beauty is nothing
but the beginning of terror
“Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the angels'
hierarchies?
and even if one of them pressed me against his heart:
I would be consumed in that overwhelming existence.
For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror,
which we still are just able to endure,
and we are so awed because it serenely disdains
to annihilate us.
Every angel is terrifying.”
-Rilke
(Image artist - Alex Grey)
We set aside the compelling desire to be a problem-solver in order to support the other person.
By asking questions we provide another person an opportunity to gain access to their inner wisdom.
We set aside the compelling desire to be a problem-solver in order to support the other person in this counter-cultural way.
An open, honest question is a question with “no answer”: it freely invites any response. In other words, the questioner could not possibly anticipate the answer to it and is not trying to “get at something.”
When is the last time you asked a loved one a question like this:
What surprises you?
What moves or touches you about this?
What inspires you?
What was easy?
What was hard?
Listen intently
Listen deeply. When is the last time you listened without thinking ahead to formulate your next response?
Listen intently and without interruption to what is said. When is the last time you listened without interrupting?
Listen to the feelings beneath the words and to what resonates with you. When is the last time you listened for the emotional content in yourself and the other person, rather than taking the words at face value?
Listen to yourself also. Do you listen to yourself and how you are feeling about what is being said? Is your response to the content of what’s being said, or are you able to share your emotional responses?
Try to achieve a balance of listening, reflecting, and speaking.
The Christ consciousness resurrects us and shows us that life is created from death
The Christ consciousness was paramount in the beginning and is the creative force. All things are created by this consciousness. All things hold together with this consciousness. All the fullness of creation rests in this consciousness. and is reconciled into oneness through it. The Christ consciousness resurrects us and shows us that life is created from death. All the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe - people and things, animals and atoms - get properly fitted together in peace and vibrant harmonies. Colossians 1:15-20
(Paraphrase is a combination of “The Message” and my own paraphrase)
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Do Not Worry
God knows you need all those other things as well.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” …. But be sure that while you are alive, you have been a good financial steward. I mean, sure, you shouldn’t actually worry or store anything in a barn anywhere, but of course you should be putting around 20% in your retirement portfolio so that you don’t become a burden to anyone in your old age. And nothing wrong with some safety nets, a safety deposit box, a hidden safe somewhere, an offshore account. You know, just in case.
“And don’t worry about clothes.” … Clothes have become so affordable thanks to the slave conditions in manufacturing in other countries, that everyone can afford clothes these days. “See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin”… and you don’t have to either. That work belongs to those folks in those factories. I mean, sure, the working conditions are tragic, but if it weren’t for that job, they might have no job at all, so you know - maybe it’s the lesser of two evils after all. “I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like those flowers. It’s just proof that if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? “
I know times are tough because of COVID. We’ve been deprived of so many of life’s pleasures. But do not worry, saying, ‘When can we go out to eat again? I miss going out to restaurants?’ or ‘What shall we drink and when can we go to bars again? I miss going out to the bars’ or ‘What shall we wear? I’m so tired of just knocking around my house in my sweats all day, I can’t wait to be able to get dressed up and go out!’ Even though unspiritual people pursue these things, your heavenly Father knows that you need them. It’s not enough to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. God knows you need all those other things as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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For where your treasure is, it is a sure sign of God’s blessing.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. You’ve got to be smarter than that. God has blessed you with all that wealth, so be sure it is invested wisely in a strong and diversified portfolio. You can also store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. These treasures in heaven might be good deeds, people you’ve witnessed to, charitable donations. For where your treasure is, it is a sure sign of God’s blessing.
The eye is the lamp of the body. If you see things clearly, you will be full of light. And if you don’t you will be full of darkness. Of course God’s blessings are his affirmation that you are full of light.
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money but make no mistake, God will show his favor upon you by giving you material wealth.
conflict within ourselves ceases when there is no longer any clash between the demands and expectations
Most people are in love with their particular life drama.
Their story is their identity.
The ego runs their life.
Most people have their whole sense of self invested in the ego.
Even the search for truth, or an answer, a solution, or for healing become part of it.
What the ego fears and resists most is the end of its drama.
When we live in complete acceptance of what is, that is the end of all drama in our lives.
Ego is the unobserved mind that runs your life when you are not present to this moment. When you are not present as the witnessing consciousness, the watcher.
Whenever we are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, we are creating drama. Drama around fear of the future, which hasn’t happened yet. Drama around regret and shame over the past.
When we live in complete acceptance of what is, that is the end of all drama in our lives.
The ego perceives itself as a separate fragment in a hostile universe, with no real inner connection to any other being,
Whenever two or more egos come together, drama of one kind or another ensues.
But when you are conscious, nobody can even have an argument with you, no matter how hard he or she tries. You cannot have an argument with a fully conscious person.
An argument implies identification with your mind and a mental position, as well as resistance and reaction to the other person’s position. The result is that the polar opposites become mutually energized. These are the mechanics of unconsciousness.
You can still make your point clearly and firmly, but there will be no reactive force behind it, no defense or attack. So it won’t turn into drama. When you are fully conscious, you cease to be in conflict.
A course in miracles tells us that “No one who is at one with himself can even conceive of conflict,”
This refers not only to conflict with other people but more fundamentally to conflict within ourselves, which ceases when there is no longer any clash between the demands and expectations of our minds and what is.
When we live in complete acceptance of what is, that is the end of all drama in our lives.
(Material adapted from “The Power of Now” Eckhart Tolle
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Be sure to inspire others
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Well, this was written for the hypocrites, but we all know you’re not a hypocrite so let’s forget the “doing it in secret” thing. If you fast, and I’m not talking about intermittent fasting, which is not really fasting. I mean, let’s face it no one really fasts anymore. Can you imagine going more than 24 hours without food? Of course not. But if you DO, you want to be sure to inspire others since it’s a lost practice. Do an Instagram live about it or a ZOOM class so we can all learn from you. We will secretly admire you and will be inspired by your spirituality.
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All things are created and held together through you. The earth, the sky, the sea. All things living and non-living are incarnations of your love. Embodiments of your spirit. Material containers of your energy which holds them together. Without you, nothing would exist.
The universe is not only your incarnation, it is also your revelation. Love is revealed in green pastures and peaceful waters and blue skies.
The green field is your body. I lie down with it and am comforted
The peaceful waters are your body. I drink and am kept alive.
The sky is your body. The heavens declare your glory.
The sea is your body and every creature in it. I swim in its depths
Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Let the rocks cry out.
Even if I walk in the dark, I have no fear. The dark is not darkness to you. Darkness and light are the same to you. I am comforted by this kind of grace. Even the darkness and the depths of the earth are your body. I am held in the darkness.
Since the creation, since the incarnation of the world, your invisible qualities, your eternal power and sacred nature have been clearly seen and understood from what has been made. It is your incarnation, your body, your revelation. It is held together in you, by you and through you. Everything I need to know about who you are can be discovered and re-discovered through your creation
Your incarnated world reveals abundance, wild creativity, life, death and endless and infinite change.
Hold me in your body and reveal yourself to me.
Life or Death?
Life or Death?
Life or Death?
Life or Death?
All life requires death. “This is my body….that you may have life”
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