Stuck In a Boxed in Trench

 It fascinates me that some people label themselves as this or that, and dig a trench within those  limits, making it deeper and deeper until they are so entrenched in it they cannot peer over the edge to see beyond.

This happens in every area, across history. 

It happens with tribes, nations, religions, politics and on and on. People often see anyone not in their trench not only as wrong, but as evil, the extreme other.

Heated arguments, loud name calling, distortions/lies, violence, wars ensue. 

We can find a myriad of examples in history, some seem humorous to us here in their future. But it seems more difficult to see our own trenches, our biases, those things we say "of course it is...."

I like John Weekly's thought:

Do all the good you can, / by all the means you can, / in all the ways you can, / in all the places you can, / at all the times you can, / to all the people you can, / as long as ever you can".

 But, in a deep trench, the definition of what is good differs, and there is resistance to listening to other ways to look at something.

At the risk of upsetting you,  I'm going to offer two hot button examples. 

1) The discussion of trans people in girl's sports. One side says they have rights to identify as whatever sex to which they feel affinity without discrimination. The other side says girls who have been training for years are losing medals and scholarships to biological males. Testosterone based bodies have an unfair advantage. Plus, it is upsetting to girls seeing naked men in their locker room and showers 

What is the higher good?  It needs to be so both sides win. How about a Trans Athletic Association? Or some other solution not thought of yet. 

2) The discussion over immigration. One side says let anyone who comes in, give them services and perks, don't screen them. It is racist to keep them out or send them back, even the criminals. The other side says we cannot afford unlimited immigration. We have laws about how to do it. People who don't follow the rule of law are not good candidates to become American. Let them leave or return them to their country, and then let them apply for visas and return legally.  

What is the higher good? It needs to be good for all concerned as far as possible. How about sponsor programs in poor countries to teach skills so the people can prosper surrounded by their friends and family? Or some other solution not yet thought of.

Let's stop shouting at each other and seek meaningful solutions for our problems. 

The Other

 “Man cannot long separate himself from nature without withering as a cut rose in a vase. One of the deceptive aspects of mind in man is to give him the illusion of being distinct from and over against but not a part of nature. It is but a single leap thus to regard nature as being so completely other than himself that he may exploit it, plunder it, and rape it with impunity.” --- Howard Thurnan

 As we deepen spiritually, we come to know that The Divine (whatever name we use for God) is everywhere, in all, beyond all, immanent and transcendent, yes both. The old cliche is true - there is no spot where God is not. 

In this quote above, he is primarily talking about our relationship to earth. But I think it is not useful to compartmentalize,  Unfortunately we often treat our earth as other. I agree.  But we also treat each other and life in general as other. 

There seems to be an epidemic of exploitation, plundering, and rape going on. And its not just toward nature. There is a darkness, as if a dark fog spreading from dark places on the web and elsewhere. There is increasing violent behavior and murder.  There are humans selling children. There are massive cartels and  conglomerates selling addictive and killing drugs . There are politicians and professors selling communism. There are journalists telling things they know to be untrue. I could go on and on, but I'll stop with these examples. 

I suggest that it is partially due to labelling "other" and then anything is fair game. 

We have time to turn it around, I hope and pray. We need  not only to be against the darkness, but we also need to be for and with the Light. We need the courage and vision to stand up for what we know to be good and holy. We need to awaken and remember there is no other. Ultimately we are one, and we are in this earth adventure together. 

Doing and Saying

 In the Bible to speak is to act, and the word is more than an instrument of expression; it is a vessel of divine power, the mystery of creation.- Abraham Heschel

It has long seemed to me that our words and deeds reveal our inner state of consciousness. We cannot hide who we are inside (psychopaths aside). And who we are inside directs our choices of action, of how we participate in life. 

 The above quote elevates it to co-creation status. It reminds me of "Your words will not return to you void." Or "It is done unto you as you believe." 

It adds a divine element and responsibility. If our words, thought and spoken, are indeed vessels of divine power, part of the mystery of creation, it becomes essential that we take charge of ourselves at every level. Our words are not just helpful or hurtful in the immediate moment. 

In some ways this idea reminds me of Jung's idea of the collective unconscious. I can imagine pools of like thought gaining power with each new like thought chiming in.  Magnify this to the cosmic level. 

It is said that after dying, we experience the pain and joy we have caused in this life. That might be our personal hell. 

All of this is to challenge us to take responsibility for all we think, say, and do.  It just may be in our own interest as well as divine interest. Please do think about it, and do your best to be the best version of yourself. 

Wiords Words Words

To become aware of the ineffable is to part company with words. --- Rabbi Heschel

 The dilemma - Spirit inspires me with thoughts, ideas, revelations - I only have words to hint at these. Maybe you can read between the lines, feel or sense more. I suppose if we were in the same room, an energy might be felt that would convey more. Even so, it seems that each must experience the ineffable themselves. 

Maybe I am called to stand witness that the Great Mystery of God can be touched, even entered from time to time. I encourage you to calm down any raging ego, strive to live the virtues sincerely, take time to praise and give thanks, see the miraculous all around, and open your heart. It seems God needs us to co-create the Divine Vision. So far humanity is not doing too well in that regard, but we could. Its not too late.

Poem from Hildegard von Bingen

 I am the one whose praise echoes on high. 

I adorn all the earth.

I am the breeze that nurtures all things green.

I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits. 

I am led by the spirit to feed the purest streams. 

I am the rain coming from the dew 

That causes the grasses to laugh with the joy of life.

I call forth tears, the aroma of holy work. 

I am the yearning for good.

Hildegard understood God being everywhere, in all creation, and at the same time being transcendent.  

Currently, as has been said, we suffer nature deprivation. In the vast majority of earth time, humans have lived in nature, and they learned from it about many things, including about God.  Nowadays it's mostly the asphalt jungle. 

It seems to lead to a certain insanity, insanity that d eludes us and leads us away from connection to self, to others, to nature, and to God. Increasing numbers are led to a frenzy of violence and ugliness, to extreme immorality and cruelty. Some just escape it all into the matrix of electronics. 

We see civilization unravelling in so many ways. There is a crazed atmosphere in dark places that seem to grow as the evening shadows grow. 

If we are to turn this around, we need to turn and find the way back to wholeness, to holiness. 

Whether or not this wave of civilization can be turned and saved is not known. Many civilizations have come and gone.  

Higher Thought

 The usual thought about this and that revolves around common sense and nonsense. The essential spiritual truths are something other, and they cannot be fully spoken or written of. They are found by sincere seekers,  those with pure heart. These seekers try to speak of It or write of It, but can merely point toward. Just as if you have never eaten a mango, my words of description would not give you the actual taste. So too, we sort of need to open to the experience of God and prepare ourselves.

It seems that there is a continuum from our limited view to those who have touched the Highest, to a journey into the Infinite. Eckhart declared that God is no thing, not nothing, but no thing. 

Along the way, people often make God and the way to God into a thing or many things: a physical thing like a statue, an idol, an amulet; rituals and special activities; sequestered in special writings and creeds: and exclusive to their particular group.

But I suggest the Creator of the miraculous universes fits in no thing. Let us open ourselves to the magnificent, transcendent and immanent God. Let us let go of the old tiny God  

The Seed of my Quest ....Blast From the Past

 In 1958, when I started college, If began to examine my beliefs and realized many of them were not based on reality or facts. The first big kick in my beliefs came from a book with the forward by Albert Einstein, "Man and His Gods" by Homer Smith. In my later years, I found the science, history, and archeology had moved way beyond what was known by the end of the 19th century where this book ends. 

However, some of the basic ideas about religion broadly apply still. Humans across all of our history, possibly all 350,000 years of it, have felt and believed in something More. Myths, rituals, talismans, magic, sacrifices, art, and most traces of us show our propensity to seek A Higher Power, THE Higher Power,  or an array of Higher Powers . 

It was eye opening to me to discover all currently practised religions are very recent - Hinduism in various versions and the Vedic probably the oldest almost 4,000 years ago, Judaism perhaps starting with the Moses story about 3,200 years ago, Buddhism and Taoism 2,600 years ago, Christianity 2,000 years ago, and Islam 1,400 years ago. Compared to human history, all of these are extremely recent.

As a naive young woman, it had seemed to me Christianity had been here for a long long time. But it hasn't. We got a newly ordained woman as our youth minister. She told me I was so spiritual that I should go to Africa and save people. I said to her, Do you mean some woman who is a good person, A good wife and mother, is going to hell because she's not a Presbyterian? She told me that was the case and wasn't it sad? I told her it was crazy and took my membership out of the church. I was horrified that she also condemned to hell those who have been on this earth before 2,000 years ago -  all of our ancestors, no matter how good and kind they had been.  My mind was in a whirl. 

That was the seed of the quest I've been on ever since. It was the seed of this blog and the name I choose for it. Thank you so much for being on this quest with me!

As you read my thoughts over the years, you know my heart and my life and how I live my life are all about The More, about striving to live as Jesus taught. Following his particular path for me is not about the superficial, it's about the goal of becoming as Christ-like as possible.  I believe fervently that if we lived his teaching, we would have peace and plenty for all.