In Yoke

It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found, not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.   – Saint Teresa of Avila From Sri Easwaran: The widest possibilities for growth lie in the give-and-take of everyday relationships. The truth of this is brought out in a story about Saint Francis of Assisi. Three young men approached Francis and asked his blessing to become hermits and seek God, each in his own cave, deep in the mountains of Umbria. Francis smiled. He instructed them to be hermits indeed, but hermits all together in a single hut. One should take the role of father; a second should think of himself as the mother; and the third should be their child. Every few months they should exchange roles. Living in this way they were to establish among themselves perfect harmony, thinking always of the needs of one another. We can al...

Jesus is the icon of what Paul in I Corinthians 2:6-16 alludes to as Christ Consciousness --the unitive view of life that 'encompasses paradox'. He is :  human-yet divine; heavenly-yet earthly; physical-yet spiritual; possessing a male body-yet a female soul; killed-yet alive; powerless- yet powerful; victim- yet victor; failure-yet redeemer; marginalized-yet central; singular-yet everyone; incarnate-yet cosmic; nailed-yet liberated; in one person solving the great philosophical problem of the One and the many. Take this an a Christian axiom: (1) All statements and beliefs about Jesus are also statements and beliefs about the journey of the soul (birth, chosenness, ordinary life, initiation, career, misunderstanding, and opposition, failure, death in several forms, resurrection, and return to God); (2) All statements about the Christ are statements about the Body of Christ, too. We are not the Historical Jesus, but we are the body of Christ. "Christ...

I don't get God. Is God an 'it', or is 'He' a 'He'? or is 'she' a 'she'? or a spirit without form, or simply wide open nothingness, or is God-- a burning bush? I don't really know. and within my own reasoning, I don't "get" God. Jesus made it plain. He said to address God as our Father, or even Abba ---"Daddy". Jesus anthropomorphized the Source, the Creator, by ascribing to him the characteristics of love and care, like dear ol ' Dad. I like it, but I have a hard time believing it...even coming from the Master of all. Sometimes I can approach God as a father. Other times, when I am confused about why certain folks have to die (like my 32 year old niece who was the absolute sweetest girl ever made) if God is as powerful as he is said to be, then...why?...or others whom I know well ---that have terrible things happen to them. I know, I have heard it over and over--"this world is not my home, I am j...

"Keep your attention within yourself (not in your head but in your heart).  Keep your mind there (in the heart), trying by every possible means to  find the place where the heart is, in order that, having found it, your mind  should constantly abide there. Wrestling thus, the mind will find the place of the heart.  This happens when grace produces sweetness and warmth in prayer...with God's help,  you will learn...from your own experience, by keeping your mind attentive  and in your heart holding Jesus, that is, His prayer -"Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me!"  One of the holy fathers says: 'Sit in your cell and this prayer will teach you everything.' " - St. Simeon the New Theologian , Three Methods of Attention and Prayer This is so wonderful! Since 1999, my mantram has been the Jesus prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon me!"...it is mysterious to me how this little repetitive prayer when practiced faithfully, can correct wayward s...

I claim to be an average man of less than average ability.I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith. -Mahatma Gandhi So, are you willing to give it your best? In this transformation of the small i's to the Real I, the essence, are you willing? to do the Work? Resolve to awaken to the inner motivations of the small self within. Observe yourself. Put some separation between you and your small self/ego. Observe your own behavior, thoughts, actions, motivations. Let the Spirit filter the way you respond to stresses from outside. For the Word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two edged sword, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart-----------your heart! Who is The Living Word? The logos? You know.

I have a special love for a little book called "Spiritual Notes to Myself", by Hugh Prather, published in 1998. It is written in a contemporary conversant style, but is laced with the thoughtfulness, depth and eternal wisdom of a great mystic. One passage that is special and significant to me is his little vignette about nurturing the silence of the heart(which he, in his non religious style, calls "stillness") to foster remaining true and vigilant to listen to the still, small voice of the Spirit in our lives. "No matter how small, any daily problem is sufficient to effectively "rob" us of stillness. Don't wait until you are in the middle of the event to remember stillness. Remember stillness first; go through the problem with stillness; and afterwards, look only to stillness for the outcome. Stillness is a baby I carry in my arms. Nothing in the world can tempt me to abandon it." Prather reminds me that this quality of life--living contempl...