Each of us has a Self. You know, the one we talk to all the time. "Why did you do that?" and "Smile, don't go there," or "If I want that brownie, by G-d, I'll have that brownie, shut up!"
It is not the "busy mind" of our ego that interferes with our praying, contemplating, or meditation. It is the part of our psyche that takes care of us, challenges us to grow emotionally and spiritually, and tries to lead us to maturity.
Carl Jung says some of us get there and some of us don't, and then, there's us in-betweeners who try and try and try, and sometimes we are and sometimes we aren't! I always relate to the pregnant-woman tee-shirt that has an arrow pointing down to her growing tummy and the words say something like "... work in progress."
Our Self is what calls us to our better selves. We have to listen though. We have to be quiet and listen!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Sunshine
Have you noticed how many commercials have references to ... or ... talk about the sun?
There is sunny lipstick, and sunshine sausage, and a bright sunny day to driver your "new car," etc.
We cannot live without the sun, yet it shines on us only half the time. The other half of our time is darkness with the moon illuminating us.
I can't help but surmise that we need the dark equally as much as we need the light.
I used to want to "cut out," or throw away the "dark of me." A wise therapist told me that dark is the fertilizer in our lives. "We all need fertilizer to grow--plants and us," she said.
Well, I've got plenty, does anyone need some? Just kidding! We all have the amount we need to become the person Life needs us to be.
Celebrate the sun and the moon of our being, share our whole selves, oh, not by telling others about the fertilizer, but by being authentic and loving in relationships. By showing our sun-side and growing from our moon-side.
There is sunny lipstick, and sunshine sausage, and a bright sunny day to driver your "new car," etc.
We cannot live without the sun, yet it shines on us only half the time. The other half of our time is darkness with the moon illuminating us.
I can't help but surmise that we need the dark equally as much as we need the light.
I used to want to "cut out," or throw away the "dark of me." A wise therapist told me that dark is the fertilizer in our lives. "We all need fertilizer to grow--plants and us," she said.
Well, I've got plenty, does anyone need some? Just kidding! We all have the amount we need to become the person Life needs us to be.
Celebrate the sun and the moon of our being, share our whole selves, oh, not by telling others about the fertilizer, but by being authentic and loving in relationships. By showing our sun-side and growing from our moon-side.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Contemplation in the Check-out Line
I dont really mind waiting in line to check out at the grocery store. If truth be told, the trend toward faster check-outs irritates me a little. I know, most Americans living our busy lives get irritated by long lines, and merchants have increasingly responded to our lack of patience by providing express lanes, "limited number" lines, and self-checkout, as well as increased staff in high-volume hours.
See, I learned a while back, that there is plenty of interesting reading material available for those who have to wait in line. There is always a magazine which has the latest information on fashion, or diets, or the results of a nation-wide poll on "how to find your love," or "how to keep your love," or "how to get your love back." There may be a magazine with the latest reproduction results of the beautiful, the talented, or the rich. And, usually there is at least one magazine, if not more, that covers the same stories Nancy Grace covers on her nightly "news show." Please, do not mistake the previous sentence for an endorsement of Grace. If you are surfing channels and stop on her show for about a minute, you will discover the latest newsworthy conversation on who is missing, kidnapped, or murdered in our society.
And that brings me to the cover of a magazine I saw yesterday that said, "Casey Anthony, the Most Hated Woman in America."
Why does everyone want to hate Casey? Why do people want her in prison? The jury listened to the presentations and witnesses of the trial, and found her guilty of a minor infraction of child neglect.
We want to hate her because she "lost" her child. If any one of us lost our child, we'd find ourselves investigated, tried, and convicted of child abandonment, endangerment, and anything else Child Protective Services could throw at us. It doesn't seem real that a woman could lose her child and not be punished severely.
The news media believes bad news sells. Nancy Grace and others like her believe there is always a "bad guy." Well, maybe there is, but there are an awful lot of us out here who are crazy scared we might, out of ignorance, allow something to happen to our children. All of us may be more worried about what we may or may not do to our children, than we are afraid that a neighbor may be a serial child murderer.
Oh the things I think about in the check-out line.
So we hate Casey because she had the same responsibilities we have as parents and grandparents. She failed miserably. We can forget our worries if we hate her.
Anyway, there are a lot of things to think about in the check-out line, and those tabloids can provide amusement and thoughtful reflection.
See, I learned a while back, that there is plenty of interesting reading material available for those who have to wait in line. There is always a magazine which has the latest information on fashion, or diets, or the results of a nation-wide poll on "how to find your love," or "how to keep your love," or "how to get your love back." There may be a magazine with the latest reproduction results of the beautiful, the talented, or the rich. And, usually there is at least one magazine, if not more, that covers the same stories Nancy Grace covers on her nightly "news show." Please, do not mistake the previous sentence for an endorsement of Grace. If you are surfing channels and stop on her show for about a minute, you will discover the latest newsworthy conversation on who is missing, kidnapped, or murdered in our society.
And that brings me to the cover of a magazine I saw yesterday that said, "Casey Anthony, the Most Hated Woman in America."
Why does everyone want to hate Casey? Why do people want her in prison? The jury listened to the presentations and witnesses of the trial, and found her guilty of a minor infraction of child neglect.
We want to hate her because she "lost" her child. If any one of us lost our child, we'd find ourselves investigated, tried, and convicted of child abandonment, endangerment, and anything else Child Protective Services could throw at us. It doesn't seem real that a woman could lose her child and not be punished severely.
The news media believes bad news sells. Nancy Grace and others like her believe there is always a "bad guy." Well, maybe there is, but there are an awful lot of us out here who are crazy scared we might, out of ignorance, allow something to happen to our children. All of us may be more worried about what we may or may not do to our children, than we are afraid that a neighbor may be a serial child murderer.
Oh the things I think about in the check-out line.
So we hate Casey because she had the same responsibilities we have as parents and grandparents. She failed miserably. We can forget our worries if we hate her.
Anyway, there are a lot of things to think about in the check-out line, and those tabloids can provide amusement and thoughtful reflection.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The "Why" in Our Lives
I suppose all of us, at different times in our lives, wonder "why" there is racism and other negative "isms" in our world.
We see others' negative behavior in all kinds of situations, day in and day out. And we know it is predicated on their understanding of their world. It is their visible actions of the negative "isms" they hold to be true.
In turn, there are times we exhibit those same behaviors. Oh, don't try to say, "Not me!" Because we know, all of us, at some time or other, are guilty of behavior based on our own negative "isms."
Its not pretty to admit to them, and we would rather remember those times when we have been especially inclusive, or compassionate, or welcoming. But this other part of our selves stares at us in introspective moments.
A very long time ago, twenty-five years or so, I was in a women-only support group. All of us were American-born, except one woman. She was a very bright intellectual who happened to be born in another country, far, far away. I am not proud of the way my interactions with her progressed, and without going into detail, I confess, I am still bothered today by my ignorance and rudeness.
Thankfully, at some point in my life, I began to grow as a human being. My belief in the worth and dignity of each person, and my desire to be more respectful of others' spiritual growth, even though it was different than mine, became paramount in my life. I confess, I was in my forties before this attitude became central to my psyche.
It was well into my fifties before I gained a real understanding of compassion, which I am sometimes, and which I am not at other times, even when I need to be. I continue to explore this.
The "why" of my negative behavior predicated on my personal "isms," is that I grew up in a very homogenous environment, and I was always more comfortable with those who looked like me than those who looked different than me. If we look closely, we see this dynamic in many human behaviors.
It is easier to be comfortable in all our "isms"; it is easier to live our understanding of the world that we know, than it is to change and embrace difference.
The "why" is as deep as our genetics and as wide as our cultures. And the worst part of all this?
It takes some of us a lifetime, if we grew up with a lot of negative "isms." And even those of us who grew up in a more progressive environment, we still have to overcome the genetic and cultural inclinations to be comfortable with sameness. And some of us never feel the need nor the necessity of opening ourselves to differences.
Perhaps we will someday be able to embrace each others' differences. From where I'm sitting, it looks like it will be a long time before that will happen. Maybe it is something future generations will be able to do. For today, all we can do is change ourselves. All we can do is answer our own, very personal "why."
We see others' negative behavior in all kinds of situations, day in and day out. And we know it is predicated on their understanding of their world. It is their visible actions of the negative "isms" they hold to be true.
In turn, there are times we exhibit those same behaviors. Oh, don't try to say, "Not me!" Because we know, all of us, at some time or other, are guilty of behavior based on our own negative "isms."
Its not pretty to admit to them, and we would rather remember those times when we have been especially inclusive, or compassionate, or welcoming. But this other part of our selves stares at us in introspective moments.
A very long time ago, twenty-five years or so, I was in a women-only support group. All of us were American-born, except one woman. She was a very bright intellectual who happened to be born in another country, far, far away. I am not proud of the way my interactions with her progressed, and without going into detail, I confess, I am still bothered today by my ignorance and rudeness.
Thankfully, at some point in my life, I began to grow as a human being. My belief in the worth and dignity of each person, and my desire to be more respectful of others' spiritual growth, even though it was different than mine, became paramount in my life. I confess, I was in my forties before this attitude became central to my psyche.
It was well into my fifties before I gained a real understanding of compassion, which I am sometimes, and which I am not at other times, even when I need to be. I continue to explore this.
The "why" of my negative behavior predicated on my personal "isms," is that I grew up in a very homogenous environment, and I was always more comfortable with those who looked like me than those who looked different than me. If we look closely, we see this dynamic in many human behaviors.
It is easier to be comfortable in all our "isms"; it is easier to live our understanding of the world that we know, than it is to change and embrace difference.
The "why" is as deep as our genetics and as wide as our cultures. And the worst part of all this?
It takes some of us a lifetime, if we grew up with a lot of negative "isms." And even those of us who grew up in a more progressive environment, we still have to overcome the genetic and cultural inclinations to be comfortable with sameness. And some of us never feel the need nor the necessity of opening ourselves to differences.
Perhaps we will someday be able to embrace each others' differences. From where I'm sitting, it looks like it will be a long time before that will happen. Maybe it is something future generations will be able to do. For today, all we can do is change ourselves. All we can do is answer our own, very personal "why."
Monday, June 20, 2011
With what lens do we read?
Always searching for deeper, broader, and diverse meaning in my reading, I found a book titled Such Is Life! A Close Encouner with Ecclesiates by Lloyd Geering.
Ecclesiastes is one of the last books included in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is believed to have been written by a sage after the return of the tribes from their Babylonian captivity in 586 BCE. It is, Geering suggests the humanist tradition of the Hebrew heritage.
Yes, you read correctly, the humanist tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures.
"... the sages were not concerned with the destiny of the Israelite people as a whole. They focused on the daily life of the human individual. ... were interested not in Israelites alone, but in all humans."
Ecclesiates is part of the "wisdom tradition" of the returning tribespeople, who brought back to Israel a more universal view of humankind. This "widsom tradition" is unlike the storical religious tradition of the Hebrew people who were left behind.
These returning sages of wisdom and humanism "spoke of Wisdom in much the same way as the Greeks spoke of the Logos or Reason... They exhorted people to take full responsiblity for their own lives and not to look to God to deliver them from evil by miraculous interventions..." [Geering]
Many of us place a certain amount of faith or belief in the humanist tradition. I am wondering how many of us have ever read Ecclesiates with the hermeneutical lens of humanist thought?
Ecclesiastes is one of the last books included in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is believed to have been written by a sage after the return of the tribes from their Babylonian captivity in 586 BCE. It is, Geering suggests the humanist tradition of the Hebrew heritage.
Yes, you read correctly, the humanist tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures.
"... the sages were not concerned with the destiny of the Israelite people as a whole. They focused on the daily life of the human individual. ... were interested not in Israelites alone, but in all humans."
Ecclesiates is part of the "wisdom tradition" of the returning tribespeople, who brought back to Israel a more universal view of humankind. This "widsom tradition" is unlike the storical religious tradition of the Hebrew people who were left behind.
These returning sages of wisdom and humanism "spoke of Wisdom in much the same way as the Greeks spoke of the Logos or Reason... They exhorted people to take full responsiblity for their own lives and not to look to God to deliver them from evil by miraculous interventions..." [Geering]
Many of us place a certain amount of faith or belief in the humanist tradition. I am wondering how many of us have ever read Ecclesiates with the hermeneutical lens of humanist thought?
Sunday, June 19, 2011
See the bright hot sun on the trees and the bushes
Sitting here looking at the many varieties of greens present in the back yard. So many greens I cannot count them. But counting them might be a good idea.
Often I have suggested that the best thing on a deep-freeze day is to stay in, reflect, and ruminate. It seems a good idea for these above-average, 100+ degree days in the south I'm experiencing this summer. From North Carolina to Houston, to Phoenix, to Las Vegas, it has been especially hot. Although the least hot place I've been this summer is Vegas!
Stay in, reflect, and ruminate on the possiblities of your gifts, your talents, and your ability to love. "The ability to love," may take more than one day, because in that subject you have not only the loves you know, but you also have to ask the questions, "Have I loved enough?" and "Do I need to love differently?"
So much upon which to ponder.
And if you don't like these topics--count the many varieties of green you see outside your windows.
Stay out of the heat!
Lillie
Often I have suggested that the best thing on a deep-freeze day is to stay in, reflect, and ruminate. It seems a good idea for these above-average, 100+ degree days in the south I'm experiencing this summer. From North Carolina to Houston, to Phoenix, to Las Vegas, it has been especially hot. Although the least hot place I've been this summer is Vegas!
Stay in, reflect, and ruminate on the possiblities of your gifts, your talents, and your ability to love. "The ability to love," may take more than one day, because in that subject you have not only the loves you know, but you also have to ask the questions, "Have I loved enough?" and "Do I need to love differently?"
So much upon which to ponder.
And if you don't like these topics--count the many varieties of green you see outside your windows.
Stay out of the heat!
Lillie
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