Don't Run Away

 Spirituality is not to be learned by flight from the world, by running away from things, or by turning solitary and going apart from the world. Rather, we must learn an inner solitude wherever or with whomsoever we may be. We must learn to penetrate things and find God there.  --- Meister Eckhart

 This gift from Eckhart grabbed my heart this morning. Inner solitude is often overlooked. For many the cry is that they can only be at peace if and when others shape up, agree with them, get in step, etc. Therefore they will never have peace. Many live an other directed life.

It seems to me that other directed people have a difficult time even considering the option of being inner directed, and therefore at peace.

Eckhart also said: 

Whatever I want to express in its truest meaning must emerge from within me and pass through an inner form. It cannot come from outside to the inside but must emerge from within.

What is inside makes all of the difference. Are we at peace and at home in our souls, having inner solitude, inner directed? Or are we desperate to find approval from outside, trying to get everyone in line, resentful and anxious living an outer directed way?

As inner directed people, we don't run or hide from the world. We see it with different eyes and heart. Our peace comes from God, and we participate from that place. We see the frenzy of the outer directed people as a cry for help to be lifted out of the whirl in which they live. We offer peace and love and prayer for them, but our peace is not determined by their choices. 

Ultimately the only person I am in charge of is myself. As I steer my life more and more to alignment with the More, The Divine, it all becomes ever more clear.

Peace be upon you and fill you.

 

God Calls Us to Share

 Human beings ought to communicate and share all the gifts they have received from God. If a person has something that he or she does not share with others, that person is not good. A person who does not bestow on others spiritual things and the joy that is in them has in fact never been spiritual. People are not to receive and keep gifts for themselves alone, but should share themselves and pour forth everything they possess whether in their bodies or their souls as much as possible. beings ought to communicate and share all the gifts they have received from God. If a person has something that he or she does not share with others, that person is not good. A person who does not bestow on others spiritual things and the joy that is in them has in fact never been spiritual. -- Meister Eckhart

He sees it as an imperative that we are to share our gifts with one another. It seems to me there are several ways to look at it.

We are not to be spiritually miserly for sure. What God has endowed in us is not our little secret. On the other hand, when God awareness bursts forth in us, I don't see how or why we would or could hide it. 

I do see quite a few with phony awareness, spouting nonsense as if it were the Truth. The charlatans come in every area, from art to religion. Our antennas need to be up to not be taken in. Our rationalizations need to be put to rest, so as not to be led astray.

I have some touchstones, a small list of what I absolutely know to be true. Things or people have to be consistent with them for me to take them seriously. Maybe you have such a list too. Dust it off and put it in use. It saves a lot of deadends. 

God Speaks Through Everything

 I have known for quite a long time that God/Divine Light is in all people, all animals, all plant life, all stones, all galaxies, etc.  Everything is made of whirling atoms that came from the Big Bang, The origins are present at all times, in all things. I have taught you can make a sermon out of anything you see or feel, whether it be a paperclip, a redwood tree, or a daisy.

Today fabric spoke to me and introduced me to Anais Nin. I'm making a prayer quilt, and one of the fabrics has positive sayings on it. This particular saying reminded me of one of my inspirations on "Turn" I wrote last June and spoke about Jan. 12th this year it is about unfurling oneself from the fetal position and entering the Great Mystery. Anais sooke from the facric and put it this way:

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

 In my years on this planet, I have met so so many people who are afraid to be fully themselves, to dare to do the greatness stirring inside. It is painful to hold oneself tightly in, restraining the true inner nature. How I have wished I could help the tight buds let go and be the full bloom. I suppose that I have encouraged some, some of whom did let go and let God be God in them. But, some then retreated and pulled in and let the moment pass.

If I could find the right words, I'd tell you to dare to be You. Let out your imprisioned splendor. Go for the gold. Bloom and bloom some more. Your shining bloom is needed, not only for yourself, but also for all of us. Please dear one, do it.

 

Not An Atheist

 Yesterday I watched a video of an atheist explaining why God is impossible, life continuing is impossible, for you cannot see God and cannot see beyond this life.

This morning I was thinking about color. I cannot see all of the spectrum of color, for my eyes only see a small band of color, not all of the range. Because my eyes can't see it all, does that mean it's not there? I cannot see atoms and the vast empty space of material things that physics tells me about.  Does that make physics wrong? Of course not, unless you want to deny science. I don't see love, or gravity, or hope, or fear, etc. I know them to be real.

Then I thought of moments I've seen through the veil, to see great light filled beings, to see loved ones passing, to hear words reaching me from elsewhere, maybe from another dimension. Or maybe beyond where our usual senses can sense, an extended spectrum. I thought of life after life experiences. I thought of reincarnation research. I thought of inspirations that have flooded me, so that I suddenly knew what I had never known before. 

I could go on and on. I know, KNOW, there is More than meets the physical eye. There are moments of windows opening. There are glimpses of breathtaking vistas. There are holy moments. God lives.

Simplify

 Don't try to find God. Simplify your scattered life, and become one in yourself. Then God will find you. The rest will follow. --- Meister Eckhart

If there is one thing the seeming deprivation of the last few years has taught me, it's that I  can thrive with a lot less than I'd ever thought possible,and its my soul that needs tending.  More stuff won't do it. More busyness won't do it.

I discovered that an over- abundance is distracting from the truly important things. I discovered how many hours had been wasted.

I like Eckhart's line about being one with yourself. In this day and age, it is easy to bury ones self under a pile of clutter, hoarding what we don't need, racing here and there, seeking  attention and approval from the outside, and thereby losing the  core of who we are.

If we are not at home in ourselves, how is God to find us?  Nobody is at home when God comes knocking.

Soul Gymnasium

This morning, laying half awake in bed, I was asking God about the incredible number of lessons packed into this lifetime. I saw flash before my eyes the ancient Greek gymnasium with muscular men wrestling. Then I heard, "there is also another gymnasium, the gymnasium of the soul."

"You were chosen to come to earth to develop your soul as rigorously as some develop their bodies and strive to be champions. Your striving is to develop your soul."

I recalled tellling others lately that this is not the vacation planet, that we are to develop our spiritual muscle. This insight, or revelation, this morning puts another layer on that thought.

I saw a fantastic sight of millions of eternal souls struggling to lift mental and emotional weights. I saw some clueless as to what was going on, while others were at least somewhat aware and so strived all the more. I saw some resisting, and some doing their best. I saw a whole range of reactions to the soul gymnasium.

Then I saw the last two questions as we leave this place - Did you learn how to love unconditionally? Did you complete your purpose? The final exam.

Emerson Still Speaks

 Ralph Waldo Emerson, a sampling from his essay on Providence:

Life wastes itself whilst we are preparing to live...

The world is filled with the proverbs and acts and winkings of a base prudence, which is a devotion to matter, as if we possessed no other faculties than the palate, the nose, the touch, the eye and ear...

Call a spade a spade...

 Do what we can, summer will have its flies. If we walk in the woods we must feed mosquitoes. If we go a-fishing we must expect a wet coat...

 He that despiseth small things will perish by little and little...

Let him learn a prudence of a higher strain. Let him learn that everything in nature, even motes and feathers, go by law and not by luck, and that what he sows he reaps...  

Thus truth, frankness, courage, love, humility, and all the virtues range themselves on the side of prudence, or the art of securing a present well-being.

This amazing man of  the 1800's, has so much from which we can learn. He touches us with his writing, with his ability to reach us at a deep level with timeless wisdom. This is not my favorite of his essays, yet it speaks to me as if he sits in front of me speaking his wisdom.

Take the first quote above. As we mull it over in our minds, it reveals many facets. I think of the wasted moments of my life, moments waiting, putting off rather than living with gusto. I think of silly hesitations. I have learned to have less of these wasted moments, as I came to realize the finite nature of this trip to earth.

I urge you to explore these quotes, and open to his wisdom. Then I do hope you read his essays, maybe especially "Self Reliance" and "Oversoul" - and then on to the rest.

God bless you and keep you and cause His Face to shine upon you and give you peace.