This year, I can think of no better theme than “embodied spiritual action” to help us focus on, and commit to, demonstrating the highest expression of our common humanity—love, wisdom, and peace—as conscious, consistent choices in all areas of life.

We embrace spiritual principles and practices in order to become free from self-created alienation, suffering, and confusion. We long to experience our wholeness, our connectedness to others and the Earth, our creativity and joy, our authentic being. As we do so, it is important to remember that experience and its expression-as-action are a singular, inseparable movement, and that all manner of personal growth, self development, and higher consciousness ultimately bear fruit in this world, as embodied spiritual action.

Exploring the nature of mind, self, and reality often takes us into higher and subtler planes of existence, where we can lose touch with the physical world and the dramas of everyday life. Many religions and spiritual traditions place spiritual above material, creating a false hierarchy and pitting Soul against World in a struggle for supremacy. This misconception has helped to create the common stereotype of a mystic or sage as an aloof witness to the world. But I have learned the greater purpose of inner spiritual work: to unite spiritual wisdom with compassionate action—in the world. The essence of this view is that wisdom is both insight and action; thus we want to engage life fully and with our whole heart—nourishing self, relationships, work, and world with wisdom, compassion, and love through conscious choice and action.

This awakening to the practical implications of “oneness” was a long time coming for me. For the first 20 years or so of my “spiritual” journey, I was addicted to self-transcendence, to a medicated, meditative lifestyle in which I allowed my feeling for the world—my caring and passion and enthusiasm for life and for living—to be numbed by too much witnessing and watching, and not enough acting.

Shortly after the shattering morning of September 11, 2001, a deeper awareness of the connection between spiritual awareness and social participation opened within me. I was horrified at the militaristic responses of America. During the US bombardment of Baghdad, I felt as if the missiles were exploding in my own body. Is this firebombing of a city of 4.5 million people actually happening? Is this carnage and slaughter of a nation half of whose population is under 16 years of age actually happening? Suddenly, my every cell awoke to the true meaning of what I had first learned decades ago in India: tat tvam asi, Thou Art That. I had first learned that the “that” was a transcendent consciousness, an invitation to take refuge in pure consciousness as my fundamental identity, or nature. But I was discovering that there was a relative dimension to Thou Art That: I am this world, and this world is me. Every spasm of violence, each shattered life and moments of horror were happening inside me. It was not something I could hide from or ignore. My being, my body, had grown as big as the world. I was that supreme, world-transcending consciousness, but I was also the world and everything in it.

I began to write and speak about engaged spirituality, about taking responsibility for the condition of our world and carrying spiritual practice and principles from the meditation halls into the world. I realized that we risk social apathy in our search for personal enlightenment if we believe that the goal of spiritual work is to transcend the world. It is not, as these words from Kabbalah suggest: “First we receive the light, then we impart it. Thus we repair the world.” Imparting the light requires great things of us: authenticity, honesty, courage, determination, empathy, personal responsibility, and commitment. Repairing the world requires that we add responsibility to realization, caring to love, and action to insight. The task of renewing society to reflect the heart of wisdom requires us to demonstrate our unity-in-love with all creation in all areas of life through direct action. “Every community,” said civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, “needs a group of angelic troublemakers.”

The philosopher J. Krishnamurti once said, “The crisis is not out there in the world; it is in our own consciousness.” It is self-evident that the outer, cultural world in which we live is a direct manifestation of our inner world of beliefs, attitudes, and values—all of which determine and drive our actions.

Naturally, whatever any one part does touches and affects the whole. Every thought, every word, every slight touch of our hand sends energetic impulses racing outward on the trillions of strands of connective tissue that enfolds us all in the One. Whatever we do to ourselves, we do to each other as each action is a stone thrown into the pond of our common existence. Within minutes, or hours, or days we will feel the ripples of our actions wash over everything. This is why we cannot use war as a tool of peace, because the killing keeps coming back. We have to wage peace, not war. And then peace will keep coming back. Our every thought, word, and action holds the power to create or destroy. In the simplest of terms, our choices are between the paths of war and peace, between violence and nonviolence, between hatred and understanding, between fear and love, between retribution and reconciliation, between aggression and restraint.

Our world is begging to be healed of violence, brutality, and greed. Let this be our project. We cannot use our spirituality as an escape hatch from social life and responsibility, nor be afraid to put our spiritual hands into the mulch of committed action for social change. We cannot let national identities, religious dogma, political ideology or spiritual apathy corrupt the knowing of our one heart. Can we rise above the self-created tyrannies of our times—nationalism, racism, militarism, sexism, corporatism—to establish just societies in which all people, indeed all living creatures and the Earth herself, may live in harmony and peace?

The French novelist Emile Zola once said, “If you ask me why I came to this Earth, I’ll tell you: I came to live out loud.” And we, too, must live out loud, but with wisdom and love and kindness. These are the truths we must embody and send like a cosmic roar throughout the land. Let us start now, right now, this very minute, to heal our world.

Copyright © 2006 Robert Rabbin / All Rights Reserved
Robert Rabbin can be contacted through his web site: www.RealTimeSpeaking.com.

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Bad News, Good News

by Barbara McDaniel
Copyright © September 2004 Heart Links / All rights reserved

Millions of Americans are glued to the news these days. Ubiquitous election-year pollsters tell us that more people than usual are focused on political and international events. And let’s face it, the news is not good. Headlines scream out tales of war, corporate greed, partisan contention, and fearful threats. How can a sensitive person stay engaged in the world without sliding into despair?

Last spring, I attended a talk by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. More than 29,000 gathered in a Toronto sports arena to hear him. The exiled spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet, His Holiness hasn’t been home in forty-five years. Since Chinese Communists invaded his country in 1949, approximately 1.2 million Tibetans have died from political persecution, imprisonment, torture, and famine resulting from the occupation. The Dalai Lama works tirelessly to liberate his country through peaceful means. If anyone could claim a cause for despair, he certainly could. But he doesn’t. Ever.

His Holiness speaks often of his belief in the fundamental goodness of human beings, and he flavored this address with a characteristic positive view. Then he took questions from the audience. “The world is becoming increasingly dark and dreary,” one person commented. “What can we do to keep hope alive in such degenerate times?”

“I don’t agree that things are getting worse,” he replied. “Yes, there are many difficult global problems, but it’s the news that’s bad, not the world and not most human beings.”
 His rapt audience was stunned. That very day, the first stark photos of humiliated prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq had flashed around the world.

“What sells the news?” His Holiness asked. “Sensational stories of death, indecency, and destruction.” The media feeds us a steady diet, and we support them by lapping it up. But the Dalai Lama challenged his audience to think beyond the headlines.

In any given city on any given day, you’ll find a certain number of crimes. That number escalates in times and places of war. “But also consider that millions of children are being fed and nurtured right now,” he said. “Think of the millions of health care professionals of all kinds who are caring for the sick. Think of the global effort to protect our environment. And last year, when the major powers were planning war, millions of people around the world spoke out for peace. That has never happened before. Every minute,” he went on, “person by person, humans are extending kindness to one another.”

The Dalai Lama’s message is clear. When all the news is bad (again), here’s what we can do. First, if we can help in some way–make a donation, write a letter, say a prayer–then let’s do so. But when we’re overwhelmed with helplessness at the state of the world, we can stop and recall the very real fact of human kindness. We can imagine that all the positive energy generated from those kindnesses appears as rays of light emanating around the planet, touching everyone in its path.

The author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, reminds us of how much each one of us can be a powerful factor for change: “Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach. Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely.”

She offers a profound and simple suggestion: “One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it.” It takes courage, but if we want to calm the tumult around us, she says, “This is one of the strongest things you can do.”

Whenever we have the chance, we can tell the good news stories, the tales of human kindness. We can show our own bright souls. And we can support publications like Heart Links, which does both so well.

Barbara McDaniel, Reiki Master, practices and teaches at Reiki Healing Arts in Coeur d’Alene. She has practiced Reiki for twenty years. Barbara was a co-founder of Seattle’s Reiki/AIDS project and operated Seattle’s Reiki Healing Arts Center before moving to Idaho in 2000. She is a member of The Reiki Alliance, an international organization of Reiki Masters, and is Managing Editor of Reiki Magazine International. You can reach her at (208) 665-5862 or www.ReikiHealingArts.com. 
 

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Did You Really Mean to Say That?

by Jean-Claude Koven
Copyright © March 2005 Heart Links / All rights reserved

Conversations with my Dog—based on the teachings in the book,
Going Deeper: How to Make Sense of Your Life When Your Life Makes No Sense

Very few restaurants in Los Angeles cater to both man and dog—even a dog that has incarnated from another dimension to help Earth’s inhabitants cope with the major challenges ahead. However, a handful of excellent eateries in West Hollywood are exceptions to the rule. They welcome us with open arms, provided we sit at one of their outdoor tables. Très Européen. One particular day I was deep into my second cappuccino and the morning paper’s crossword puzzle when I began to notice Zeus’s unintelligible muttering.

“What in God’s name are you on about?” I asked. 

“Keeping score,” was his enigmatic answer. 

I put the pen down. After five years of living with this extraordinary canine, I knew when my next lesson was about to be served. “Keeping score of what?” I asked obediently. 

“It’s amazing,” Zeus mused. “I’ve been tracking it since I first came to California and it hardly ever changes—unless of course a monumental event is at hand, like the Oscars, the Super Bowl, or the final episode of a TV show.”

“Would you please stop talking in circles and explain what this is all about?”

“Why do people bother talking to each other?” Zeus asked, which explained absolutely nothing. 

“To pass on information about things,” I responded. 

“You wish!” he retorted. “That happens little more than 30 percent of the time. Most of what people say is intended to make themselves appear more interesting, intelligent, or important—the three I’s of the lower ego.”

“What’s your point?” I asked. “People talk about whatever’s running through their minds at the time. So what?”

“So everything!” Zeus said. “Did you know that the size of a goldfish is determined by the dimensions of the bowl it’s kept in?”

“I think you’ve been sniffing too many hydrants. Have you flipped out?” 

“It’s a natural high, kiddo. Stop being so dense and hop along for the ride. You might learn a thing or two. In a small bowl, a goldfish will become only a few inches long. Move it to a large aquarium and it will double or triple its size. Put the same goldfish in a large pond and it can grow up to a foot long! That’s true of humans as well. Except your goldfish bowls are a matter of thoughts and words. Allow me to quote Eleanor Roosevelt, who was more evolved than most of you guys realize: ‘Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.’“ 

“And you’ve been eavesdropping on conversations?”

“What else is there to do when my leash is tied to a table leg? Frankly, 90 percent of what I hear is reruns of grade-D sitcoms. Every so often there’s a little gem—like a gold nugget in a heap of sand. The contents rarely interest me; I just keep a running total of the categories.”

“I suppose that’s where the 30 percent comes from?” I asked. 

“Yep. In case you’re into statistics, over two-thirds of the conversations are pure gossip—the pronoun parade of I, you, he, she, we, they said or did. The next category, relating, accounts for about 25 percent. Most revolve around business, sports and entertainment, current events, or things people have or want to get. The last slot in my study is reserved for the sharing of ideas, exploration. The differences are like moving from a tiny bowl to an aquarium to an ocean. 

“Here’s what you guys never consider. When two people converse, they create an energetic field of pure potential between them—like a perfectly tuned Steinway ready to respond to the performer’s preference: Chopsticks, Take Me Out to the Ball Game, or a Mozart concerto. Why waste any opportunity to explore the full possibilities of such a magnificent instrument? Why live your life confined to one octave, striking the same five black keys again and again and again?”

Stunned by Zeus’s last questions, I let my attention wander to the diners at the other tables. He was absolutely right. Most were engrossed in animated conversation dedicated to the pronoun parade. “But what’s wrong about talking about people? Surely it doesn’t have to be gossip?”

“In theory, no,” Zeus quipped. “But the survey suggests otherwise. The subject isn’t all that important; what really counts is the purpose for conversing. If it’s just social chit-chat, you’re missing a wonderful opportunity. Like using two fingers to play Chopsticks instead of committing both hands to perform something more meaningful. While gossip seems harmless, it ain’t. Gossip is as shallow as it gets—and it levies a pretty price.” 

“Why do you say that?”

“A one-inch fish thinks it’s a giant if all it’s ever known is a six-inch bowl.”

“You mean a big fish in a little pond?”

“You meet a lot of people like that—especially in this city,” Zeus said, “full of self-importance and the need for acknowledgment. It’s always amusing to listen to people who seem so positive about what they think they know. They resist moving to a larger bowl because it might threaten the validity of their beliefs. 

“To make it through this illusion, kiddo, you’re gonna have to risk letting go every once in a while. And every conversation offers the perfect opportunity—even the ones about people and events. Instead of listening to the words, be intensely curious about what lies beneath them. 

“Try this out the next time you’re engaged in conversation: Check out the five journalistic W’s: who, what, when, where, and why. Gossip quickly fills in the first four, but ‘why’ brings any discussion to a deeper level. Curiosity always asks why. Why is she saying that? Why is he reacting that way? Look for the underlying intent of everyone involved in the conversation—especially your own. Once you’ve done that, crank it up a notch. Move past the significance of what’s being said and notice the patterns of energy flowing between the participants. If you can skirt your way around judgment, you’ll soon see the archetypes—the universal constructs—humans employ to work through their self-imposed fears.

“Words are like energetic viruses scavenging your mind for receptor sites. They readily bond with preconceived ideas and beliefs, and when they do, you start evaluating instead of listening. When you find yourself formulating a response well before the other person has finished speaking, know you’ve been hooked. 

“It doesn’t take long to master the art of listening to goldfish-bowl conversations from the perspective of aquariums and oceans. And in the process, your little fish is given an extraordinary opportunity to grow.”

Jean-Claude Koven is an entrepreneur, social visionary, and author of Going Deeper, the first great metaphysical teaching novel of the new millennium. For information about this remarkable book and more examples of Zeus’s wisdom, visit http://www.GoingDeeper.org. (Article Reprints/Prism House Press/69115 Ramon Road, Suite 1386, Cathedral City, CA. 92234 USA, Tel. 888-214-1155 /+1-760-324-3072, Fax. +1-760-321-5314 / Media@prismhouse.com)

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seeing with spirit eyes. . .
The Faces of Nature

by Myra Johnson
Photo by Victoria LaVelle

Many indigenous people have a close relationship with nature and a cultural and spiritual connection to the animals, the land and plant life. They see nature as having a "spirit" and honor their presence. Today we can learn to appreciate and acknowledge the "spirits in nature" by quietly observing our surroundings. Whenever you are outdoors and enjoying the scenery, look closer and perhaps you may see something more. The photo was taken at Sun Lake State Park, which is north of Soap Lake, Washington, by Victoria LaVelle, during the winter of 2002.  By using our imagination, we may see many mystical animal faces. Turn the photo to the right, clockwise, to view the scene as Victoria originally photographed it. And have some fun this summer exploring the many faces in nature.

Victoria LaVelle, of Dancing Light Studio, has been photographing these "nature spirits" around Soap Lake for over seven years. To contact Victoria, call 509-251-2353. 

Copyright © 2002 Victoria LaVelle. All rights reserved.

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How To Recognize Signs from Spirit

by Joseph Eliezer

If you have been trying to make your life a little easier and more fulfilling lately, chances are that you have been introduced to many concepts which declare that the way to do this is through Spiritual enlightenment.

From bettering your health to increasing your finances or obtaining peace of mind, most of the books that have dominated the bestseller list, and in the media over the past decade, all agree that the key to living a more rewarding life is to live it with a greater emphasis on Spirit. That being the case, the question that comes up is "how is that done?" "How can you make your life better all the way around by living it according to Spirit?" The answer to that is by learning to interpret the guidance that is given to you and developing the courage to act on it.

It is important to know that being communicated to from Spirit is not something only for the elite. Many of the modern beliefs point to the coincidences that occur in your life as being messages from or communication with a higher deity. Translation: if you are experiencing a coincidence, then you are being communicated to. After all, it is literally impossible to plan such occurrences and always, the coincidence has to do with moving your life or helping to move somebody else's life forward. To this rule there are no exceptions.

I remember one such instance a few years ago. I was walking through a shopping mall and saw an old friend sitting on one of the benches there. He looked depressed and sort of troubled. I walked up to him and greeted him with a big warm smile. "Hey Lorne," I said, "How are you doing?" He answered that he was not doing very well. Lorne had just recently got married. His beautiful wife and he were expecting a baby a few months down the road, and he had recently lost his job.

The day before that, I was talking to another old friend of mine who told me that he was looking for a sales rep for his company. So the next day, while I was talking to Lorne, I asked him if he had ever thought about working in sales. He said that he loved being in sales and would jump at the chance to sell again if the product was right. I then told him about the conversation I had with my other friend the day before and suddenly Lorne's eyes perked up. I gave him my other friend's phone number and within a week, Lorne was on the road earning more money than he ever had in the past. I got a thank you card from both of them not three weeks after my chance meeting with Lorne in the mall. It made my day.

Signs from Spirit come in all shapes, forms and sizes. It is impossible to make a human inventory about the many ways in which Spirit can come into your life, because Spirit is not human.

Another rule of thumb that is held by devout Spiritualists is that absolutely everything that happens to you in your life happens for a reason, no matter how big or small the event is.

Just as there was a reason for me to have a conversation with my friend who owned a business that day, so too was there a reason for me to bump into Lorne the next day. The conversation with the friend happened for a reason; my coincidental meeting with Lorne did too. I interpreted the two occurrences and through action, played the part of the messenger by connecting them together doing them both a favor, which in turn made me feel most spiritual.

The best thing that you can do in learning to become more spiritual is to learn to be more open to the experiences that occur in your life and by not judging them as good or bad. There is a reason why things happen to you and as you start to open yourself to the unlimited possibilities to the ways that Spirit communicates through the events in your life, you begin to live the teaching that says, "The Lord works in mysterious ways."

Your job in making the Spiritual world more physical is not to force these ways to make sense according to how you want your life to be, but to be open to them, thus giving the events that occur in your life more room to flow. This will allow events to unfold naturally in your life, which will bring you the health, joy and prosperity that you are wanting. It cannot be otherwise.

Copyright © 2002 Joseph Eliezer

Joseph Eliezer is a Spiritual Counselor/Intuitive Guide with 17 years experience. Private consultations are available by telephone and in person. Tel: (604) 739 - 3010 E-mail: joseph@1111spiritroad.com  / Web site: http://www.1111spiritroad.com

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It don’t mean a thing,
if it ain’t got that Swing

by Robert Rabbin
Copyright © March 2007 Heart Links / All Rights Reserved

"What we have received is the ordinary mail of the otherworld, wholly common, not postmarked divine." – Les Murray, Australian poet

A friend sent me a letter written by Barbara Denempont, executive director and board member of the Gangaji and Leela Foundations, the organizational supports of well-known US spiritual teachers Gangaji and Eli Jaxon-Bear, in which she writes:

"It is possible that you have already heard about a heartbreaking disclosure within our community. On Sunday, October 1, 2006, Eli Jaxon-Bear, founder of the Leela Foundation and Leela School as well as Gangaji's husband and partner, revealed to the entire Board of Directors that he breached the sanctity of the teacher/student relationship by initiating an intimate relationship with one of his students, who is also a teacher in the Leela School. This relationship lasted for three years. Eli told Gangaji about the relationship in October 2005. At the student's request, neither Gangaji nor Eli disclosed the relationship." Later in the same letter, Barbara writes, "Eli takes full responsibility for his actions and the harm he has caused. In response, he is willingly stepping down from teaching immediately."

In an article written for the Ashland Daily Tidings, 14 October 2006, Robert Plain quotes Eli as saying, "A lot of people are upset with me. I'm human. I make mistakes. This has been hugely humiliating, but I am willing to stand and face that. I feel like this itself is a teaching for people. It's a great test for everyone to see what is true within their own hearts. My prayer is that people don't discard the teaching because of the flaws of the teacher.”

The "sanctity of the teacher/student relationship" is tricky business, and I don't want to take up the complexity of that notion here. It does seem odd, however, that, as stated by Barbara, "What was initially seen as a matter between adults is now recognized to be a betrayal of the teacher/student relationship and an abuse of power." I wonder what happened in people's minds between "initially" and "now." I wonder if Barbara and the other board members who approved her letter have really taken full responsibility for their perceptions, projections, fears, doubts, choices, and actions. I also wonder about the characterization "heartbreaking disclosure." For whom is it heartbreaking, and is this true? Barbara does not appear to apply the famous satsang jujitsu move, "Who is it that is heartbroken?" I wonder if the people have failed the teachings, or if the teachings have failed the people.

I don't think Eli is flawed, and I don't think he should stop teaching. In fact, I believe only now is he qualified to teach, now that Toto has shown us the man behind the curtain. If there is a flaw, it is in the teaching.

What is the teaching? Perhaps the teaching is pointed to in this statement made by Eli in response to the question, Who are we?: "Silent, empty, conscious, intelligent love." (John Darling, Mail Tribune, 31 December 2004)

The flaw in the teaching is that "silent, empty, conscious, intelligent love" is not the whole story of who we are. The whole story is quite huge, and we would do well to remember Rumi’s comment, "However you think it is, it's different than that."

Any teaching that is based on a transcendent ideal at the expense of our human beingness is flawed. We turn towards meditation, self-inquiry, and inner exploration to find our innate connection with the universe, with the all that is. We enter silence in order to reawaken our conscious feeling for the enormous endlessness of who we are, to set free our exhilaration for life, to initiate ourselves into the mystery and magic of creation. But the enormous endlessness of who we are is anchored in our humanity and in our life on this Earth, in full relationship to every detail and aspect of daily life.

The transcendent ideal of spiritual attainment is flawed. It is an incomplete, distorted picture of who we are. Ramana Maharshi, from whom Eli and Gangaji claim spiritual descent via their guru Papaji, did not go far enough on his journey of self-discovery. He only went away; he didn't come back. And we, in our hunger for truth, peace, and meaning, have come to mistake going away as the ideal. Ramana Maharshi needed to come back into a full, robust, sensual, sexual, passionate embodiment of that silence. We should not make his mistake. Silence does not neutralize our life and living; it animates them. We should stop impersonating an ideal that is flawed. The archetype of sage as aloof witness to the world is an old, tired one, as cumbersome and ineffective as the typewriter compared to a new Apple Powerbook. I would be more interested in what the Buddha might have said had he returned to the palace and become king. He, too, went away; and he, too, didn't come back.

I don't know why we have traded away our human beingness for transcendent ideals. Perhaps it's because, like any form of fundamentalism, it creates a false sense of security and certainty. We love the idea that we are emptiness, or silence, or pure consciousness. We are these things, but not exclusively. We are also a teaspoonful of DNA, but not exclusively. We are this body/mind, but not exclusively. We are all of it, aren't we? That's the hard part: to integrate enormous endlessness with our daily life. If the teaching is to be full, the teaching must exist within the context of our lives, as we live them. If we are going to ascend, then let us remember to descend. If we are going to travel to otherworldly realms, let's not forget to come back to the kitchen where we eat.

Barbara continues, "The Board intends to create a Foundation code of ethics, or similar document, to address the teacher and student relationship, as well as other pertinent issues." Why is this necessary? It seems to be another way in which people can avoid life, trading personal responsibility and the thrill of spontaneity for rigidity and fear of self. If we live out in the open, moment by moment, and if we are unafraid to ask direct, personal questions about how our teachers live, why is a "code of ethics, or similar document" necessary? Why do we need to regulate behavior, banishing our impulses to our individual and collective shadow-bags? Once the document dealing with pertinent issues is created, can we then peacefully, blissfully, and blindly go back to asking Who am I?

Who am I? is only half the question; the other half is How shall I live?

Who am I? and How shall I live? is the full, challenging, and redeeming spiritual question which we would do well to take up with our whole heart, without looking away, without trying to escape or oversimplify the often untidy totality of our life.

How shall I live? can not be swept under the carpet with spiritual ideals of transcendence. We can not live as pure consciousness except in this body, in this world, with each other. We need to look honestly and openly at how we actually live, taking the whole thing into our enormous endlessness: body, mind, emotions, relationships, money, sex, power, desires, health, work, fantasies, imagination, intellect. And there's more that we need to include in our living: conscious lifestyle choices and participation in the social, political, and environmental issues of our times.

I do not think Eli is flawed, and I do not think he should stop teaching. I only wonder why he did not live openly from the beginning? Three years is a long time to be secretive about how one is actually living. If we want our spiritual teachers to be sexless, that is our problem. If we want our spiritual teachers to be above it all, that is our problem, too. If we want our spiritual teachers to look and sound remote and different from us, that is our problem. What exactly are we trying to be above? What are we trying to escape? Why are we so afraid of our lives as we live them? Eli's humanity is not the flaw; the flaw is a teaching that forces us to live in shadows and carry secrets.

Really, it's time to grow up and stop playing dress-up-like-some-old-Indian-guy. Let’s stop hanging giant pictures over our giant chairs, pretending to meditate on the Self when we are just medicating the self. Let’s stop giving our power to the Wizard of Oz, creating the very source of our disempowerment, disappointment, and disillusionment with our own projected power. Let's have the courage and originality to invent our own lives, according to our own natures (both with a small and capital "s") and deep desires, our passions and artistic tsunamis, our concern and caring for the things of this world where we live.

Everyone alive has to deal with emotions, money, relationships, desire, doubt, fear, insecurity, paradox, heartbreak—the whole lot of it. If they say they don't, they are lying, or they are living a tiny life surrounded by Tin Men and Cowardly Lions.

The great jazz pianist/composer Duke Ellington, wrote:

It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing
There's something else that makes this song complete

The song that makes our life as enormous endlessness complete is our human beingness, our embodiment, our actual living and loving. I suggest we get real, not ideal, in our satsangs. I suggest we stop impersonating "realized" beings who themselves only went away. That is not a big deal. The bigger deal is coming back.

Will we do that?

Copyright © 2006 Robert Rabbin / All Rights Reserved
Robert Rabbin can be contacted through his web site: www.RealTimeSpeaking.com.

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The Role of Spirit in Healing

by Len Saputo, MD

Traditionally, spirit has been revered as a vital and sacred element of the healing process in indigenous and historical cultures worldwide. Spiritual teachers have passed their secrets of healing from generation to generation for thousands of years. Over the millennia, spiritual practice has been found to ease suffering and promote healing. Yet, relieving symptoms is only the first step in real healing.

Ancient healers believed that there is purpose for everything in the universe and that there is purpose for illness as well. By understanding this purpose they found that it is possible to realize deeper meaning in the lives of individuals and even entire communities. Disease is regarded as more than physical disability and psychological challenge – it is an opportunity to learn more about who we are, and serves as a tool to move us forward on our spiritual path.

Today, we are "going back to the future." Many Americans are encouraging their healthcare practitioners to include spiritual practice as part of their treatment. There are several reasons why this is happening:

Despite the remarkable achievements of modern technology, we still live in an era that is plagued by an epidemic of chronic diseases. Two thirds of Americans have at least one chronic disease, and things are getting worse, not better. We're at a point where we're willing to do what it takes to find solutions to this dilemma.

Humanity has depended upon spiritual help for millennia and continues to have great faith that there is tremendous value in spiritual healing.

There is abundant research in major peer reviewed medical journals that documents the fact that people who have a strong faith, religious belief, or spiritual practice enjoy better physical, mental, and emotional health.

In our effort to heal, we want to explore every aspect of what we are, hoping to do whatever we can to be healthy. The holistic nature of body, mind, emotion, and spirit are aspects of our fundamental nature that cannot be separated.

Americans are reclaiming their responsibility to take care of their own health. We are asking with greater frequency that healthcare practitioners consider the whole person. We want to collaborate with our healthcare professionals and actively participate in our own healing and in choosing the therapies we use.

Returning to Spirituality
There is a growing appreciation by our medical profession of the awareness of human connection at all levels. In ancient times, healthcare and spiritual guidance were felt to be so intimately interrelated that a single practitioner, the priest, midwife, or shaman, usually provided both of these aspects of healing. However, as medicine has become based more in science and less in what we have always intuitively known, physicians have focused on science and released spirituality to religion. Modern medicine is now reawakening to the importance of both science and spirit, and is searching for ways to merge these inseparable perspectives in healing.

Connecting with Spirit
There are many definitions of spirituality. In this book, spirituality is intended to refer to the universal consciousness through which we are all connected. The soul is the spark of spirit instilled in each of us that is the essence of who we are, and that which connects us to universal consciousness.

The mind, or intellect, on the other hand, is a human quality that is composed of both intellectual and emotional faculties. It is what fuels our creativity. The mind is not the primary focus in indigenous cultures; it is just one component of humanity. In today's culture we deify the mind, placing it on a pinnacle. In the process we may compromise the opportunity for spiritual balance. Coming into spiritual balance is not a mental process; it does not involve the mind. In fact, the mind is most often an obstacle in this process since the experience of pure consciousness occurs in a state of silence that is devoid of thought.

One of our biggest challenges as human beings is to move out of our minds and go inwardly beyond, so that we can hear our spiritual voice. This is not easy because the ego wants to stay in control. When we release the illusion of being in control, we surrender to a place of humility. When the mind quiets, we become more open to connect with spirit. The openness to receive new possibilities germinates from the humility of being willing to exist in a place of "not knowing." It is in this setting that we don't have to do anything – the wisdom passes into us from outside. We become a vessel that holds information that is transferred to us. Lao Tsu once wrote:

"Empty yourself of everything. Let the mind become still. The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature."

There are many tools that can help us connect with spirit. The range is nearly as infinite as there are people – we're all different, and we all make that connection in our own special way. Yet, our needs are much the same; we're looking for connection with others and with the universal life force. The approach you choose depends on what appeals to you. You may also discover new approaches that you didn't imagine could be of interest.

There is a timeless place within each of us that can put us in touch with the peace of a quiet mind and in connection with spirit. In the tradition of the shaman, our purpose in life is to restore our wholeness within the context of all aspects of our entire existence. This healing process is revered as our sacred journey within. Some popular examples of healing techniques that can quiet the mind and connect us with spirit include:

Prayer
Meditation
Religious worship and ritual
Nature
Guided imagery
Music and sound
Art
Dance and movement therapies
Meditative exercise (Tai Chi, Qigong, yoga)
Breathing exercises
Chanting
Sweat lodges and vision quests
Connecting with spirit through touch and laughter

Healing as a Sacred Journey
Traditionally, the very process of healing is regarded as a sacred journey within. Illness may bring us back to the fundamental values of life, the importance of the people in our lives, and the spiritual aspects of life. When we are challenged by illness, we tend to become more oriented toward fundamentals. We are reminded of the significance of our relationships. We realize the temporary nature of the material side.

In essence, illness can play an important role by awakening us to our spiritual purpose. Illness can be seen as an opportunity for spiritual transformation, rather than physical disability and psychological challenge. This is not always easy. We may feel disinclined to engage in this dimension of our life. We may become totally consumed with fixing the illness, and have little energy left to search for spiritual transformation. Most of us consider it asking a lot to make spiritual transformations even when we are well!

Nonetheless, chronic illness can become an opportunity for growth and change. When we're ill, our most immediate concern is to be "cured" of our illness. We want to operate with a perfect body and feel good again. We seek out healthcare practitioners who promise to deliver these services and highly value their work. Clearly this is an intelligent approach. However, it is also possible to look at the meaning of illness in the context of who we are as unique individuals, determine what it represents in our whole life story, and prosper from the journey through it. This can place great demands on our patience, especially when we are suffering. Yet illness can be valued as a transformative opportunity that presents the possibility of evolving further on our spiritual path.

Connection with spirit can make the deepest context of healing a reality...and there are many different approaches one can take. Even though curing the body and healing the soul are not the same, they can occur simultaneously. They are not mutually exclusive. We deserve nothing less.

Copyright © 2002 Len Saputo

Dr. Saputo  is the founder and director of the Health Medicine Forum (http://www.healthmedicine.org/) and the Health Medicine Institute in Walnut Creek, CA. He is a board certified specialist in Internal Medicine who has practiced medicine for over 25 years at John Muir Medical Center. Dr. Saputo is a world-class tennis player, rated #1 in his division worldwide. He is vitally interested in education and co-hosts the weekly "Prescriptions for Health" on KEST radio in San Francisco with his wife Vicki. E-mail: forum@healthmedicine.org

This article is an excerpt from Dr. Saputo's book: Boosting Immunity: Creating Wellness Naturally and appeared in "Breathe Deep - the Qigong Newsletter" Issue V.15, an online newsletter (http://www.wujiproductions.com/). Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

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The Spiritual Life

by Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.

The French philosopher, Teilhard DeChardin, once wrote: "We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience. Rather we are spiritual beings having a physical experience."

If you define "spirituality" as any experience that is not available to our five senses, then the majority of our life experiences are spiritual. Concepts like peace, joy, love, truth, beauty, connection, surrender, bliss and fulfillment are all spiritual in nature. Indeed, life itself is a spiritual experience.

Spirituality may have nothing to do with "religion" or "religiosity." It is not the same as "morality" or the "right way" to live. It rarely has anything to do with "doctrines" or "ethics." Spirituality can be described, however. Some aspects of spirituality may include: an expanded self-awareness, particularly of your true nature; the experience of joy, inner peace and love; and the realization of your essential unity with all of the universe/creation.

The evolutionary growth of your spirit follows some known principles. It usually begins with an "awakening" to the awareness that there is more to being alive than we can ever know. This awakening can be sudden or gradual. It can be a sudden flash of insight ("a light bulb moment") or a slow "dawning" of what being alive really means.

This awakening of consciousness leads to an intense desire to know more. This desire is often referred to as "spiritual hunger." We long for more. More experiences. More awareness. More knowledge. More of spiritual unity.

Then we usually let go of all previously held ideas, habits and behaviors. We lose our old "self." We let go of Mind and Ego. This loss evolves into a sense of emptiness and is often called "the dark night of the soul." From that darkness emerges a new awareness, a new identity, a new sense of self that feels more "real" than the one we lost. People often refer to this as a spiritual "rebirth."

Following the experience of being reborn, we then integrate our new self into a new lifestyle or "new way of being in the world."  We reach "spiritual maturity" when the search for knowledge is replaced with living from the center of our being; when we no longer seek the truth, rather we live in it; when we always love rather than fear; when we realize our essential unity with the Universe, or Universal Intelligence, or Life Force, or God (whatever you prefer).

You can identify spiritually mature persons by some of the following qualities:

They function on the principles of love, rather than the habits of fearful defense.

They respond from within themselves, rather than react to the people and events that are outside their skin. 

They live as they consciously choose, usually very simply.

They are graceful in their responses to others.

They experience "bliss" on a regular basis, not just when meditating or praying. 

They maintain internal equanimity and calm.

They are often delightfully humorous.

They are non-hostile.

They relate to others in healthy and beneficial ways.

They reflect their true nature in all they do. 

They are insightful, quick to learn, open to new experiences and eager to make themselves, others and the world more loving and peaceful.

The benefits of developing your spiritual life can include: getting along with others much better; contributing positively to all your relationships; bringing your healthiest and best to your service; acknowledging the true nature of others as the same as yours; experiencing more belonging, vitality, joy, inner peace, and love within your experience of being alive. Are not such benefits worth the risk of growing spiritually? Perhaps your own spiritual growth is the primary purpose for your being alive in the first place.

Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D. has 30+ years experience as a Life Coach and Licensed Psychologist.  He is available for coaching in any area presented in "Practical Psychology."  As your Coach, his only agenda is to assist you in creating the lifestyle you genuinely desire. The initial coaching session is free.  Contact him: (970) 568-0173 or E-mail: DrLloyd@CreatingLeaders.com or LJTDAT@aol.com 

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Talking or Tying Shoes?

by Robert Rabbin
Copyright © June 2005 Heart Links / All rights reserved

I was recently speaking with a friend about Radical Sages. She is an energy healer who has been certified in various forms of counseling work, all of which aim to help people live more authentic and compassionate lives, in harmony with nature.

As I spoke, I put my usual emphasis on merging insight with action, of embodying and demonstrating universal spiritual principles, of needing to engage the issues of the day with wisdom and compassion—and also with strength and direct action on behalf of our spiritual values. In order to do this, I said we have to awaken to the world around us. I suggested we spend at least one hour a day reading independent media accounts of current events. I said listening to Amy Goodman on Democracy Now! should be as much a daily spiritual practice as scriptural reading and meditation. I invoked Dr. Huston Smith, who said the goal of spiritual life was “not altered states, but altered traits.” I asked her what an authentically spiritual, wise, and compassionate life looked like. How is such a life behaviorally distinctive?

“I don’t want to get into the issue of abortion, or whether we should invade Iraq, or what we should do with our tax dollars. I don’t want to polarize people or antagonize them by taking a partisan stand. I want to help them recover their soulful knowledge and respect for the Earth. I just want to call people to their higher self.” So do I.

And I want to know what recovering soulful knowledge and respect for the Earth looks like in action. I want to know what calling others and being called oneself to the higher self looks like when it comes time to make a mindful, conscious choice.

On Tuesday, I gave a talk to members of the San Francisco chapter of Spirit at Work. I quoted a few passages from my book, Igniting the Soul at Work. In one chapter, I recalled an experience that made me realize there is, in fact, a behaviorally distinctive quality to the higher self, to expanded awareness, to wisdom and compassion:

I once witnessed a spectacle of silence in the Berkeley Community Theater. Every one of the 3,491 seats was occupied. On stage sat Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. Next to him sat a young woman. The monk spoke about mindfulness, about awareness, about respect for each other and all living things. He spoke slowly and quietly. From time to time he would fall silent, and the woman would pick up and ring a bell that rested on the floor in front of her. The reverberations of the bell could be heard throughout the auditorium and felt within each person’s brain, stimulating perceptions of intuitive subtlety.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s talk was less about information than experience. The words were like a tour bus carrying the audience to ancient sites of meaning and depth and beauty. Though the bus was still and unmoving, we traveled far and saw much. Anyone could have dropped a tack or a nail file, even a piece of paper, and the noise would have seemed loud because the silence was so great.

After some time, I felt the audience breathe in unison, a meditative breathing, a breathing that connected us together and to the awareness of which the monk was speaking. I thought I was sitting in the mountains at twilight, when life itself begins to creep from its hiding places like a deer come to drink from a lake of pentagrams and stars.

Even when speaking, the monk was silent, was silence. In order to hear his words of silence and the silence within his words, the audience had to be silent and become silence. It was a spectacle. We were embraced by silence and thus set free from agitation, from separation, from duality. It would have been impossible for any anger or cruelty to arise in that community. It would have been impossible for anyone to harm another in any way.

I cannot conceive of wisdom, compassion, or the higher self existing independent of such a behavioral display. Though we didn’t get around to asking what his “stand” was on current hot button issues like abortion and war, I know he is on record as saying, “Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to life.” That seems pretty direct and unequivocal to me. I cannot imagine the good monk not saying those words, even if they might antagonize someone who profits from harming humans and nature. Insight and action are as inseparable as flower and fragrance. I respect Thich Nhat Hanh for both his wisdom and his position on right livelihood. Actually, wisdom and right livelihood are not two separate things, but one thing, without separable parts.

I have been a student of mysticism almost my entire life. There was a time when I, too, thought it was enough to call people to higher ground, to inspire their innate goodness. I have noticed, however, that for most people, including many highly evolved spiritual teachers and healers, that behavior lags far behind rhetoric. We may speak in angelic phrases, but where do we put our feet? We may invoke higher consciousness, but where do we invest our money, where do we go to work, what products do we buy, and for whom do we vote?

A disciple was getting ready to help his Master get ready to deliver a lecture. His friend asked, “What is it about what the Master says that makes you go to so many of his talks?” The disciple responded, “I don’t go to hear the Master talk. I go to watch him tie his shoes.”

I love this statement by Ram Dass, “Science and religion both teach that we are all interconnected, and thus interdependent. And at the very core, we are all One. But how do we live as if we know this?"

How do we live as if we know this? If we are alive, we make choices. What are they? And, should we not, as spiritual beings seeking to heal a troubled world, put our own choices, our own behavior, on the line as examples of higher consciousness?

Copyright © 2005 Robert Rabbin
All Rights Reserved

Robert Rabbin can be contacted through his web site: www.RealTimeSpeaking.com.

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The Spiritual Principles of Reiki

by Barbara McDaniel
Copyright © March 2005 Heart Links / All rights reserved

Reiki Natural Healing is easy to learn and many caring people in the Inland Northwest have taken Reiki classes to learn to treat themselves, their families, and their friends. But there is a key component to this profound healing art that is often overlooked—the five spiritual principles of Reiki. They provide an infallible method for transforming the mind, leading to greater health and happiness, and anyone, regardless of whether one has taken a Reiki class, can benefit from practicing them in daily life.

The word “Reiki” means “universal life energy” in Japanese, and practitioners draw on this energy, the force that animates all of life, to enhance and revitalize the energy of the persons they are treating. Thus, Reiki is a completely natural healing method.

As the origin of the word suggests, Reiki comes to us from Japan. In the early 1900s, a devout seeker named Mikao Usui heard the Bible stories of Jesus’ remarkable healing abilities. A student challenged him about the veracity of these tales, which sent Usui on a journey specifically to learn how hands-on healing occurs. His personally directed course of study led him to a time of fasting and meditation on Japan’s holy Mount Kurama. There Usui received a revelation that awoke the healing power within him. He also learned a way to pass on this healing ability to others. Usui’s practice became known as Usui Shiki Reiki Ryoho (Usui’s Method of Natural Reiki Healing), and his subsequent work included treating illness and misfortune, and teaching his healing practice to worthy students.

Reiki found its way to the United States through the hands of Hawayo Takata, a child of Japanese immigrant parents who was born and raised in Hawaii. Early in life she found herself in a dire predicament: she was a young widow with two children and severe health problems, including tumors in her uterus and an asthmatic condition that prevented surgery. Searching for a way to heal her body, Mrs. Takata went to Japan where she learned about Reiki and received daily treatments for six months. She was so grateful to be relieved of her of symptoms that she begged to be able to learn Reiki and share its healing gift with others. Ultimately, she succeeded in her desire and became the first Western Reiki Master, teaching this practice of the Usui System of Natural Healing throughout Hawaii, then on the mainland U.S. and Canada until her death in 1980. In the last years of her life, Mrs. Takata began to train other Reiki Masters, leaving a total of twenty-two teachers when she died. The practice of Reiki has taken many twists and turns since that time, but virtually all the Reiki practiced in the Western world can trace its source to this valiant Japanese-American woman and, ultimately, to Reiki’s founder, Mikao Usui.

It is common knowledge among Reiki practitioners that the energy treats all levels of a person’s being—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. And the practice is very simple. As Mrs. Takata said, “Hands on, Reiki on; hands off, Reiki off.” Reiki is so simple, in fact, that it’s easy to dismiss its power or disregard elements of the form. One of the most important, and easily overlooked elements, are the five Reiki principles—simple slogans for transforming the mind that lead to greater health and happiness.

At the time of his death, Usui Sensei’s students erected a memorial to their teacher. Its lengthy text gives clues to the character of the Sensei and to the practice of Reiki itself. The Reiki principles receive special notice.

“The Reiki method is not only for curing illness,” the stone reads. “Its true purpose is to correct the heart-mind, keep the body fit, and lead a happy life using the spiritual capabilities humans are endowed with since birth.” The text goes on to advise practitioners to recite the principles morning and evening, “and keep them in one’s heart.”

There are many translations of the Reiki principles, but we present here the words as Mrs. Takata most often spoke them:

At first they appear simple, even simplistic. But on a second look, it’s easy to see what a challenge Usui Sensei has given us. No worry . . . at all? Really? No anger?

According to the text on the memorial stone, “These are the most important teachings in cultivating the mind, and are inextricably linked with the path that the saints and sages of old kept uppermost in mind. The Sensei referred to this as ‘the secret method that summons happiness, the miraculous medicine that is effective against all kinds of illness.’“

Now how can this be true?

As we study the underlying cause of illness, the wisdom of the Reiki principles becomes clear. An estimated eighty-five percent of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related conditions. We cite this statistic in Reiki practice because the soothing hands-on treatment is so effective at bringing relaxation and reducing stress. But what is stress anyway? Is it safe to say that worry—sometimes mixed with anger—is the material that triggers our stress response? Worry, as in “I’m going to be late for this appointment”. . . or, “How will we pay the mortgage?” . . . or, “Can I get my daughter to the soccer field and my son to his music lesson and still have time to meet my friend for lunch?” All of this is worry. And we do, in fact, have a choice about how much energy we put into worry or anger. Yes, the worried or angry thoughts arise spontaneously because of old mental habits. But you’d be surprised how quickly the simple injunction, “Just for today, do not anger” can cut off the habitual response—even for just a moment—and help you to think in a different way, thus relieving the cascade of physiological responses that bring on the damage of stress.

In addition to changing our negative mental habits, the Reiki principles encourage us to develop positive ones: honor, honesty, and gratitude.

“Honor your parents, teachers, and elders” seems to be the most troublesome for Americans. “What if my parents didn’t treat me well?” people ask. Or “Why should I honor someone just because they are old?” These questions reflect our culture’s tendency to demand that people earn our respect before we offer it willingly on the simple basis of our shared humanity.

The answer, actually, lies in the fifth principle: show gratitude to every living. Every living thing. Why? The Dalai Lama is fond of reminding us that we could not live a single day without the kindness of other beings. The food we have eaten today came to us through the efforts of countless others to grow, package, ship, and market it. In fact, animals gave their lives in order for some of us to be fed today. Our clothing, too, came to us through the hands of many, many others. Unless we have grown our own cotton or sheared our own sheep, spun the thread, woven the cloth and sewed the garment, we are dressed right now due to the kindness of others. Even our very lives—the fact that we are living, breathing, and reading this paper—are dependant on the kindness of others, especially our parents who gave us this life and made sure we were fed, clothed, and basically educated. And what about the patience of those early grammar school teachers who helped us sound out words and develop sophisticated reading skills? As we train our minds to think in this way, it becomes completely natural to honor the parents who gave us life, the teachers who taught us the skills to function in the world, and the elders who paved the way for us to grow and prosper.

“Earn your living honestly” is another principle that bears a deeper look. Sure, it’s about not stealing as your livelihood. It’s also about giving your employer an honest day’s work. It’s also about doing the work that fulfills and inspires you, as well as work that serves the good of the community. Do you know people who worked for thirty years in jobs they hated, waiting for retirement, only to spend their old age sick and disabled from the weight of their bitterness? I do. So earning your living honestly fits nicely in the holistic circle of the other Reiki principles.

These five spiritual principles are Usui Sensei’s “secret method that summons happiness.” They are five simple slogans, easy to remember, that can mold the way we think, thus shape the way we live. Enhanced by the daily hands-on application of Reiki—universal life energy—they are an unbeatable force to bring healing and wholeness into our individual lives, into our communities, and into the world.

Barbara McDaniel, Reiki Master, practices and teaches at Reiki Healing Arts in Coeur d’Alene. She has practiced Reiki for twenty years. Barbara was a co-founder of Seattle’s Reiki/AIDS project and operated Seattle’s Reiki Healing Arts Center before moving to Idaho in 2000. She is a member of The Reiki Alliance, an international organization of Reiki Masters, and is Managing Editor of Reiki Magazine International. You can reach her at (208) 665-5862 or www.ReikiHealingArts.com. 

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Touching Earth

by Stephanie Pflumm

I am blessed, I never doubted this. Each day begins with Grandfather's first pink light coloring the mists that were trapped between the hills over night. Each day closes with similar colors fading into a blue blackness in the Western Sky – I am never far from the rhythms of nature and Mother's voice. Frequent visits from Heron, Dragonfly, Lynx, Turkey, Deer, Hummingbird, Owl and even Bear bring me assurances and reminders of the infinite relationships we all share.

When I leave my small mountain to visit you at shows and fairs, I am reminded how Mother's voice and the messages of our relations can be easily drowned out by the roar of civilization. So I want to remind you, that even if you live in Washington DC, St. Louis, Detroit, or New York City, no matter how concrete and steel your world may seem, if you listen carefully, you can still hear the rhythms of nature.

Take the major elements of a city, its steel and concrete. Steel is made of Iron. Iron is Mother Earth. Touch a steel beam, or the steel on your vehicle and see if you can hear the distant memory of an ore long buried in Mother's embrace. Find the memory and feel the rush of Earth energies that binds your relationship to the entity of the building or vehicle. Do you really believe the vehicle that holds and transports you has no energy, no heart? Every item on your vehicle originated as a gift from Mother, even the plastic knobs are fashioned from oil that came from Her.

Concrete, too, is elemental in its beginnings – not much more than crushed Limestone mixed with Water. Limestone has high Quartz, Calcite and other crystalline inclusions. Stop for a moment and think about what you might really be walking on as you make your way through a crowd. Water is one of our most magical and critical elements. On a cool day, take your shoes off and stand on the concrete – know that Mother is beneath you, just the same as climbing over stones in the Mountains or walking across a Stream.

Your Plant Relations are all around you, even in a city. Every hotel I have ever stayed in has a Tree reaching for life from the middle of an asphalt meadow. One of my favorite places to leave a small stone Medicine Circle is with one of these Trees – to thank them for their gift of hope and the endless possibilities that determined life offers.

No matter what metropolitan area you reside in, there is some Plant Brother or Sister surviving against all odds to bring this message into your life. Find one to be your mentor. Learn the art of graceful survival under the harshest of conditions. Trust that the Universe will provide to meet your growth and reach for the stars.

When I lived in Kansas City, (I wasn't always a hillbilly), I loved to go down to old Union Station and watch the Peregrine Falcons hunt. It was inspirational to watch, both their aeronautic acrobatics, and the fact that Falcons were playing among skyscrapers. What wildlife exists within your urban boundaries? Mouse, Possum, Hawk, Squirrel and even Fox are frequent urban dwellers. Every city has some green pocket that, for whatever reason, was impossible to develop. Abandoned lots and homes become sanctuaries for an assortment of Animal Relations. Fixing a bird feeder outside your home, even if it is an apartment, will attract a variety of flying friends. During the migratory months, you might even find some bright and unusual visitors. These travelers are often desperate for meals during their journey. So much of the habitat that once marked their flyways is now shopping malls and four lanes. Providing food and water for their trip is a chance to give back.

The city will never block out Father Sky. His gentle touch is always within your reach. Grandmother Moon and Grandfather Sun also light your everyday path, regardless of where it winds. The rhythm of the Creator's Universe beats perfectly, loud and clear in every thing.

Scientists now believe that the Universe started as a single atom (Time Magazine "How The Universe Will End", June 25, 2001 - fascinating article). All that exists now, the Stars, Planets, Suns and us, were contained within that atom. That beginning Heartbeat is all around you, and no matter how hard Humans attempt to cover it up, Its song will be heard.

Copyright © 2001 Stephanie Pflumm

Stephanie Pflumm is the editor and publisher of the monthly ezine ORE FEATURES. Each month Pflumm researches the geology, history and healing traditions for a new gemstone or crystal. Subscriptions are free at the web site, http://www.ozarkrockexchange.com.

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We Can't Separate the Inseparable

I am a spiritual activist, a person who feels that spiritual practice, study, and wisdom are inseparable from the minutiae of day-to-day living. The German-born architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe once said, “God is in the details.” This is a wonderful slogan for a spiritual activist. The demonstration of our spiritual work must find expression in our every word, choice, and action. We cannot separate yoga, meditation, and deep spiritual work from living: they are inseparable. We cannot separate the spiritual from the worldly. These are language-based distinctions we use to appreciate various aspects of the great Mystery of existence. It is a tragic conceit to think that yoga, meditation, and spiritual wisdom exist outside daily life. They don’t. A flower and its fragrance cannot be separated, because they are innately inseparable.

Along these lines, I’d like to share an excerpt from a recent e-mail I received, and my response. 

“I was initially attracted to you and your mailing list because of, for lack of a better word, spirituality—your clarity and accuracy in issues of the Holy, or God, or the Great Mystery. Recently, however, it seems that everything coming from your direction has been your political and anti-war sentiments.

While I respect your opinion and your right to speak and e-mail whatever you wish, I would just like to let you know that the more you wander into political territory and away from spirituality, the more you alienate me, and perhaps others, as a ‘fan’ of your work. The more you speak about politics, the more my respect for you evaporates.

My point in writing this is primarily to say that I have seen other spiritual figures whom I respect and admire look foolish and lose respect when they wander away from their true area of expertise, and begin to think that they are experts not only in matters of the spirit, but in everything else as well.” 

As I travel around the country talking with many people, and corresponding with many more, I frequently encounter this point of view. I have been rebuked by some yoga and meditation teachers for circulating “An Open Letter of Conscience and Choice,” for “mixing spirituality and political choice.” I understand this, because I was at one time a poster-boy for this perspective. Perhaps that is why I was so attracted to this letter: it showed me the distance I have traveled in my life and consciousness, from that first step long ago when my kundalini opened like an exploding sun.

I do not believe in such things as “spiritual” and “political” as though they were shoes and beer bottles. They are just notions in the mind and have life and force only to the extent we empower them. The naming of things is a feature of the mind: its nature is to name and separate one thing from another. Beyond the mind, in the realm of Silence, all things are expressions of one Consciousness and have the same name.

I have never felt that I had any “expertise in matters of spirit.” If anything, thirty-five years of spiritual practice and study have made me acutely aware of all that I don’t know. I must admit, however, that I have encountered the infinite majesty of the Great Mystery and can confirm that it is aptly named. I also confess to knowing that I am a portion of the Great Mystery and to feeling within my blood the murmurs of a universal heart. In this heart, I live as a song of Silence. In this song, there are no verses of murder and the mayhem of war. I am not an expert in spiritual or political matters, but I constantly hear the murmur of the universal heart within my blood, telling me that I must pour my heart into this world, that I must live in this world as a strong emblem of love and peace.

My Merriam-Webster dictionary defines politics as “the totality of relationships between people living in society, especially involving power, authority, and influence.” To say that one should refrain from politics is like saying that one should refrain from breathing. It is not possible. From cradle to grave, we exist in relationship. Our very life comes from others. Our food comes from others. Our clothes come from others. We are affected by others, as they are by us. Think of your life: it is nothing but relationship, and each relationship includes negotiations and transactions of power, authority, and influence.

How are we to live in these relationships? To me, this question is of equal weight and importance to “Who am I?” This latter question is often regarded as spiritual, while the former is termed worldly. Nonsense. 

During the last few years in America, we’ve seen the growth and popularization of ancient nondual wisdom traditions like Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism, and Dzogchen. This is good news. However, with popularization comes the danger of distortion. One such distortion lies in thinking that the answer/resolution to the question “Who am I?” represents the summit of Self-Realization. It does not. 

“Who am I?” is but half of the true question; the other half is “How shall I live?” The answer/resolution to this true question is the gateway to realized Self-expression.

If one only asks “Who am I?” then one has but one leg, one hand, one eye, and half a heart. I want to be whole, for I am whole. So I also ask, “How shall I live?” Asking this gives me my second leg, second hand, second eye, and whole heart.

“Who am I? How Shall I live?” is really one question, one breath, one path, one realization. Insight and action are one movement; realization and expression are one movement. One cannot separate nondual perception and knowledge from its behavioral corollary. Pure consciousness and the world are not different. Each exists as reflections of the other. Therefore, knowledge and action arise together, just as form and formlessness arise together. The perception of self, other, and world as vibrations of pure consciousness is only the foothills, not the high mountains.

“Who am I?” is the easier part of the koan: I am that which is beyond thought and concept; I am that eternal Silent presence which pervades the entire cosmos and which lives in and as all things.

Okay. Now what? Now comes the hard part: “How shall I live?” Taking up this question with sincerity and commitment is the true beginning of realized Self-expression, the true beginning of spiritual maturity and wisdom. What, in fact, does a life of Oneness look like? How shall I live? From whom and from where shall I receive money? To whom and to what shall I give my money? For whom shall I vote? What car shall I drive? What is my civic responsibility to my community, country, and the world? How much responsibility do I take for the condition of the world, the world of which I am a part?

These are just a few of the questions that one must ask and answer every day. There are many more. What are they? Please spend some time with these questions, let the asking and the listening for answers affect how you live your life. As with “Who am I?” do not be content with first answers. Dig deep. Challenge your beliefs. Challenge what your teachers have told you. Challenge your complacency.

Asking “Who am I?” alone leads only to self-absorption and spiritual narcissism; it does not lead to wisdom or to freedom. In your spiritual practice, if you do not already do so, please begin asking the true and correct question: “Who am I? How shall I live?”

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Where in God's Name Did We Go Wrong?

by Jean-Claude Koven
Copyright © June 2006 Heart Links / All rights reserved

When people ask me if I am religious, I tell them I love God far too much to be religious. “Oh, then you must believe in God?” they inevitably ask. “Of course not,” I reply with a smile, “does a fish believe in water?” For me, God is all there is. What’s to believe?

Although the world’s major religions all agree that God (however they define the term) is omnipresent, it seems that very few of their followers—including their clerical hierarchy—actually understand what omnipresence really means. And therein lies the source of the world’s ills.

For a start, we take our relationship to God far too seriously. We bring so much solemnity to the way we view God—awe, veneration, obedience, and the like—that we end up creating distance between us and the object of our worship. Expressions such as “God is my judge,” “God forbid,” and “God bless you” creep into our language, and consequently our thoughts. People are actually proud to call themselves God-fearing folk. For too many of us, God is somewhere out there, watching and judging us as we struggle through our imperfect lives.

And consider this: Some religions consider the name of God so holy that it is never pronounced. Instead they create a litany of substitute terms so they can talk about God without having to commit the blasphemy of actually using his name—much as many of the characters in the Harry Potter novels avoid pronouncing the name of Lord Voldemort lest they unleash some fearsome effect. When practitioners of these religions write about their deity, they are instructed to omit the vowel: G-d. Other religions take the opposite tack. They encourage their devotees to chant or meditate on the name of God for hours at a time. To their way of believing, focusing on God leads to a state of bliss that opens the door to transcendence and enlightenment. But if God is truly all that is, what can possibly make one of his names more powerful than any other?

For that matter, what is the purpose of naming him (or her or it) in the first place? Naming anything creates a subject/object relationship between you and the thing named, and that in and of itself means a separation. Every name of God, no matter how holy, drives a wedge between the creator and the created—which includes you and me. This separation is the primal breeding ground for fear, for we then see ourselves as tiny beings, abandoned (or evicted from Paradise) and living on the fringe of an incomprehensibly huge cosmos. It’s no wonder most of humanity takes this whole God business so seriously—it appears to be no less than a matter of life and death.

But what if the phrase “God is all that is” were literally true? This is what R. Buckminster Fuller must have understood when he said, “God, to me, it seems, is a verb not a noun.” His words, when I first read them, lodged in my mind. But I didn’t get their full import until many years later, during my first visit to Findhorn, the renowned spiritual community in northeast Scotland. It was there, sitting in a circle with my fellow newbies, that the penny dropped. One young man in our group, Peter, suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, wow, I finally see it. It’s not that God is in all things; it’s that God is all things.”

His exclamation triggered two remarkable realizations for me. First, the obvious is obvious only to those who are sufficiently present to see it. The delivery of Peter’s life-changing epiphany had virtually no effect on the rest of the group. Our facilitator was so consumed by his orientation agenda that he missed the moment completely. Thanking Peter for his contribution, he simply asked the group if anyone else had anything to share.

Second, what Peter said is literally true. In an instant, Bucky’s words became crystal clear. God is indeed a verb. He is not the creator. He is the ongoing unfoldment of creation itself. There is nothing that is not a part of this unfolding. Thus there can be nothing separate from God. God is infinite and infinity is One.

From that moment, everything in my life began to change. It wasn’t immediate; it was rather like a giant oil tanker slowly making a U-turn. As if I were facing in a new direction, I looked at the world in a new way. “How,” I asked myself, “do we dupe ourselves so completely? How come so few people see what Bucky and Peter see? How could I myself have been so blind?”

When we perceive God as a noun, we envision him as the creator, the architect of, and therefore separate from, his creation. Identifying ourselves as part of that creation, we see ourselves not only separate from our source but separate from each other and all other manifest things as well. This is the fatally flawed axiom underlying virtually all of the world’s faiths. They may collectively call for love and peace, but the rampant divisiveness, greed, and competition that currently pervade human culture are the only inevitable outcomes of their separative philosophies.

Once I viewed God as a verb instead of a noun, my perception of life shifted. Everything around me, manifest or no, became God. There was only God. When someone spoke to me, it was with God’s voice; when I listened, it was with God’s heart. I invite you to try it. The small shift from noun to verb may well be the antidote to the forbidden fruit that banished us from Eden. As you begin to view God not as the creator but as the constantly changing dance of creation itself, you’ll discover him in everything you see—including yourself. The old you—that fish swimming blindly in search of water—fades away as you dissolve into the simple meaning of it all. Perhaps, when your vision finally clears, you will find yourself living in the Promised Land that so many others are still praying for.

Copyright © 2005 Jean-Claude Koven / All Rights Reserved

Jean-Claude Koven is a writer and speaker based in Rancho Mirage, CA. He is the author of Going Deeper: How to Make Sense of Your Life When Your Life Makes No Sense, the Allbooks Reviews editor’s choice for the best metaphysical book of 2004 and recipient of USABookNews.com best metaphysical book award. For more information, please visit www.GoingDeeper.org.

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Winnowing the World’s Wisdom

by Robert Rabbin
Copyright © June 2007 Heart Links / All Rights Reserved

I have been fortunate to meet several people who taught me about wisdom and in whose presence I traveled deeper and farther into the world of wonderment, beauty, grace, and Silence. Huston Smith is one such person, and it is about an encounter with him that I wish to write.

Huston Smith is, to my mind, a living saint, a man of prodigious knowledge and wisdom. A few lines from his Wikipedia biography shed light on his distinguished life of spiritual devotions:

“Huston Smith was born in Soochow, China to Methodist missionaries and spent his first 17 years there. He taught at the Universities of Colorado and Denver from 1944-1947, moving to Washington University in St. Louis, MO for the next ten years, and then Professor of Philosophy at MIT from 1958-1973. While at MIT, he participated in some of the experiments with entheogens conducted by Professor Timothy Leary at Harvard University. He then moved to Syracuse University where he was Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion and Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Philosophy until his retirement in 1983 and current emeritus status. He now lives in the Berkeley, CA area where he is Visiting Professor of Religious Studies at U.C. Berkeley.

“During his career, Smith not only studied, but practiced Vedanta, Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, and Sufism for over ten years each. In 1996, Bill Moyers devoted a 5-part PBS special to Smith’s life and work, “The Wisdom of Faith with Huston Smith.” Smith has produced three series for public television: “The Religions of Man,” “The Search for America,” and (with Arthur Compton) “Science and Human Responsibility.” His films on Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Sufism have all won awards at international film festivals. He is the author of numerous books, including The World’s Religions, the most widely used university textbook on comparative religions.”

Huston Smith has paid his dues. He has earned his credibility the old fashioned way: through many years of study, practice, reflection, and realization. He embodies wisdom. One of my favorite Smith aphorisms is: “The goal of spiritual practice is not altered states, but altered traits.”

I love this emphasis on behavior as the “brand” of authentic spirituality. Anyone can talk the talk, and many do; but how many walk it? In these modern times of quick fixes and instant everythings, of faux Vedanta and simpleton solutions to existential complexity, of unseasoned and inexperienced teachers, of commercial success trumping inner maturity, Smith is a unique beacon of depth, clarity, and compassion—a man whose light comes from a born-long-ago star of authentic being.

A few years ago, I went to a bookstore in Berkeley to hear Huston speak about his newest book, Why Religion Matters. When he asked for questions, I raised my hand. He called on me and I said, “Dr. Smith, if you had a microphone to speak to the entire world for 60 seconds, what might you say that would represent the essence of the world’s wisdom traditions?”

His smile was beautiful, as was the gleam in his eye. He didn’t even have to think. He spoke immediately, but with words carefully considered, “Well, that’s an easy question! In fact, I asked the same thing to one of my mentors, Aldous Huxley, many years ago. I can’t really do better than to tell you what Aldous told me, in answer to the same question which I put to him many years ago. He took in my words, and then was silent for a while, reflecting, I would imagine, on his lifetime of study, practice, and experience. Finally, he said what I will say to you, in answer to your question to winnow the world’s wisdom.”

It’s important to know who Aldous Huxley was (as if being one of Huston’s mentors weren’t enough!). Huxley was brilliant: a true pioneer of consciousness studies, one of the midwifes of the human potential movement, and the acclaimed author of Brave New World and The Doors of Perception. Huxley was, like Smith, a rare and potent blend of scholar, interpreter, explorer, and experiencer of the inner realms of mystical consciousness and human motivation and behavior. Together, they are a dynamic duo of spiritual super heroes, which is why we must pay close and careful attention to their answer to the question I put to Huston, to winnow the world’s wisdom.

I was sitting on my chair totally focused on Huston, opening every ear in my being to hear whatever he would say next. It was a glorious moment. Here was Huston Smith, about to impart the essence of what he knew, of what Aldous knew, of what the wisdom-keepers throughout human history knew—the entire scope and spectrum of fathomed wisdom from the first dawn of human existence to this evening in Berkeley.

He smiled. His light was enormous. Finally, he spoke. “Here is what Aldous told me. Here is what I tell you, and what I would tell the world. Here is the essence of the world’s wisdom...”

What he told me may not seem like much, or enough. Perhaps you’re hoping for something more transcendently exotic, or intellectually dense, or philosophically subtle. To me, what he said is as profound and practical as an embodied being can be. If we would all keep his words alive in our minds and hearts in each and every moment, and let Huston’s words, the winnowed wisdom of the world, guide our every act, however big or small, if we could do this, if we would do this, I believe we’d create heaven on earth within minutes. Here is what Huston Smith said to me:

Try to be a little kinder.

Copyright © 2006 Robert Rabbin / All Rights Reserved
Robert Rabbin can be contacted through his web site: www.RealTimeSpeaking.com.

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