THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH -- 7

MOST OF THE POSTS AND COMMENTS IN THE
NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH FACEBOOK GROUP IN APRIL 2021

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• THIS IS A LINK TO THE SECOND EDITION OF THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY April 2021.
• THIS IS A LINK TO THE FACEBOOK GROUP.

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JOHN WILDE POST 4/5/21

+ Resurrection + Richard Rohr nails it > https://cac.org/a-pattern-we-can-trust-2021-04-04/

excerpts >

"All will be well, and all will be well, and every kind of thing will be well." —Julian of Norwich, Showings, chapter 27

"I like to think of the resurrection as God’s way of telling us that God can take the worst thing in the world—the killing of the God-Human Jesus—and change it into the best thing: the redemption of the world."

"If divine incarnation has any truth to it, then resurrection is a foregone conclusion, not a one-time anomaly in the body of Jesus, as our Western understanding of the resurrection felt it needed to prove—and then it couldn’t. The Risen Christ is not a one-time miracle but the revelation of a universal pattern that is hard to see in the short run."

Comment by Juliet Rohde-Brown  >

JOHN WILDE POST 4/8/21

+ Journaling on each of the 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation is a practice which can really increase our effectiveness as we continue to engage with our deep connection to all. please join me in contemplating Step Two for a while. MAY WE (YOU, I) BE GRATEFUL FOR LIFE’S MANY GIFTS

I Invite you to share your insights and experiences on your practice of being grateful.

“We gratefully remember our teachers, loved ones, the natural environment, our opportunities, and life’s challenges for giving us the empathy and wisdom to help others.” – Ed Bastian

And here’s more Ed. This is a link to a recent presentation he did for Contemplative Life where he offers his wisdom on each step and then guides us through the steps of the process > https://player.vimeo.com/video/378431897

+ Here are three of my favorite quotes on Gratitude which I offer with the hope that it may be a springboard for your journaling or other creative response to this practice (such as art):

"Gratitude celebrates life with a joyful "yes" at every knot of the great network in which everything is connected to everything." -- Br. David Steindl-Rast

"It’s so much easier, to learn to love what you have instead of yearning always for what you’re missing, or what you imagine you’re missing. It’s so much more peaceful." -- Anna Quindlen

"Your lamp was lit from another lamp. All God wants is your gratitude for that." -- Rumi

+ I am grateful for YOU. You are wonderful. You are fascinating. You offer so much to me and to all creation. Thank You for being such a blessing.

JOHN WILDE POST 4/15/21

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -- Melody Beattie

“When eating a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree.” -- Vietnamese Proverb

"The grateful heart sits at a continuous feast." -- Proverbs 15:15

+ Gary Gach on making every day Thanksgiving day because we are how we eat. > A Book Excerpt on Being Present > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/.../view/14712

+ In some miraculous, mysterious and marvelous way we have the ability to make life a continuous feast. Every meal can be viewed in a festive way. Every precious moment can be experienced as a feast.

Please reflect on ways you are seeing life in festive ways.

I am connecting the essential practice of humility to the essential practice of gratitude. Humility allows us to overcome ego and become connected to the awesome plenitude of love and joy which makes life festive even breath after precious breath. The third meme in the S&P gallery on Humility addresses this > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/#/37/12-humility

Here it the quote by Sri Chinmoy in that meme: “The easiest way to conquer ego is to offer gratitude to God for five minutes daily. Then you will feel that inside you a sweet, fragrant and beautiful flower is growing. That is the flower of humility. When you offer Him your gratitude, God gives you something most beautiful, which is humility. Once it has seen the flower of humility, the ego goes away because it feels that it can become something better: universal oneness.”

You are wonderful. You make life festive. 

JOHN WILDE POST 4/19/21

+ I am working on the second edition of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: THE AMAZING JOURNEY. It will include links to all of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH blog posts published so far. The fifth blog post offers most of the February group posts and comments. Here's the link > http://abundancetrekblog.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-new-faith-for-new-earth-5.html

Household responsibilities currently have priority over my TNFFTNE duties due to a misbehaving dog and a misbehaving living room blind but the next edition will come soon. Also I am engaged in a wonderful and demanding course on THE IMMORTAL DIAMOND by Richard Rohr.

Meanwhile let's keep reflecting on the second step of the InterSpiritual Meditation process: MAY WE (YOU, I) BE GRATEFUL FOR LIFE'S MANY GIFTS.

It is always good to remember the teachers you have had and now have who are guiding you in all kinds of ways toward your ultimate destiny. I keep remembering my seventh and eighth grade science teacher who helped me appreciate all that creation and our knowledge of science has to offer.

Contrary to popular opinion posts by all members of this group are welcome and appreciated. YOU have a lot to share which can be a blessing to us all. You are fantastic and fascinating. Yes, you. I am grateful for YOU, my teacher and my companion on this amazing journey.

JOHN WILDE POST 4/22/21

+ IT'S HERE > https://johnawilde.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-new-faith-for-new-earth-our-amazing.html

It's the second edition of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY with a focus on the glorious heavenly attribute of Abundance.

Most of you will also be receiving this edition as a Word document via email.  Your encouraging or critical comments are welcome. 

JOHN WILDE POST 4/24/21

+ The Weaving Home Blog is always a worthwhile read.  Here is a Ritual for Watershed Blessing published on Earth Day > http://www.weavinghome3.org/blog-1/2021/4/22/a-ritual-for-watershed-blessing.  Thank You Naomi. 

JOHN WILDE POST 4/27/21

The next edition of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY will focus on the heavenly attribute of JOY. I seek your contributions on JOY. You can contribute by offering a post on JOY right here.

JOY is one of the nine heavenly attributes I have identified and shared at abundancetrek.com and my blogs. Here is a link to the abundancrek.com page on JOY > http://abundancetrek.com/joy

Any time we experience JOY in our lives is a contact with the heavenly realm which is not far away but we are immersed in it if we would only notice, pay attention and be grateful constantly for the gift of JOY.

St. Paul urges us to pray unceasingly. Gratefulness is an essential dimension of prayer and gratefulness leads us to be awake, aware and connected to our oneness as a heavenly being. Ecstasy is always a breath away as we practice, practice, practice. Maybe you are already aware of my favorite quote -- it was in edition 2 -- but I like it so much that I offer it again:

You do not need to do anything; you do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You do not even need to listen; just wait. You do not even need to wait; just become still, quiet and solitary and the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. -- Franz Kafka

I discovered other great quotes on JOY, some of which I will offer in Edition 3 of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY. Here are a couple: 

In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag.

— W.H. Auden

 May all beings learn how to nourish themselves with joy each day.

— Thich Nhat Hanh

 Your turn! 

JOHN WILDE POST 4/28/21

Antony S. Galbraith is also known as Venerable Myohye Do'an.  He is a member of this group.  He is a Monk in the World and leads Lotus Heart Zen and One Point Mind.  I am a fan.  More than that I have been blessed by his teaching not only on Wednesday evening OPM Mediation and Mindfulness practice but also at the LHZ sangha meetings on Sunday mornings with a chanting practice followed by an intense study and practice of NonViolent Communication.  I am learning that I have been conditioned over the decades of my life to think and even act in violent ways.  We are learning how to change our thinking and acting so we can be a compassionate presence in our homes, neighborhoods, work, clubs, whatever. 

Here is a link to the April 28 One Point Mind invitation. 

Comment  by Antony S. Galbraith: Thank you! Your presence in our study and practice is truly a blessing! 

RAVILUMAR STEPHEN J POST 4/30/21

Appeal To All The Religious Leaders Of The World: 

Pray For India - Friday, May 7, 2021 – A Day of Prayer and Fasting For Covid-19 Pandemic:

I am happy to get connected with all the Religious Community Leaders once again after a long break. One year back all of us were more or less in a similar situation regarding Covid-19. Now India is recording around 300,000 new cases of COVID-19 every single day. The second wave has hit India like a tsunami, and the peak of surge is yet to be felt!  Added to this is the apparent lack of planning, has resulted in the shortage of hospital beds, anti-viral drugs, and oxygen.

I am inviting all religious leaders to observe Friday, May 7 as a Day of Prayer and Fasting for Relief from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Catholic Bishop’s Conference (CBCI), the National Council of Churches (NCC), and The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) have agreed to join us in prayer on this day.

Since we have diverse local circumstances, I leave the choice to every religious institution to have their own mode of Prayer and Fasting. Friday being a sacred day for all the religious communities in India, you could align the Fasting & Prayer along with your ongoing ritualistic practices of Friday. Muslims could take advantage of the ongoing Ramzan Fasting. Similarly, the Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Brahma-kumaris, Vaishnavites,  Shaivites, Shaktas, Smartas, Suryaites, Ganapatists, Kaumaras,  and Jews align yourself to your ongoing Friday Prayer events.

I request all the religious heads to inform their respective, Synagogues, Churches, Mosque, Pagodas, Gurdwaras, Ashrams, and Temples about this Day of Prayer and Fasting.

The following could be the Guiding Points for Prayer:

1.)  Invoke God to End the pandemic:

2.)  Prayer for the Healing for those who are infected;

3.)  Prayer of Comfort for those who are mourning,

4.)  Prayer for the Courage for the frontline workers,

5.)  Prayer for the Success of the Efforts of those, who are involved in COVID-19 Research.

6.)  Prayer for the Quality production of Medicine and Vaccines.

7.)  Prayer for Robust Heath all those who are working round the clock in Essential Services.

This Prayer & Fasting has to happen either through Zoom Meetings or through Prayer Chain ( Each one commit a 15 minutes to the organizer at a stipulated time slot and pray. The organizer could ensure that 24 hours is covered this way by at least one person at a stipulated time slot. It would be easy, for running the prayer chain, if you divide the congregation into small Group of 96 people, to pray in all 96 time slots of the day.). People should NOT meet at a stimulated place for Community Prayer, rather they have to remain indoors and pray. 

I request you to document these efforts and preserve the pictures of them. This will be useful for future generations. I would be happy, if people could share the Zoom / Google Meet / M.S. Teams - Link (Meeting ID & PassCode)  / Facebook and YouTube Video Link. I would be delighted, if you could inform me about your Action-plan in advance.

Please share this message widely and make this 7th May, 2012 Fasting & Prayer a major surrendering initiative to the WILL of God. I have prepared a document “How To Pray?” Please download and read that article at: https://m.facebook.com/groups/1450946678504853/permalink/2881510922115081/

With affectionate regards and best wishes, I remain

Yours fraternally in God,

Swami Gnanayuthamananda Bharathi

Founder, Sages of the New Covenant

THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH -- 6

MOST OF THE POSTS AND COMMENTS IN THE 

NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH FACEBOOK GROUP 

IN MARCH 2021

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LINK TO SECOND EDITION OF THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY > http://johnawilde.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-new-faith-for-new-earth-our-amazing.html

 FACEBOOK GROUP LINK > https://www.facebook.com/groups/567789840446209

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JOHN WILDE POST 3/1/21

+ When I think of what THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH is all about, several great teachers immediately come to mind. Perhaps the one who deserves to be at the top of the list is Wayne Teasdale. In the 10 years or so before he died in 2004, he wrote several books which I would like to say are required reading for anyone who sees InterSpirituality as the way forward. For Brother Wayne Teasdale, InterSpirituality goes beyond sharing wisdom and practices to building new communities of faith which share wisdom and practices and are actively creating compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

Here is a link to an excerpt on transformation in THE MYSTIC HEART by Wayne Teasdale. https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/.../the-mystic-heart

And here's the link to the S&P review of this wonderful book > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/.../the-mystic-heart

JOHN WILDE POST 3/2/21

I am getting some clarity now about the focus of the posts I plan to offer. I will go into that soon.

But NOW HEAR THIS: I don't want my particular focus to stop you from posting on any topic, any question, any thought, any insight, any inspiration, any recipe, any practice, any link, any experience you would like to bring up.  The new faith for the new earth is a dynamic and ever new and ever surprising evolutionary journey we all are on.  It is an amazing journey and we need each other as companions, as guides, as truth tellers and truth seekers.  Please offer your wisdom in posts or comments so that we can all benefit from what you see and hear and taste as you go on your amazing journey which is also our essential journey in some mysterious way.

I urge you to include THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION as a significant place of common ground that we can share as we go on our amazing journey > https://charterforcompassion.org/

Comments by John A Wilde

·         oh, and oh how we need music and mantras https://youtu.be/lu5tnNUVhTs > The Angels are Listening: Snatam Kaur sings Suṉi-ai with Ajeet Kaur at Sat Nam Fest

·         the meaning of suni-ai is offered at http://www.suni-ai.com/en/about/

 JOHN WILDE POST 3/3/21

+ Ed Bastian wrote four beautiful verses for each of the seven steps of InterSpiritual Meditation which I am sharing in this post. There is a wonderful video > https://youtu.be/MN2CtXTe1xw where Ed sings the ISM mantra and recites the verses for each step. I have recently memorized all of the verses and I sing them mostly just for myself but I have sung them for others as well. If you find these verses meaningful, I invite you to memorize them and maybe even sing them like I do.

Ed created this InterSpiritual Meditation process. The book is InterSpiritual Meditation: A Seven-Step Process from the World’s Spiritual Traditions. Read about it at https://spiritualpaths.net/interspiritual-meditation/books/

I would like to encourage you to do Lectio Divina with the four verses of Step One.

First, read the four verses twice each time entering into a time of significant stillness and silence where a word or phrase might jump out at you. The word or phrase can change as you continue this practice.

Second, read the verses again and enter into another time of significant stillness and silence letting a word or phrase dwell in your heart for a while. Contemplate what particular meaning and purpose you find in the word or phrase or one or more of the verses.

Third, read the verses again and enter into another time of significant stillness and silence where you allow the meaning and purpose to penetrate into your consciousness more deeply and then be open to possibly making a commitment or vow to follow through on a specific purpose.

Fourth, enter into another time of significant stillness and silence where you simply rest in the here and now with unconditional love for yourself and for all with absolutely no judgment of how well this time of Lectio Divina went for you.

I encourage you to write about what came up and possibly share it with us.

Here are the verses for all 7 steps without pauses between verses because Facebook editing is very limited:

(1) MOTIVATION: May We be Happy and Healthy

In all the world

I cannot find

The source of peace

Outside my mind.

Neither play, nor drink,

Nor sex, nor food,

Can cause a constant

Blissful mood.

The things I see,

Touch, smell, taste, hear,

Cause both joy and pain,

Hope and fear.

Meditation relieves

my mind of stress,

Leading me to health

And happiness.

(2) GRATITUDE: May We be Grateful for Life’s Many Gifts

To all my teachers,

I beseech,

Please stay near

and help me teach.

Your wisdom helped me

To find my way,

For constant blessings

I will always pray.

To the natural world

That sustains my living

I honor her

For always giving.

My many faults

I now confess,

And clear them all

Through forgiveness.

(3) TRANSFORMATION: May We be Transformed into Our Highest Ideal

This ignorance does

A prison make,

Only true wisdom

Helps me escape.

Freedom lies

Inside, not out,

Of this pure truth

I have no doubt.

I know that

Real happiness

Must arise from my

Own consciousness.

Within my being’s

Sacred design,

Resides the heart

Of the divine.

(4) COMPASSION: My We be Loving and Compassionate

For those who

Live in misery

I engage in

active empathy.

To help all creatures

To be free,

I place their joy

In front of me.

With love’s

Compassionate intent,

I strive for pure

Enlightenment.

The only true

Pain prevention

Is my

Compassionate intention.

(5) MINDFULNESS: May We be Mindful Through Breathing

Mindfully my

Breathing starts,

My consciousness

Goes to my heart.

Within the silence

Of my breath,

There is no birth,

There is no death.

When thoughts

disturb the stillness,

I return

To emptiness.

And then I rest

With tranquil mind

In unity

With the divine.

(6) MEDITATION: May We become Wise Through Meditation

I rest into

A sacred presence

Joined as one

Eternal essence.

The silent wisdom

Keeps me seeing

The loving nature

Of my being.

Sacred light pervades

Me through and through,

And bliss descends

Like mountain dew.

Radiating out,

I now impart

Rainbows of healing

From my heart.

(7) DEDICATION: May We Serve All Beings

I send love to friends

And foes who fight

To oppressors and

Oppressed alike.

I see the people

In my life

And vow to help

Overcome their strife.

I vow to sustain

This peace of mind,

To all I meet

I will be kind.

Liberation for all

Is my dedication;

May you be blessed

By this meditation.

JOHN WILDE POST 3/8/21

+ As I continue to emphasize InterSpiritual Meditation, Step One: MAY I (YOU / WE) BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY, here are some favorite quotes I find motivational:

 May all beings learn how to nourish themselves with joy each day. — Thich Nhat Hanh

You do not need to do anything; you do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You do not even need to listen; just wait. You do not even need to wait; just become still, quiet and solitary and the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. -- Franz Kafka

In times of joy, all of us wished we possessed a tail we could wag. — W.H. Auden

To take an interspiritual journey is to circle ever inward, to a place of holy silence and vibrant stillness, and then to surge back outward with the contemplative fruits we have gathered to feed a hungry world. – Mirabai Starr

Where we have stopped dancing, singing, being enchanted by stories, or finding comfort in silence is where we have experienced the loss of soul. Dancing, singing, storytelling, and silence are the four universal healing salves. -- Angeles Arrien

We must come to stillness. In the silence of our hearts, we must wait patiently for the compass to steady. Then it will point to true north, the still center, the fine point of the soul, and we will be enabled to move forward again. — Margret Silf in Inner Compass

Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself. -- Herman Hesse

To meet everything and everyone through stillness instead of mental noise is the greatest gift you can offer to the universe. -- Eckhart Tolle in Stillness Speaks

+ I urge you to sign up for plenty of inspiration, illumination, encouragement and practices at Spiritual Paths

Comments:

·         Mary: I like integration of quotes about stillness. Thanks for collecting and sharing these.

·        Anna: Here is the verse I wrote for the first step - I reflect on thoughts like these when I do this step of ISM:

Happy and Healthy

How can we be happy and healthy?

So many of the seven steps

Are interrelated,

For Happiness can come

Through gratitude.

Happiness is not a constant state,

For life is full of

Ups and downs,

But one can be

Contented and grateful

For what is.

And one can live with

The attitude of hope

That the happiness will

Come again,

Even in the more difficult times -

A kind word,

A touch,

An experience of

Having done something nice

For someone else.

As for health,

Meditation can help

In so many ways –

So let’s get going!

It can help us

Transform ourselves,

Through focus and calmness,

To be our best selves.

It can affect

Our outlook,

Our relationships,

Our connections

And our happiness!

Why wouldn’t we mediate?

 JOHN WILDE POST 3/10/21

CONTINUING TO REFLECT ON ISM STEP ONE: MAY I (WE / YOU) BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY

+ The Course Introduction page (linked below) offers a way to see each step introduced using a simple to use Mandala. It's fun and illuminating.

+ Journaling on each section Ed wrote for each step is a very worthwhile process.

+ Here's more on ISM step one from my Course Paper when I took the InterSpiritual Meditation course in 2013:

HOW MEDITATION CAN HELP ME BECOME HAPPY AND HEALTHY:

Father Keating says we can find REST in Centering Prayer and in other modes of contemplation, meditation and prayer. Resting in God. Sabbath moments as well as Sabbath days or Sabbath weeks or Sabbath years. It's a different kind of rest than sleep or vacationing. It's the amazing relaxation found in breathing fully and breathing deeply, becoming still and silent, centered and grounded, loosening up and lightening up, letting go and letting God. It takes practice and it takes awareness. There are so many detours and dead ends and distractions and seductions along the way.

ULTIMATE SPIRITUAL GOAL:

I meditate because I want to realize my real identity as a heavenly being. I am (You are) (We are) a heavenly being. I am (You are) (We are) intimately, intricately, infinitely connected by a matrix of unconditional, unlimited, uniting Love which is miraculous, mysterious and marvelous. As I diligently practice stillness, silence, solitude and simplicity I become one with all creation. I realize who I really am. In this glorious state I am liberated from all of my earthly addictions, particularly the security, sensation and power addictions which keep me from experiencing heaven right here and now. Love is everywhere and is always creating more abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, truth, peace, justice and freedom. One of my daily affirmation is: I am (You are) (We are) (God is) creating the new, most holy, glorious, fantastic realm of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom. A shorter version is: I am creating more compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance.

As much as I believe this, I find myself all too often neglecting the practices which make it possible for me to realize my real heavenly identity. So, I need many reminders from morning to night, day after day. For me, these include frequent journaling and blogging, my Yoga and Chi Lel Chi Gong practices, hymns, rock’n’roll, prayers and mantras based on Christian and other wisdom traditions (my beads help). I get frequent doses of wisdom and guidance from many books including: The Bible (particularly the daily and Sunday Lectionary readings), The Book of Common Worship of The Presbyterian Church USA, The Handbook of Higher Consciousness by Ken Keyes, Jr., A Course in Miracles, How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan, Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das, The Tao of Abundance by Laurence G. Boldt, Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving into Stillness by Erich Schiffmann. Also from many websites including www.movingintostillness.com | www.dailyzen.com | www.spiritualityandpractice.com | www.gratefulness.org | www.innerfrontier.org

The amazing spiritually oriented rock’n’roll of Todd Rundgren deserves special mention here. Healing is an album offered back in 1981 and recently revived on a new tour. Over the years, I have listened again and again and been inspired and illuminated again and again by his journey into inner space with the goal of healing based on compassion toward self and all others.

https://spiritualpaths.net/interspiritual-meditation/

JOHN WILDE POST 3/12/21

#TNFFTNE 32 > "My religion is kindness ... I'd rather be kind than right ... You can always be kind." --  Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

Comment by Rebecca:  Amen and amen to that!!! 💙💜❤

JOHN WILDE POST 3/15/21

+ The first edition of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY is on the JOHN A WILDE blog. If I have your email address, you will soon be receiving this as an attached word document.

+ Here is a link to the first edition on the JOHN A WILDE blog: http://johnawilde.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-new-faith-for-new-earth-our-amazing.html

 COMMENTS

• Naomi: Thank you John, wonderful!
• Mary: It is really coming along. Much wisdom in those little tweets of yours. Thanks 

 JOHN WILDE POST 3/16/21

+ I think Eckhart Tolle gets right to the heart of ISM step one MAY I (WE / YOU) BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY.

https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/excerpts/view/19587/a-new-earth > Excerpt from this excerpt > "People believe themselves to be dependent on what happens for their happiness, that is to say, dependent on form. They don't realize that what happens is the most unstable thing in the universe. It changes constantly. They look upon the present moment as either marred by something that has happened and shouldn't have or as deficient because of something that has not happened but should have. And so they miss the deeper perfection that is inherent in life itself, a perfection that is always already here, that lies beyond what is happening or not happening, beyond form. Accept the present moment and find the perfection that is deeper than any form and untouched by time."

+ If you would like to work on The Seven Steps of ISM systematically with me as your mentor, message me and we can set up a Zoom meeting to get started and decide how to proceed. I and so many others have been blessed immensely by immersion in this practice. Visit https://spiritualpaths.net/ and learn more.

COMMENT

Mary:  Love this statement from Eckhart Tolle.

 JOHN WILDE POST 3/17/21

+ In honor of Saint Patrick's Day and continuing to emphasize ISM Step One -- May We Be Happy and Healthy -- I am offering links to the Abundancetrek.com pages on JOY and DELIGHT and HEALING with a quote or 2 from each page. I also include links to the S&P practice of JOY and the S&P memes gallery on JOY. What a resource. May you have a delightful day.

JOY > http://www.abundancetrek.com/joy.html

"As he was dying, Abba Benjamin taught his sons this: Do this and you''ll be saved: Rejoice always, pray constantly, and in all circumstances give thanks." -- Desert Wisdom: Sayings from the Desert Fathers, Yushi Nomura, Editor

DELIGHT > http://www.abundancetrek.com/delight.html

"The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention." -- Julia Cameron

"In the time of your life, live -- so that in that wondrous time you shall not add to the misery and sorrow of the world, but shall smile to the infinite delight and mystery of it. " -- William Saroyan

HEALING > http://www.abundancetrek.com/healing.html

"The regular practice of contemplative prayer initiates a healing process that might be called the divine therapy. The level of deep rest accessed during the prayer periods loosen up the hard pain around the emotional weeds stored in the unconscious of which the body seems to be the warehouse. The psyche begins to evacuate spontaneously the undigested emotional materials of a lifetime, opening up new space for self-knowledge, freedom of choice, and the discovery of the divine presence within." -- Thomas Keating in Invitation to Love

"Many native cultures believe that the heart is the bridge between Father Sky and Mother Earth. For these traditions the four-chambered heart, the source for sustaining emotional and spiritual health, is described as being full, open, clear, and strong. These traditions feel that it is important to check the condition of the four-chambered heart daily, asking: 'Am I full-hearted, open-hearted, clear-hearted, and strong-hearted?'" -- Angeles Arrien in The Four-Fold Way: Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Teacher, Healer, and Visionary

S&P practice of JOY > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/.../alphabet/view/17 > excerpt > "Joy is an essential spiritual practice growing out of faith, grace, gratitude, hope, and love. It is the pure and simple delight in being alive. "

S&P memes gallery on JOY > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/...

Comment by John Wilde > “Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3” by Ian Dury and the Blockheads on Youtube >  https://youtu.be/CIMNXogXnvE

JOHN WILDE POST 3/18/21

+ Here are a couple of links I just discovered offering wonderful wisdom and practices for our amazing journey:

S&P blog 3/5/21 > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/blogs/posts/short-sweet-spirituality/807/rituals-of-our-lives > rituals quotes

Weaving Home page with great photos and quotes on the theme of Celtic Worship > http://www.weavinghome3.org/celtic-worship

JOHN WILDE POST 3/29/21

How are you doing with your practice of INTERSPIRITUAL MEDITATION: STEP ONE > May I (you, we) be happy and healthy?

Since you are reading this post, you belong to that portion of humanity which believe in the power of prayer and is engaged in growing in the practice of prayer. Something has happened which made you this way. Something continues to happen making you renew this commitment perhaps as often as every day or even more frequently.

What is it? I ask because I benefit from knowing what's working for you. I believe you benefit from knowing what's working for me. We all can benefit from sharing our discoveries in this realm. While the praying of any individual is powerful, it can be even more powerful when we enter into prayer as a community of contemplative, praying, meditating folks.

So, what is it? What motivates you and sustains you in this practice? How does your practice increase your happiness and health? How does your practice connect you to your greater self and to all creation?

Ed Bastian, the creator of this InterSpiritual Meditation process, teaches us to keep discovering what works and finding ways to remind ourselves about what works, what leads us to meditate faithfully, what encourages us to create health and happiness for you, for me and for all. And it has to be for all.

Comments

·         Mary: I feel somewhat lost without prayer and meditation. That motivates me.

·         Naomi: Right now yoga is my meditation practice.

·         Jill: Prayer, meditation and reflective journaling are opening me to be more. I am transforming from a human doing to a human being.

·        Clarice: I AM, happy and healthy. I embrace my joy, gratefulness, health and happiness now, and at every moment. It is my choice at each moment. 

·        Allison: It coalesces everything else....

·        John A Wilde > Calming, Centering, Grounding, Deepening, Focusing, Humbling, Awakening, Extending, Challenging, Comforting, Inspiring, Illuminating, Loving, Transforming, Connecting ... and more.

·       Miyo: I try to at least meditate daily, whether it's driving mindfully (I send out metta to those who are on the road with me, and in the houses I drive by daily), and I also do sitting meditation practice on the weekends, and sprinkle in some Qigong and bowing practice. I find these things have helped center me and keep me grounded. The qigong and bowing are new to me, and I've found that it has been an eye-opening experience in terms of humbling me, and making me feel better able to be present for people around me, to truly hear them and connect with them. It helps me "feel" my service to others, if that makes sense.

THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH -- 5

 EXCERPTS FROM POSTS AND COMMENTS IN THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH FACEBOOK GROUP DURING FEBRUARY 2021

FACEBOOK GROUP LINK > https://www.facebook.com/groups/567789840446209

JOHN WILDE POST 2/1/21

I have a VISION which you might share with me. It's a vision of all humanity -- or at least a significant portion of us -- working together to create a NEW FAITH FOR A NEW EARTH devoted to increasing compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all. This is not a new religion. There is nothing wrong with the great religions of the world unless they have decided that their religion is the only true religion and possibly even declared that other religions must be eliminated. That needs to be challenged by all sincere seekers of meaning and purpose.

Perhaps you can join me in believing and even promoting the idea that ...

We are intimately, intricately, infinitely connected

in a matrix of unconditional, unlimited, uniting love

which is miraculous, mysterious and marvelous.

Myohye offered a quote: 

As soon as you look at the world through an ideology you are finished. No reality fits an ideology. Life is beyond that. … That is why people are always searching for a meaning to life… Meaning is only found when you go beyond meaning. Life only makes sense when you perceive it as mystery and it makes no sense to the conceptualizing mind. -- Anthony de Mello

Comment by Mark: “Great statement, John! What we need is widespread spiritual education that helps people grow spiritually to embrace and embody this vision. For the most part, it's not happening in the churches. Sermons, traditional Sunday school religious education, and traditional sacraments aren't cutting it. We need much more contemplative prayer, cosmic Christ spirituality, and walking the walk activism and countercultural social witness.”

 JOHN WILDE POST 2/2/21

Here is a prayer I love:

Earth, Teach Me

Earth teach me quiet ~ as the grasses are still with new light.

Earth teach me suffering ~ as old stones suffer with memory.

Earth teach me humility ~ as blossoms are humble with beginning.

Earth teach me caring ~ as mothers nurture their young.

Earth teach me courage ~ as the tree that stands alone.

Earth teach me limitation ~ as the ant that crawls on the ground.

Earth teach me freedom ~ as the eagle that soars in the sky.

Earth teach me acceptance ~ as the leaves that die each fall.

Earth teach me renewal ~ as the seed that rises in the spring.

Earth teach me to forget myself ~ as melted snow forgets its life.

Earth teach me to remember kindness ~ as dry fields weep with rain.

-- An Ute Prayer

Chris offered a Bodhisattva Prayer For Humanity*:

May I be a guard for those who need protection,

A guide for those on the path,

A boat, a raft, a bridge for those who wish to cross the flood.

May I be a lamp in the darkness,

A resting place for the weary,

A healing medicine for all who are sick

A vase of plenty, a tree of miracles.

And for the boundless multitudes of living beings

May I bring sustenance and awakening,

Enduring like the earth and sky

Until all beings are freed from sorrow

And all are awakened.

- Shantideva

*performed daily by the Dalai Lama

Naomi offered a Navaho Prayer:

The mountains, I become part of it.

The herb, the fir tree, I become part of it.

The morning mists, the clouds, the gathering waters, I become part of it.

The wilderness, the dew drops, (the snow flakes) the pollen,

I become Part of it.

JOHN WILDE POST 2/3/21

Now that we got through Groundhog Day, we need to KEEP GOING.  Here is some delightful inspiration for our journey > THE KEEP GOING SONG > https://youtu.be/Cs-ju_L9pEQ

Comment by Chris: “fantastic!”

JOHN WILDE POST 2/4/21

Praying without ceasing is not ritualized, nor are there even words.  It is a constant state of awareness of oneness with God; it is a sincere seeking for a good thing; and it is a concentration on the thing sought, with faith that it is obtainable. ― Peace Pilgrim

To make The New Earth a reality, we need to focus on Praying without ceasing.  A critical mass of humanity praying constantly for compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance will make it so.  We are evolving.  We are becoming a species which is moving away from constant ego gratification to a sincere and effective commitment to work for the common good of all.  So, a huge increase of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance is within our grasp.  Really.

JOHN WILDE POST 2/5/21

I thought you may want to know what I plan to offer in the upcoming days, weeks, months. I invite you to post on your interests and concerns, celebrations and trials, at any time.

I plan to continue with PRAYER for a while. We need to pray unceasingly for compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance. I believe prayer needs to become increasingly InterSpiritual so I will soon begin to share some of the wisdom and practices I have been learning as a result of my commitment to InterSpiritual Meditation > https://spiritualpaths.net/interspiritual-meditation/  and the Mandala Process of Twelve Spiritual Styles and Twelve Spiritual Questions > https://spiritualpaths.net/interspiritual-mandala-2/

But first I plan to offer a variety of prayers and insights about prayer. I simply believe that Constant Prayer is essential and we need to help each other get to a place where prayer truly becomes unceasing and we get transformed and all creation gets transformed.

Here’s a great one:

Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
-- attributed to Saint Francis

JOHN WILDE POST 2/6/21

A prayer and a song:

First, the prayer:

O Great Love, thank you for living and loving in us and through us.
May all that we do flow from our deep connection with you and all beings.
Help us become a community that vulnerably shares each other’s burdens and the weight of glory.
Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of our world.
[Please add your own intentions.]
Knowing you are hearing us better than we are speaking,
we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God, Amen.
-- A Daily Prayer of the Center for Action and Contemplation Community

Now the song which was offered on behalf of UNICEF:

Here is a link to the video by Pink and the Ndlovu Youth Choir singing (and dancing) A MILLION DREAMS > https://youtu.be/C2_-8HNSdRE. It’s delightful and inspiring.

Comment by Chis: “... a million dreams for the world we are making.”

JOHN WILDE POST 2/10/21

Today's Reflection from The One Spirit Learning Alliance: Our goal should be to live in radical amazement. … get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed. -- Abraham Joshua Heschel

What is amazing you right now? I am amazed by the beauty of the snow falling with a row of old pine trees gently collecting the flakes.  And you?

JOHN WILDE POST 2/11/21

For a while I would like this group to focus on praying for a great increase of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance on our planet.  The Practicing Democracy Project is a wonderful source of information, illumination and inspiration for our vision and values. Click on this link for a variety of prayers for political leaders > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/projects/practicing-democracy-project/prayers-mantras

JOHN WILDE POST 2/14/21

Thomas Keating in this video said so much about the contemplative life in just a few words. His legacy including Centering Prayer and the revival of Lectio Divina is indeed one of the most significant offerings to the wave of InterSpiritual Contemplation and Action we are surfing on. I hope you will take a few minutes to be inspired and illuminated by this video from 2003. Link to this video > https://vimeo.com/346875857

My thanks to Ed Bastian for offering this video. It is one of a collection of Spiritual Paths videos on Vimeo. Go to Vimeo and search for Edward W. Bastian. Ed became a close friend of Father Keating. He and other Contemplative leaders led the memorial service for Father Keating in Aspen recently.

JOHN WILDE POST 2/15/21

Joseph Naft offers wise and practical guidance for our amazing journey with his Inner Fronier Inner Work posts which have been a weekly gift to many of us for many years. Here is a link to the post for this week > http://www.innerfrontier.org/.../20210215_Being_Perfect.htm

Excerpt > “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” [Matthew 5:48]

Nothing in time can be perfect, not least because it is all impermanent, subject to entropy and decay. Our bodies, emotions, and minds are in time and thus imperfect. However, there is more to reality than time. Beyond time, there is a realm of perfection. Our being and our will are not in time. Our root, our Real Self, is imbued with timeless perfection. This condition of being the meeting ground between the perfect and the imperfect, between the timeless and time, is our challenge and opportunity. We can align with, open to, and embody the perfection of the Sacred. In so doing, we bring the perfect to the imperfect, we bring perfection into this world we live in.

POST BY MARY 2/15/21

Beautiful collaboration of this prayerful song > Video on Youtube> HOLY MOTHER sung by Eric Clapton, Luciano Pavarotti and East London Gospel Choir

JOHN WILDE POST 2/18/21

I see that The Center for Action and Contemplation has a new Prayer For Our Community > 

Loving God, you fill all things with a fullness and hope that we can never comprehend. Thank you for leading us into a time where more of reality is being unveiled for us all to see. We pray that you will take away our natural temptation for cynicism, denial, fear and despair. Help us have the courage to awaken to greater truth, greater humility, and greater care for one another. May we place our hope in what matters and what lasts, trusting in your eternal presence and love. Listen to our hearts’ longings for the healing of our suffering world. Please add your own intentions . . . Knowing, good God, you are hearing us better than we are speaking, we offer these prayers in all the holy names of God. Amen.

There is no doubt in my mind that this Center led by Father Richard Rohr is one of the best examples of the vision and values of The New Faith for the New Earth.

JOHN WILDE POST 2/22/21

I am not sure at this point how long I will be emphasizing PRAYER. I hope we can use this group to get closer to that ideal set forth by Saint Paul to pray unceasingly or to come to that wonderful state of mindfulness Buddhists and others teach. Any wisdom teaching worth studying and practicing leads us to become awake, aware and connected breath after precious breath.

I have been blessed for nearly a decade by my association with Ed Bastian and a cohort of 7 of us who were certified by Spiritual Paths as InterSpiritual mentors. Ed began Spiritual Paths 2 decades ago and has worked closely with some wonderful teachers including Father Thomas Keating, Cynthia Bourgeault, Sheiks Kabir and Camille Helminski, Swami Atmarupananda and Rabbi Rami Shapiro. 

Ed has given the world 2 powerful processes to help us get closer to that ideal of constant contact with the divine: The 7 step InterSpiritual Meditation process and the Mandala Spiritual Styles and Spiritual Questions process.

Beginning today I will focus on the 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation and I invite you to be engaged with me in doing this practice. I am a mentor and I hope to work with some of you either individually or in a group. Stay tuned for an announcement of a group meeting via Zoom.

The 7 steps are:

1 - May I (you, we) be happy and healthy (MOTIVATION).
2 - May I (you, we) be grateful (GRATITUDE)
3 - May I (you, we) be transformed (TRANSFORMATION)
4 - May I (you, we) be loving and compassionate (INTENTION)
5 - May I (you, we) be mindful through breathing (ATTENTION)
6 - May I (you, we) be wise through meditation (MEDITATION)
7 - May I (you, we) be in service to all (SERVICE)

I will be offering some of my writing and the writing of others including Ed and my fellow mentors on each step. But first, let me offer my brief take on why this practice is a powerful prayer practice:

The first four steps are basically contemplative, planting the garden. Effective prayer requires a commitment to understanding what it's all about. Once we realize how much we need to become one with the Divine, we need ways to be more and more motivated and devoted to praying constantly. Then we can do it. Steps 5 and 6 are Meditation or Centering Prayer. Step 7 is action. Prayer which doesn't lead us to serving in all kinds of ways can hardly be called prayer at all.

You can begin to be informed about InterSpiritual Meditation by visiting the Spiritual Paths website.

JOHN WILDE POST 2/23/21

+ Introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation on the Spiritual Paths website:

Develop Your Personal Meditation

InterSpiritual Meditation (ISM) is a universal, holistic and integrated 7-Step process.  It is designed to improve our relationships, professions and service to others.  It fosters profound meaning, purpose and happiness for our lives.  We begin by honoring, harnessing and harmonizing our personal meditation styles.  Then, we explore wisdom and techniques of great meditative traditions.  Our videos, content resources, tools, mentors and support community help us to cultivate a mature and sustainable practice.

Here are the seven steps:

1. Heath & Happiness

2. Gratitude

3. Transformation

4. Love & Compassion

5. Mindfulness

6. Wisdom

7. Service

There is an app from Spiritual Paths for the 7 step process of InterSpiritual Meditation with the beautiful voices and wise messages of some wonderful members of this group. I don't have an Apple device so you will need to go the Apple app store and search for it. Here is the link for Android devices.

JOHN WILDE POST 2/24/21

Let's get started on the first step of InterSpiritual Meditation: MAY I / YOU / WE BE HAPPY AND HEALTHY. 

I think Ed gets it right that we need to always start with what motivates us and we all want to be happy and healthy, don't we?

 And you wouldn't be reading this post if you don't have a sense that our health and happiness are closely connected to our faith and that means our practice, our devotion, our intention.  Meditation, Contemplation and Prayer create happiness and health for ourselves and others.  What makes you keep going on this path? 

Here is how I began my course paper section on Step One when I first took the InterSpiritual Meditation course in 2013:

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
-- Psalm 118:24

… the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against such things.
-- Galatians 5:22-23

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
I do not give to you as the world gives. 
Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
-- John 14:27

There is a balm in Gilead
To make the wounded whole;
There is a balm in Gilead
To heal the sin sick soul.

Some times I feel discouraged,
And think my work’s in vain,
But then the Holy Spirit
Revives my soul again.
(refrain and first verse of There is a Balm in Gilead, an African-American spiritual song)

You do not need to do anything; you do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You do not even need to listen; just wait. You do not even need to wait; just become still, quiet and solitary and the world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet. -- Franz Kafka

Whatever joy there is in the world, all comes from wanting others to be happy; and whatever suffering there is in this world, all comes from wanting oneself to be happy. 
— Shantideva quoted in Inner Revolution by Robert Thurman

MY DEFINITION OF HEALTH AND HAPPINESS:

I have decided to use the word HEAVEN to describe health and happiness.  Heaven is not a place you go after you die if you are admitted but a state of being God intends for everyone, everything, a realm of Abundance, Joy, Wisdom, Beauty, Love, Truth, Peace, Justice and Freedom.

I believe that the practice of stillness is the key to heaven, to health and happiness. All of the practices leading to our awakening and awareness that we are in heaven right now, right here depend on us practicing stillness.

+ Before I stop for today, I must say that music is really important and I love this music video of HOW CAN I KEEP FROM SINGING offered virtually when NYC was being hit so hard by COVID last spring >

COMMENTS

Anna: “Beautiful! Both the words and the song!!  I'm gonna save some of your thoughts.” 

Mary:  “Well said John.”

Mark: “The power of interspiritual wisdom. Thanks, John!”

JOHN WILDE POST 2/25/21

I am wondering …

Where do you see yourself and other individuals and communities working to build compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all?

I have a vision which is guiding me to create a network of compassionate companions. I call this vision and this venture The New Faith for the New Earth. It is you and me and all humanity (a critical mass of humanity at first) uniting to expand compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

I think Deepak Chopra nails it here: 

Every impulse can be traced back to our deep need for love. Your awareness knows this; it knows this even when the cloak of turmoil hovers over the truth, the conditions that turn consciousness toward love are simple.

Giving love to others and receiving it back.

Sitting alone in your own silence.

Immersing yourself in natural beauty.

Making art and appreciating art in all its forms.

Telling the truth, whatever the consequences.

Laughing, dancing, playing with a child.

Having an outlet for joy.

Communing with deep emotions.

Acting out of kindness and compassion.

Bonding, feeling at one with a group whose goals are positive.

Offering yourself in service.

— Deepak Chopra, Peace Is the Way

I have plenty of ideas about what is needed for this miraculous, mysterious and marvelous expansion of Love. I am sure you do too and I invite you to share them via email or in other forums I am leading.

 I hope you will join me on this amazing journey.