Remembering Gratitude for Love

How many of us are remembering to be thankful for those individuals in our circle of light and love … our family, our friends … those people who love us no matter what we do or say and no matter how obnoxious we can become with moods and stresses? How many of us are taking those people closest to us for granted or focusing on what annoys us about them rather than on what is unique and wonderful about them? When was the last time you told someone close to you how much you appreciate them, love them, and are grateful for them?

I took a few minutes yesterday in a phone call to my mom to tell her how much I appreciate her, how grateful I am for everything she has been and everything she has ever done for me, how thankful I am that she is my mom.

Why is it that people develop discomfort over using words of love, of light, of beauty, of gratitude and of encouragement with one another? Conversely, why is it that words of harshness become comfortable and slip so easily from the tongue?

It is a choice each of us makes to decide how we are going to relate to one another. We can choose words that will harm and punish, or we can choose words to lift up and encourage. In our interconnectedness with one another, as we remember to treat everyone as we wish to be treated, may we all choose words of gratitude, kindness, compassion, light, and love.

Where Does Love Begin?

Love begins with self.

Gently Return

When the voice of the critic speaks to you in lies…gently return.
When the echoes of wounds past overwhelm you with poison…gently return.
When insecurity reigns and dashes your confidence…gently return.
When harshness from others is wearing you down…gently return.
When passage of time creates wistful yearning…gently return.
When zeal for the future dismisses the present…gently return.
When you’ve made a misjudgment…gently return.
When guilt of your yesterday carries through to today…gently return.
When violence and hatred make you hopeless and helpless…gently return.
When the fog of despair settles over your heart…gently return.
When roles that you play feel like burdens without meaning…gently return.
When the fears and the doubts overshadow the love…gently return.
When praise and acknowledgment swell your ego in pride…gently return.

You know who you are…
…gently return.

The Universal Light

I looked up the word “light” in several dictionaries and found no less than 20 definitions waiting for me there. Here are a few notable examples:

1. Electromagnetic radiation to which the organs of sight react, ranging in wavelength from about 400 to 700 nm and propagated at a speed of 186,282 mi./sec (299,972 km/sec), considered variously as a wave, corpuscular, or quantum phenomenon.
2. The radiance of illumination from a particular source.
3. Spiritual illumination or awareness; enlightenment.

Just a step…..a step toward unity, a step of faith toward that universal love, the source of all light and all wisdom….a step toward peace.

Each quote below is taken from a different faith tradition….which one is which? Does it really matter?

“Remember the clear light, the pure clear white light from which everything in the universe comes, to which everything in the universe returns; the original nature of your own mind. The natural state of the universe unmanifest. Let go into the clear light, trust it, merge with it. It is your own true nature, it is home. “

“Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth, The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche, And within it a Lamp: The Lamp enclosed in Glass; The glass as it were a brilliant star, Lit from a blessed Tree, An Olive, neither of the East nor of the West, Whose oil is well-nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it; Light upon Light! Allah doth set forth parables for men: and Allah doth know all things.”

“I am blind and do not see the things of this world; but when the light comes from above, it enlightens my heart and I can see, for the Eye of my heart sees everything; and through this vision I can help my people.”

“Him the sun does not illumine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning–nor, verily, fires kindled upon the earth. He is the one light that gives light to all. He shines; everything shines.”

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the surface of the depths; the Presence of God hovered above the surface of the water. God said, ‘Let there be light‘ and there was light.”

“Therefore the sage takes care of all men. And abandons no one. He takes care of all things
And abandons nothing. This is called ‘following the light.’”

“God being truth is the one light of all. God shines out in his own splendour. His brightness shineth forth with the blaze of the splendour dazzling like the sun.”

Amen.

Sharing our Compassion

The whole idea of compassion is based on a keen awareness of the interdependence of all these living beings, which are all part of one another, and all involved in one another. - Thomas Merton

Is compassion reserved solely for those in our lives who tug at our hearts and we deem worthy to receive it? In considering that we are all connected to one another in universal energy, life force, and we each carry within us the Divine, God, or that universal energy as defined for ourselves, the inevitable difficulty arises when we encounter someone who does not inspire feelings of compassion in our spirit.

As we go about our daily lives, we encounter any number of inviduals, some we connect with and feel a harmonious melody with, and others that strike the wrong chord. But is compassion to be reserved only for those we play harmoniously with? Our challenge is to express compassion for those who scorn us, frighten us, show hatred toward us, and intend to do harm to us.

Probably one of the best known examples of a life lived as the embodiment of compassion was that of Jesus Christ. He welcomed, touched and showed compassion for the outcasts of society, the most notable example being those suffering with leprosy. To reach out to those deemed “unclean” was just unheard of. Compassion was not reserved only for the “good”, for the “clean”, for the rich, or for the holy. Even in his own persecution and crucifixion, he extended his spirit in compassion to those who tortured him by asking God to forgive them.

Who are the “outcasts” of our society that we may be neglecting in extending our compassion? The homeless? The sick? Homosexuals? The poor? Individuals who are a different race? Those with mental illness? Anyone with differing political or religious beliefs? Is compassion to be filtered and given only to those we deem good enough to receive it, withholding it from those we deem unworthy? The true spirit of compassion resides in our ability to suspend our judgment and extend our hearts to everyone, keeping in our mind, heart and spirit always that we are part of the same universal life force and energy … we are all connected in love.

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The pansies in the piece above were painted in acrylic paint on a sunny spring day with the rays of sunshine shining through the window.

Harmonious Vibrations

If we imagine ourselves as a violin string, vibrating at a specific frequency, we will see that we are attracted to others who vibrate in harmony with our frequency, as well as those things in our world and environment we vibrate in concert with. We have a sense when we meet some people that we are on the same wavelength, being of like minds, having shared experiences and preferences. We feel “known”. Ever meet someone you feel really “gets” you without really understanding why, as if you have always known him/her even though you may have only just met? Something intangible and not really definable, and yet something that feels very synchronous.

We also discover harmony in surroundings vibrating in concert with our own frequency. Some find an attraction to mountains, others the shore; some enjoy the park, others prefer a big bustling city; some are “cat” people and others prefer dogs. As we become more skilled at tuning into what our own frequency is and become familiar with our instrument, we find that those people and things we are attracted to are in tune with us. On the other hand, the same way that striking a wrong note can be uncomfortable to our ears, being around those who are not in tune with our song can be very discomforting.

We have the opportunity to receive the beautiful vibrations offered to us from our surroundings every day as a gift in our connections with others, the song of a bird in our yard, the smell of a beautiful blooming flower, the feel of a cool breeze on our face on a hot summer day, the enchantment of a butterfly fluttering by, and countless other ways. As we become more aware of our own vibration, we can write our song and sing in harmony.

The source of all vibration that connects us together is the Divine, or God, or the universe, whatever concept so chosen to define the powerful force greater than ourselves that unites us as one. Each of us has the Divine residing inside of us as our own vibration, and we all contribute that vibration to the great cosmic symphony.

Planting Seeds of Goodness

What types of seeds are you planting and cultivating in your heart? Are they seeds of love, well being, joy and peace? When someone says something to you that is unkind, do you allow this into your consciousness and let it take root and grow branches, or do you simply recognize it as spillover from their own reality having very little to do with you personally, reject the unkindness, and keep it out of your conscious thought? Not so easy to do. Many of us care very deeply about what others think of us. It isn’t always easy to recognize the dream that others are living, and how that dream can impact our lives, particularly if that person is someone significant in our life. So we take the hurt into our consciousness, and then we allow it to become part of our deeper consciousness where we grow it and cultivate it and allow it expression. We are very good at defining and focusing on what is wrong when we are sad or hurting, but how frequently are we contemplating what is right?

When we plant a garden with seeds of joy in our spirit, we are then able to rely upon them during times of difficulty. In their cultivaton, we become better equipped to cope with the weeds in our garden.

How do we plant those seeds of positivism and grow a garden of joy and love and peace? It begins with mindfulness, the intention of our own thought and focus. By recognizing those things around us of beauty and joy and goodness, and taking those things into our conscious thinking (the same way we so easily bring negativity), those things of joy become a part of our deeper consciousness. When we focus on what is wrong, we only make what is wrong worse. Redirecting our focus to those things of goodness and joy, and watering and feeding and loving those positive seeds (meanwhile starving the negative ones of attention), at some point they no longer have any life or power over us. In the process of cultivating our garden, it is important to approach our sadness, negativity and hurt with gentleness and patience; becoming angry and impatient with ourselves will only grow more negativity.

Over time and with practice we will soon come to discover our garden is blooming with vibrancy!

Everything in the Universe is Connected to Love

I spent a portion of my evening catching up on some blog reading, and finding myself at my most favorite spaces that always give me something to think about, to feel, to hold close to my heart, and always to contemplate. So one click led to another click which led to a few searches and some background reading, and for some reason I landed on some biographical and theoretical discussions of Emmanuel Swedenborg, a scientist/theologian/philosopher who lived from 1688 to 1722.

A perusal of various biographies on Swedenborg brought up a lot about his earlier life spent in scientific pursuits, speculations about anatomy (some of which were way ahead of his time), and later his interest in the relationship between matter and spirit, soul and body. So after reading quite a bit of information on matter and waves and longitude and anatomy and visions, I was struck when I found I had come full circle in my late night explorations back to where I started the evening:

Emmanuel Swedenborg believed that everything in the universe is connected to love. Whatever else he may have believed that I may or may not embrace, I was brought back to the essential once again.

As I make my way on my spiritual journey, the one thing I know is that when I am wise enough to trust in it, my spirit always leads me to places that strengthen my core and bring me back to my one truly essential belief:

Everything in the universe is connected to love.

Cultivating Peace

I’ve been off news for a while. I was finding that with all of the news of war, violence, hatred, and the worst that humanity has to offer, I began to feel a general sense of unrest and disturbance. I didn’t actually associate this with the news until one day I went an entire day with no news input, and found myself feeling so peaceful.

As one who is admittedly a news “enthusiast” (particularly around times of political seasons), it wasn’t easy at first to go cold turkey. But I soon began to find I was enjoying my time away from the news. I obviously hear the big news because it is unavoidable, and I don’t want to generally adopt a “head in the sand” attitude, but I think taking a break from the input is a good idea once in a while.

What we choose as our input, what we choose to surround ourselves with, what we immerse ourselves in, is important to us in fostering a sense of personal peace. And how can we expect to bring peace to our world if we haven’t cultivated peace in ourselves?

I bring peace to my spirit through spiritual practices including meditation and prayer and study, art, writing, walking, reading, listening to music, dancing, singing (though no one desiring their own peace should be subjected to that), being of service to others, sharing my love and my light in connection, going to the ocean, having lunch with my mom, going on long contemplative drives through the hills and near the sea, extending a loving hand to someone in need, offering a kind word of encouragement, offering a smile to everyone I see in a day, and noticing the small things like a newly bloomed rose or the song of a bird or the fragrance of the air.

What ways do you bring peace into your spirit?

Painting Our Own Portrait

If you were to start with a blank canvas in front of you, a pure white canvas with nothing on it from the past and no expectations for the future, and you were to paint a picture of yourself, what would you want your painting to look like? What do you see when you look at your portrait? Who are you?

As I meditate today on my canvas, I am thinking about the ways my canvas of today differs from the canvas of the past, and the ways in which it has remained the same. I am thinking about mistakes made, lessons learned, decisions based on fear, but most especially forward movement. I am thinking about that portrait five years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, even 30 years ago. Some changes have been dramatic, others more subtle. Some things have remained constant. Experience and growth and learning bring with them change. The evolution has no end. I keep adding brushstrokes to the canvas as ear is given to new voices, sometimes painting over old portions, but always adding new color, new dimension, and reminding myself to hold the paintbrush in love, kindness and compassion. And always moving forward, moving forward.

It’s about the journey, not the destination.