Meditating to Heal

Have you ever been to a place that seems familiar, but you can’t quite remember if you have ever been there? Life can be very vexing at times. There are more things in our world that ask questions that we are incapable of answering, at least on an intellectual level.

If there are no answers on an intellectual level, where can we find answers. I am reminded of Yogi Berra’s comment, “It’s Deja-Vu all over again.” Funny, isn’t it? But maybe not. Have we been there before, or is it a place that just reminds us of somewhere we’ve been?

I am reading William Walker Atkinson’s A Series of Lessons in Gnani Yoga, published in October 1906. It is the Eastern view of how Western religious philosophy has drifted so far away from the teachings of first century Christianity. There are explanations explaining some of the mysteries that are not answered in the King James Bible, or any modern translation.

I have done considerable reading about first century Christianity; what the Apostles of Jesus taught throughout the then-known world. These are the men who traveled with Jesus, or traveled with those, who did travel with Jesus.

What we learn today differs greatly from the teachings of these apostles. There lessons are far removed from the alterations and edicts from the Western Church that have come down through the years. For instance, women were an important part in Jesus’ ministry; after all, the first appearance of the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection was to women. The women in the New Testament play an important role in His healings and his preaching. But, throughout the centuries, western religion has usurped the role of women and placed them in the subservient position, which is not much better than the slaves in the history of the USA.

How can we accept these ancient teachings? Henri Nouwen has a classic but often forgotten idea: solitude and meditation. When we are alone and in meditation to get closer to God, we open our minds and hearts to hear God speak to us. Nouwen says that solitude is the garden that allows our heart to flourish in God’s good news of Love. Our being alone (with God) will calm our anxious minds, erasing the stressful unhappiness that seems to control our waking hours. Solitude and meditation is essential for our spirit to grow in God’s Love and accept the confines of the hectic world we live in. This is in line with what the 1^st century Christians did. It brought them closer to God.

How does this ancient set of Christian beliefs evolve from remembering a place you have never visited? Good question.

Christian teaching has always been that life extends beyond the grave. The question is, how, to what extent. We have placed little thought to where, when, and how this occurs. Are we reborn to new bodies and remember bits and pieces of our former identities? Or, do we learn a collective knowledge, such as the instinct that is so noticeable in dogs and other four-legged beasts?

I must think more about this. Maybe when I discover a reasonable response I will return to this topic.

Have a great day.

 

 

The Tao says “The muralist sets his picture one centimeter at a time.”

The muralist knows that the big picture is and has enough concentration to piece each individual tile to create his enormous tableau.

If we look at our lives as a muralist would, we recognize that we are the individual pieces; we are part of the grand tableau of God, our muralist. God knows the big picture and where we fit into His enormous tableau. What an interesting and perplexing thought. I have meditated on this for several weeks now and find it difficult to comprehend the importance of this idea. We ask the questions of how we fit into the big picture; how important are we to the giant tableau; and, why me. All of these are important and perplexing issues; ones that we are not truly ready to meditate on and accept our meaning in the world, in God’s world. And yet, like each, individual tile in the muralists creation, we are important. If we are out of place for the muralist, we can destroy his tableau. Is it just as important that we are an integral part of God’s universal mural?

Remember, only God knows what the final, enormous creation means and is. We must find our proper place to fulfill our place.

Okay, say we, but what if what we are doing is not what God wants, is not the place that God chose for us. Will that mess up God’s mural. The only answer I have, which is truly my creation, is this: Are you happy with your position in life? If you are, then perhaps you are where God wants you. If you are unhappy, then maybe you need to look at yourself and ask many, many questions.

Let me tell you my story. For many years, I was in my own business; actually, it began as my parents’ business, but I changed it dramatically over time. I thought that I was the luckiest man on earth to be doing what I was doing. I was my own boss. I was a successful small businessman, respected for my position in the community. I was absolutely miserable!!! I both knew it and didn’t know it. How can that be possible?

In November 1985, I was rear-ended by a drunk driver and driven under the wheels of a very large truck. I was out of work for most of the next five years; my business was a shambles. When I finally returned to work, I struggled to put the pieces back together, but it proved impossible and in 1994, I ended the agony.

During this time, I was serving as chairperson for the booster club at my children’s high school. One night, the athletic director announce that the swim team coach just quit. My son was to be captain of the team that year. Fortunately, I had been involved in swimming with the local YMCA and was able to step in to keep the team alive while we searched for a coach. At the end of the season, the AD asked if I would stay on as the coach. Over the next three years, I worked with the team and we were blessed to compete in the state championship; we lost!! Suring the wrap-up of the season, the principal of the high school talked with me and said that I would be a good teacher in the high school and was I interested in working for a masters’ degree. To make a very long story a little shorter, I ended up being a high school history teacher, who went onto get a doctorate degree in contemporary literature and I am now teaching English writing in a local community college.

I am the happiness person in the world. When I was a businessman, I was not in the proper position in God’s mural; as a college professor, I am.

 

 

The daily meditation for today from the Henri Nouwen Society reads:

 What is our task in this world as children of God and brothers and sisters of Jesus? Our task is reconciliation. Wherever we go we see divisions among people – in families, communities, cities, countries, and continents. All these divisions are tragic reflections of our separation from God. The truth that all people belong together as members of one family under God is seldom visible. Our sacred task is to reveal that truth in the reality of everyday life.

 This is especially important for my brothers and sisters throughout the United States who fear getting together because of political differences and the drastic division that this past presidential election has created. We must unite and pray that our new president will grow into the position he has attained. Whether we are for or against Mr. Trump, or whether we were for or against President Obama when first elected, we understand that a person grows into the position of president. This will occur  this time also; we must pray that it does.

 But, we must also reconcile our hearts and minds to others. Our dislike and mistrust of people with different religions, or people who come from a country different from ours, must be eliminated. Look at our immediate neighbors. In the cul-de-sac where I live, there are three other families, all with different ethnicities, all with different levels of education, and all with entirely different backgrounds that my wife and I. There are times that we get on each other’s nerves, but we get along. We share a common bond, which is we are all God’s children. We all love God, no matter what name we call him; we all pray to God, no matter whether we kneel, stand, or prostrate ourselves to do this. We all have children that we love and cherish, and we all go to work to improve the American society.

 God has truly blessed all of us. This is what we must remember. This is what is the important element in attaining the correct path to reconciliation. God does not want us to quarrel, to hate, or to mistrust.

 So, let us take this spirit of reconciliation and join it with this season of all religions’ holiday services during the waning days of December and try to carry us into a new year of understanding and forgiveness. I truly believe that this is what God wants from us.

 I wish you all much happiness and good fortune as we celebrate Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa.

 

During my meditations, today, I was praying to Abba, our Father in heaven, when another voice entered my consciousness. She did not give me her name, so I will call her Angel.

 Me: Are you an angel of our Lord?

 Angel: Yes, I have been with you since you were a seed in your mother’s womb and will be with you until you return home.

 I thought . . .

 I am the one who pulled you from the agonies of pain that Sunday in July.

 . . . I was speaking with God.

But why me?

 You are worthy. You are able to do great things.

 Me? I am not great.

 You are blessed by God to follow in Christ’s footsteps.

 I am nothing . . .

 You have the talent to do good.

 . . . like Christ.

 Take your unique abilities and let them flow from your body, as Jesus did. Your talents are as unique to you as Jesus’s talents were to him.

 I need the will . . .

 You have the will, and remember that I will be with you always. When you pray, or meditate, I will be with you.

 A feeling of euphoria entered my body, filling my chest with so much air, I thought I might explode . . . but I knew better; I am blessed by God.

 

 

Back before the Dark Ages, when I was a young man in my first year of college, thinking about joining the military was way off my video screen. Nobody in his right mind thought of voluntarily joining the military; that was something you got drafted into. This was a few years before the Vietnam War began in 1964.

My college career did not go so well, and I left after the first year and bummed around at various no-future jobs. Then I woke up; I was always a newshound; I sensed that we might be heading into some type of military action in Southeast Asia. My God, I was draft bait. After a great deal of thinking, I voluntarily, yes, I said voluntarily, enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves. I had intended to return to college, but I wanted to cover my behind.

When my reserve company was given preliminary orders to prepare for a general call-up in 1965, we went to the mountain warfare training camp I northern California where I zigged when I should have zagged and ended up flat on my back in severe pain after slipping from a rope during a full-dress rappel. The result being that a year later I was medically released from the Marines with an honorable discharge following.

Many in my unit were called to Vietnam and some did not return. Being a small arms specialist, I would have been one sent to Vietnam. I had survivors’ guilt for many, many years. I looked back on my days in The Corps in a not-so-happy way.

But over the years, my opinion began to change; I met other Marines, some were survivors of WWII; others were Korean War vets and all of them welcomed me as an equal member of the great fraternity of those who served.

The other day I was reading the Washington Post and came across an ad by Comcast showing a young female employee of Comcast in the uniform of the United States Air Force with a broad smile on her face. This intrigued me. I then searched the internet for other photos of female service members and saw the one attached to this blog.

They are all extremely happy. Why? Why was I now extremely happy that I served? It baffled me before I realized that we are happy because we have all or are all doing something greater than ourselves. We are doing something that puts others first. It may be for only a short tour in the Corps, or some other branch; but the fact is we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the benefit of others.

This is probably one of the reasons that after my required midlife crisis I became a teacher and am happier than I have ever been. I am serving others; I am elated and gratified that I have a second chance to help others that need my special talents. As with the young military women in the photo, I am again putting others’ needs before my own needs.

This is one reason why I strongly support national service for our youth. It gives them a chance to put others first.

I can hear my son now. “But Dad, not everyone is cut out for the military.” I used to fight over this with him, but now I say that it does not necessarily have to be the military. My sister served with Vista in her youth, serving those who needed her special.

So, I look at these happy servicewomen, sometimes wishing I had been able to stay in the Corps. I realize that I did love the time I served as a young Marine. But I now love my time as a college professor. When I finally do retire; and I have tried it unsuccessfully twice; I guess I love putting others first. I hope to fondly look back at my life and be happy that I put others before myself.

Black girl

Josh White made a Negro spiritual famous in the 1950s called “Black Girl.” Being a folk guitarist at that point, I loved the song and pretended I was a white Josh White; I may have been 19 at the time. Since then, I have had millions of tons of water pass under my bridge of life. I no longer play the guitar, due to nerve damage in my fingers. My interests now include teaching, still, and writing; I, of course, people watch. I do this to enhance my writing with interesting characters.

This morning, Linda, my wife of 49+ years, and I had a bite to eat in the lounge at the Virginia Beach North Hampton hotel. The attendant’s name is Linda (we remember this wonderful African-American woman from past visits); she is a ray of sunshine; just what people need as they grab a quick bite rushing to work on a cloudy morning, or gathering the family on the way to the aquarium for the morning. At one point a family of four entered and the boy of about three raced over to give Linda a big hug. It is beautiful the way the innocence of a child knows no bounds. This young white boy followed Linda around and helped her clear the tables. After a while, Linda excorted the lad back to his family; he was sporting a dollar in his hands. The family objected, and LInda stuck out her left hip and said, “This is my lounge, and what I say goes.” So there!

People watching is such a great thing to do; we learn so much from others.

After a while a young, late-twentyish, black women entered with her three-year-old daughter. The mother parked her in a chair and went to get breakfast for both. Internally, I began to cry. Here, I was looking at innocense personified. A three-year-old girl is the ideal of innocense and purity. While watching this young black girl, I prayed that when she was as old as her mother, she would not face the same gender and racial biases that her other has been subjectd to. I know this is a dream; but if our culture continues to mature, it may be possible. In either case, I pray that this girl’s mother raises her to be a strong outspoken woman; the world will need her to be. As with my very successful, white daughter, who has struggled in her role with a large corporation, I pray that this girl will rise to be a vice president, or even president. As my Muslim friends say, Alhamdulillah, Praise be to God.

Death, or, Life?

I am not a lawyer, nor am I a theologian; I do however, possess at Masters’ Degree in History and a Doctorate Degree in Literature. I usually do not like to force my opinion on others, be these opinions, social, political, or religious. Nevertheless, this must change.

I am, from the roots of my existence, against the death penalty. There, I said it. The death penalty is wrong, and, we all know this to be fact. Whether we are a Christian, a Jew, or a Muslim, there are ten commandments that we all follow. The sixth commandment says “Thou shall not kill.” Or in modern terminology, “Thou shall not commit murder.” If we are a Christian, we also follow Jesus’ second commandment, which says,” Love your neighbor as yourself.” This immediately follows, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Which of these three commandments allows the death penalty? Murder is wrong, whether it is done by an individual, or done by the state. Taking another’s life is against the commandments of God. There are very few of us who would commit murder on our own. It is against the very fiber of our being. We were raised as good Christians, Jews, or Muslims to respect the lives of others and not murder.

If this is true, there is no reason to allow others to commit murder in our name. If we are not will to inject a person with the life-ending fluids yourself, then we have no right to ask others to do this for us.

Let’s assume the worst: our son is brutally murdered by an evil person. This person is put on trial, convicted of murder, and sentenced to death. Fifteen years later, after thousands of hours and millions of dollars are spent on legal hurdles to state-sponsored murder, this man is executed by the state.

We can safely assume that this murder has not brought our son back to life; it has also not made us feel any better, just because this evil person is now dead. The only thing that has occurred is that we have created another parent grieving for a murdered son. This parent shares the same fate as we do; our sons have been murdered by a force beyond our control.

Now to return to religion: Jesus was murdered by the state, and every week, during the celebration of the Eucharist, we remember the horrible death that Jesus suffered. We praise his memory. I seriously doubt that Jesus, if he were walking the earth today, would be in favor of another state-sanctioned murder.

If we agree that murder is wrong, then we must stop the state from creating other murderers; that is what those doing the actual executions are: murderers. Furthermore, if we continue to allow this to happen, then we are also as guilty of murder as those sanctioned to execute these men or women on death row.

Can’t we stop the killing?

How pleasant it would be if every moment of life was an expression of God’s Love, an opportunity to experience the truthfulness of the Divine. All of us are aware God’s presence as we watch a magnificent sunrise, or sunset, hear beautiful music, or watch baby birds growing in a nest outside our kitchen window.  How fortunate we are to be able to experience this magnificent godly love.

 Our thoughts need to be deeper than just a magnificent sunrise. As Marie Howe expresses in her poem The Map, “The failure of love might account for most of the suffering in the world.” This must include all suffering that we as children of God must address, or we do not deserve to call ourselves Christians, or Muslims, or Jews. In all our holy books, the call for love from God is strong; the call to welcome the stranger is a commandment.

 Instead, we reject the stranger. Lindsay Hardin Freeman says the following in her novel Bible Women: “Fleeing one’s home in time of war is a heartbreaking last resort. Victims don’t leave for trivial reasons—because the price of food is too high. They run for their lives, in poverty, often alone, always in the shadows of death and destruction.”

 These are truly victims of war; they are running for their lives. Can we honestly reject these people because they look different from us, call God by a different name, or speak a different language? If we are truly people of faith, we must reach out our hands to provide homes and comfort for these fellow sojourners. To do less is to violate Jesus’ second commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.

 Dr. Russell Carter

November 1, 2016