I am now posting primarily to HolySmokeOnTheWater.com because its structure is better suited to my rambling interests: theology, Christianity, my opinions, snippets of what I am reading and hearing,… NotesFromTheMargins.wordpress.com is where I put the dialogues I have with people. I will continue to post items addressing Teachable Moments here. Please join me on these other sites. I miss you.
Thank you. Catherine (Kitsy) Stratton.
You help me because you hear what I am trying to say.
How do we get people to change their behavior?
They won’t understand until they are ready to; some people never do.
Why am I trying harder than the people I am trying to help?
She could get out of that, if she wanted to.
I want to help him; why won’t he let me?
They are not going to hear what you say until they wake up.
Do you hear me?
It will not happen until you are ready for it
If only my mother had known this before she died…
My goal is to find a way to raise their consciousness.
Lord, show me the way
All in good time…
They are at a higher level of consciousness; that’s why.
We haven’t got that kind of time !
Wake up and smell the coffee
He who has ears, let him hear.
We thought education was the answer, but it hasn’t changed their behavior.
I want the wisdom that is so highly praised in scripture.
If I only knew how to get through to him.
I tell them what to do but they just don’t listen.
It takes one to know one.
Why can’t I change?
Are you ready?
A fellow blogger is concerned about evolution; he believes the concept that life evolved from a single-celled organism dismisses belief in God and devalues human life. This is how I respond:
I disagree that what we are learning, and continue to learn, dismisses belief in God or devalues human life. God, even as documented in the Bible, has revealed Himself to man in ways that man can understand Him…in ways that man can handle…emotionally, conceptually, and intellectually. When He appeared to Abraham and to Moses, it was in glimpses and even then the men were dramatically affected by the experience. God, the Father, sent Jesus in human form so we would be able to receive Him and accept Him and listen to Him without the shock of His divinity; when he presented simple displays of His power in healing and changing water to wine or feeding the thousands, these simple examples were difficult for people to understand and accept.
The writers of the Bible wrote about God in ways that made sense to them…in ways they and others could handle and understand; they wrote in terms of what they knew…and even then it was mysterious and marvelous. The more we learn about our world, our universe, and ourselves, the more we learn about how amazing God is. God is so much more than what we know and are aware of. If God created us by a method starting with single-celled organisms, the whole concept is mind-blowingly creative and brilliant. The elegance of the processes involved are evidence of the masterfully-artistic mind of God.
Evolution, in no way, devalues human life. Man is special and unique among all of the creatures God planned: Man writes poetry, for example. All other creatures do what they do to survive. Poetry is not necessary for survival. Man seeks communion with the Creator. Do other creatures do that?
God is in no way threatened by science or technology. Quite the contrary, God is giving us the guidance to learn more about our universe…and more. God reveals Himself and creation as we are capable and prepared to know. And, the Holy Spirit is not computer illiterate; God nudges man to develop technology and inspires people, like you and me, to use it to distribute knowledge, wisdom, and guidance and to heal people all over the world.
God created this world and it is still a good creation. There is much wrong going on and God is aware. God loves. God wants reconciliation and gives us ample opportunities to do that..and to help others see that. God is excited…just as we are…as we continue to learn how magnificently and beautifully executed His creation has been…and continues to be.
Thanks be to God and to God be the Glory.
This morning, I asked, “Is there a way to pray the shallow into being more deep? Is there a way to pray the transformation of others?”
I’m finishing up The Wisdom Way of Knowing by Cynthia Bourgeault. Re-reading the paragraph I finished with last night, I read just now
…once your being has become inwardly gentled and peaceable, those qualities of aliveness will flow out to others as a spontaneous healing and delight.
Bingo: Divine Compassion. (As always, thank You.)
The rate at which I have matured in my faith and knowing over the past year is a bit scary. Does it signal the end times of my life…or the end times, in general? Regardless, I am blessed…deeply and profoundly blessed. I am not done, however, but being open to this divine education is such a different place. All of my life, I have been guided along this path with bread crumbs of wisdom. I can look back now and see where I drifted (or bolted) off of the path…and why. But I am here, now…intentionally present…and available.
In order for the cosmos to function properly, human beings need to grow into their own hearts. An inner yes is all it takes. Once the willingness to begin takes over in you, whatever you need will come to you. And you’ll be able to recognize it.
There is no bad place to begin. Simply open your heart and ask, trusting that the gift will come. Do what you can where you are. And be alert for the next step. However it leads you, your heart will know the way home.
On my former blog, The View from 5022, I wrote about making necessary adjustments to one’s life and efforts by using the analogy of sailing. The post is titled “Coming About.” A few nights ago, I performed the equivalent of pumping out the bilge, trimming the sails, and charting a new course.
To continue with that analogy, since the end of last year, I have experienced stalls, squalls, and I’ve run aground a few times. But more recently, there have been breaks in the clouds and a freshening breeze. When I crawled into bed Monday night, I knew there was much to be thankful for but, because of all of it, I felt a bit battered. I grabbed a pen and the closest thing to write on, a prayer and praise journal (which was fitting), and made an assessment of the gains and the losses.
I had been struggling for months with a particular Canadian-born bank which had mismanaged my account and reversed a payment to the IRS, costing me hundreds of dollars in penalties, fees, and increases in interest. The government consumer protection agency and the senator’s office helping me with the issue informed me Monday that the issue is being dropped. To stay upset would only hurt me. I tossed the issue over-board.
Inspired by the marches on Saturday, I enthusiastically volunteered my services to the senator’s office and was told someone might be in touch…at some point…maybe. Issue tossed.
Since just after Christmas, I have written (actual letters on actual note cards in actual cursive handwriting) to 9 friends and family members. None of them have responded. Looking for addresses of others to write to, I came across an old phone list. On it was the name of a former doctor who, earlier last year, had been enduring cancer treatments and surgery, a long time friend who, earlier last year, had been reeling from the emotional blow of retirement, and a former coworker, from 2001 time-frame, who was likely concerned about the future of her career with a governmental climate science agency. I made the calls and was met with instant re-connection, filling my emotional sails with billowed hopes.
These issues and more were lined up down both sides of the pages like small fishing skiffs bobbing in the waves…but there was something else still disturbing me…
Last Summer, when preoccupied with my sister’s arrival from Alaska, I stopped attending the small Episcopal church on the other side of town. Driving by there late last month, I saw on their marquee a notice about an oyster roast. On Saturday, I noticed the date had been changed to this weekend. I called. I volunteered to help. However, I was informed that the priest I had known there had died, suddenly, in December. (I wrote about several of his homilies last year. See “To the Extent that One is Forgiven, One is Capable of Loving” and “What I Didn’t Know.”) He was one of the few people who has believed my inner experience of God. (Father B: “You help me because you are able to hear what it is I am trying to say.”) Recalling that he was now gone from earth, my enthusiasm was suddenly becalmed; I felt more alone on earth than I had before.
My faith and beliefs have come under attack, recently, by bloggers from opposite ends of the religious spectrum. On the one hand, there are the bloggers who hold that all people should believe xyz, strictly and immediately. (I respond that each person should be allowed and encouraged to be where they are on their spiritual path to God; at least they are on the path and God is not done with them yet.) On the other, there are those who hold a larger view but accuse me of insisting that mine is the only way. (I am out of words with that one; My way is MY WAY and I offer it as an example…nothing more.)
At the same time, ironically, I have discovered that there is a spiritual path…a Christian path…with followers who hold the same beliefs I do. Although I have come to my beliefs, faith, and inner life the hard way, having found them, I sought to join them. It seems, however, that although they acknowledge my interest, I have been excluded apparently because I lack the expected background and education. So, I will continue on my own, navigating by the heavens and sailing ‘solo.’
The course I am left with is a simpler one, lacking an itinerary with specified destinations. It is more a way of sailing: trusting in the guiding stars (Jesus and the communion of saints) and the breeze on my face. Watching the tell tail, testing the wind, keeping an eye on the horizon (and the channel markers),…this is the stuff of life.
(I borrowed the image above from the web)
A few days ago, I posted my thoughts on God’s interest in everyday, technically non-religious, and seemingly non-spiritual events like football games.
In this morning’s meditation from Richard Rohr, he does a better job of saying the same thing:
God’s revelations are through the concrete and specific.
We have created an artificial divide or dualism between the spiritual and the so-called non-spiritual.
Biblical revelation is saying that we are already spiritual beings; we just don’t know it yet
Here’s to our learning just that!
Richard Rohr’s daily meditations are found through his Center for Action and Contemplation website.
…but causes the heart to giggle.
Has anyone else experienced what I have just experienced: having released the frustration of not having the money to buy the books I think I need to read right now, I go to my own bookshelf and find them…all of them…except the one that is just now released, one that is not yet released, and two that I have only recently learned of.
Let me emphasize, even after pulling them off of the bookshelf, I do not remember buying them.
Life-long truth: when I go to a book store looking for wisdom, I usually buy 4 books: the one I went for, one I need to read right then, and two I will need later. Thank You, Jesus.
What was it I thought I knew?
“I have to risk teaching and writing what I must trust as the universal wisdom of God, and not just my own ideas. I have no other choice. In doing so I must be willing to be judged wrong by others more intelligent, wise, and holy than I.” This is from Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation from the Living School for Action and Contemplation…and I echo his claim.
Richard adds, “We all constantly draw wisdom from the ongoing evolution of consciousness…God is very patient.” In Creation is Evidence of God’s Brilliance, I state that
God is in no way threatened by science or technology. Quite the contrary, God is giving us the guidance to learn more about His universe…and more. God reveals Himself to us and empowers us to learn more about Him as we are capable and prepared to know Him. For example, the Holy Spirit is not computer illiterate; God is in control and has led man to develop such technology and inspires men, like you and me, to use it to distribute knowledge, wisdom, and guidance to people all over the world.
Okay, do I know this for a fact? No. How can I?
Is it plausible? Yes. It is a theory…and a theory is good until it is proven to be wrong. As Richard Rohr states, “If it is true, it must always have been true.” The concept that humans are coming up with technology that is beyond God’s creation is preposterous; if we have the knowledge, He had it first. He invented it. Was such technology ‘known’ or conceivable at creation? I say, “Yes, and more.” Conceivable by God…not producible by man.
And now we are back to what I ‘know.’
**************************************************
I am in the process of expanding my knowledge, particularly as it concerns my spiritual beliefs and practice. I intend to write more on this as I learn. Something I think I have realized is that where I believe I am spiritually, can be reached by other more formal ways. I am learning about these other ways…and those paths are apparently ancient.
The good news is, I am not alone. The questions I will be pondering are how to get from my path to one of those other paths…or even, should I? If God has been directing my steps thus far, and I trust He has, why should I leave the path He has constructed for me? But then, He also directed my attention to these other ways. I sense I must trust and be open…inquire and…
Besides, I intend to not only expand my knowledge but also my practice…which includes ora et labora … prayer and work, both alone and with others. Perhaps by spending some time on one of these other paths, I might find opportunities to pray and work with other like-minded seekers.
Thanks be to God and to God be the Glory.
(The image at the top is provided by NASA through the Huffington Post.)
See the full, original post of Richard Rohr’s meditation for January 8, 2017. You are invited to sign up for Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditations here: https://cac.org/sign-up/
(repeated and expanded here from my comment to an article in Sojourners)
Those of us who hold fast to truth and Wisdom must also hold fast and protect what we know of God, love, and justice. With Shadrach, Meschah, and Abednego, we know that God can deliver us, but if He does not, we will not bow down nor worship anything else…including fear, hate, or discouragement.
It is my opinion that the best position (in addition to protecting and preserving what we know) is to rise up to take a God-perspective of our situation. ‘Bad’ things are sometimes necessary to bring about world-sized changes. There is much ‘good’ coming from this looming dark time: many people who would ordinarily be going about their business are putting more attention to their relationship with God. There is more praying, contemplating, and discussing.
This is a time to keep vigil. This is a time to bury the silver. This is a time to clarify and strengthen one’s own connection to God…and to do that with others. These are dark times but also times of opportunity to focus on what truly matters.
I agree with Pope Francis; this is a change of era. This is an era when seekers of God in truth can pray in silent unison while darkness builds around them. Travelers on the paths of Wisdom, mindfulness, consciousness,… will find themselves walking alongside one another, humming the same tune, speaking the same language. We see the same light. We hold the same light.
Keep watch. Pray. Hold hands. Hunch up close to Jesus. Do not let the light die.
when things happen: locate God and adhere
struggling? fearful? perplexed? look from a different height and angle…like God’s
try Ditzler’s 10 questions. start with: what did I accomplish last year? what were my disappointments? what did I learn?
Life takes time…it takes a whole lifetime.
The past? learn from it…quickly…then let it go.
Whether it is ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ Gods has it.
simple. clear. listen.
show up and serve…everything else is distraction.
let her talk
transparency: the less you hide, the less you have to carry
prep work. homework. it saves a lot of embarrassment.
allow
Today's Teachable Moment 