Seeing God in the Mirror of our Lives

In my last blog, I mentioned several strategies to help us become more aware of God's presence within us and around us. Today, I was interested to read, St Francis of Assisi recommend if we wished to grow in our spiritual life, we should “look into the mirror of our life and learn every perfection” (1).

I like that thought! It is so easy to criticize ourselves. And Christianity's fixation on us being 'unworthy' and sinful, as presented by many Christian writers and Churches, doesn't help! In contrast, to 'look into the mirror of our life' and see the reflection of the Divine Presence; of us being a God-carrier; a person of Divine Grace, created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27; James 3:9) with an innate ability to mirror God's divinity and become co-creators with God (2) – that, to my way of thinking and believing, is liberating GOOD NEWS!

I know my own quest to live with this realisation continues, and so does my reading and reflection. During the past week, I came across an article by Tom Schwanda. Tom is the Associate Professor of Christian Formation and Ministry at Wheaton College. He mentioned a similar struggle experience to mine – and perhaps to yours – in his article 'Cultivating Attentiveness to God's Presence' (3). He suggests we need to be mindful of the activities or practices during our day that help or hinder us from paying attention to God's presence in our life. He mentions Br Lawrence of the Community of the Resurrection (1614-1691), who discovered a similar way of developing a continuous awareness of God's presence in all that he did. Br Lawrence would “look into the mirror of his life” and identify AND experience, the continuous closeness and presence of God in all the events and activities that filled his day.

I have recently begun to try and do something similar. To ask myself during the ordinary activities that fill my day, 'Where do I sense God's presence at this moment? Where do I catch a glimpse of the Divine? It may be reflected in the beauty of a flower in someone's garden, or in the rays of sunlight piercing the evening cloud. Perhaps shining in the light of a person's eyes; in a bird in flight, or in the embrace by someone I love. This awareness transforms all these special moments into 'Wow moments'.

However, to see the Divine when things start fulling apart takes a different way of seeing and knowing, one suited to the times darkened by disappointment, pain or stress. In all these times, the Christian mystic, Nicolas of Cusa, once said, 'You need the night-eyes of an owl'. God is still there, with and within us. We know that because Psalm 139 plainly promises, for example, God is always with us wherever we go, no matter what happens to us. Or as Meister Eckhart (c. 1260 – c. 1328 ) once discovered, even“in the darkness, God is giving birth, and we are being born there too”.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey

Phil

_______

(1) Thomas Celano, First Life of St Francis, para 90.

(2) Imago Dei ("image of God"), https://www.pbs.org/faithandreason/theogloss/imago-body.html

(3) https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/Cultivating_Attentiveness_to_Gods_Presence

Tom Schwanda, PhD is Associate Professor of Christian Formation & Ministry, Wheaton College.

(4) Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

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Entering the Silence

Wouldn't it be wonderful
to be able to become so quiet, so still, so silent,
that we could hear the sacred presence

Surya Das (1)

In my last blog, I reflected on the 'Gift of Silence'. The silence I refer to is not simply the absence of talking or outside noise, although that helps. We need to learn to cultivate an inner stillness of heart, mind and soul if we wish to experience the presence of God. While this wisdom is common to all faith traditions, we need to find our own doorway into the inner silence of our souls. As St Mother of Teresa of Calcutta once said:

We need to find God, and (God) cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, and grass – grow in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.

Fortunately, we are not the only person who may struggle to silence our constant internal chatter. For example:

St Francis de Sales suggested sitting in silence with a relaxed and open attitude to the Divine Presence within you and in your surroundings. Easier said than done. I find my busy mind soon runs off in all directions!

The Curé d'Ars, St Jean-Marie Vianney, gave his mind something to focus on. He would spend hours sitting quietly in Church doing nothing other than gazing at a symbol of God's Presence (eg a Cross or Icon or the Reserved Sacrament). As a result, he began to see everything in a different light as he became an open channel of Divine love and light to others. Isn't that something we all would wish to be – I know I do. But do I have the will and discipline to give my spiritual practice the time and focused energy it requires?

Thomas Keating, and many others, have used the breath as a tool to experience God's presence within. They allowed the stillness to soak into their being, as they would “fall into the arms of God, focusing on the presence of the eternal” who is “Closer...than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet”(3). While the method sounds simple, from my experience, it is not that simple!.

Kim Boykin refers to 'my' struggle in his book Zen for Christians. (4). He suggests a more structured way of using our breath in meditation. We start by silently counting our in-breaths and the out-breaths. Our first in-breath is '1'; our first out-breath is '2', and so on until we get to 10, then we start back at 1 again. When we realise our attention has wandered off (as it will), we take note of the thought or mental conversation that had captured our attention, before continuing to count our breathing again, starting at 1. (3)

What Kim is suggesting is that there are no shortcuts. While the Bible suggests we “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28). The One who is “over all and through all and in all” (Eph.4:6). In the end, there is nothing we need to do – but 'be', and 'be aware'– and 'be open' to the Divine Presence. Who is always within us and around us as promised by the Prophet Isaiah:

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength...

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
and will rise up to show mercy to you.

Blessed are all those who wait on God.(Is.30:15,18)

 

May you find blessing in your 'returning' each day to your spiritual practice. In your learning to 'rest' and 'trust' in the stillness, and in your learning to 'wait' on the One who is closer to you than you are to yourself.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey

Phil

_______

(1) Dass, Surya , Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Personal Spiritual Life, Random House Books, 2007.p. 364.

(2)Thomas Keating, OCSO: For a World Re-Centered in Prayer https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/francisclooney/blog/thomas-keating-ocso-and-saving-grace-prayer

(3)Bob Holmes https://contemplativemonk.com/breath-prayer/

(4) Boykin, Kim, Zen for Christians: A Beginner's Guide. Available at Amazon.

The Gift of Silence

When I attended Mass this morning, I thought of my last Blog, 'The Time for Words is Over'.

Before Mass, we usually sit in silence, waiting for the service to begin. I find the silence almost tangible as it wraps itself around me, providing a helpful space as I prepare for the liturgy that is about to gather us into its timeless action. However, some people seem unable to cope with the stillness. They have a compulsive need to talk! Recently, a person, irritated by the intrusion of chatter, dared to say in a loud voice, “Silence Please!”. The building almost sighed with relief.

There are no doubt many reasons why people feel uncomfortable with silence. We live in a noisy world. The sound of TV, radio, music app, or phone, and even the neighbour's lawnmower, continually surround us. We have forgotten or perhaps have never learnt, to appreciate the gift of silence.

An old Quaker saying is "Do not speak unless you can improve upon the silence."  Quakers are a group of people who have learnt the power of silence. One Quaker, Brent Bill, describes his awakening to the gift of silence in his book 'Holy Silence'. The moment occurred during one of their Sunday meetings. There was the usual chatter as people arrived and settled down as the meeting began. Slowly, as the exterior sounds dropped away, Brent was left with his internal chatter. All the random images and words that so readily fill our minds when the events of everyday life no longer demand our attention. Gradually, this too settled, and he was dropped into a well of holy silence that guided him into the deep waters of his soul. That was when he became aware of the Divine presence deep inside him. This awareness changed his hour of silence. (2)

The Catholic Priest and Franciscan, Richard Rohr, once said:

We cannot attain the Divine Presence

because we are already totally in the Divine Presence.

What's absent is awareness. (3)

When this happens, the American priest, Barbara Brown Taylor suggests, we will feel 'grasped by beauty, gratitude, awe, wonder, love, hope, joy and a sense of peace'.(4) Isn't that something we all long to experience?

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga 

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey

Phil

1. https://www.elitedaily.com/p/why-silence-is-so-uncomfortable-heres-how-to-get-more-comfortable-with-quiet-moments-8762651

2. Brent Bill, J, Holy Silence – The Gift of Quaker Spirituality, Paraclete, 2005.

3. Rohr, R, Loving the Presence in the Present, https://cac.org/loving-the-presence-in-the-present-2015-12-29/

4. Taylor, Barbara Brown, An Altar of the World., A Geography of Faith, Harper One, 2010.

The Time for Words is Over.

Recently, I had three opportunities to explore Pope Francis latest Encyclical, Fratelli tutti. The Latin literally means 'All men' although the encyclical is more inclusive and refers to “all brothers and sisters”. The phrase comes from the writings of Saint Francis of Assisi who sowed seeds of peace and walked alongside the poor, the abandoned, the infirm and the outcast; the least of his brothers and sisters.

Each meeting I attended, used a different study guide to help us weave our way through the Pope's discussion, on the social and economic problems facing our world. In essence, Pope Francis applies Jesus statement: 'Treat others the same way you would like to be treated ' (Luke 6:31) to all of these situations in his 43,000-word document.

While in principle, I support Pope Francis' Encyclical, yet I felt swamped by the volume of words – which reflects my struggle with other areas of the Church. Ever since the Church's formal beginnings on the Day of Pentecost, Christianity has become obsessed with words! I know this from first-hand experience.

I grew up up in a Christian home. I learnt to read the Bible at an early age and was rewarded from memorizing Bible verses. During my life, I have done 6 years of formal theological study. I've read countless books on God, Jesus and Christianity. I have heard (and given as an Anglican Priest) more sermons to last me a lifetime – and few were memorable. Why are we as Church so fixated on words?

As a counsellor, I soon learnt when a person talks non stop, they are often covering up something. It might be their nervousness or anxiety, their fears or pain. They may have Asperger's-type disorders, or even trying to please the person they are talking to. Sometimes they may be struggling with other mental-emotional disorders. Narcissists, for example, think that what they have to say is very important and entertaining – even if no one else thinks so. I am not sure whether any of these conditions apply to the Christian Church? Yet what I long for– what my soul-centre hungers for– is to be awakened and nurtured by the eternal love and mystery of God. In that eternal embrace, words are no longer needed.

My one-time Buddhist teacher, Tarchin Hearn once said:

A great breakthrough in meditation practice comes
when the practitioner finally discovers that there is nothing to do,
except be present. In this state, there is a calm serenity.
This is the quality of detached abiding. (1)

This is true for our us in our contemplative practice as well. peace and serenity will naturally arise in us when we finally understand there is nothing for us to do, nothing for us to say, except learn to rest in the Divine mystery and presence of God.

Rainer Maria Rilke once offered us a glimpse of what it means to live within this Divine embrace and the implication it will have on us and our relationships:

We will sense you like a fragrance from a nearby garden
and watch you move through our days like a shaft of sunlight.
We will not be herded into churches, for you are not made by the crowd,
you who meet us in our solitude.
We are cradled close in your hands –
and lavishly flung forth. (2)

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

_________

1 Dyer, P, Spacious, Clear & Unimpeded... Tawera Press, 2003 p. 23.

2.Rilke, R.M.,'Book of Hours: Love Poems to God' (II, 26).

Jesus and Buddha

In my recent blogs, I mentioned several similarities between the writing of St Teresa of Avila and Buddhism. Now as I prepare to celebrate Christmas once again, I thought it appropriate to list some of the many similarities I have noticed between Jesus of Nazareth and Gautama the Buddha. I find this life-giving because I believe Truth is always larger than the words and stories we use to express our faith.

Both Jesus and Gautama came from a royal lineage. Gautama's father was king Śuddhodana and Jesus belonged to the royal line of King David. While both men gave up any claim to their royal titles, later traditions have remembered them. Early in their lives, around the age of 30, both men experienced a significant awakening. One so profound it permanently changed the direction of their life. For Buddha it occurred under the Bo (or Bodhi) tree; for Jesus, it was while being baptised by his cousin John the Baptist and confirmed for him during his solitude in the wilderness. Both men began their public ministry soon after their 'awakening' which led to separate renewal movements within their religion.

We find a similarity again in both Jesus and Gautama's ethical teachings. For example, both teachers shared similar wisdom on how people could recentre themselves and experience inner liberation. One that provided them with a new way of being, seeing, and living. Both taught a similar subversive wisdom that challenged the conventional ways of thinking and believing. One that invited us to live more compassionately towards all of life; of letting go of one's ego. For example, Jesus saying:"If anyone wants to follow me, let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me"relates closely to Buddha's teaching on"Non -clinging awareness". And both understood the evidence of this inner transformation will result in a more compassionate lifestyle, even towards one's enemies.

Both used parallel concepts such as 'dying to self'' and 'new birth' (Jesus), or 'letting go' and 'awakening' (Buddha). Both understood that this new ethic would involve living life open-handedly; dependent upon the generosity of others; and would help them to understand their interconnection with all life, as well as their human vulnerability and dependency on others.

Neither teacher wrote down a single word, but both used a similar method of teaching that included many comparable images and metaphors as they sought to transform society by changing the heart and mind of their followers. For example, in 1894 Paul Carus published over fifty Gospel parallels with the Buddhist stories and sutras.1 More recently Marcus Borg laid out 100 such parallel sayings taken from a wide range of Buddhist texts and the Christian Gospels.2

While neither teacher wished to found a new religion, they both gave rise to a new religion – Buddhism and Christianity. And both religions soon regard their respective founder as a human-divine being, expressed in similar mythic or metaphoric stories, such as the place and nature of their virgin birth; the visitation of royal witnesses; their amazing childhood wisdom; being tempted by a devil at the beginning of their ministries which was accompanied by miracles.

Gautama and Jesus also have their differences that include three pivotal differences between their teachings. While both saw the established religious systems were failing, Jesus worked within his religious tradition; he was born and died a Jew. While Gautama used a similar vocabulary to the Hindus, he chose to work outside the Hindu cast system and also denied its relevance towards reaching salvation. Nor did Gautama ever commented on the existence of God. For him, salvation is gained through right teaching, right understanding and right action as spelt our in the Eight-Fold Path.

I find it easier to summarize Gautama's teaching as found in the Four Noble Truths and Eight Fold Path. Perhaps that is because Gautama taught for almost 50 years compared to Jesus' 1-3 year ministry. However, in many ways, the Jesus of history was a much more radical social prophet than the Buddha. This was the primary reason he was crucified. He challenged the political and religious leaders of his day to the point where he could no longer be ignored. However, little did his opponents realise they had started a fire they could never quench.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

__________________

1. The Gospel of Buddha, Compiled from Ancient Sources. Available at http://www.mountainman.com.au/buddha/.

2. Jesus & Buddha: The Parallel Sayings, CA: Ulysses. 2004

Bliss & Struggle: Is it worth it?

In my last blog, I mentioned how both St Teresa and Buddhism stressed the importance of Wisdom and Compassion in a mature and balanced spiritual practice. These two roles remind us that we live in a real-world that includes other people. Wisdom and Compassion offer a way to channel our spiritual energy, released by a mature and focused spiritual practice. They also remind us that while we may enjoy moments of bliss in our meditation or prayer practise, they raise two dangers. The first is to seek these experiences. The second is to regard them as signs of spiritual growth and maturity. Rather than a gift we may (or may not) receive to encourage us to persevere in our spiritual practice.

I remember, for example, as a young university student, of recounting a recent awakening experience to my spiritual director. I felt he might be impressed by my Spiritual growth and maturity! He replied that "It was no more than a little grace God gave to encourage me. Accept it as such, and be thankful for it, then let it go". At the time, I felt a bit shattered by his lack of enthusiasm. In retrospect, I was naively misinterpreting an experience as a sign of spiritual growth and maturity.

Lama Surya Das offered similar wisdom; and so did St Teresa. Surya Das tells us not to get caught up in such experiences. They may be valid, or they may be just a projection of our desires. Let them go and move on because "The genuine lessons we learn, stay with us, but the special effects will quickly disappear." 1

I mention this because if your commitment to growing a spiritual practice (whether it be Buddhist or Christian), is not to be taken lightly. You will have times when you will need all the encouragement these 'pleasant' moments may offer. This is because the next step on our inner journey will inevitably involve a decisive self-surrender. The Dalai Lama referred to it in this Prayer of Dedication:

"May I become at all times, now and forever:
A Protector for those without protection,
A Guide for those who have lost their way,
A Ship for those with oceans to cross,
A Bridge for those who have rivers to cross,
A Sanctuary for those in danger,
A Lamp for those without light,
A Place of Refuge for those who lack shelter,
And a Servant to all in need." 2

While the sentiment of this Prayer of Dedication may sound inspiriting, St Teresa reminds us it will involve a progressive death of our ego - a dying to self – or A' laying down of our life' as Jesus mentioned in the John 5:13. Both Jesus, Buddha and Teresa acknowledged that this will cause us pain. However, they assures us, we will discover the simplicity and inner stillness for which our souls long. I will say more about this in my next blog.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

_________

1 Lama Surya Das, Awakening to the Sacred, Harmony,2007, p 61.

2 Hearn (2007) Daily Puja, "Prayer of Dedication" by His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, p 40.

St Teresa and the Buddha help us to meditate and pray.

When we sit to meditate or pray, I am sure you too struggle to keep your mind focused on what you are doing. The Buddhist Retreat I attended gave us several ways to help train our minds to deal with what is commonly known as 'Wandering Thoughts'!

One suggestion I found helpful was to first find a comfortable place, free of interruptions. Then to begin by focusing on our breathing body. When distracted, to note the sense organ (or door) through which the distraction entered our being. For example, while I was sitting quietly, breathing, a bird in a nearby tree burst into song. I had a choice. I could stay focused on my breathing, or I could enjoy the bird song. As lovely as that moment would be, our inventive minds need training. Instead of identifying the distraction, we were asked to note the sense organ (or door) through which the distraction came. 'Hearing' would be the one I used in the above example. The other sense doors would be 'looking', 'smelling', 'tasting'.'thinking' or 'feeling''. We were also asked to keep repeating the name of the sense door through which the distraction came until we had re-centred our attention on our breathing. This will make more sense and is easier to do with practise.

The reason we name the activity of our mind is that it will calm our wayward thoughts and at the same time identify the things that distract our attention. It will also help to slowly change our attitude and our perception of the world in which we live – a key reason for engaging in a meditation practice.

What I found interesting, is both St Teresa of Avila and Buddhism encouraged us to become aware of our feelings and experiences and to name them. They also both advised us not to cling to our feelings because they are transient. While the good and pleasurable ones will delight us, and the difficult and unpleasant ones will challenge us, both will pass away. Nothing ever stays the same. We are to enjoy the the pleasurable experiences and learn from the difficult ones - then move on.

The reason both Buddhism and St Teresa encourage us to do this is that we will have times when life is difficult and challenging to the extreme. We may find these situations take everything we have to offer. We may be tempted to give up our spiritual practice because it causes more confusion than it solves. We may even cease to know what to say or how to pray or why we meditate.

Teresa used the metaphor of a silkworm to help us understand such times. She reminded us that in its life-cycle, there comes a time when the caterpillar has to spin a cocoon around itself and wait in hidden silence because all effort has become pointless. She suggested when prayer, God and/or meditation no longer make sense, “we are in fact spinning a cocoon around ourselves”. Buddhism uses different words to describe a similar wisdom. It recognises a time will come when we discover our mind and our identity, key human qualities we regarded as essential to our identity, actually have no substance. Our mind is like the open sky in which thoughts are no more than clouds that arise and pass away.

When this happens, both Teresa and Buddhism encouraged us to have patience and wait – in the cocoon of our re-formation – because this time will pass. Nothing ever stays the same. During this time of waiting both traditions encourage us to refocus our attention on doing something for others. Teresa, for example, suggested while we may doubt existence of God, there is still one thing we can be sure of, and that is offering help to another person. The more we do this, Teresa suggested, the more we will re-discover the love of God.

Buddhism uses different words but refers to a similar wisdom and compassion:

However innumerable beings are, I vow to meet them with kindness and interest.
However inexhaustible the states of suffering are, I vow to touch them with patience and love.
However immeasurable the Dharmas are, I vow to explore them deeply.
However incomparable the mystery of interbeing, I vow to surrender to it freely.
From this day forth, with Wisdom and Compassion as my lamp and staff,
I dedicate all my life energies to the welfare of all beings. ⁽¹⁾

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

_____________


(1) Taken from “A Daily Puja”, Wangapeka Books,available at https://greendharmatreasury.org/