One Most High God – One Way

Road to the Temple of Peace

There is only one Absolute Reality.
There is only one source of all that is.
There is only one Most High God.

There appear to be many ways.
Yet in their essence they are all one.

Love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength.
Love your neighbor as yourself.

In Silence

Definitely
God can minister to one’s soul in the silence.
In silence, one can experience the presence of God.
In silence, one’s questions can be answered
and new questions can be raised.
In silence, direction can be discovered.
In silence, the balm that heals
mental, emotional, and physical ailments
pours forth and one can embrace
the peace that passes all understanding.

Message to a young “Misfit”

You are at an age of self-discovery. Part of the process is to discover who you are by dis-covering your self to the world.

Crazy is the New Normal

Alas, so much vulnerability is involved. So much courage. Not to mention wisdom when one must test the waters before diving in. Some environments are conducive to openness and trust. In some environments people are fearful of disclosure, largely influenced by the power of social norms, sanctioning in subtle ways those who do not conform.

If one can not freely open oneself then art, music, writing, etc. help.

Socrates said, “Know thyself.” Polonius counseled, “And this above all, to thy own self be true…”

Listen to others to learn who is authentic. Spend time with them. Reveal yourself to them at a rate at which you feel comfortable. If you are authentic you will draw people to you who are authentic, deep, and sincere.

You have a beautiful soul and a sensitive spirit. When you are alone, allow yourself quiet time to get in touch with your soul and feel the love within.

When necessary, sleep, so that through your dreams you can replenish your soul. The streams that nourish your inner world are many and varied.

As you discover peace within, the environment around you will change and the seeds of love will bear fruit in your relationships.

Salvation Through Love

In 1986 (or maybe 1985) when I was studying Church History at the Unification Theological Seminary, I had a course in Modern Church History. One of the things we studied was the Reformation.

The Book

The seminary was a wonderful experience. Barrytown, New York was a beautiful site along the Hudson river. In a prayerful environment I was able to study and discuss sacred texts and the writings of thinkers and scholars of many religions. Sometimes, thanks to the grace of God and the ministry of the Holy Spirit, I experience illumination as I read certain works.

Such was my experience when I read some of the works of the “young” Martin Luther, especially his work “On Christian Liberty,” which he addressed to Pope Leo X in 1520.

Much study is wearisome to the flesh. So one day during this time, as I was waiting for a shuttle to take me into nearby Red Hook, I decided to rest my eyes for a few moments. I slipped into that state between waking and sleeping.

As I was sitting there, with my eyes closed, still conscious but not fully aware of my external surroundings, I sensed a man standing just behind my right shoulder. The visual aspect was very vague.  I could see him but not clearly.

There was a mutual acknowledgement that this was Martin Luther. It wasn’t a question for me as to whether this was really Martin Luther or not. It was an interesting non-ordinary phenomena.

“Ah, Martin Luther,” I thought.

Then the mental apparition spoke.

“When I was on earth, I taught salvation by faith, but if I were alive today, I would teach salvation by love.”

Was this really Martin Luther? I don’t know, but the message makes sense.

Jesus taught people to “love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” and to “love others as yourself.” He said that all the law and all the commandments are summed up in these two.

Jesus also taught “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

At a church pot luck on Sunday, I asked the woman across from me “What does it mean to be pure in heart”

She answered that she felt that it meant to be loving

That reminded of a time I was sitting in a hot springs by the Pit River at Big Bend on a beautiful day gazing at the river streaming by.

“Let love flow through you so that you’re heart may be pure,” the river said.

Let love flow  through you
so that your heart may be pure
so that you may see God and experience the oneness
so that you may love others as yourself

Then you will know the Truth
and the Truth will set you free.

Salvation through Love.

Trust God and Do Well Sept 6 2016

Is it possible to heal our nation and heal the world. I believe so, if we have faith, love God, and do well. Peace.

 

What’s Happening: The Flawed Guru Half Awake in the Flowering Time

It is the Flowering Time. The totem animal is the deer.
The astrological sigh is Gemini. Mercury rules.
Let the petals of your being unfold in relation to the cosmos.

 

Alexander, Philip, and Olympias

A bit more exploration of the life of Alexander the Great relating to his parents, his lineage, and his conception of the world. This is part of the series, “It is never a good idea to want to conquer the world.”

Doing without doing

Lao Tzu

Sometime around 2600 years ago there lived a man whom we refer to as Lao Tzu, which simply means “Old Master.” One story is that he was the keeper of archives for the royal court of Zhou. At the age of 80, he decided to leave the kingdom and venture into the mountains to the west. At the border he was recognized by a guard Yingxi, who  asked him to write down some of his wisdom before he left.

Lao Tzu wrote 81 short passages which have come down to us as the Tao Te Ching, or the Book of the Way.

I am not going to try to define the Tao. Actually, the opening statement of the Tao Te Ching is

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name

– Tao Te Ching 1

I have been reading Stephen Mitchell’ translation of Tao Te Ching for the past few weeks. The short book is full of wisdom that runs contrary to contemporary Western culture. Our modern culture pursues the vision of Francis Bacon, seeking to dominate nature through science and to create a progressive society organized and controlled by an intellectual elite.

Lao Tzu on the other hand says,

… the universe is forever out of control
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao

– Tao Te Ching 30

Lao Tzu saying

One of the ideas that stands out in the Lao Tzu’s teaching is “wei wu wei,” doing without doing.  The third chapter of Tao Te Ching ends with the advice:

Practice not doing
and everything will fall into place.

Let us briefly imagine this mysterious Tao as the source of all that is and that it is immanent and active in all being. When we are opinionated and willful, our thinking gets in the way of the Tao. We forget where we come from. We forget that we are a part of the oneness that is the Great Tao.

If you don’t realize the source,
you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.
Immersed in the Tao,
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready.

– Tao Te Ching 16

Artistic rendering of taiji

This is kind of like Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars saying to Luke, “Trust the Force.” Or like the Christian saying, “Let go and let God.”

Nowadays, there is a lot of interest in ancestry. People want to know where they came from. From a Biblical point of view, we can all trace our lineage back to Adam and Eve, who were the son and daughter of God.

From an evolutionary or scientific view also, we all come from the ultimate source. Where do human beings come from? Where do animals and plants come from? Where do molecules and atoms come from? Where do quantum particles from? As the Tao Te Ching says, all come from one source.

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born,
Thus, it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings.

– Tao Te Ching 7

The Tao is called the Great Mother:
empty yet inexhaustible,
it gives birth to infinite worlds.

It is always present within you.
You can use it any way you want.

– Tao Te Ching 6

Stop thinking. Start doing without doing.

Baby Steps

I

Learn many languages in order to enter the infinite sphere of no language

II

Learn many symbols in order to enter the unknown reservoir from which the symbols sprout

III

Learn many symbols in order to experience the infinite source of love and power

IV

Learn many symbols in order to embrace the Mother that nurtures all

V

Patiently concentrating the mind through time one passes through the portal to the Land That Knows No Time

Lead me not into temptation…

This is a tough one. On a theological level it raises questions. On a personal level it hits home.

If one says to Our Father who art in Heaven,  “Please don’t lead me into temptation,” that would seem to imply that when we are tempted it is God that is leading us into temptation.

If it is God’s will that His Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven, then why would God lead us into temptation?

Now, to be clear, it does not say that God is the one who tempts us. It merely implies that God may lead us into a situation in which we are tempted.

That makes more sense, because if we are to become perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect, then we should be able to resist temptation.

After his baptism by John, when the Holy Spirit descended and a voice from above said, “This is my only Son in whom I am well pleased,” Jesus was led by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to fast for 40 days before beginning his public mission.

During that 40 days, we are told that he was tempted by Satan himself with three great temptations. He withstood the temptations by reciting verses from scripture.

Moreover, the story goes on to say that, in addition to these three temptations. Jesus was tempted in every way that it is possible for a man to be tempted and he overcame every temptation.

God allowed the man Jesus to be tempted in every way before he began his public ministry.

Jesus began his ministry as the Messiah on the foundation of his spiritual victory.

Because he overcame temptation, he is the Way.

St. Paul said that Jesus is the first fruits and we are to become like him. So perhaps in order to become like Jesus, we also need to overcome temptation.

Therefore, we may be lead into temptation.

If one has never been tempted, how does one know how he or she will respond?

To teach the Way, one must become the Way.

There are many more questions, but for now I want to repeat that Jesus resisted Satan by quoting sacred scripture. There is power in the words of sacred scripture.

It is not only Christianity that testifies to this power.

To give an example. Five hundred years before Jesus lived, Buddha gave this advice:

Those who recite many scriptures but fail to practice their teachings are like a cowherd counting another’s cows. They do not share in the joys of the spiritual life. But those who know few scriptures yet practice their teachings, overcoming all lust, hatred, and delusion, live with a pure mind in the highest wisdom. They stand without external supports and share in the joys of the spiritual life.

-Dhammapada 1:19-20