Peter Mayer sings Holy Now. Really, ya gotta to hear it.

Click on this link, sit back and listen. This, to me, is inspired.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfLI1l_Pda4

Everything is Holy Now

When I was a boy each week
On Sunday we would go to church
Pay attention to the Priest
and he would read the Holy word
and consecrate the Holy bread
and everyone would kneel and bow
Today the only difference is
Everything is Holy now
Everything,Everything,Everything is Holy now

When I was in sunday school
We would learn about the time
Moses split the sea in two
and Jesus made the water wine
I remember feeling sad
Miracles don't happen still
but now I can't keep track
cause Everythings a Miracle
Everything,Everything,Everythings a Miracle

Wine from water is not so small
but an even better magic trick
is that anything is here at all
Sooo, The challenging thing becomes
Not to look for Miracles
but finding where there isn't one

When Holy water was rare at best
It barely wet my fingertips
but now I have to hold my breath
like I'm swimming in a sea of it
It used to be a world half there
Heavens second rate hand me down
but I walk it with a reverent air
cause Everything is Holy now

Read a questioning child's face
and say it's not a testament, that'd be hard to say
see another new morning come and say it's not a Sacriment
I tell you that it can't be done

This morning outside I stood, Saw a little red wing bird
Shining like a burning bush
and singing like a scripture verse
it made me want to bow my head
I remember when church let out
How things have changed since then
Everything is Holy Now

It used to be a world half there
Heavens second rate hand me down
but I walk it with a Reverent air
cause Everything is Holy Now

                                                          --- Peter Mayer

We swim in It.

Somewhere, at 'the center of the universe,' beats the heart of love.

"Can you accept me..."

I hear her all the way down the hall. She's talking so loudly (but incoherently) she's the only one I hear.

I walk up to her chiar. I put her hand in mine. I say, "Miss Jane, it's Franklin." (I've seen her dozens of times.)

"Who?" she asks.

"Franklin. I wanted you to know I was thinking about you today."

"You were?" she asks. "Why?"

Her question caught me off guard. What do I say? "I was thinking about you because that's my job?" Of course not. So what do I say? I say the only thing I know to say to her question.

"Because I love you."

She's quiet for several seconds, then in the corner of of her left eye, I watch a small tear droplet form.

"You do?" she asks.

"Yes, Ma'am. I do."

Now a lot of loud incoherent words --- something being repeated over and over. I can't make it out, but I do notice her forehead and face. There's a lot of tension there. I stroke her forehead. I lean in close to her face, and ask:

"Miss Jane, can you hear me?"

She's quiet. Finally:

"Yes. I can hear you."

"Miss Jane, I want you to hear what I'm about to say."

"Okay," she says.

"Miss Jane, I want you to relax your forehead," I say as I continue stroking her forehead. "I want you to relax your face. Just let go."

To my amazement, she does exactly that. She relaxes her entire face.

"How does that feel?" I ask.

"Better," she says in return.

Gibberish. Gibberish. Gibberish. I can't make out what she's saying. Face begins to tense again. Forehead all wrinkled up.

"Miss Jane..." I go through the same thing all over again. She relaxes. "That feels better," she says again.

Gibberish. Gibberish. Gibberish..."Accept me."

Gibberish. "Forgive." Gibberish. Gibberish. "Accept me." "Forgive me."

"Miss Jane, I don't need to forgive you. There's nothing to forgive. I love you. I accept you."

"I accept you, too. I love you, too," she responds.

There's so much more going on than we know, or can imagine.

One of my sons calls. I tell him the story. He says, "Daddy, you have amazing things happen to you all the time." We talk a little more. Finally, I say, "You know, you're right. I do have amazing things happen to me all the time. Maybe we all have amazing things happen to us. We just need to pay attention."

Talking about 'God' does not mean talking about overly religious topics. 

Almost any topic, can be considered in relation to the underlying spiritual reality. It's not as much what we talk about as how we talk about it, that matters.

It's not necessary to use such words as "God," "Spirit," "prayer," etc., at all. We might do better to remember that all of us are searching, however confusedly, for meaning in life and we welcome discussions about that meaning, provided we can find a common vocabulary.

Words are only symbols, and sometimes even barriers between us.

"The danger in gossip, 'light' entertainment, ephemeral journalism, popular fiction, radio-romancing, etc., is simply this: they encourage us to drift into a relaxed reverie, neutral at first but soon colored by anxieties, addictions and aversions, so that the mind becomes dark. Once thrown off its balance, the heart is no longer its own master."

That life is far more...

"When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed." Mr. Fred Rogers

My take on labels...

I've worn many labels. Conservative. Liberal. Christian. Non-Christian. Republican. Democrat. Even Activist.

Whatever label I've put on myself, I've discovered the label didn't fit. Sometimes, I was more than the label. Sometimes, I was less than the label. But, once I put the label on, it was out there and it's the filter through which others viewed me and it was hard to take off.

When I put a label on, I looked to others to determine how someone wearing that label should be. That drew me away from myself. There's no label that fits. There's more to me than a label. There's also less to me than a label.

Because of my personal experience, I try to be cautious about putting a label on another human being, or even myself.

Some people care too much...

I have come into this world to see this:

the sword drop from men's hands even at the height

of their arc of anger

because we have finally realized there is just

one flesh to wound.

I have come into this world to see this:

all creatures hold hands as

we pass through this

miraculous existence we share on the way

to even greater being of soul.

I have come into the world to experience this:

men so true to love

they would rather die before speaking an

unkind word

because we have finally realized

there is just one flesh

we can wound.

--- Hafiz
~1310-1388

Make the ordinary come alive.

“It's very dramatic when two people come together to work something out."

--- Fred Rogers



What Dreams May Come...

It's a wonderful movie that depicts the depths to which love will go. Here's the short version:

Robin Williams is the lead character. I believe his name is Chris. He and his wife consider themselves soul-mates. He's killed in an accident and goes to heaven. After playing around in heaven a little he discovers that his wife has also died. He tromps around heaven looking for her.

Finally, someone levels with him. After his death she went into deep despair and took her own life. They tell him that she's not there. They state further that she can't get to heaven from where she is --- alluding to her being in hell.

Chris determines that he will find her. He goes on a journey that is filled with frightening images. He  finally finds her. The place she is, is dark, lonely, gloomy, depressing, ugly, and scary.

They have a conversation. She tries to get him to leave. He grabs her hand and says to her something to the equivalent of "I will never leave you." Instantly, their surrounding changes and --- they're in heaven.

It's a wonderful story of the depths to which love will go. About that, St. Paul wrote, "Love never fails."

Strive to make the spot where you stand beautiful.

All that really matters --- things like beauty, love, creativity, joy, goodness --- originate from beyond your mind.

Let all things be healthy.

Let all things be peaceful,

Count your blessings at least once a day.

Forgive those who hurt you.

Love those who offend you.

Forgive yourself for what you have done.

Let go of what you have failed to do.

That which is done there's no need to speak of.

That which is past there's no need to blame.

Have self-control, self-knowledge, self-respect.

Be tranquil and the light of intelligence will shine.

Strive to make the spot where you stand beautiful,
and beauty and harmony will follow you

in all your ways and through all your days.

--- Buddhist Prayer

"Love isn't a state of perfect caring. It is an active noun like struggle." --- Mr. Fred Rogers

Mr. Fred Rogers...

"When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed."

Apologizing to someone you love is important. It doesn't necessarily mean you're wrong and the other person is right. It means you value the relationship more than your ego.

I've writtent it before. It's important enough to write again:

Feeling hurt and hating are not the same thing. It's so important to keep that in mind as we muddle our way through relationships.

Happiness is an inside job. It's not the same as the ecstatic feeling we sometimes get from external stimulus. Happiness comes from inside. Deep inside.

No matter what happens, maintain your belief in goodness.

No matter what you see, maintain your belief in beauty.

Lessons from the other side - 3

Anita Moorjani died. She was brought back. These are her words after her experience:

"During my NDE became conscious that there isn't an external creation separate from me --- because the word external suggests separation and duality. Living with this awareness allows me to continue to interact in the physical world with strength, love, and courage.

"To explain this from another perspective, although I've been using the words Universal Energy, know that I can just as easily say chi, prana, or ki. These words mean "life-force energy" in Mandarin, Hindi, and Japanese respectively...In a nutshell, it's the Source of life and it runs through every living thing.

"It flows through us whether we're an elevated guru or a sea slug. It's useful to think about this, because once we describe the energy with a different word --- such as Source, God, Krishna, Buddha, or whatever --- it can be difficult for some of us to see beyond the name. These terms mean different things to different people, and also seem to impose form upon the infinite. there are often certain expectations attached to these labels, and many of them keep us locked in duality so that we view this energy as an entity separate from us. But Universal Energy...needs to remain limitless and formless so that we can see it as one with us.

"Words taken literally or held as ultimate truth can keep us stagnant and stuck, holding on to old ideologies."

No matter what happens, believe in goodness.

Larry Hagman - his view from the "other side."

"You once said you weren't afraid of death. True?

"Yeah, I don't worry about it. It's not a black void out there. I had a liver transplant 16 years ago and saw the white light, saw that we're all joined together. You don't forget that feeling of peace and love."

---Larry Hagman

from an interview in Parade Magazine

Keeping tally...

We praise the virtue of love. Each of us thinks we act from it. Here's a simple test, I believe, to check our motives, to determine whether we're embodying love.

One of the most well known statements of all time about love reads: "Love doesn't keep a record of wrongs."

If you find yourself saying or thinking, "You said this," or "She did that," with the purpose of highlighting a wrong someone did, that's not love because love doesn't keep tally. It keeps no record of wrongs.

The body/mind connection...

Our body is designed to support our mind. Together the body and the mind form a single field. It's impossible for the body to experience something that doesn't affect the mind. And it's impossible for the mind to experience something that doesn't affect the body. 

It's artificial to separate the body and mind the way we usually do. Every experience has both a physical and mental component. If you're hungry, the mind and stomach are hungry together. If you have an incredible spiritual experience, your heart and liver cells share in it. You cannot have a single thought, sensation, or feeling without your body responding. They are One.

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

--- Buddha



Keep it simple...

What works best is always simple,

natural, and effortless.

Lessons from the other side - 2

Anita Moorjani died. She was brought back. These are her words after her expeirence:


"During my near-death experience, it felt as if I were connected to the entire universe and everything contained within it: and it seemed that the cosmos was alive, dynamic, and conscious. I found that every thought, emotion, or action I made while expressing through the physical body had an effect on the Whole. In fact, in that realm  of Oneness, it felt as though the whole universe were an extension of me. This realization has, of course dramatically changed the way I view things. We're all co-creating this world and our lives within it through our emotions, thoughts, and actions.

--- Anita Moorjani

Dying to be Me

Today, I sat with a family...

Today, I sat with a family, actually a mother and daughter, in their home. The husband/step-dad has brain cancer. He's fifty-nine. The doctors stopped chemotherapy and radiation because it's having no affect.

As the wife, the daughter and I sat at the dining-room table, the husband/step-dad lay in a recliner in the living-room. He's as much somewhere else as he is here. Today was his first day with Hospice.

As the three of us sat at the table the two of them poured out their hearts and tears flowed like perfume from an alabaster jar. "It's not fair," they both said. He's a good man.

How do I respond? What do I do? I'm the Chaplain and most every week I encounter things that don't seem fair. I sit with families in their ashes.

What do I say?

"We haven't told him he's dying," said his wife.

I remain silent for a several, seconds. How I respond is crucial, I think to myself.

Eventually, I break the silence, "Do you think he knows?"

Tears flood from his wife's eyes like someone turned on a faucet.

"I'm sure he knows. A couple of weeks ago he wanted to talk to me about funeral arrangements. I told him I didn't want to talk about that," she said.

The step-daughter interjected: "And he didn't talk about it or hardly anything else since."

"What does that say to you," I asked.

Wisely, the daughter said, "He's honoring her wishes. He's not talking about what he knows is happening because he knows how badly it hurts my mom."

My heart was struck as if by lightning, but how do I say what my heart is telling me. What are the right words?

"Does he have anyone to talk to about what he knows is happening to him?" I asked

Long silence.

Finally, "No."

"As I listened to your story, I got the feeling you are his best friend," I said to the wife.

"I am. I am. I am his best friend, and he's mine," she sobbed with tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks and landing on her denim jeans. 

"If he doesn't talk to his best friend about what's happening to him, who's he going to talk to?" I asked. 

"There's no one else," she said.

We sat in silence several more moments.

"How do I do that?" she asked, breaking the silence.
All I knew to say was, "Hold his hand. Tell him you love him, and say you're ready to talk."

Tears, tears, tears, tears, tears, sobbing, sobbing, sobbing. Deep breath. Deep breath. Deep breath. Quiet.

"I can do that. That's important."

The rest of my time with them we talked about what they already knew.

There is no death.

Lessons from the other side - 1

Anita Moorjani died. She was brought back. These are her words after her expeirence:

"If we were encouraged to express who we truly are, we'd all be very loving...Problems and strife come from not knowing who we are...Since we feel as though we're not good enough, we go around acting out...The problems we see in the world aren't from the judgment or hatred we have for others, but for ourselves..."

---Anita Moorjani

Dying to be Me

I'm mesmerized by her story and her experience. As I continue reading, I'll post more of what Anita brought back with her. 

"There will never be any more perfection than there is now."

--- Walt Whitman

Beauty belongs to those with eyes to see it.

Can you lose your soul...?

The short answer is "No."

A law of physics states (this is my paraphrase) "Nothing is created and nothing is destroyed." This applies to your soul.

At our core, our soul level, each and every one of us is good. 

We can become bewildered and do things that aren't consistent with our deepest self, our core. But we can't lose that core, our soul.

Sometimes we lose our way and do things that aren't consistent with our deepest self, our core, but whatever we ever have been, we are still, and we can find our way back.

As within so without...

Your inner and outer worlds are mirrors of each other.

If you're "vibrating" fear, anger, and hatred from your inner world of thoughts and emotions, your outer world of events and relationships will reflect that.

Similarly, if you're vibrating goodness, love, and beauty, from your inner world of thoughts and emotions, your outer world of events and relationships with reflect that.

"In oneself lies the whole world

and if you know how to look and learn,

the door is there and the key is in your hand."

--- J. Krishnaamurti

Living without regrets...

It's a common theme for a well lived life --- try to live without regrets.

There are a couple of ways to understand it.

One person says, "I live without regrets" and they mean "I do what I want to do, when I want to do it and if someone doesn't like it, well that's just tough. I'm my own person." Those who live like this can, indeed, live without regrets, but they leave a trail of destruction and brokenness behind. It's living without conscience.

Someone else takes situations they encounter and attempts to come at them from their higher self, working with their higher values (we ALL have them).

It's been my experience that when I make decisions from my higher self, even though things may not go the way I'd like, I never regret my part in what went down.

Living without regrets doesn't mean living without a conscience. It means trying to live from your higher self so that you don't regret your part in what goes down.

I don't see it...

It's so much a part of my experience that I hold it on the level of a "Cosmic" Truth. That is, "We can't see our own 'stuff.'"

By "stuff" I mean anything that makes me who and what I am --- both the good  stuff and the bad stuff. It seems next to impossible, if not impossible, for me to feel from another what they feel about me, or for another to feel from me what I feel about myself. There are different visions of me, my own and someone Else's. Which vision is right, theirs or mine? Neither or both? (I'm writing this post in first person because I'm feeling it so personally. I'm assuming it can apply to many, though.)

Sometimes, for whatever reason, I can't feel the good in myself that another feels from and about me. When this happens I can be lavished in heartfelt and wonderful statements of worth and worthiness but, while I may accept it on the surface, I don't really feel it, I don't feel worthy of it, not really.

At other times, I can't feel the bad from myself that others feel from me. When I write "bad" here, I'm thinking about anything I do that bruises another's heart.

It has become one of my life goals to attempt not to bruise another's heart, especially those who are close to me. I believe the world can be a hard place and I don't want to be a part of bruising the most precious part of another being. But, here's what I face. While I don't intend to bruise another's heart, I do. Then, since I can't see my own bad, I'm unaware what I've done.  

I'll be honest and say there have been times when I wanted to bruise someone Else's heart, even to the point to "calling down curses" on them, wishing evil things would happen to them. I'm ashamed of myself now. Of course, I can "give myself a pass" and say I'm human, that I was hurting. But on this side of it, I honestly feel shame for where I took my heart.

That type of intentional "bad" is not what I'm talking about, though (believe me, intentional badness is the kind I AM aware of inside me). And I'm not talking about some grand vileness in me. I'm talking about those simple day-to-day things I unwittingly say and do that bruises the heart of another --- the things I say and do that I simply don't see in myself.

I've mused long and deep about this dilemma. I don't know if there's a solution. There might be. It's one I read about often. It's valued highly by wisdom teachers of all ages. Forgiveness.

I need Forgiveness from those who love me. It's a word we throw around a lot, but I'm not sure we know it's depth.

It's all so intertwined that the Celtic Knot seems an appropriate symbol. I do my best not to wound the heart of someone I love. But I do. Because they love me, they forgive me for my humanness (not sweep it under the carpet, not bottle it up --- that's different --- and not healthy). We learn from it and both become better together for it. Someone I love is doing their best not to wound my heart. But they do. Because I love them, I forgive them for their humanness (not sweep it under the carpet, not bottle it up --- that's different). We learn from it and both become better together for it. Our hearts are intertwined and the love/forgiveness dance is like the Celtic Knot.

It makes sense to me that this is what the wisdom teachers had in mind. Is it possible for our heart to enlarge enough to embrace it?

Head or Heart

We talk about them all the time --- the head and the heart.

As a rule of thumb we can talk about the head being the intellectual part of us and the heart being the feeling part of us. That's just sort of a broad generalization without getting into the spiritual aspects of each just now.

In our culture, we have for a long time emphasized the intellectual side of ourselves. That's pretty much everything we get in school and, believe it or not, even in church. You see in church adults go to Sunday Schools and study, stimulating the intellect. They also sit and listen to sermons that stimulate their intellect. Sometimes the subjects are even about the heart. But it doesn't matter that they're studying about matters of the heart, the fact is they're still stimulating the intellect, not the heart. The focus of study merely happens to be matters of the heart, like bugs under the microscope of an inquisitive Etymologist.

Even though they study subjects of the heart, since they're intellectualizing them, or stimulating their intellect about them, they're creating an even greater gulf between their head and their heart.

One can never know the matters of the heart by studying them with the head. It just can't happen.

"No one can serve two masters," Jesus said. This is one of the best examples around. We either serve the intellect or we serve the heart. We can' serve both.

The way our educational system is set up, even our so called spiritual education system (which is almost as far from spiritual as we can get) is designed to serve the intellect as master.

The only way to change that is to start listening to your heart. Lead with your heart, first, last, and always.

Those around you may think you've lost your mind, and in a sense they're right. But you're finding your heart.

Feeling hurt is not the same thing as hating.

It's so very important to

know the difference.

Getting through hard times...

As much as we want to avoid them, we can't. We're going to go through hard times, soul-wrenching times.

I want to muse for a moment about what we can learn from our "brothers" about getting through difficult times.

Let me start by explaining what I mean by "brothers." I'm talking about each and every animal that lives along with us and around us on this planet. If it breathes, I believe it's imbued with and sustained by Soul. If it's imbued with and sustained by Soul we're of the same essence. They are no more lumps of clay than we are. They, too, are the very energy of the Univrse. We're related. We're brothers. 

What can we learn from our brothers about getting through difficult times?

Here's one thing we can learn from them: Recently, I read an article about a Pit-bull that lost it's mate. It went into deep mourning for several days (I don't know exactly how many as it was in progress when I read the story). For at least the first four days of its mourning, it didn't eat a single bite of food. Mourning does that to a body and Soul. It's very natural.

Here's the lesson for us humans: When someone you know goes through a season of mourning, be there for and with them if you can. Listen. Let the flood of tears flow, theirs and yours. But look to our brothers as an example about eating. Don't insist they eat if they don't feel like it. Eating isn't natural at this time. It's not an element of the season of mourning. Everything has a season and each season has those things that go along with it.

When the Pit-bull mourned the loss of it's mate, people marveled at the depth of its love. Of course. It's no different for it's human relatives.

Thinking twice...

Prefer enduring satisfaction to immediate gratification. Let your reason be supreme rather than spontaneity. Practice the art of testing whether a particular thing is actually good or not. Learn to lean into the greater good rather than reacting from spontaneity. Spontaneity is not a virtue in and of itself.

If some pleasure is promised to you and it seductively calls to you, step back and give yourself time before jumping at it. Dispassionately turn the matter over in your mind. Will this pleasure bring only a momentarily delight, or real, lasting satisfaction. It makes a difference in the quality of our life and the kind of person we become when we learn to distinguish between cheap thrills and what is meaningful and lasting.

If in calmly considering this pleasure, you realize that if you indulge in it you will regret it, abstain and rejoice in your forbearance.

Epictetus

translation by Sharon Lebell

Make the highest choice.

No matter what happens, believe in love.

Others are not lumps of clay. They are the very energy of the Univrse. They are sacred.

You can close your eyes to the things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to the things you don't want to feel.

It's our choice

First, I want to say I believe the opening verse of The Tao Te Ching which reads: "The God that can be explained [by the finite human mind] is not the infinite and eternal God." With that said I want to muse a moment over "good" and "evil."

I struggle with it. How can "God" (whatever he/she/it might be) be reconciled with such misery as we have on earth? How can God and evil co-exist? My answer? "I don't know."

Some believe that evil is a part of God. I've struggled with that and have decided I'm not going to believe that. Since "God" is beyond explanation by a finite human mind, the truth then is that I get to choose what I'm going to believe about "God." One of my favorite theologians, John O'Donohue, puts it this way, "All theology is imaginitive."

So I've made up my mind to believe that "God" is everything that is good, all that is loving, all that is beautiful, and endlessly creative.

I further believe that we become like the "God" we believe in. I think it's better to live by higher values. I think our life is better and it's better for those around us. If I believe in a "God" that is everything that is good, all that is loving, all that is beautiful, and endlessly creative I have a compass for my journey. I begin looking for "God" everywhere, and in everyone. I like that.

Don't make anything harder than

it needs to be.

A way through...

When you're facing difficult times, do your best, in all things, to think and act from a pure heart. That is something you will never regret.

Overcoming...

On his deathbed Aldous Huxley's last words were:

"All we need to do is be a little kinder toward each other."

Lead with your heart...

As a right handed boxer
leads with his right hand,
lead with your heart.

First, last, and always.

Who am I?

We are many different possibilities.

We each have many possible selves --- like the multi-faceted crystal we hang from a thread in our window.

Like that crystal each facet has the potential to radiate something beautiful as it catches and reflects the sun's rays.

 I am no less myself when one facet catches the sun's rays than I am when another does.

Sometimes one facet comes to the forefront because of influence from others around us, like wind in the trees can turn the crystal so different facets are prominent.

There is, however, a deeper Self that isn't subject to the whim of environmental winds and influences. This deeper self is pure good.

While all the reflections are equally beautiful, their source is different --- one comes from the outside of us. It's external like the wind, and is, therefore, not of our deeper self. The other is internal and is steady and stable regardless of external influences.

Who am I? I can be any of a multitude of possibilities. I am all that I ever have been.

Nothing in me ever dies. No part of me ever disappears --- not a single facet.

Whatever I have been, I still am. It simply doesn't catch the sun's rays at a particular time.  


Who am I? Whatever I ever have been, I am still. No part of me ever dies. Ever.

Taking a Sabbatical...

I'm taking a short Sabbatical from blogging. I hope to be back soon.

Creating God in our own image...

There's a two-line joke that packs a punch. It generates a smile of slight recognition at first, then too much recognition, and a "Hey, wait a minute."

Here it is: "In the beginning God created man in his own image. Ten minutes later, man returned the favor."

...and we've been creating God in our own image ever since.

Generally speaking, what we think about God says far more about what we're like than it does about what God's like.

Ex-Roman Catholic priest Matthew Fox reminds us that "people who worship a punitive father are themselves punitive," and, "God the Punitive father is not a God worth honoring but a false god and an idol that serves empire-builders. The notion of a punitive, all-male God, is contrary to the full nature of the Godhead who is as much female and motherly as masculine and fatherly."

God is the Ultimate Mystery and, therefore, like a blank canvas upon which humans project aspects of their own selves.

The opening line of the ancient book of wisdom, The Tao Te Ching, is among the most profound statements about the Ultimate Mystery I know. It reads: "The God that can be described [by a finite human brain] is not the infinite God."

Being true to yourself...

"This above all: to thine own self be true"...

--- William Shakespeare

"To thine own self be true" is among the most well-known of the many well-known Shakespearean verses. We may benefit from this well known verse by adopting it as a compass as we navigate the various possible courses of any given day.

The verse says to me that whatever I decide about a particular course of action, it's never between me and anyone else. It's always between me and what I value.

For example, did someone say something hurtful to me? Since I value human dignity, when someone says something hurtful to me, I don't have a pass to say something hurtful in response. It's not between me and them. It's between me and what I value. To my own self (values) be true.  

Did someone break a promise? Since I value keeping my word, if someone breaks a promise, it doesn't give me a pass to do the same in return. It's not between me and them. It's between me and what I value. To my own self (values) be true.

Did someone throw trash on the side of the road? Since I value the environment, it doesn't give me a pass to throw my trash on the side of the road. It's not between me and anyone else. It's between me and what I value. To my own self (values) be true.

Values differ from person to person. I'm not answerable to anyone else's values. No one else is answerable to my values. I'm the one responsible to myself for what I value. It's never between me and anyone else. It's always between me and my own values. To my own self be true.

Christian Values vs. Christ's Values

Christian Value - God Bless America. Pray for America.
Christ's Value - Bless those who persecute you. Pray for your enemies.

Christian Value - Justice
Christ's Value - Mercy

Christian Value - Pride
Christ's Value - Humility

Christian Value - Bigger is better
Christ's Value - Simplicity

Christian Value - Receiving
Christ's Value - Giving

Christian Value - God and guns
Christ's Value - Harm none

Christian Value - Judging
Christ's Value - Accepting

Christian Value - Loyalty to those like oneself
Christ's Value - Loyalty to the humanity of all

Christian Value - Law
Christ's Value - Spirit

Success according to Ralph Waldo Emerson

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

--- Ralph Waldo Emerson

That is worth believing. 

Nobody asks to be born...

Nobody Asks

by Peter Mayer

Nobody asks to be born
They just show up one day at life’s door
Saying here I am world
I’m a boy, I’m a girl
I am gay, I am straight, I am poor
But nobody asks to be born

No one is given a say
They’re just thrown straight into the fray
The bell rings at ringside
And someone yells “fight!”
And some just end up on the floor
Nobody asks to be born

And no one’s assured
Of a grade on the curve
Or a friend they can trust
Or a house where they’re loved
And no life includes
A book of how to
Because nobody has lived it before

So to all the living, be kind
Bless the saint and the sinner alike
And when babies arrive
With their unholy cries
Don’t be surprised by their scorn
Because nobody asks to be born

http://www.petermayer.net/music/?id=25

I'm like one of those...

Japanese Bowl(s)

by Peter Mayer

I’m like one of those Japanese bowls
That were made long ago
I have some cracks in me
They have been filled with gold

That’s what they used back then
When they had a bowl to mend
It did not hide the cracks
It made them shine instead

So now every old scar shows
From every time I broke
And anyone’s eyes can see
I’m not what I used to be

But in a collector’s mind
All of these jagged lines
Make me more beautiful
And worth a much higher price

I’m like one of those Japanese bowls
I was made long ago
I have some cracks you can see
See how they shine of gold

http://www.petermayer.net/music/?id=25

All the world is One...

All the World is One

by Peter Mayer

You can say that you stand apart
Put a fence around your yard
You can build a tall rampart and guard it with a gun
You can dig yourself a moat
Burn the bridge and burn the boat
It won't matter that much, you know
Because all the world is one, all the world is one

You can march in a big parade
Every Independence Day
You can raise up your own flag and sing your own anthem
It will ring out in the air
With all the other anthems there
Till the winds of the earth declare
All the world is one, all the world is one

Go and ask the Buddha when he's sitting under the tree
Go ask Walt Whitman when he's looking out at the sea
Ask Alan Shepard when he's standing up on the moon
Staring at that pearl of blue

Ask an atom in the breath you take
Ask the water by the river bank
Ask a strand of DNA--it's written in your blood
One life running in your veins
One light from one big bang
You can try and separate it
But all the world is one, all the world is one

Go and ask the Buddha when he's sitting under the tree
Ask Annie Dillard when she's up on Tinker Creek
Ask Alan Shepard when he's standing up on the moon
Staring at that pearl of blue

You can take an outbound train
Try and make a get-a-way
You can ride off like John Wayne into the setting sun
But earthlings don't leave town
They just go round and round
Until they figure out
All the world is one, all the world is one
All the world is one

http://www.petermayer.net/music/?id=25

Church of the Earth

Church of the Earth

by Peter Mayer

The ceiling is high
To let your soul rise
Up to the angels who teach you to fly
And when you're weary of clouds
It helps you back down
And welcomes you home
To this hallowed ground

It's gilded in gold, gilded in rust
For heaven below and heaven above
The heaven we know here in this world
Here in our holy church of the earth

The windows are wide
So darkness and light
Mystery and Beauty meet you inside
And there's room enough
To hold all of us
Who gather in friendship
Gather in love

Church of life
Ancient and bright
Life that inside us shines
Life that we share
This is our prayer
That we may always find

The heaven we seek
Here at our feet
Here in this sunrise
In this heartbeat

 http://www.petermayer.net/music/?id=25

My Bible --- I've taken Emerson's advice...

It just doesn't get much better than American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). I'm posting several quotes below that are a part of my Bible (a reference to Emerson's first quote below). As you read, may you savor and be inspired by them.

“Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.”

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”

“For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.” 

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

“What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.”

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.”

“It is not the length of life, but the depth.”

“The earth laughs in flowers.” 

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”

“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”

“Make the most of yourself....for that is all there is of you.” 

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

“Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.”

“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.”

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”

To me, every cubic inch of space is a miracle...

Welcome is every organ and attitude of me...

Not an inch, nor particle of an inch is vile...

--- Walt Whitman

(1819-1892)

Walt Whitman was an American essayist, journalist and poet. His major themes were the sacredness of life in all its forms, even death, and the equality of all people. 

Massage the subtler emotions...

"There are gross and subtle levels of every experience, and the subtler levels are more sensitive, awake and meaningful than the gross.

To love someone is subtler than to resent or push the person away.

To accept someone is subtler than to criticize the individual.

To promote peace is subtler than to promote anger and violence.

To see someone without judgment is subtler than to criticize the person.

If you let yourself feel it, the subtler side of each experience puts the mind at ease, decreases stress, and results in less restless thinking and less pressure at the emotional level. Subtle experience is quiet and harmonious. You feel settled; you aren't  in conflict with anyone else. There is no overblown drama or even any need for it.

Once you have identified it, begin to favor the subtle side of your life. Value this level of awareness --- only if you value it will it grow. If you favor the grosser levels instead, the world will reflect your perception back to you: It will always remain divisive, disturbing, stressful, and threatening. The choice is yours to make at the level of consciousness because, in the infinite diversity of creation, every perception gives rise to a world that mirrors it."

--- Deepak Chopra, M.D.