Showing posts with label Thomas Merton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thomas Merton. Show all posts

Monday, November 28, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 345



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

+ Then there is the listening at the gates of the heart which has been closed for so long, and waiting for that mysterious inner voice to speak. When we hear it, we know it is the truth to which we must now surrender our lives.
-- Beth Ferris quoted in Finding What You Didn't Lose by John Fox

+ The time for contemplation is the spring that feeds our action, and our action will be as deep as the spring. We need time to allow the spirit to clear the obstacles – the clinging debris and mud – that keeps the spring from flowing freely from its clear, deep source. And we need time for the spring to overflow into insightful and compassionate action.
-- Thomas Merton
This was the OneSpirit Daily Inspiration on November 28, 2016, offered on the very day I wrote and uploaded this post. Merton, a great twentieth century mystic and writer is found frequently in these explorations.

+ I think it is The Mystic who understands Truth most completely. We explored the style of The Mystic in the first 18 posts of our exploration of the practice of Heavenliness, SE201 thru SE218.

As you probably know by now, I believe that the practices of stillness, silence, solitude and simplicity are the foundation for all this exploration. We need to find time for that essential “waiting for that mysterious inner voice to speak” and ultimately come to “know it is the truth to which we must now surrender our lives.” It may take minutes.  It may take months.  It may take years.  It may take decades.  We are all different and must find our own unique paths.  But we can’t ultimately say No to this quest to hear “that mysterious inner voice.” No one can avoid it forever.  And why would we want to avoid the Truth, anyway? It is beautiful and abundant and delightful beyond our ability to describe. Perhaps the 9 Attributes of Heaven I have come up with are a way to begin to perceive this reality. But a mystical experience is what is really needed. There is no law that says you can’t have one.     


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


Amazing Journey, Spiritual Explorations, Abundance, Wisdom, Heavenly Attributes, Joy, Compassion, Love, Beauty, Truth, Peace, Justice, Freedom, Spirituality and Practice

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 274

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS


+ This is a post on the style of The Way of Prayer as we continue to explore Heavenliness through the lens of the 12 styles of the Mandala process created by Edward Bastian.  There are 3 more Mandala styles to explore after this: Reason, Relationships and Wisdom. After that, we move on to the 9 Attributes of Heaven.

+ My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
-- Thomas Merton

+ We must come to this realization that no matter how much we want to control events in our lives we simply cannot ever achieve total or even frequent control.  It just doesn’t happen.  We must accept our limits, learn to live with them, trust the process.  Prayer is the only way to accomplish this.  Unceasing prayer is the only way to accomplish this all the time, in every situation.

+ We could do well to explore prayer under the guidance of such a great spiritual guide as Thomas Merton.  Indeed we have been under his guidance on this amazing journey a number of times as we have moved through the Journey of the Mind, the Journey of the Heart, the Journey of the Body and now the Journey of the Soul.  See SE69, SE111, SE199, SE212, SE214, SE217, SE221 & SE244. He has left us his wisdom in the many books he wrote and his insights are found in many more.  He is featured in the Spirituality & Practice Remembering Spiritual Masters Project.


+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213. They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:
·         Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes)
·         2 hour lecture & conversation

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

Thursday, August 11, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 244

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS
+ Continuing with the 12 styles of the Mandala process, we are exploring the style of Love and Compassion.

+ Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things.

+ God's dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.

+ This quote by ArchBishop Tutu could have been used when we explored Imagination.  Love expands as we imagine and then create a realm of compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance for all.  It is so important to emphasize that this realm is “for all” and not for some.  There are no boundaries in heaven. When we are engaged in creating and enjoying this realm, we are awake, aware and connected to the heavenly energy which is totally available right now, right here.  This is our prayer.  This is our mission.  This is reality. This is happening.  This is bliss.  Enjoy.

+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.

+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213.  They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:  Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation

+ Spirituality & Practice offers abundant resources on the practices of Love & Compassion: The Practice of Love | The 12s Gallery on Love | The Practice of Compassion | The 12s Gallery on Compassion

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

Thursday, August 4, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 221

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS



+ Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

+ Merton again! And why not.  Anyone doing spiritual exploration faithfully can benefit immensely from the wisdom and inspiration and devotion of this great spiritual guide.  He was one of the best writers of the twentieth century.  Millions of seekers have been touched by his writings and the example of his life.  It is fitting that the image of Merton here which comes from Spirituality & Practice is an artistic portrait.  Merton’s unique approach to a meaningful life included a deep appreciation of art.  He encourages us to appreciate the artist and work on developing the gift of artistic expression, a gift we all have whether we know it or not.  That’s because we are all heavenly beings as well as human beings.  That heavenly dimension is huge, infinite, eternal, mysterious, wonderful.  Enjoy being human and enjoy being heavenly.

+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.
+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213.  They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:
·         SevenSteps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes)
·         2 hour lecture & conversation

Spirituality & Practice emphasizes the practices of Beauty, Creativity, Imagination & Wonder: The Practice of Beauty | The 12s Gallery on Beauty | The 12s Gallery on Creativity | The Practice of Imagination | The 12s Gallery on Imagination |  The Practice of Wonder | The 12s Gallery on Wonder

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” 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, July 23, 2016

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 214

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS


 + True compassion does not come from wanting to help those less fortunate than ourselves but from realizing our kinship with all beings.

+ Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things.
-- Thomas Merton

+ ... it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts..., the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes. If only they could all see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed. . . . I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.
 -- Thomas Merton in Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander
This was the OneSpirit Daily Inspiration on December 25, 2015

+ In that quote from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Merton put into words as best as he could (and that’s pretty good) his insights from a very famous mystical encounter on the streets of Louisville which changed his life.  Here’s more about this >

These great spiritual teachers, Pema Chödrön, a Buddhist & Thomas Merton, a Christian, teach us that it is always important to see our spirituality in the context of “our kinship with all beings.”  “If only (we) could see (ourselves) as (we) really are.”  We are not meant to be separate from each other.  We are not meant to build walls keeping segments of humanity apart and estranged from other segments of humanity.  We are in this together. 

The planet needs us to come together since we now have so much power to influence the planet’s future.  We can make it better.  We can make it worse.  We can even create catastrophic conditions.  Unfortunately, the latter seems to be happening with increasing regularity.  Let’s stop this dangerous trend. 

I believe we will stop this dangerous trend because there is an abundance of Love & Compassion among us and it is growing.  More and more of us are realizing that we have the power to expand Love & Compassion.  We are making all things new.  We are creating heaven on earth because we really are heavenly. We really can “see each other that way all the time” and we really are ready, willing and eager to “make it so.”

Some people think I am seeing things through rose-colored glasses.  What do you think?


+ Spirituality & Practice emphasizes the practices of Love & Compassion:

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenlinesspage.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” 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