The Illusion of Beings in Need According to A Course in Miracles, God is love and only love, and since we are the same essence as God, we, too, are only love. Anything we experience that is not love – pain, evil, ugliness, judgment, hatred – is an illusion. Only love is real and true; everything else, we imagine. Such a theology can be twisted to blame those of us whose illusions are filled with misery. From a New Age perspective, we might say that we are not enlightened enough. We need to deepen our practice, pray, purify ourselves. In a similar way, Jesus’s teachings have been twisted to condemn the poor and…
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Love and Our Neighbor
Loving Our Neighbor We humans are relational creatures. In the normal course of things, we develop bonds of caring and support that, when they grow strong enough, we call love. This love can be reflected in action, such as when we tend to wounds, offer gifts, hug and hold, when we visit another, smile at him, cook and clean for her, read to him, give her money or clothes, smile, or pray. We can also show love by sacrificing ourselves for our beloved. It is said we know how much God loves us because he gave his first born son to save us. To be like Jesus, then, must we…
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Life Out of Death
The Cycle of Life In the children’s book, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, Julie Rawlinson tells the story of Fletcher, a young fox living through his first autumn. When the leaves of his favorite tree start to lose their green sheen, Fletcher thinks the tree is sick and tries watering and feeding it. Still the leaves wither and turn brown. When they drop, Fletcher tries to reattach them to their stems. Nothing works. Finally, all the branches are bare. Despondently, Fletcher goes home. At his young age, he doesn’t understand the cycle of life and death and life. All he can see is that his beloved tree is dying, and he…
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Gratitude and the Three Buddhist Personality Types
Buddhist Personality Types While reading Jack Kornfield’s book, The Wise Heart, I was reminded of the three Buddhist personality types: greedy, aversive, and deluded. [1] Thinking about this week’s theme of gratitude, I wondered if one of those types is more naturally grateful than the others. If so, I suspected it might be the greedy type. This one takes in the beauty of the world, appreciates sights and smells, lingers over coffee, loves his friend’s remodeled kitchen, and sometimes covets his neighbor’s new coat or car. Taken to an extreme, this type can end up stealing, seeking power, or getting lost in pride or addiction. I figured the aversive type, on the…
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Resilience and Spirituality
Resilience in the Face of Hardship and Trauma As a chaplain and spiritual counselor, I work daily with people whose resilience impresses me. Homeless, struggling to let go of one addiction after another, or grieving the loss of loved ones or marriages or jobs, many of them chronically ill or in pain, these people nonetheless find a way to keep on going, to survive another day. They long to feel better; they want to heal. Not that they never experience despair or curse their hunger or the cold. They do. Some days, they want to give up. Some days I want to give up, and my life’s easy compared to…
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Peace Amid Chaos and Change
Living through the Storm From today’s heavy rain, we see that, at least in the Portland area, the change of seasons has arrived. The fall crispness we enjoyed last week has turned to wet skies, soaked skins, and shriveling gardens. In our personal lives, we face change every day as we grow older, as setbacks occur, as loved ones die and children are born. Perhaps, like I do, you find that life buffets you at times like the winds of a storm. You may feel weighed down by news stories and Facebook feeds that catalogue the suffering of strangers from around the world. Perhaps the divisiveness of our country leaves…
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Bounty and Abundance
Appreciating What We Have Abundance surrounds us. No matter where we are, the sky covers the earth, the sun spreads its light, the rain nourishes the soil. Trees grow, insects pollinate berries and tomatoes, crops of all kinds ripen. We laugh with friends, take air into our lungs, wiggle our toes, chew our food, enjoy the tenderness of touch. When these are missing, we notice their absence, but we rarely appreciate them when they’re there. King Midas discovered this when his lust for gold overshadowed his relationship with his daughter. Not until she was gone to him, transformed into a golden statue, did he understand what really matters in life.…
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Mercy and Grace
Revisiting Forgiveness Last week we talked about forgiveness. During our Sharing Circle, someone commented that we often forgive not for the one who harmed us, but rather to set ourselves free of hatred and resentment. This week, we look at an idea akin to forgiveness: mercy. Unlike forgiveness, which we can offer without the other person ever knowing, when we grant mercy, such as by pardoning the wrongs of a criminal, the one who has done those wrongs must realize it. Then, within that realization, if she is open and receptive to it, she might find the blessing of grace. In this way, forgiveness, mercy, and grace are connected. Yet…
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Feeling Guilt; Receiving Forgiveness
A Forest on Fire As I write this, the Columbia Gorge is burning. Like many people, my heart is heavy at the loss of so much life and beauty. Raging flames engulf trees, moss, flowers, animals, trails, and buildings. So much is already gone. Somehow the tragedy seems worse because the fire was started by a few teenagers who, even though they were warned, tossed fireworks into the dry brush. How many of us have done stupid things that might have led to destruction and even death, yet because of some twist of fate, did not? The window didn’t break, for instance, the house didn’t burn, our friend didn’t die, we didn’t…
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The Use and Abuse of Power
Trauma and Power Listening to Bessel van der Kolk’s book, The Body Keeps the Score, I am struck by how we, in the medical and mental health fields, too often use power to control those we deem sick or broken or crazy. As he worked in the field, van der Kolk came to realize that much of his professional training was geared to helping him and other doctors “stay in control in the face of terrifying and confusing realities.” [1] Being out of control frightens pretty much all of us. Clinicians get scared, too. Those of us with authority are used to being respected, deferred to, obeyed. When patients resist…