The Abundancetrek Blog: Sustainable Abundance

Showing posts with label Sustainable Abundance. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 307

WE ARE EXPLORING THE HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF ABUNDANCE.

+ We are called to create and enjoy a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

+ Authentic abundance does not lie in secured stockpiles of food or cash or influence or affection but in belonging to a community where we can give those goods to others who need them – and receive them from others when we are in need … Abundance is a communal act, the joint creation of an incredibly complex ecology in which each part functions on behalf of the whole and, in return, is sustained by the whole. Community doesn’t just create abundance – community is abundance. If we could learn that equation from the world of nature, the human world might be transformed.
-- Parker Palmer in Let Your Life Speak

+ Learn this “communal act.” Do this. Teach this. The world needs more and more of us who know this to spread the word and make it so. This happens as we continue to be transformed by our constant commitment to the mind, heart, body and soul practices which create and sustain this “communal act,” this “joint creation,” this sustainable abundance for all.

+ Although Spirituality & Practice doesn’t have Abundance per se as a practice, they do offer an abundance of resources on many practices which are all about abundance including: Gratitude | Wonder | Connections | Attention

Also, many of their Twelves Galleries focus on abundance. With the following links you can quickly choose among them >
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s/2
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s/3
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s/4
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s/5
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s/6

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post. And, I have work to do on the Abundancetrek Abundance page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Abundance” or “Heavenly Attributes” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

Saturday, October 22, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 300

WE ARE EXPLORING THE HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF ABUNDANCE.

+ We are called to create and enjoy a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.

+ We have lived our lives by the assumption that what was good for us would be good for the world. We have been wrong. We must change our lives so that it will be possible to live by the contrary assumption, that what is good for the world will be good for us. And that requires that we make the effort to know the world and learn what is good for it.
-- Wendell Berry in The Long-Legged House

+ Abundance must be understood as a heavenly attribute, a spiritual attribute, not primarily as a material attribute. That definitely requires a change of thinking, a change of heart, a change of perception, a new awareness, a compassionate awakening.

I will never forget what a friend of mine once said after visiting Nicaragua in the early days of the revolution which brought the Sandinistas to power. He said that he had never seen such poverty and he had never seen such happiness. Of course it is not true that one has to be poor to be happy or wealthy to be unhappy but wealth in itself does not create happiness. Most of us here in the USA live with the kind of material abundance most people on earth do not have. But many of us are plagued with anxiety which diminishes our quality of life. That’s not abundance. Real abundance is based on an attitude of gratitude moment after moment, day after day, breath after breath. Gratefulness.org is a website which invites us to create and sustain real abundance. One by one we are changing the world, making it heavenly. This is the new faith for the new earth, a growing, powerful movement which the forces of ignorance and selfishness cannot stop.

+ Although Spirituality & Practice doesn’t have Abundance per se as a practice, they do offer an abundance of resources on many practices which are all about abundance including: Gratitude | Wonder | Connections | Attention

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 298

WE ARE EXPLORING THE HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF ABUNDANCE

+ It is our duty as men and women to proceed as though the limits of our abilities do not exist.

-- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

+ Abundance is for everyone. Abundant Love. Abundant Beauty. Abundant Truth. Abundant Freedom. Abundant Peace. Abundant Justice. Abundant Joy. Abundant Wisdom.

Too many of us make the mistake of measuring abundance by our bank account, our net worth, what we own, what we have. When we do this we can never get enough. And we can ruin it for everybody else.

Abundance is a gift which can be sustained only when we realize what abundance is and what it isn’t. It cannot be sustained if competition is more important than cooperation, if winning becomes paramount. It can be sustained if we measure our abundance by what we give as much as, if not more than, what we receive. Sharing the gift of abundance is essential.

Sustainable Abundance is the goal. Everything depends on it. It is natural. It is God’s will. It is achievable. It can be done.

It can be done because there is more than enough for everyone. It can be done when people realize this, when everyone realizes that abundance and not scarcity is the way it really is.

+ Although Spirituality & Practice doesn’t have Abundance per se as a practice, they do offer an abundance of resources on many practices which are all about abundance including: Gratitude | Wonder | Connections | Attention

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post. And, I have work to do on the Abundancetrek Abundance page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Abundance” or “Heavenly Attributes” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

Friday, June 17, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 179

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

+ In 1973, at a time when more and more people were talking about the importance of ecology … Small Is Beautiful: Economics As If People Mattered (by E.F.Schumacher) was published. Here he advocated the use of small appropriate technologies over the traditional Western obsession with "bigger is better." Schumacher's attack on unbridled growth and the depletion of the earth's natural resources spoke to many people who were ready to commit themselves to a more spiritual way of living. The Times Literary Supplement ranked Small Is Beautiful as one of the 100 most influential books published since World War II.

< http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/naming-the-days/view/23949/e-f-schumacher-day

+ The connection between Simplicity and Spirituality is profound. It is definitely worth exploring as we have been doing here. We will soon move on to the next practice, the closely related Soul practice of Delight, but the Soul practice of Simplicity needs to be constantly held up as an essential practice for anyone desiring to realize what it means to be heavenly, to be authentic, to be loving and compassionate. And, as Schumacher pointed out, our planet needs us to do simplify our lives if we are to prevent ecological and economic catastrophe. To repeat what Gandhi said: “There is enough for everybody’s need but not everybody’s greed.” Are you too greedy? Am I too greedy? Living in the affluence most of us take for granted is probably all too greedy when we compare our situation with so many other people on our planet.

+ Simplicity is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Simplicity in their Search Engine and you come up with 314 items including 117 quotes, 156 books, 11 practices, 9 teachers, 1 arts link, 11 e-courses, 7 films and 1 blog as of 6/4/16. Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=Simplicity

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice. And, I have work to do on my Simplicity Page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Simplicity” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 178

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

+ In her book Choosing Simplicity, Linda Breen Pierce offers a list of common lifestyle patterns in people who live simply:

1. Limiting material possessions to what is needed and/or cherished.

2. Meaningful work, whether paid or volunteer, ideally spending no more than 30 hours per week (in order to make time for items #3 to 12, below).

3. Quality relationships with friends and family.

4. Joyful and pleasurable leisure activities.

5. A conscious and comfortable relationship with money.

6. Connection to community, but not necessarily in formal organizations.

7. Sustainable consumption practices.

8. Healthy living practices, including exercise, adequate sleep, and nutritious food.

9. Practices that foster personal growth, an inner life, or spirituality such as yoga, meditation, prayer, religious ceremonies, journal writing, and spiritually-related reading.

10. Connection to nature — delighting in spending time in nature regularly.

11. Aesthetic beauty in personal environment.

12. Living in harmony with values and integrity.

+ I will never forget hearing a friend describe what he encountered on a mission trip to Nicaragua in the 1980s. He said he had never seen such poverty in his life AND he had never seen such joy. Could it be that less really is better?

+ Spirituality & Practice offers a review of Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 168

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

+ Here are three of the goals of The Center for a New American Dream:

· Inspiring, engaging, and challenging Americans to re-examine their cultural values on consumption and consumerism and initiating a new national conversation around what “the good life” and the “American dream” mean.

· Providing tools and support to families, citizens, and activists to counter our consumerist culture and to create new social norms about how to have a high quality of life and a reduced ecological footprint.

· Providing tools and support to community members to create local initiatives that build local capacity and leadership, increase environmental sustainability, and foster greater livability and vitality.

+ I discovered this website several years ago and have all too rarely returned to it. I am grateful for the many people who have come to realize and are coming to realize that Gandhi got it right when he said: “There is enough for everybody’s need but not for everybody’s greed.” What’s happening where you are to “increase environmental sustainability, and foster greater livability and vitality?” If we can find our way to achieve simplicity we can renew the face of the earth and feel good about being human, called by God to take care of the planet.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 166

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

+ This is what I wrote on the Abundancetrek Simplicity page a few years ago:

Our planet's survival is tied to the practice of simplicity. This cannot be emphasized too much.

Our lives are often too complicated. We need to discipline ourselves to "simplify, simplify, simplify" as Thoreau put it in Walden. The first three disciplines of stillness, silence and solitude all create simplicity. The more diligently we practice these disciplines, the more we can simplify our lives. When we simplify, we are awake, aware and connected. We become more aware of our intimate and intricate connection to God and everything God has created. We become aware of the glorious fact that we are heavenly beings created simply by love and for love.

The Zen Buddhist discipline of zazen (sitting, centering, meditating), if practiced properly, leads to the natural, simple realization of our daily and glorious heavenly existence. In the introduction to ZEN MIND, BEGINNER'S MIND, Shunryu Suzuki says: "The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind. The innocence of the first inquiry - what am I? - is needed throughout Zen practice. The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities."

The abundance of heaven can only be experienced by those who have learned how to simplify their lives.

I like the approach of Sallie McFague, a brilliant contemporary theologian. She emphasizes our need to simplify our lives in LIFE ABUNDANT: Rethinking Theology and Economy for a Planet in Peril. She emphasizes our need to embrace sustainability. In "A Manifesto to North American Middle Class Christians," she advocates some "new house rules" for our house, the planet. "The basic rules are: Take only your share, clean up after yourself, and keep the house in good repair for future occupants." She points out that "ecology" and "economics" both come from the same word root which has to do with the laws for living in a household. She refers to the famous quote of Charles Birch: "The rich must live more simply, so that the poor may simply live." This responsibility applies to most of us living in the planet's 20 to 30 highly developed countries.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 133

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DEVOTION

+ Three quotes on Caring for the Earth by Hildegard of Bingen:

· Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars.

Gaze at the beauty of earth’s greenings.

Now, think.

What delight God gives to humankind

with all these things. . . .

All nature is at the disposal of humankind.

We are to work with it. For

without we cannot survive.

· Humankind, full of all creative possibilities, is God’s work. Humankind alone is called to assist God. Humankind is called to co-create. With nature’s help, humankind can set into creation all that is necessary and life-sustaining.

· All of creation God gives to humankind to use. If this privilege is misused, God’s justice permits creation to punish humanity.

+ Devotion, of course, cannot ordinarily be restricted to any one person or movement or institution or cause. So, many of us now are convinced that we must include Care of the Earth as a major focus of this practice. Our environment is facing the prospect of many catastrophes even if we act quickly to change course. If we don’t change course, the catastrophic possibilities are almost unthinkable. We have already done considerable damage to our planet and we should make every effort ASAP to stop destroying our home. I intend to be more devoted to caring for the Earth. I invite you to join me in this intention.

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the spiritual practice of Devotion. The Hildegard quotes are found there. You can explore Devotion even more with this link to “Devotion” on their search engine. You will find 2153 items as of 4/26/16. And, of course, there is a Twelves Gallery of Memes on Devotion. The Body also gets a lot of attention from S&P as you can see if you go to this link to “Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice. And, I have work to do on my Devotion page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Devotion” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

Saturday, May 7, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 130

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DEVOTION

+ Mysticism without devotion is like uncooked food, it can never be assimilated.

— Hazrat Inayat Khan in The Inner Life

+ Mindfulness has become very popular these days but is Mindfulness a goal in itself? Is mysticism a goal in itself? I think not. What we are striving for is simply put in the Golden Rule: Treat Others the way you want to be treated. If we do not become more and more willing, eager and able to treat others the way we want to be treated, we have missed the point of all this work.

The world needs more compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance. The next person you encounter needs your compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance.

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the spiritual practice of Devotion. You can explore even more with this link to “Devotion” on their search engine. You will find 2153 items as of 4/26/16. And, of course, there is a Twelves Gallery of Memes on Devotion. The Body also gets a lot of attention from S&P as you can see if you go to this link to “Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

Saturday, January 30, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 59

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HUMILITY

+ It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.

-- Rachel Carson

+ Human and humility and humus come from the same root. We are rooted in the soil, the ground, the dirt, the fragile layer of earth which sustains creation as we know it. It is awesome, wonderful, delightful, fascinating, fantastic. Yet, we all too often take it too much for granted. We are part of this fragile layer and we are responsible for its vitality. Clearly we have messed up and must face the consequences of this failure. We can and must do better. Humility is essential if we are to correct this situation and we need to do this ASAP. “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” – Matthew 5:5 NRSV

+ Spirituality and Practice offers a wonderful 12s gallery of images and quotes on Humility
> http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/galleries/category/12s/2#/37/12-humility

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html

Saturday, January 19, 2013

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 39

+ It has been 6 months since the last Joyful Wandering post. No excuses. No explanation.

+

If you could get rid
of yourself just once,
The secret of secrets
Would open to you.
The face of the unknown,
Hidden beyond the universe
Would appear on the
Mirror of your perception.
-- Rumi

I found that quote at http://www.allspirit.co.uk/sufism.html

+ Joseph Naft continues to inspire, illuminate, guide, challenge as we seek to become truly mindful and aware. In Inner Frontier Inner Work, he has been expanding our consciousness in the project of Learning To Be. This week: Affirming Presence. Here is an excerpt:

So how do we get engaged, get involved? It begins with attention. The secret quality of attention is that it is driven by our will, it is our will. The practice of active attention is the road to coming into our own, our own will, our I. When you pay attention to what you are doing or seeing or touching or thinking, your I is there; it is you who are doing or seeing or touching or thinking. Not paying attention, allowing our attention to be drawn hither and thither, to be distracted easily, with no staying power, indicates that we are not here, that our I has withdrawn beyond our reach. We can learn to affirm our life, our living, our presence.

And we do that first by affirming our attention, by being our attention. It may sound abstract, but the actual practice of it is simple. We just pay attention to what we are doing and/or perceiving and we get fully behind that attention. We are there attending, wholly and completely, simply and directly. If you try this, you may see that you can do it. You may see how it is different than letting your attention just wander wherever it is drawn. We bring our power, the power of our will, our I, into our attention. We become our attention for that moment. Though it is simple, this is not so easy to maintain moment-to-moment over time. To do so, we need to continually renew our attention and our being in it. | Read it all.

+ The current Spirituality and Practice Newsletter has great stuff, like usual, including:

• Remembering a great spiritual storyteller and interfaith pioneer. New in the Remembering Spiritual Masters Project is a tribute to Anthony de Mello, including a quotation sampler, links to reviews of his books, and video clips. More profiles in the Remembering Spiritual Masters Project.

• A prayer for forgiveness of our daily pollutions: We're "Praying the News" by focusing on what's behind the extreme weather happening all over the world. More prayers.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

LET'S GO -- 1

+ LET'S GO! Please do join me and other companions on the Amazing Journey, The Abundancetrek, as we explore "places" of meaning and joy. We can support and encourage each other. We can share the Good News. We can offer hope. We can create more and more compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance. LET'S GO!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

APOLOGY TO MY FOLLOWERS

I haven't posted much lately on my 3 blogs. I apologize to anybody who has come to read my blog posts with some regularity. You deserve better. I guess I have been distracted when I get in front of the screen by my Twitter and Facebook activities which I do find useful but I don't want my blogs to suffer.

So, I do intend to make a new effort to restore my blogging as a priority in my life. I would love to see my number of followers increase. That will depend on some consistency on my part in both quality and quantity.

I do think I have something unique to offer as we trek together toward more compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance on this planet.

Here goes!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

GREEN FILM SERIES -- 1

Please mark your calendar for the GREEN FILM SERIES which begins on Wednesday, January 25 with the first in a 4 film series. The first 3 will be at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Higby Road in Utica. The other film dates are February 22, March 28, and April 25, 2012. All films start at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public. GreenLocal175 is sponsoring this series.

The first film will be PLAN B: A PLAN TO SAVE CIVILIZATION which was aired last spring as part of the highly acclaimed PBS series, JOURNEY TO PLANET EARTH. This film includes clips of speeches and interviews with Lester Brown and other environmental experts. It is narrated by Matt Damon. After showing us many of the potential ecological disasters, PLAN B offers a plan which is feasible focusing on population control, eradicating poverty, drastically reducing carbon emissions and restoring our land and sea.

John Wilde will lead the discussion following the film. He says: “Future generations can and should enjoy the fruits of this plan and therefore it is important to get behind this plan to save civilization.”

love, john + www.abundancetrek.com + “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -- Howard Thurman

Thursday, October 13, 2011

SUSTAINABLE ABUNDANCE -- 1

+ I am now teaching a course on Sustainable Abundance by email and in several group sessions in the Utica area. The three major sources for this course are:

And the Leaves of the Tree Are for the Healing of the Nations. This is a powerful, comprehensive and short guide to the Bible’s emphasis on Eco-Justice. It is available online and in print for $3. There is a Presbyterian Church (USA) 5-unit course on this resource and a Presbyterian Church (USA) 1-unit course on this resource. They are available online and I will be using these excellent resources.

Plan B by Lester Brown (book and video). An online copy is available for free at http://www.earth-policy.org/books/pb4. Brown started the Earthwatch Institute. A useful web page promoting Brown’s Plan is found at ChasingCleanAir.com.

Wrestling Until the Dawn by John Preston. John, a Presbytery of Utica Retired Pastor, poured his heart and soul into this book. He has a passion for the emerging church and for restoration of the environment.

Other sources include:
Presbyterian Church (USA) Eco-Justice policies and resources | Presbyterians for Earth Care Eco-Justice resources | Eco-Justice Ministries | National Council of Churches Eco-Justice resources | Green Faith | The Tao of Abundance by Laurence Boldt | The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 21

+ updated at 9:50am on Friday, July 8, 2011

+ 4 of the major emphases of my journey and hopefully yours are Compassion, Peace, Justice and Sustainable Abundance. A great source book for Sustainable Abundance is the Bible and http://www.pcusa.org/resource/and-leaves-tree-are-healing-nations/ makes that totally clear. I highly recommend that you read http://www.pcusa.org/resource/and-leaves-tree-are-healing-nations/

Here is what the blurb at the PCUSA environmental Ministries website says about it: "This concise booklet explains biblical and theological foundations for cherishing God's creation. Focuses on Genesis, Psalms, Pauline writings and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ."

Amen!

The PCUSA Environmental Ministries Office offers Eco-Journey, a blog keeping us informed of the efforts of the church to promote sustainable abundance, or eco-justice.

+ Inner Frontier offers Week 5 of Joseph Naft's Inner Work series dealing with Obstacles On The Way. It begins: "To have created a species with the ability to think is perhaps the crowning achievement of evolution so far. So why do we include thoughts and opinions among the obstacles on the spiritual path?" Read On!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW -- 1

Imagine a planet where all of us are enjoying the fruits of the multitude of technical advances we have gained in recent years. “You may say I’m a dreamer, BUT I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE!” as John Lennon put it in “Imagine.” Let us join together and create this glorious new earth. It can be done. It will be done.

What the world needs now is Compassion, Peace, Justice and Sustainable Abundance for all. We have a long way to go. But we have come a long way and we can GO THE DISTANCE if we put our mind, heart, body and soul into it, all of us. If we are to believe Lester Brown and other experts, our civilization is in peril. We must act and act NOW. We can pray our way through this crisis. Prayer embraces thinking, feeling, saying and doing.

Prayer! Perhaps you are uncomfortable with that word. Well, then, call it what you will: Mindfulness, Meditation, Intention, Will, Desire, Hope, Consciousness, Determination, Blessing, Creation, Power, Joy, Decision, Confidence, Belief, Gratitude, Thanksgiving, Unity, Oneness, Centering, Aligning, Sustaining, Evolving, Loving, Connecting, Learning, Teaching, Inspiration, Illumination, Integration. What I am calling Prayer includes all these things and more.

We become one in prayer or mindfulness. We become one in our intention to create a new earth overflowing with compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all. Or, perhaps it is even more accurate to say that we come to realize our oneness. That’s because:

We are

intimately,

intricately,

infinitely

connected

by a matrix of

unconditional,

unlimited.

uniting

LOVE

which is

miraculous,

mysterious,

marvelous.

God is Love. (1 John 4:7)

Each person on the planet needs to acknowledge personal responsibility for the outcome of our thinking, feeling, saying and doing. Every thought counts. Every feeling counts. Every word counts. Every deed counts. YOU ARE ESSENTIAL. So am I. So is everyone else.

For many of us, prayer is done in the name of Jesus Christ. Others pray through other sacred names. As long as compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance are the goals, I am not at all concerned that your Holy Name be the same as mine. I do believe strongly that you and I must believe that these goals can and must be achieved with all of our mind, heart, body and soul.

I have been developing a prayer practice which is based on the four categories of MIND, HEART, BODY and SOUL. Recently, I added a chart to The Abundancetrek homepage which merges these 4 spiritual "landscapes" as Elizabeth Lesser calls them, with my 12 practices. Scroll down the page a little ways. GO!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH -- 1

+ updated at 10:05am EST on Friday, February 25, 2011

+ THIS IS AN UNFINISHED POST: This post will be unfinished indefinitely as I add resources and probably change the order of the resources to be in some kind of priority order. Also, I am waiting for your ideas and resources.

+ PLEASE SHARE! I have been gathering idea for what I am now calling THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH for many years. I want to share these ideas as much as I possibly can and so I am now starting this new series of posts on THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH. Your ideas are welcome. Please share them in Blog Comments, on Facebook and Twitter, E-Mails, etc. I must begin with important websites, books and other resources which are promoting the values I cherish, particularly Compassion, Peace, Justice and Sustainable Abundance:

+ And now for THE RESOURCES IN SOME KIND OF PRIORITY ORDER:

WWW.SPIRITUALITYANDPRACTICE.COM is the planet's best website. Simply amazing how Mary Ann and Frederic Brussat have accumulated wisdom from all kinds of sources and offer it in an accesible way. They offer dozens of spiritual practices. They review thousands of movies and books. They offer great courses led by very wise teachers. The forums allow sincere spiritual seekers to be enriched by the sharing of many people who represent a great variety of the planet's wisdom traditions.

THE CHURCH OF I AM creatively points out that there is a deep reservoir of shared wisdom about our intimate connection to God and to all creation. This wisdom is often called The Perennial Philosophy, or Mysticism.

HOW ABOUT A WONDERFUL SONG AND VIDEO HERE: NEW SOUL by Yael Naim

THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY, OR MYSTICISM: For many, many links on the Perennial Philosophy, go to http://www.mythosandlogos.com/perennial.html. For a brief summary by Aldous Huxley, go to http://parvati.tripod.com/perennial.html

KEN KEYES: THE TWELVE PATHWAYS TO HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS and KEN KEYES: THE SEVEN CENTERS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS:

MOVING INTO STILLNESS by Erich Schiffmann
Online at http://www.movingintostillness.com/
Yoga Instruction at its best

THE SACRED ART OF SOULMAKING by Joseph Naft
Online at http://innerfrontier.org/Practices/BalanceDepthTOC.htm
A deep and comprehensive understanding of Meditation with some powerful suggestions

THE SEEKER'S GUIDE by Elizabeth Lesser
The book is divided into MIND, BODY, HEART and SOUL with powerful spiritual exercises in each of these categories.

THE TAO OF ABUNDANCE by Laurence Boldt
Immense wisdom. Very comprehensive and illuminating.

THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY by Aldous Huxley
An anthology of Mysticism by a great thinker and writer.

QUANTUM THEOLOGY by Diarmuid O'Murchu
Paradigm Shifts Galore! Defintely advocates a new faith for a new earth but solidly built on the foundation of Christian and other wisdom traditions.

THE HANDBOOOK TO HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS by Ken Keyes. You can find his 12 Pathways to Higher Consciousness at http://community-2.webtv.net/babaluie/LivingLoveThe/page3.html
You can find his 7 Centers of Consciousness (a Western description of Chakras) at http://community-2.webtv.net/babaluie/LivingLoveThe/page4.html

+ For more than a decade I have been seeking Spiritual Websites. Recently I added 26 more. These are listed first in the Spiritual Websites section on the Abundancetrek Connections Galore page. These are followed by 67 "oldies but goodies" which remain big favorites.

+ When I get to the second post, I intend to share my ideas, hopes, dreams, visions and action plans. And I would love to include your ideas, hopes, dreams, visions and action plans.

+ I will soon offer a post with many quotes promoting the values of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

JOYFUL WONDERING -- 1

+ updated at 1:07pm EST on Friday, January 28, 2011

+ ANYTHING GOES in this series of posts here on 2 of my blogs -- John A Wilde and The Abundancetrek Blog -- which I begin today, January 27, 2011. Well, that doesn't mean I will share everything I think or believe. Not yet anyway. But I will share a lot and I would sure welcome some support and encouragement and wisdom from fellow joyful wonderers.

+ The COFFEE BREAK SERIES OF POSTS will definitely continue and be a priority because I simply enjoy finding web pages filled with wisdom or important information on the subjects of COMPASSION, PEACE, JUSTICE and SUSTAINABLE ABUNDANCE. The world needs far more of these things.

+ On my Abundancetrek homepage I have changed my vision from "The New Church for the New Age" to THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH. Have I become Post-Christian? No, I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I think I am becoming REALLY A CHRISTIAN as I open up more and more to wisdom and compassion from all over the planet. We are lucky to live in an age when we can receive and realize the wisdom of so many great sages of the ages including many, many current sages. A website which offers this wisdom on a daily basis is Spirituality and Practice, the best website on the planet by far.

+ I haven't updated my CONNECTIONS GALORE PAGE recently but it will still get you to many of the best websites promoting Compassion, Peace, Justice and Sustainable Abundance. Another place to look is right here on the sidebar where I continue to find websites and web pages on these themes and more.

+ The need to BEGIN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN is taught by many sages of the ages. We need a childlike awareness and appreciation of our constantly changing reality. Nothing remains the same. A great Zen Master particularly emphasizes this need. I can't locate the book here in my study at the moment. It should be on the Priority Shelf!

+ NEW JANUARY 28:

+ One of my favorite theologians is Harvey Cox. Recently he wrote THE FUTURE OF FAITH. In it, he quotes Einstein, one of my favorite scientists:

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle.

It was the experience of mystery--even if mixed with fear--that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms--it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a deeply religious man.

( I found this at http://einsteinandreligion.com/mysterious.html. It goes on there for another paragraph which is also profound but I disagree with his belief that we can't have a life beyond this one. There are too many experiences in my life which suggest that a life beyond this one is indeed likely but I agree with Einstein that punishment in eternity is not what God is up to.)

I will possibly come back to both Cox and Einstein in these posts since they are among the most intriguing of the planet's joyful wonderers, past and present.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

JOYFUL WANDERING -- 3

+ updated at 3:54pm ESDT on Friday, October 15, 2010

+ Well, it's about time! I'm just wondering: will you join me for some more joyful wandering, joyful wondering, in the next few months. That would be a blessing!

+ Getting a good balance in my life is something I am striving to achieve. My cyber life is a significant part of it, particularly as I promote sustainable abundance, peace, justice and compassion. My Prayer Life is really important. My Family Life. My Church Life. My Interest in things like Rock'n'Roll, Baseball, Travel, Photography, Politics, Theology and more.

OK Prayer must come first. I have been doing pretty well at establishing a daily practice of Centering Prayer as taught by Father Keating. I have been trying to increase my efforts in Intercessory Prayer. I do a lot of Journaling with a desire to write more and more about my spiritual journey. I intend to add more Joyful Wandering posts at The Abundancetrek Blog.

So, here I am wandering and wondering again! With some focus I hope.

I intend to spend a week on each of the 12 spiritual practices and 9 heavenly attributes in the following order: Stillness, Detachment, Humility, Silence, Discernment, Healing, Solitude, Holiness, Devotion, Simplicity, Delight, Heavenliness, Abundance, Joy, Wisdom, Beauty, Love, Truth, Peace, Justice , Freedom.

So, this week's emphasis is STILLNESS. I have a web page on STILLNESS which will get us started. Let's go to it now > http://www.abundancetrek.com/stillness.

I did and I kind of like what I see but I also see that this page needs a lot of work. I'm going to fix any broken links now. Isn't this fun?

Many broken links. This will take a while.

+ BEING STILL leads to PAYING ATTENTION > Spirituality and Practice offers plenty of resources on this foundational spiritual practice at http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/practices.php?id=1&g=1. Here is a book excerpt I found in the S&P section on Attention:

Master Hsing Yun presents ideas on ways to tend our moral, emotional and spiritual gardens. Here is an excerpt on attention from the book Tending Life's Garden: Between Ignorance and Enlightenment VI:

The mind is like tangled silk that needs sorting to be in good working order. It is like an ancient mirror that requires a good polishing in order to shine, or a wild horse that needs to be tamed. The mind is our master, leading the daily activities of our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body. Within our everyday activities, a single thought may ruin our lives or reputations, or help us gain success and fame. Buddhist sutras compare the ungoverned mind to the likes of thieves, vicious beasts, monkeys, and kings. Therefore, it is absolutely critical to govern the mind!

He then offers 3 suggestions. Read more.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

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Friday, June 17, 2016

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

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