The Guest House

One of my favourite Rumi poems:

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

-       Rumi

-       Translation by Coleman Barks 

This is what democracy looks like!

Following on from yesterday's post about the Demo4Democracy:

As we were walking up Queen St one of the chants we were encouraged to join in was:

"This is what democracy looks like! This is what freedom feels like!" 

I didn't have anyone I was walking with so had no "escape" from joining in the chant by chatting to a companion. My introverted self felt quite self-conscious yelling out the words of the chant! But that got me thinking. Here I am, perfectly free to walk in a protest march in a public place with no fear of being arrested, shot at or otherwise harmed. My biggest concern was feeling rather foolish! Wow! What respect I have for those who protest peacefully for causes they are passionate about and yet may well be arrested, shot at or killed.

I noticed as we walked that the vast majority of people watching from the footpaths as we approached were not Pakeha. Our city is truly multi-racial. I wondered how many of them would be amazed at the truth of what we were shouting out and demonstrating: This truly is what democracy looks like: people free to express their opinion without opposition. In fact a police car was driving slowly ahead of us to clear the road! I imagine that in many of the home countries of those watching this would be a very different story.

Synchronistically, the service in our church that morning was focussed on praying for the horrors occurring in Syria. Among other things we were discussing how easy it is to block out the things that feel "too hard" to think about.

As Elie Wiesel said:
"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. ...
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference."



Helen Keller had a similar comment:
“Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings.”


Spending a few hours on a (sunny!) Sunday afternoon is hardly a big contribution - but at least it is not indifference.

Demo4Democracy

I've noticed with concern in recent months how often the so-called "democratic process" has been undermined in NZ by the current government.  So I was heartened to see that a "Demo4Democracy" was being organised in towns and cities around the country. I marched with several hundred other Aucklanders on Sunday 1st September. Below are some photos that give you an idea of the sort of issues that are of concern to many different groups of New Zealanders. The 11 year old boy pictured gave an impressive and well researched speech about food quality, Monsanto, GM and GMO issues and had everyone listening in complete silence! One of the most concerning issues, in my view, is the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) deal being orchestrated in secret. If you are not yet aware of this see this site.

Some Good News for a Change!

This morning I was reading the news headlines on the computer. It was no surprise  to find them very dis-heartening. So I clicked across to the Gratefulness site which I hadn't browsed for a while and found this wonderfully re-heartening piece about the power of gratitude and how children led the way.

Cynthia Bourgeault on Raising Consciousness

I don't usually add two posts in one day! But here is a very good ten minute You Tube interview with Cynthia Bourgeault and an interviewer from Raising Consciousness Now. Given that it was a spontaneous interview I thought the quality of the questions, responses and camera work were exceptional! At the end of the interview Cynthia speaks briefly about her new book:

Real Transformation

 An excerpt from this book - which I haven't yet read but found on the Spirituality and Practice Newsletter.

"Bernard McGinn says that mysticism is 'a consciousness of the presence of God that by definition exceeds description and . . . deeply transforms the subject who has experienced it.' If it does not deeply change the lifestyle of the person — world view, economics, politics, and ability to form community — you have no reason to believe it is genuine mystical experience. It is often just people with an addiction to religion itself, which is not that uncommon.

Mysticism is not just a change in some religious ideas or affirmations, but it is an encounter of such immensity that everything else shifts in position. Mystics have no need to exclude or eliminate others precisely because they have experienced radical inclusivity of themselves into something much bigger. They do not need to define themselves as enlightened or superior, whereas a mere transfer of religious assertions often makes people even more elitist and more exclusionary.

True mystics are glad to be common, ordinary, servants of all, and just like everybody else, because any need for specialness has been met once and for all."

Compassion

Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share in brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish. Compassion challenges us to cry out with those in misery, to mourn with those who are lonely, to weep with those in tears. Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human. 
~Henri Nouwen.

I came across this quote in a newsletter from the Charter for Compassion. You can access the whole newsletter here.

The newsletter includes links and many great resources in areas of  Education, Business, Healthcare, Spirituality, Peace and Non-violence - and one that intrigued me - 

I love the logo and the by-line: Survival of the Kindest! 

Kite Surfing, Wind, Breath, Spirit

This morning I walked in the bracing wind on Long Bay beach. On the way back I stopped to watch as a kite surfer spread out his kite and prepared to fly!

It took about 15minutes of preparation - laying it all out in the right direction, letting the wind "blow up" the kite sail, making sure the cords attaching the kite to the harness were not tangled... Finally he picked up the board, attached himself to the harness and lifted the kite into wind. In an instant he was dragged sideways across the sand. Up again and with more control he trotted towards the water. Getting his feet into the foot straps without being dragged by the kite required patience and two more falls. But finally he was up, skimming the surf and rising above it in what I'm sure felt a jubilant sense of freedom. It was exhilarating to watch and I admired his tenacity - and no doubt the many hours of practice that had gone before.

It particularly struck me because before my walk I had been reading a book about deepening the practice of Centering Prayer (which has been my daily practice for some time). In it David Frenette writes about using awareness of breath/breathing as a way to stay centered in openness to God. (Most often in Centering Prayer a sacred word is used as the anchor point.) Though attending to your breath is not a new thought in many forms of meditation one of the things Frenette said particularly struck me: "Your breath, like God, is always with you in this life, from the moment of your birth until the instant of your death." This makes attending to breath is not just a "meditation technique" but a way to connect with the Spirit of God who is ever present - just like our breathing - whether we are aware or not. Of course the practice of being aware is where the joy and freedom lies.

Like the kite surfer, there is preparation, patience and faithful practice involved. But wonderfully, the only equipment necessary is our own breathing and the location is anywhere we may be!

WIND    BREATH    SPIRIT

"The Lord God took a handful of dust and formed a man. God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing." Genesis 2:7 (CEV)

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear the sound of it but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8 (NIV)

"Jesus said: 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said: 'Receive the Holy Spirit'." John 20:21-22 (NIV)

Operation Cover Up

No, this title is not about spy agencies - newsworthy as that may be!

Operation Cover Up is about making sure children in orphanages in the Ukraine have warm blankets and clothes in the freezing winter temperatures.

For many years I have been knitting blankets for this excellent project. This week I delivered a couple of recently knitted ones to the local co-ordinator. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo of the blankets  I knitted or of her house packed with mounds of blankets, clothes and educational equipment ready for shipping! But these photos (more on website) will give you an idea:

If you are interested in being part of this project the website gives plenty of information - or you can contact me directly.

Silence: The Mystery of Wholeness

I'm reading this excellent book - recommended by Cynthia Bourgeault and Richard Rohr who are two trusted guides!

It is probably a book for those who are already familiar with a journey into deep silence. It is written in a beautifully poetic style of prose and comes at the topic from a place of deep experience on the part of the author. Robert Sardello PhD is co-founder with Cheryl Sanders-Sardello of the School of Spiritual Psychology which began in 1992. Chapter headings include: Entering the Silence, Relating within Silence, The Healing Power of Silence, Silence in Daily Living... Cheryl Sanders-Sardello writes one page "reflections" between the chapters. One that I found very moving is this one prior to the chapter The Healing Power of Silence:

"Entering your room I know that I am not alone with you. A holy silence attends you, too, close to your head just there by the window. It seems to have a proprietary attitude, as if you belong more to the silence than to me. Your eyes quiver open for a moment then close again, but there is a hint of a smile on your pain-wracked face, and your hand moves a centimeter towards me. Sitting, holding your hand, watching you struggle between planes of existence in this room full of silence, I know you are getting to know this other presence. As a baby turns in the womb, preparing for the long journey into sound, your heart is turning in your soul, preparing for the long journey into silence. And all I can do is hold your hand and smile when your eyes flicker open for a moment and try to fill the silence with all my love, so you will know it is there, too, on your arrival into silence."