblation, where we are kept in perfect peace, if our minds be stayed on Him who has found us in the inward springs of our life. And in brief intervals of overpowering visitation we are able to carry the sanctuary frame of mind into the world, into its turmoil and its fitfulness, and in a hyperesthesia of the soul, we see all mankind tinged with deeper shadows, and touched with Galilean glories. Powerfully are the springs of our will moved to an abandon of singing love toward God; powerfully are we moved to a new and overcoming love toward time-blinded men and all creation. In this Center of Creation all things are ours, and we are Christ’s and Christ is God’s. We are owned men, ready to run and not be weary and to walk and not faint.
Kelly’s vision of the person abiding in Christ is astounding but not different from what Jesus prayed to the Father in the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John. Imagine what it would be like to be touched with Galilean Glories, to be owned men…ready to run and not be weary and to walk and not faint. These truly are the blessings of abiding.
When we abide, truly abide, the living and Word of God becomes a concrete reality in our lives, giving us guidance, comfort and peace. The Living Word becomes a tangible reality, not a distance, broken echo.
When we abide, truly abide, our spiritual life becomes a living organism, not a withering garden. We are grafted to the life-giving vine. Kelly says:
To that divine Life we must cling. In that Current we must bathe. In that abiding yet energizing Center we are all made one, behind and despite the surface differences of our forms and cultures. For the heart of the religious life is in commitment and worship, not in reflection and theory.
And when we become deeply engrafted into the Vine, God speaks to us on all levels, giving direction, comfort, strength and assurance. A.W. Tozer says it well:
He communicates with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills, and our emotions. The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion….
So when we sing, ‘Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,’ we are not thinking of the nearness of place, but of the nearness of relationship. It is for increasing degrees of awareness that we pray, for a more perfect consciousness of the divine Presence. We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.
Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Our intimacy with God deepens and our sense of his presence becomes more consistent and less sporadic. In fostering our ongoing connection with the vine, we come closer and closer to realizing that divine light that shines somewhere in the breast of every believer. Tozer speaks clearly to this theme when he states:
As we begin to focus upon God the things of the spirit will take shape before our inner eyes. Obedience to the word of Christ will bring an inward revelation of the Godhead (John 14:21-23). It will give acute perception enabling us to see God even as is promised to the pure in heart. A new God-consciousness will seize upon us and we shall begin to taste and hear and inwardly feel the God who is our life and our all. There will be seen the constant shining of the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9)
Sadly, for many sincere followers of Jesus, the Master’s words about being with us always and about his love for us are little more than arid ideas with little emotional, experiential impact. This is due to the fact that so many times we are distracted by “busyness” and spend little time communing with the light and love that are the first emanations from Christ’s being. The only way to rectify this and turn God’s love for us into a living, life-changing reality is through regular periods of quiet communion. Contemporary spiritual director Jan Johnson speaks clearly to this issue, reminding us of the importance of our times of spiritual refreshing:
One of Jesus’ greatest promises was this: “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:20), but we may not experience this. Instead, we keep praying, “God be with us.” That’s because we are distracted by life’s thousand demands and by our habit of filling in empty time slots with entertainment. Our mind flashes from one thing to another, always occupied. A weekly visit to church can’t begin to penetrate this busyness. Contemplation reconnects us with God in the midst of this scatterdness. Life pulls me in so many directions – between the demands of my work, my husband’s plans, the kid’s needs…..I may say I am “thirsty for God as the deer is for water,” but at the moment I need to get my hair cut. However, when I pause to contemplate and be with God, I sense that this God who holds the universe together can also hold me together. In the quiet, I recall how God has helped me in the past. Without the clamor of demands around me, I remember that I am one God so loves.
Contemplative practice can be far more than a powerful mode of mystical prayer – it can also be an exercise in healing. This is especially true in relation to psycho-spiritual issues. Jan Johnson discusses a few of the ways in which contemplative practice can help with personal healing:
The simple practice of contemplation creates a bond with God in which God can heal the scatterdness of our lives and these other unhealthy spiritual states you may be experiencing:
Spiritual dryness
Guilt and Shame
Lack of Direction and Purpose
I don’t know about you, but in my life, I can relate to all three of these negative psycho-spiritual states. And, like Sister Jan, I have found that contemplative prayer, in whatever form it might take, can be of immense value.
Evelyn Underhill, that master of the mystic life, vividly described the nature of her prayer life in its more negative aspects:
We mostly spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to want, to have, and to do. Craving, clutching, and fussing, we are kept in perpetual unrest. My jabbering prayers have been full of what I want, what I think I should have, and what I want God to do.
Johnson goes on to describe how our self-absorbed prayers have a tendency to lead us down the road of spiritual anguish and despair. In the end, it results in a sense of hopeless desperation and the irony of it all is that it stems from our own misguided notions of what prayer is to begin with:
Imagining He has let us down, we become estranged from Him. In a culture that teaches us to perform for rewards, prayer becomes one more place of defeat and God is one more disappointment. We may even keep going through the motions spiritually – going to church, helping others – but in our heart we wonder, “If God is good, wouldn’t He give me the good things I want? Because He doesn’t, either God is not good, or I’m hopeless….We come to a dismal place because we misunderstand prayer as a means to have our desires fulfilled instead of a place to encounter the compassionate, all-seeking God.
There are times, those special times when I sink deeply enough into the silence, when I come face to face with my own tendency to not pay close enough attention to what is going on in these “quiet times.” I love the way the writer closes out the paragraph with that stinging juxtaposition about whether we see prayer as a place where we have our desires filled or a venue where we encounter the compassionate, all-seeking God.
In his own marvelous and direct way, Steve Brown shares with us the fact that he, like so many Christians, was well educated about the realm of the spirit, even that quiet center that so many have described over the centuries, but had little personal experience of that quiet abiding.
I was only a tourist describing a country I had never visited. I was convinced that the country was there, I had read the travel brochures, I had worked hard at learning the language of that country. I had even met people who lived there and had listened to everything they said about the country. The problem was that I had become an expert on a country that I had never visited.
Richard Foster opens his classic book Celebration of Discipline by stating that what is needed today is not more gifted people or intelligent people. What is needed today is more deep people. And how to we become deep? We become grafted into the Living Vine. We abide.
Sometimes I think we lose track of how incredible the whole concept and process of prayer is. I know I am guilty as charged. In my work at LifeBrook I once designed a two-day training, not on prayer as many people had asked, but on preparing for prayer. You see, I had come to the point of awareness where I saw that I had not been giving the practice of prayer the place of honor it deserved.
It is hard to express this in words, but I had a personal epiphany around this issue. It dawned on me, in my gut, that when I went into my prayer closet I was coming into the presence of that very being, that inexplicable intelligence responsible for putting together this incredible universe, with all its complexity, diversity, and finely-tuned balance. Friends, it literally took my breath away.
What made this prayer experience so profound for me was the reality that God, the divine being and creator of all that is and ever will be, not only wanted to spend time with me, but he actually loved me. And what is even more amazing was the fact that his love was not static, but instead, was dynamic – a genuine affection that provided me with provision, purpose, and passion for life. As I sat there in silence that blessed morning, the words of the prophet Jeremiah jumped off the page and penetrated my heart in a way both novel and life-changing:
For I know the plans I have for you…They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you…I will end your captivity and restore your fortune. (Jeremiah 29:11-14a)
As I said, this episode literally left me panting for breath, but it didn’t end there. As is my practice, I normally take a book of devotions with me into my prayer sanctuary, just in case the Spirit leads me to open and read, especially if my period of prayer seems do be without direction. I opened the book, a short collection of essays on scriptural themes. It was no coincidence that I opened the book to the page where I had placed book mark, totally at random, prior to beginning this period of prayer. You can imagine what I felt when I began to read these words by Lloyd Ogilvie:
Talk about a conversation opener! Imagine someone you love and admire and whose thoughts and opinions you cherish, saying to you, “You are constantly on my mind. And when I think of you they are wonderful thoughts of peace and future happiness for you. I’m pulling for the very best for you. What a joy it is to be your cheerleader!” I would not be difficult to find time for conversation with a person like that. Multiply the best of human care and concern for us a billion times and you’ve only begun to fathom God’s love for us as He calls us into conversation. That’s the whole point of time alone with God. It is to allow Him the opportunity to love us.
Rather than write more about this, let me issue you a challenge. Over the next week, spend a block of time each day, say 15-30 minutes, during which you reflect on just what prayer is and what it is not. Really spend time with this, keep a small journal of your thoughts, and especially consider just who and what it is you are encountering when you go into prayer.
Don’t approach this as an exercise in intellectual snobbery or any kind of effort at theological description. Instead, let your heart lead you into your response.
Be especially open and sensitive to meeting the incredible being that created all that is, even you, in all its incredible complexity.
If you persist with this exercise over a period of several weeks, I predict your prayer time will be forever transformed. Try it and see.
© L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
Characteristics of a Post-Religious Spirituality
April 19, 2009
Filed under Buddha's Teaching, Buddhism, Buddhist Dharma, Celtic Christianity, Chan, Change Your Life, Compassion, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Creation Centered Spirituality, Culture, Dao de jing, Daoism, Divine Mind, Divine Potential, Emerging Christianity, Global Church, Inner Light, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Kingdom of God, Laozi, Metaphysical Christianity, Mindfulness, Morality and Values, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Native Amercian Spirituality, Nature Mysticism, New Thought, Optimism, Personal Epiphanies, Personal Growth, Personal Renewal, Personal Vision, Positive Faith, Renewal of the Mind, Sacred Center, Sacred Character, Sacred Mind, Sacred Silence, Sacred Study, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices, Spirituality, Vision, World Religions, Worldview, Zen
Tags: Change Your Life, Global Religion, New Wineskins, Post-Religious Spirituality, Spiritual Growth, Spirituality
As I have discussed before here on Wellsprings of Light, the western world is clearly moving into an age in which humankind’s divine pursuits are increasingly taking place outside the confines of traditional religious institutions. As is now said so often the phrase is becoming trite, “We are spiritual, not religious.”
Even if it seems trite, that well-worn phrase contains more than a germ of truth. More and more sincere seekers of the sublime aspects of reality are finding what they are looking for in “new wineskins,” which are often far different from the old models of religion. This is, indeed, a positive trend and one that creates great hope for humankind as we shake off the shakles of false religion and begin to get a foretaste of what authentic spiritual reality is like.
With that said, what follows is a listing of characteristics that one often sees in the “New Spirituality.” Keep in mind that this listing is far from complete. In fact, it barely skims the surface of the rapidly evolving spiritual scene in western culture. Some of the common and not so common characteristics are as follows:
It is post-religious in the sense that there is a recognition that genuine spirituality in this era will most likely evolve outside the parameters of traditional systems of faith.
Focused on increased understanding and application of universal spiritual/mental laws.
Seeks to facilitate a decreased dominance of the Small Mind.
Brings about an increased capacity to operate out of Sacred Mind.
Promotes discovery of our true spiritual identity.
Is far more experiential in pursuits and content; less emphasis on conceptual knowledge and doctrine.
As a result of the preceding point, it is oriented toward disciplined spiritual practice.
Pays honor to the reality and the sanctity of “Sacred Silence” and, as a result, is contemplative.
Focused on spiritual growth and the development of Sacred Character.
It is purpose driven (universal and personal).
Exhibits an engaged spirituality that seeks the betterment of life for all beings. In the fullest sense, the post-religious spirituality is “Socio-Spiritual.”
It promotes a deep ecological consciousness, flowing from reverence for and compassion for the planet.
Fosters the spiritual practices of a “Mysticism of Nature.”
Views the body as the Temple of the Spirit and seeks to promote positive health based on holistic practices.
It is at vanguard of the study and application of Energy Healing and working with the Divine Light.
Although community based, it maintains a global focus based on the interconnectivity of all things.
© L. D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
Meditation and Living From the Sacred Mind
February 1, 2009
Filed under Buddha's Teaching, Buddhism, Buddhist Dharma, Celtic Christianity, Christian Meditation, Christian Mission and Calling, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Church, Church Renewal, Church and Culture, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Creation Centered Spirituality, Discipleship, Divine Mind, Emerging Christianity, Gospel, Grace, Inner Light, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Kingdom of God, Meditation, Metaphysical Christianity, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Personal Discipline, Personal Epiphanies, Personal Growth, Prayer, Quaker Spirituality, Renewal of the Mind, Sacred Center, Sacred Character, Sacred Mind, Sacred Silence, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices, Spirituality, World Religions
Tags: Buddhism, Christian Meditation, Discipleship, Discipline, Interspirituality, Meditation, Mysticism, Practical Spirituality, Spiritual Formation
Lead us from darkness to light;
Lead us from illusion to wisdom;
Lead us from death to the deathlessness.
Lead us from conflict and suffering to harmony, peace, and happiness.
These brief words from the Upanishads, one of India’s spiritual classics, gives a brief but comprehensive view of what the spiritual journey is all about. As I meditated on the principles here, I became aware of the opposites that exist within the words and how these polarities in many ways describe the basic difference between living from our lower mind and our Sacred Mind. For example, when we operate in the confines of the lower mind, here is what we get:
Darkness
Illusion
Death
Conflict
Suffering
In contrast, living from the limitless position of our Sacred Mind, entire vistas open to us that we most likely overlooked before. When we arrive at a space where we can consistently allow our Sacred Mind to be in the driver’s seat, we encounter:
Light
Wisdom
Deathlessness
Harmony
Peace
Happiness
I have consistently found that practices such as meditation, prayer, mindfulness, silence, and service help us acquire the ability to live more consistently from our Sacred Mind. It is because of this reality that here at Lifebrook International we spend so much time stressing the importance of spiritual practice, especially the practice of meditation.
Meditation is one of the most significant and beneficial practices in which we may engage. Putting aside the deep spiritual benefits derived from its utilization, there are numerous highly practical benefits as well. Medical science has discovered and verified the fact that regular meditation practice reduces stress and its resultant complications, lowers blood pressure, improves memory, slows aging, and aids in healing from both illness and injury. Mediation’s use as a stress reduction technique alone is ample reason to give it a fair trial, given the hectic lifestyle each of us maintains. The benefits, however, are far more than physical and psychological. As all lasting faith traditions have maintained, meditation helps us to find the Sacred Light that exists at the core of our being and provides a tested and proven method of making that Light an integral part of our daily living.
What I have discovered in my personal practice of meditation is that it is a way to deepen my contact with God and to make the power of divine energy more of a practical, pragmatic resource to use for God’s purposes. As countless mystics have asserted across the ages, meditation helps us know God as opposed to knowing about God. In so doing, regular meditative practices put is in contact with the very creative power of the universe.
As you expand your awareness of meditation, you will find that there are many techniques, each with its own goals and procedures. The trick is finding the method which may serve you best, then sticking with it in order to attain the deeper, more subtle benefits of the technique. While it is interesting to flit from one practice to another, much like a Humming Bird going from flower to flower, the most profound and lasting benefits of meditative practice comes from deepening your connection with one practice. As an old Buddhist adage implies, if you are looking for water, it is usually better to dig one hole 50 feet deep, rather than digging 50 holes one foot deep. Author and meditation teacher Jack Kornfield tells us:
To deepen our practice further, we must choose a way to develop our attention systematically and give ourselves to it quite fully. Otherwise we will drift like a boat without a rudder. To learn to concentrate we must choose a prayer or a meditation and follow this path with commitment and steadiness, a willingness to work with our practice day after day, no matter what arises. This is not easy for most people. They would like their spiritual life to show immediate and cosmic results. But what great art is ever learned quickly? Any deep training opens in direct proportion to how much we give ourselves to it.
Although finding our particular meditative practice is highly important, for many of us this is a difficult process. For some, this indecision is due to a general personality issue about making a commitment to anything. For most, however, it may be something else – it may be the result of having too many options to choose from.
Without a doubt, America has rapidly become a spiritual smorgasbord. A sincere spiritual aspirant has a wide variety of menu items to choose from ranging from the highly spiced cuisine of Hinduism to the bland austerity of Zen. While this far-ranging religious buffet has numerous benefits, it can also present several significant problems.
First, this plethora of spiritual options creates an army of metaphysical nibblers. Although well-meaning, these folks take a bite of this and a taste of that – a smidgen of Tibetan Buddhism and a morsel of Theravada. As a result, these seekers are always running from one sample to another without ever getting a real sense of what these various paths are about.
Related to the above described spiritual nibbling are other seekers who take a larger sampling of one of the available options, but never go too far. These are the aspirants who satisfy themselves with spiritual finger-foods but never get around to eating the whole meal. Content with the appetizers, this group seems capable of discussing the many spiritual paths that are available, but cannot speak to the deeper issues of any faith.
During the years that I taught regular workshops on spirituality, meditation, and Buddhism, I often encountered these individuals. I don’t mean to make light of their sincerity. The majority of these seekers were desirous of spiritual growth, but were unable, for whatever reasons, to get past the bombardment of what can legitimately be described as America’s Spiritual Circus. Whenever I would ask, “What is your spiritual practice?” they would respond:
“Well, I have done some Vipassana and some Sufi dancing, and last summer I went on a vision quest and, oh yeah, I did a sweat lodge.”
More times than not, these aspirants resembled the folks we just talked about, searching for water by digging 50 holes, one-foot deep, rather than one 50 foot hole. The results, of course, were predictable: superficiality, lack of wisdom, and spiritual confusion.
With the myriad spiritual options available to us today, it becomes increasingly vital that we learn to be discerning in terms of choosing a spiritual path. Moreover, it is equally important to be able to make a firm commitment to our chosen path and stick with it long enough to encounter difficulties, work through them, and come out the other side. Only then will we begin to make true progress.
Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. Sampling the spiritual options available to us is not a bad thing. In fact, without such sampling we will most likely never discover our best path. The point I am making is each of us must eventually move beyond mere sampling. We have to, as the Buddhist principle states, “take our one seat.”
In his insightful book, A Path With A Heart, Jack Kornfield speaks to the necessity of choosing one spiritual practice and staying with it:
Spiritual transformation is a profound process that doesn’t happen by accident. We need a repeated discipline, a genuine training, in order to let go of our old habits of mind and to find and sustain a new way of seeing. To mature on the spiritual path, we need to commit ourselves in a systematic way….Until a person chooses on discipline and commits to it, how can a deep understanding of themselves and the world be revealed to them? Spiritual practice requires sustained practice and a commitment to look very deeply into ourselves and the world around us…
It has often been said that there are many ways up the mountain and this is most certainly true. However, the existence of numerous ways to advance toward our goal does not mean that each of these ways is best for us. After a period of sampling, it is imperative that we select a practice and get on with the process of making this discipline a regular part of our daily living. To continue dabbling here and there can be exciting, but in the end will not produce lasting results.
If you happen to live in an area where there are several centers that teach meditation, I would encourage you to visit more than one and experiment with the various techniques, then select one that seems to resonate with you. If no such center is available, look around on line and try some of the myriad techniques available there. The point in the beginning is not so much which technique you select, but that you establish a disciplined practice. Experience teaching meditation over the years has taught me that the setting of a disciplined spiritual practice is the most important lesson a seeker can learn at the beginning of their spiritual journey. Unfortunately, discipline is not such a popular word these days.
As each of us continues on our spiritual journey it is vital to understand that the foundation of our growth is the establishment of a disciplined spiritual practice. Without such a practice, much of what we do will, in the words of that great sage Solomon, be “chasing after the wind.”
For many of us living in the contemporary culture, this reality is sometimes tough to swallow. There are many reasons that we are resistant to this cardinal principle of spirituality. Space doesn’t allow for a full treatment of this theme, but I would like to give at least a brief overview of two primary reasons we tend to skirt the issue of establishing a firm spiritual practice. These are: Lack of time and lack of discipline.
Whether teaching spiritual principles to workshop participants, business professionals, or college students, I have found the most frequent reason offered for the absence of regular spiritual practice in a person’s life is lack of time. I understand this all too well because it is a reason (read excuse) that I have often offered myself.
Granted, life in today’s hectic society is filled with seemingly overwhelming tasks and myriad obligations. I frequently find myself wishing for 28 hours in a day, rather than 24. And, at times, even those extra four hours would be insufficient. I know many of you can relate to what I am saying. However, I have found that in my life, if I am truly committed to growing spiritually, I can find a place to carve out the time. Will I have to sacrifice something I enjoy doing? Perhaps. Will I have to change my schedule around? Most likely. Without belaboring the point, suffice it to say that rarely have I found an individual who couldn’t find the time to establish at least a short daily session of meditation, prayer, Scripture reading, or another spiritual undertaking.
Think of it like this. If you honestly believe that your spiritual evolution is a high priority in your life, then regular spiritual practice is essential. One cardinal truth of the spiritual path is the fact that you are not going to get to the other side of the river unless you get in the boat. The important principle here is to just get started. Don’t plan beyond that. Begin with only five minutes. After a brief time, double it to 10 minutes and eventually work your way up to whatever you believe is right for you.
Often, our lack of setting aside part of our day for spiritual practice is not so much a lack of time as it is a lack of discipline. “Discipline” is not a politically correct word these days. This is unfortunate because without discipline, you are not going to progress in any area of living, especially your spiritual life. You may be desirous of advancing in your spiritual walk, but that is only a fantasy. Like the “Beauty School Dropout” in the movie “Grease,” you have the dream, not the drive.”
I wish I could tell you that there was an easy way to develop more discipline in your life, but that’s not the case, especially if you have a long pattern of being undisciplined. The fact is, you’re going to have to work at it. Without discipline, one’s life devolves into a chaotic mediocrity. Without discipline, there isn’t the slightest sliver of achieving a life of vital spirituality.
In closing, I hope it is obvious how connected lack of time and lack of discipline are. It seems each one feeds the other in an endless cycle that results in paralysis of action. Because we do not take the time to establish a regular routine of spiritual practice, we are not able to develop discipline; and without discipline, we never find the time to practice. And on it goes.
What is clear is the fact that we need spiritual practice that is disciplined, focused, and productive. Without such a practice, we wind up like a dog chasing its tail, or, in the words of Solomon, chasing after the wind.
© L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
Meditation and the Sacred Silence
January 30, 2009
Filed under Buddha's Teaching, Buddhism, Celtic Christianity, Chan, Christian Education, Christian Meditation, Christian Optimism, Christianity, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Creation Centered Spirituality, Devotions, Discipleship, Divine Mind, Holy Spirit, Inner Light, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Meditation, Metaphysical Christianity, Mindfulness, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Nature Mysticism, Personal Discipline, Personal Epiphanies, Personal Growth, Quaker Spirituality, Sacred Center, Sacred Character, Sacred Mind, Sacred Silence, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices
Tags: Christian Meditation, Contemplation, Discipleship, Meditation, Mindfulness, Mysticism, Quakers, Thomas Kelly
L. Dwight Turner
What if I told you there was a wonderful place on this planet that you could visit for little or no cost, but would ultimately change your life for the better? Suppose I also said that this magical place was a place of beauty, creativity, love, peace, joy, and personal nurturance, what would you say? I think most of us would, without undue hesitation, ask for a map and directions.
Well, my friend, there is such a place and people have been visiting it for eons. It is a place of where peaceful solitude and exciting energy coexist in a harmonious synergy that, when you bathe in it, gives you refreshment and rejuvenation greater than any fountain of youth. Over the centuries, those who have frequently visited this holy site have attested to it myriad benefits and blessings and have all said that to fully put its wonders into words is an exercise in futility.
Most remarkable, no one owns this place and you are free to come whenever you like. But please be forewarned, once you sample its blessings, you will want to come back time and time again.
Where is this blessed place? It is within you. It is, for lack of a better phrase:
The Sacred Silence.
Once you skillfully master the methods of getting to the Silence, you can go there from any place – a busy street, a business meeting, a church service, or even from a dentist’s chair. In the beginning, however, it is useful to establish a consistent time and place where you practice going into Sacred Silence. You will find, in the end, that is worth the time and effort.
It is in the Silence that you make contact with the Divine Source and, it you are mindful, alert, and attentive, you will get to know this Source at a deeper level. In Sacred Silence, the most important lesson you will learn is how to listen to God. Spiritual teacher Wayne Dyer, in discussing what he calls “The Gap,” that space between our thoughts where the Silence lives, illustrates an important lesson about the connection between the Silence and learning to “listen.” Dyer points out that the words silent and listen are composed of the same letters. In essence, listen has the same content as silent, and silent has the same content as listen. Further, you can rearrange each word to spell the other – rearrange the letters of silent and you get listen; rearrange the letters of the word listen, and you get silent. There is an obvious lesson in this small “synchronicity.” The intimate connection between these two words tells us a profound truth: In the Silence our primary goal, once we get the monkey mind to quiet down, is to listen.
Our Sacred Sanctuary
We encounter the Sacred Silence in our personal “Sacred Sanctuary.” This inner chamber is like our own sacred space, the place that houses our Inner Light, as our Quaker friends call it. We enter this special place by, as mentioned earlier, by quieting our minds and clearing out our own brand of chronic, mental clutter.
The Sacred Sanctuary is that special place inside our being that serves as our own personal “Holy of Holies,” a divine chamber where our human spirit comes into more intimate contact with the One True Spirit. This inner temple is where we are first emptied of the limitations of the “little mind,” our lower self, and we are filled with both Light and Life.
More than just an empty mind, our sacred inner sanctuary is a place of preparation. It is a holy temple where the Spirit of God dwells and it is a place where, if we possess ears to hear, we can be taught those “great and mighty things we have never heard.” This sacred place is not only a place of teaching, but also a great temple of comfort and nurturance. It is in the spiritual light of this inner sanctuary where God’s unlimited grace, mercy, and comfort are imparted into the depths of our spirit. In this aspect, our inner sanctuary is a chamber of divine healing and spiritual balancing.
Moreover, it is our holy place where real miracles are conceived.
Noted Quaker writer Thomas Kelly speaks of this inner sanctuary and the benefits accrued from learning to abide there:
Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of men. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And He is within us all.
Buddhist teachers often refer to the mind as a monkey, jumping from branch to branch, screeching loudly even if there is nothing to screech about. I can relate to this description and I suspect most of you can as well. It is difficult to hear the voice of God with all this clamoring going on. It is the mind’s nature to flit from place to place like a bee moving from one flower to another very rapidly.
Our job is not so much to still the mind, but at least quiet it down enough so that when that “still, small voice” speaks to us, we have a chance to hear it. That’s where contemplation and the various forms of Christian meditation come into play. The various methods used are designed to achieve a certain level of quietness in the mind. It is not so much to stop our thinking or as some say, “empty the mind.” Instead, it is to center the mind down to a point where it is receptive to the work of God through the Holy Spirit and our own Inner Light. The benefits of such practice are too numerous to list, but one of the first things we may notice is this form of deep prayer allows us to reach a point where we may develop a clear, spiritual perspective on life. Christian teacher Jan Johnson speaks to this:
Our mind flashes from one thing to another, always occupied. A weekly visit to church can’t begin to penetrate this busyness. Contemplation reconnects us with God in the midst of this scatteredness. Life pulls me in so many directions – between the demands of my work, my husband’s plans, the kid’s needs, commitments outside our home, dreams I want to pursue – I may say I’m “thirsty for God as the deer pants for water,” but at the moment I need to get my hair cut. However, when I pause to contemplate and be with God, I sense that this God who holds the universe together can also hold me together. In the quiet, I recall how God has helped me in the past. Without the clamor of demands around me, I remember that I am one God so loves.
Getting to a level of quietness so that we can actually begin to hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit is easier said than done. The monkey mind keeps on clamoring, especially if we have many pressures and/or problems in our lives. It has been said that the average human being has 60,000 separate thoughts each day. That’s a lot of thinking and a lot of noise. Our internal chattering is often repetitive in nature and incessant. When initially faced with the admonition of scripture to “Be still, and know that I am God,” (Ps. 46:10) the notion of achieving quietude of mind seems like a pipe dream. However, the task is not nearly as daunting as it may initially seem, although it will require commitment, patience, and persistence.
At times, it is not easy to see the progress that has been made until you take some time out and really look at what is happening with your mind. It is in these periods of self-reflection and evaluation that you begin to see actually progress you had failed to see before. Often this growth in cognitive mastery is quite subtle and sublime.
If you are a seasoned practitioner of meditation, I encourage you to keep at it. Make extra commitment and effort to go even deeper. Truly, beyond a certain point you can’t go back. Your only choice is to forge ahead toward a goal well worth striving to attain. This is part of Right Effort and it is indispensable on the spiritual journey.
If you are just beginning a mediation practice, I laud your decision to encounter the spiritual light that exists within you. Although your journey is just beginning, I assure you that with consecrated effort and proper encouragement, you can make consistent progress and every aspect of your life will improve.
© L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
Meditation and the Sacred Silence
January 29, 2009
Filed under Buddhism, Celtic Christianity, Chan, Christian Education, Christian Meditation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Creation Centered Spirituality, Discipleship, Divine Mind, Holy Spirit, Inner Light, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Meditation, Metaphysical Christianity, Mindfulness, Mystical Spirituality, Nature Mysticism, Personal Discipline, Quaker Spirituality, Renewal of the Mind, Sacred Center, Sacred Mind, Sacred Silence, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices
Tags: Buddhism, Christian Meditation, Contemplation, Discipleship, Meditation, Quakers, Sacred Silence, Spirituality, Thomas Kelly, Wayne Dyer
Mick Turner
What if I told you there was a wonderful place on this planet that you could visit for little or no cost, but would ultimately change your life for the better? Suppose I also said that this magical place was a place of beauty, creativity, love, peace, joy, and personal nurturance, what would you say? I think most of us would, without undue hesitation, ask for a map and directions.
Well, my friend, there is such a place and people have been visiting it for eons. It is a place of where peaceful solitude and exciting energy coexist in a harmonious synergy that, when you bathe in it, gives you refreshment and rejuvenation greater than any fountain of youth. Over the centuries, those who have frequently visited this holy site have attested to it myriad benefits and blessings and have all said that to fully put its wonders into words is an exercise in futility.
Most remarkable, no one owns this place and you are free to come whenever you like. But please be forewarned, once you sample its blessings, you will want to come back time and time again.
Where is this blessed place? It is within you. It is, for lack of a better phrase:
The Sacred Silence.
Once you skillfully master the methods of getting to the Silence, you can go there from any place – a busy street, a business meeting, a church service, or even from a dentist’s chair. In the beginning, however, it is useful to establish a consistent time and place where you practice going into Sacred Silence. You will find, in the end, that is worth the time and effort.
It is in the Silence that you make contact with the Divine Source and, it you are mindful, alert, and attentive, you will get to know this Source at a deeper level. In Sacred Silence, the most important lesson you will learn is how to listen to God. Spiritual teacher Wayne Dyer, in discussing what he calls “The Gap,” that space between our thoughts where the Silence lives, illustrates an important lesson about the connection between the Silence and learning to “listen.” Dyer points out that the words silent and listen are composed of the same letters. In essence, listen has the same content as silent, and silent has the same content as listen. Further, you can rearrange each word to spell the other – rearrange the letters of silent and you get listen; rearrange the letters of the word listen, and you get silent. There is an obvious lesson in this small “synchronicity.” The intimate connection between these two words tells us a profound truth: In the Silence our primary goal, once we get the monkey mind to quiet down, is to listen.
Our Sacred Sanctuary
We encounter the Sacred Silence in our personal “Sacred Sanctuary.” This inner chamber is like our own sacred space, the place that houses our Inner Light, as our Quaker friends call it. We enter this special place by, as mentioned earlier, by quieting our minds and clearing out our own brand of chronic, mental clutter.
The Sacred Sanctuary is that special place inside our being that serves as our own personal “Holy of Holies,” a divine chamber where our human spirit comes into more intimate contact with the One True Spirit. This inner temple is where we are first emptied of the limitations of the “little mind,” our lower self, and we are filled with both Light and Life.
More than just an empty mind, our sacred inner sanctuary is a place of preparation. It is a holy temple where the Spirit of God dwells and it is a place where, if we possess ears to hear, we can be taught those “great and mighty things we have never heard.” This sacred place is not only a place of teaching, but also a great temple of comfort and nurturance. It is in the spiritual light of this inner sanctuary where God’s unlimited grace, mercy, and comfort are imparted into the depths of our spirit. In this aspect, our inner sanctuary is a chamber of divine healing and spiritual balancing.
Moreover, it is our holy place where real miracles are conceived.
Noted Quaker writer Thomas Kelly speaks of this inner sanctuary and the benefits accrued from learning to abide there:
Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a Divine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with intimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to these persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and completely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic center, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within which illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the face of men. It is the Shekinah of the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the slumbering Christ, stirring to be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And He is within us all.
Buddhist teachers often refer to the mind as a monkey, jumping from branch to branch, screeching loudly even if there is nothing to screech about. I can relate to this description and I suspect most of you can as well. It is difficult to hear the voice of God with all this clamoring going on. It is the mind’s nature to flit from place to place like a bee moving from one flower to another very rapidly.
Our job is not so much to still the mind, but at least quiet it down enough so that when that “still, small voice” speaks to us, we have a chance to hear it. That’s where contemplation and the various forms of Christian meditation come into play. The various methods used are designed to achieve a certain level of quietness in the mind. It is not so much to stop our thinking or as some say, “empty the mind.” Instead, it is to center the mind down to a point where it is receptive to the work of God through the Holy Spirit and our own Inner Light. The benefits of such practice are too numerous to list, but one of the first things we may notice is this form of deep prayer allows us to reach a point where we may develop a clear, spiritual perspective on life. Christian teacher Jan Johnson speaks to this:
Our mind flashes from one thing to another, always occupied. A weekly visit to church can’t begin to penetrate this busyness. Contemplation reconnects us with God in the midst of this scatteredness. Life pulls me in so many directions – between the demands of my work, my husband’s plans, the kid’s needs, commitments outside our home, dreams I want to pursue – I may say I’m “thirsty for God as the deer pants for water,” but at the moment I need to get my hair cut. However, when I pause to contemplate and be with God, I sense that this God who holds the universe together can also hold me together. In the quiet, I recall how God has helped me in the past. Without the clamor of demands around me, I remember that I am one God so loves.
Getting to a level of quietness so that we can actually begin to hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit is easier said than done. The monkey mind keeps on clamoring, especially if we have many pressures and/or problems in our lives. It has been said that the average human being has 60,000 separate thoughts each day. That’s a lot of thinking and a lot of noise. Our internal chattering is often repetitive in nature and incessant. When initially faced with the admonition of scripture to “Be still, and know that I am God,” (Ps. 46:10) the notion of achieving quietude of mind seems like a pipe dream. However, the task is not nearly as daunting as it may initially seem, although it will require commitment, patience, and persistence.
At times, it is not easy to see the progress that has been made until you take some time out and really look at what is happening with your mind. It is in these periods of self-reflection and evaluation that you begin to see actually progress you had failed to see before. Often this growth in cognitive mastery is quite subtle and sublime.
If you are a seasoned practitioner of meditation, I encourage you to keep at it. Make extra commitment and effort to go even deeper. Truly, beyond a certain point you can’t go back. Your only choice is to forge ahead toward a goal well worth striving to attain. This is part of Right Effort and it is indispensable on the spiritual journey.
If you are just beginning a mediation practice, I laud your decision to encounter the spiritual light that exists within you. Although your journey is just beginning, I assure you that with consecrated effort and proper encouragement, you can make consistent progress and every aspect of your life will improve.
© L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
The Blessings of Mindfulness
January 17, 2009
Filed under Affirmative Prayer, Attitudes of Blessing, Bodhisattva, Buddha's Teaching, Buddhism, Conscious Cognition, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Creation Centered Spirituality, Discipleship, Discipline of Noticing, Grace, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Meditation, Mindfulness, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Personal Discipline, Personal Epiphanies, Positive Living, Sacred Mind, Sacred Silence, Self-Control, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices, Spirituality
Tags: Buddha's Teaching, Buddhism, Global Religion, Interspirituality, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Meditation, Mindfulness
L. Dwight Turner
Mindfulness is not a strong suit in western culture. A fast-paced, hectic lifestyle joined at the hip to myriad responsibilities creates an environment where the pursuit of mindfulness is at best a pipe dream for most people. Our minds are scattered between work, family, finances, and a plethora of other pressures contending for our attention. It is little wonder that most of us feel stressed, overwhelmed, and on the cusp of burnout most of the time.
The irony here is that mindfulness may very well constitute the solution to this ulcer-inducing way of life that most of us call “normal.” The fact is, once we really learn to be mindful and fully attentive to what we are doing, we become more efficient and able to accomplish more while expending less energy. Further, my personal experience has taught me that when I am truly conscious of my actions, my feelings, and my thoughts – I am less likely to feel overwhelmed and stressed. I find that I can remain at least marginally centered in spite of conflicting pressures and voices jockeying for my attention.
Mindfulness is at its core a spiritual issue. Although all faith systems stress mindfulness to some extent, nowhere is it a more central theme than in Buddhism. Mindful living is one of the central components of the Noble Eightfold Path described by Gautama Buddha as the path out of human discontent. I have found that when I make a consecrated commitment to work on mastering my monkey mind through consistent meditation practice and make efforts to become more mindful, life becomes generally better. Nothing really changes externally – the same pressures, responsibilities, deadlines, and stress – they are all still there. But something gradually begins to change internally as a personal anchor of centeredness begins to take shape. Although I am not perfect at it and certainly I am a long way from the calm demeanor of a Mahatma Gandhi, I am less likely to appear as a trance channel for Yosemite Sam.
Personally, I find it hard to wrap words around the full array of positive qualities that emerge from the practice of meditation and becoming more mindful. Perhaps that is one of the reason I appreciate the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, a pioneer in the use of mindfulness and meditation practice in health applications. Kabat-Zinn, in his book Coming to Our Senses, gives one of the best descriptions I have encountered:
More than anything else, I have come to see meditation as an act of love, an inward gesture of benevolence and kindness toward ourselves and toward others, a gesture of the heart that recognizes our perfection even in our obvious imperfection, with all our shortcomings, our wounds, our attachments, our vexations, and our persistent habits of unawareness. It is a very brave gesture: to take one’s seat for a time and drop in on the present moment without adornment. In stopping, looking, and listening, in giving ourselves over to all our senses, including mind, in any moment, we are in that moment embodying what we hold most sacred in life. In making the gesture, which might include assuming a specific posture for formal meditation, but could also involve simply becoming more mindful or more forgiving of ourselves, immediately re-minds us and re-bodies us. In a sense, you could say it refreshes us, makes this moment fresh, timeless, free up, wide open. In such moments, we transcend who we think we are. We go beyond our stories and all our incessant thinking, however deep and important it sometimes is, and reside in seeing what is here to be seen and the direct, non-conceptual knowing of what is here to be known, which we don’t have to seek because it is already and always here…..In words, it may sound like an idealization. Experienced, it is merely what it is, life expressing itself, sentience quivering within infinity, with things just as they are.
From Kabat-Zinn’s description, it is obvious that coming to live in the present moment, to be mindfully attentive to what is happening in front of our eyes, is a spiritual experience of high significance. On rare occasions, we may be granted by grace a glimpse of this unadorned reality of “just what is” beyond our ideas about what is. These moments are personal epiphanies, always remembered and transformational in nature.
As special as these moments are, they rarely come frequently unless a persons prepares the soil for their coming. That is where meditation comes in. Teachers from all faith traditions stress the importance of spending time in meditation and/or contemplation. For some reason not completely apparent, the more time we spend in proximity of the “Sacred Silence,” the more likely we are to experience these divine moments of pristine clarity. Meditation, whatever form it may take, appears to prepare the soil of our being for the coming of these special times when we actually see what is before us. Meditation and mindfulness are the twin practices that increase our capacity to be receptive to these divine gifts of the Spirit.
In my own experience, those forms of meditation that lend themselves to the quieting of the mind have proved the most beneficial when it comes to opening up to the kind of special encounters described above. My preference has been the utilization of techniques involving focusing my attention on my breathing as an anchor to which my often skittering mind is tethered and brought under at least a modicum of control. For others, mediations involving visualization, chanting, or mantra may be more conducive to the experience we are discussing. Whatever the technique, the important component is regularity of practice. The more we meditate, the more mindful we will become. This is a simple equation, but it has been consistently verified.
I am of the firm conviction that the more mindful people become, the more they will be able to master themselves and by doing so, behave in ways that are less problematic and more harmonious. Meditation is the pathway to mindfulness and mindfulness is indeed, a great blessing to one and all.
© L.D. Turner 2009/ All Rights Reserved
The First Mindfulness Training
January 16, 2009
Filed under Buddhism, Contemplation, Contemplative Spirituality, Devotions, Discipleship, Discipline of Noticing, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Meditation, Mindfulness, Morality and Values, Mystical Experience, Mystical Spirituality, Mysticism, Personal Discipline, Personal Growth, Sacred Center, Sacred Character, Sacred Mind, Self-Control, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Practices, Spirituality
Tags: Buddhism, Interspirituality, Mindfulness, Spiritual Growth, Spirituality, Thich Nhat Hanh
L. Dwight Turner
The First Mindfulness Training: Openness
*** This is the first of an anticipated series of articles on the 14 Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing, founded by
Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Personally, I have found these 14 principles to be an excellent guide to conducting one’s life, spiritual and otherwise.
—–
Aware of the suffering created by fanaticism and intolerance, we are determined not to be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist teachings are guiding means to help us learn to look deeply and to develop our understanding and compassion. They are not doctrines to fight, kill, or die for.
Fanaticism is rightly identified as one of the curses of our world. Fanatic followers of any sort of doctrine, political, religious, economic, or sociological, can create chaos and turmoil in our world and often do exactly that. Even the most superficial survey of history will bear this out. Whenever a group feels that they possess the one and only truth, the result is they want it to be your truth as well. This has especially been the case in the Islamic and Christian traditions, although religious zealots can be found in just about all traditions.
One of the most attractive characteristics of Buddhism is its lack of dogmatic insistence on its validity. From the beginning Buddha stressed the importance of tolerance of other traditions and also the necessity of verifying principles for oneself. His primary advice could be summed up like this: Try it and see.
Another reason Buddhism has been less prone to religious intolerance and violence centers on the reality that Buddha never claimed to be a God or god, however you might want to define that term. Buddha only claimed to be a man, albeit an “awakened” man. Through the enlightening revelations that came to him while meditating under the famed Bodhi tree, Siddhartha realized that we are all part of an interconnected web of existence and to do violence to or exert undue pressure on any one aspect of this web would have deleterious effects on every other part. All of these principles cited above are reasons why Buddhism is such a tolerant faith as a whole.
One final aspect to consider is the place scripture holds in the Buddhist tradition. Although the various sutras (suttas) are considered sacred writings, they are not to be considered infallible or above questioning. Once again, Buddha stressed the need for seekers to verify the veracity of his teachings, which later became scripture, for themselves. How refreshing when you think about it.
In contrast, “People of the Book,” a term often used to describe Jews, Christians, Muslims, and to some extent, members of the Bahai’ faith, have a view opposite of Buddhists. The Torah, the Bible, the Koran, and the sacred writing of Bahaullah are seen as “the Word of God.” In the Christian tradition, a significant number of denominations require its members to adhere to the view that the Bible is not only the literal Word of God, but that it is also infallible and without error.
The “First Foundation of Mindfulness” reminds us that no teaching, even those of the Buddha, is perfect. With this in mind, along with Thich Nhat Hahn’s belief in pacifism, it is easy to see why the Order of Interbeing does not condone fighting, killing, or the willingness to die for a philosophy.
Given the age in which we live, not only is such a view as espoused by the First Foundation refreshing, it may, indeed, be a necessity.
© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved
Sacred Mind
January 1, 2009
Filed under Affirmative Prayer, Attitudes of Blessing, Buddhism, Celtic Christianity, Compassion, Conscious Cognition, Contemplative Spirituality, Creation Centered Spirituality, Dao de jing, Daoism, Discipleship, Discipline of Noticing, Divine Mind, Divine Potential, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Laozi, Meditation, Metaphysical Christianity, Mindfulness, Morality and Values, Mystical Spirituality, Nature Mysticism, New Thought, Optimism, Personal Discipline, Positive Living, Prayer, Sacred Center, Sacred Character, Sacred Mind, Self-Control, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Practices, Spirituality, Success, World Religions
Tags: Chi Energy, Daoism, Inner Light, Qigong, Sacred Mind, Stillness, Wu Wei
Mick Turner
Within each of us there exists a center of pure awareness, complete wisdom, and perfect wholeness. We may hear this Sacred part of ourselves called by divergent names, such as inner light, higher self, Self, Atman, Buddha Nature, Christ Within, and so on. I know it primarily as Sacred Mind and it is, among many other things, a pristine reflection of Divine Intelligence.
When I consistently live from my Sacred Mind my life runs smoothly. People, places, and things that once gave me major headaches now are at most, minor annoyances and many times not even that. When I live from Sacred Mind I am more like the birds of the air and the lilies of the field that Christ spoke so elegantly about. I don’t have to toil or spin, but instead, am more content to go with the perfect nature of things, exhibiting no resistance and manifesting perfect peace. When I operate from this perspective, I am practicing “wu wei,” the Daoist principle often translated as “doing nothing” but in fact, is doing everything at the perfect time.
When I live from my Sacred Mind, I practice Wu Wei naturally and without effort. Wu Wei that requires effort is not Wu Wei, but something else. Like the Tiger lying quietly in the grass watching a group of Impala, my Sacred Mind will tell me when to remain still and when to act. This way I practice Wu Wei, taking no uncertain or wasted action. I practice a perfect economy of energy. Externally I am doing nothing, but internally I am vigilant and am doing everything. When I act, like the Tiger when she strikes, there is no unnecessary action and no wasted qi. Instead, there is harmony of will, decision, and movement, all occurring within the realm of pure stillness. It is a perfect paradox and it is perfect. Nothing more need be said about it.
(c) L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
The Seven Mirrors of Sacred Living
December 31, 2008
Filed under Affirmative Prayer, Attitudes of Blessing, Buddhism, Christian Education, Christian Meditation, Christian Mysticism, Christianity, Church Renewal, Compassion, Divine Mind, Divine Potential, Gospel, Grace, Holy Spirit, Identity In Christ, Incarnation, Inner Light, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Metaphysical Christianity, Ministry, Mission and Calling, Morality and Values, Mystical Spirituality, New Thought, Personal Discipline
Tags: Discipleship, Positive Living, Positive Spirituality, Sacred Living, Sacred Mind Ministries, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Laws
Mick Turner
As many of you know, Sacred Mind Ministries is the training component of LifeBrook and recently Sacred Mind has been conducting several two-day workshops using the curriculum entitled, “The Seven Mirrors of Sacred Living.” Below is a brief description of each mirror and what is covered in the work associated with each one. It is important to understand that we used the term “mirror” for a reason. Put simply, each component reflects the other components, thus forming a kind of “reflective hologram.”
Participants in the program are educated first about the fact that each mirror is defined accurately only when it is seen in connection with the other six. In this sense, no mirror stands alone. Instead, each mirror is engaged in a interactive choreography with the others. Further, the training and subsequent application of the mirrors to one’s daily life is less like a sequential ladder and more like a spiraling dance in which the mirrors sort of circle back on each other.
The Seven Mirrors of Sacred Living, briefly explained, are as follows:
Sacred Consecration
Consecration is a sacred act in which we formally proclaim our intention to do whatever it takes to tread the path of becoming all that we were designed to be. It involves a firm and consistent commitment to excellence.
Sacred Connection
Connecting with our Divine Source is foundational if we are to become the optimal version of ourselves. From the outset we must understand that:
We cannot do this alone
The Divine Source is there and wants to help
Our task is to establish and deepen our connection to the Divine Source
Fostering this vital and positive connection involves prayer, meditation, contemplation, and contact with others.
Sacred Comprehension
The universe operates according to basic laws that hold all things together and move them toward the Creator’s ultimate purpose for his creation. There are not only physical laws, but mental and spiritual laws that are equally inalterable. If we expect to move forward on the spiritual path, a practical, workable understanding of these laws and principles is indispensable. This also involves a basic comprehension of who and what we are, especially our psycho-energetic anatomy.
Sacred Character
We must ever keep before us the ideal of Sacred Character. Our world today needs more people of sound character and this entire program of endeavor is designed to cultivate what we at Sacred Mind Ministries call “Sacred Character.” It is the character exhibited by Christ and is marked by a foundation of integrity, love, and compassion.
Sacred Calling
The Creator planted a divine purpose within each of us prior to our birth on this planet and it is vital that we discover that purpose and bring it to fruition in our lives. Discovering and manifesting our Sacred Purpose is our “calling” in life and we cannot hope to become the optimal version of who we are without walking in our divine purpose. We also must understand that our individual purpose (our personal mission) is a component in the Creator’s universal mission.
Sacred Companions
We do not walk this journey alone. Instead, we need to form spiritual bonds with those who share a similar sense of mission and purpose. The development and establishment of healthy, vital, and committed spiritual communities is a fundamental component of the universal purpose for this age in which we live. These communities share common values, goals, and ideals and have a unified vision that fosters group cohesiveness and enhances community effectiveness. These groups may consist of as few as two members or can number in the thousands. It should also be mentioned that each member’s individual calling is enhanced and achieved within the milieu of the community’s overall vision.
Sacred Contribution
Through walking in our manifest Sacred Character we are better able to realize our Sacred Calling. In doing so we also are able to give flesh to grace. Just as Jesus did his Father’s work while on earth, we, too, are to embody God’s grace by making a positive contribution to the world in which we live. We do this in many ways, all of which flow out of our compassion and a sacred heart of service to others. By realizing our personal mission, we become the optimal version of ourselves and by doing so, we work toward being optimal benefit to others. Put simply, we incarnate God’s love and God’s light in this world.
© L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved
Thoughts About My Four-Year-Old Roshi
December 24, 2008
Filed under Attitudes of Blessing, Buddhism, Celtic Christianity, Children, Christianity, Contemplative Spirituality, Cosmic Christ, Creation Centered Spirituality, Daoism, Discipleship, Discipline of Noticing, Divine Mind, Inner Light, Interspirituality, Issues in Transformation, Jesus, Jesus' Teaching, Laozi, Meditation, Metaphysical Christianity, Mindfulness, Mystical Spirituality, Native Amercian Spirituality, Nature Mysticism, New Thought, Optimism, Parenting, Personal Renewal, Personal Vision, Positive Living, Quaker Spirituality, Renewal of the Mind, Sacred Mind, Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Gifts, Spiritual Practices, Spirituality
Tags: Buddhism, Children, Children's Spirituality, Christianity, Discipleship, Nature Mysticism, Parenting, Positive Living, Spirituality
Mick Turner
As this final month of the year is winding down and the New Year is already taken up residence in the birth canal, I have been reflecting a bit on the past year and some of its blessings. I suspect this is a healthy thing to do, given the general negative state of the economy and just about everything else we hear about on the daily news.
As some of my readers are already aware of, I have a daughter, Salina, who just turned four this past May. She is my jewel and my angel, all rolled into one, but then, I need to refrain from gushing like a proud Daddy. Otherwise, I won’t make the point I want to make. Some of you are also aware that I was 55 years old when Salina was born. She came along late in my life and I am certain that she was a gift to Li and I for some special reason I can’t even begin to fathom. Let it suffice to say that Sacred Spirit surprised us back in 2003, when my wife and I discovered that Li was pregnant. Also let it be said that Salina has been my Roshi, Guru, Rinpoche, and Great Teacher for four years now. I have learned so much from her; far more than I have taught her.
More pertinent, perhaps, is the fact that she has done this by just being who she is – a four-year-old girl in whose eyes I can still clearly see the smile of God.
Salina has always amazed me with her curiosity, her sense of discovery, and especially her spontaneous wonder and awe as she encounters things new and exciting. Further, she never tires of things that strike her fancy, especially if I do something that she likes but has never really seen before. I am reminded, for example, when I first showed her how to blow bubbles with bubble gum. For me, it was old hat – but for her, this simple act was like seeing a rainbow for the first time or discovering the wonders of ice cream. Whenever I produced a large, pink bubble as if by magic, she would pop it with her hand, laugh in that way that only children can laugh, and say, “Do it again, Daddy; do it again.”
This amazing ability to turn something new into an almost sacred event is, I think, part of that unsullied and untainted aspect of the image of God that we are blessed with in our creation. Moreover, children never seem to tire of monotony, at least until they get a bit older. At those miracle ages of two through five or so, kids just seem to revel in both newness and repetition. I am reminded of the famous words of G.K. Chesterton:
Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity to make all daisies appear alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never grown tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite for infancy: for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
Sometimes when I sit quietly and open myself to what Chesterton says in these few words and what Sacred Spirit speaks to me when I reflect on them, I am literally stunned into silence; and then I shiver.
Children have not forgotten how to experience our world with a sense of wonder and awe. Noted Jewish philosopher Abraham Heschel, one of my very favorite authors, calls this capacity for reverence in life “radical amazement” and affirms that the spiritual journey cannot be completed until we regain this inborn spiritual quality. Heschel makes this statement, “The beginning of awe is wonder and the beginning of wisdom is awe.” When I first discovered these words, I pondered on the meaning for weeks and eventually discovered by doing so I totally lost their true import. I have come to see that Heschel is alluding to the fact that true wisdom begins with the experience of awe, and this basic sense of “radical amazement” has its birth in a childlike wonder at the incredible thing we flippantly call “life” ; the unfathomable creation that surrounds us every moment. I will let Heschel say the rest:
The secret of every being is the divine care and concern that are invested in it. Something sacred is at stake in every event…..The meaning of awe is to realize that life takes place under wide horizons, horizons that range beyond the span of an individual life or even the life of a nation, a generation, or an era. Awe enables us to perceive in the world intimations of the divine, to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and simple; to feel in the rush of the passing the stillness of the eternal.
Deep in my personal spirit, when it is connected with and animated by the Holy Spirit, I know with certainty that my daughter Salina innately understands this. She cannot articulate it with the eloquence of Heschel but she expresses this sense of radical amazement nonetheless. Every time she giggles when Daddy blows a bubble; every time she sits on the deck and watches birds feeding in the back yard and cows feeding in the field beyond; every time her eyes dance with wonder when she sees a sunset and screams, “Look Daddy, God is smiling,” – I know she gets it just as much as Heschel ever did and just as much as I long to once again.
© L.D. Turner 2008/All Rights Reserved
