Meditating to Heal

You can’t force the heart to love, or for that matter, even to care about others. It is a wonder how often we try, how often our friends are critical when we seem complacent or worse, to ignore, those around us. Unfortunately, for us, compassion is something that we must learn.

What a terrible way to begin a blog, or a thought, especially one that others will read. Let me explain. Linda and I are sitting watching old reruns of the original HBO special Sex and the City. Funny! Shocking at times! Open!

We cannot force ourselves to fall in love. I remember when dating, there were times I thought I was in love, only to have misjudged not only me, but my date. Don’t get me wrong: I only proposed to one woman, and she accepted. That was over 50 years ago, and we are still living a life of true love.

Let me tell you a true story. We dated for a while back in high school, but it was not successful. While still in college, Linda was dating my best friend, Tom. Tom and Linda introduced me to a friend of hers in college, Nancy. Nancy and I were both fun lovers who dated, but never really hit it off; it was just one fun date after another, full of laughs. On one double date, I was arguing with Nancy, and Tom was arguing with Linda. Someone (I think it was Tom) suggested that we switch, just for that evening. It seemed like a great solution for the problems of that evening. To make a long story, short, I married Linda, and Tom and Nancy also married a year later. That was 50 years ago. We have given our hearts to our soul mates, forever.

But what about compassion. I said that we must learn compassion. I first wrote, but changed it: Compassion is something that we must earn. That sounded so right . . . originally. We don’t have to earn compassion; it is given to us freely by God. We just have to learn how to accept it, and how to feel it. We learn how to accept this gift from God, by giving it away. When we meet a person, or a family, who is going through hard times, we must be able to offer something, even if something is just understanding and consideration. We also can pray for those who are in desperate need for God’s love. We must learn to do automatically. Without thinking! This must be an immediate response.

We do, however, have to open our souls to allow God to enter our very beings to accept His compassion and learn to give it away. This is not as easy as it seems. Learning compassion is a slow process that we absorb almost like osmosis. It must seep into our very nature and develop it voice, the voice of God, within us. It has to become a core part of our being. If it is not, it will seem dishonest, and the people who need it will see the falseness behind our words and actions.

Just as God brings two people together to form a permanent bond of love, He also brings people into our lives who are in need of his Love and Compassion. We share this compassion because we all are his children.

Recently, Donald Trump received quite a bit of criticism from the progressives, of which I include myself, because he was shown receiving a laying on of hands by conservative Christians. This criticism is unwanted, even by liberals, as myself.

Laying on of hands is a very serious ceremony, done by people all over the world.

Sue Monk Kidd tells a story about when she was a nurse and entered a dying man’s room; unable to say anything, she just sat with him and laid her hand on his shoulder. He thanked her for that healing touch. He needed human contact at that moment.

I have been the recipient of a laying on of hands twice in my life. When my wife and I moved from New Jersey to Virginia, the minister at our church in Summit called us to the front of the church to recognize our thirty years of service to the church and then asked the entire congregation to engulf us and lay as many hands on us as was physically possible. I have no idea how many hands were on me, but the feeling that entered my body was something I had never felt previously. I was so moved, that tears filled my eyes. And that is not easy to say, me being a former Marine.

The second time came as a surprise also. We were in Virginia and I had signed on with a wonderful woman, who was my physical trainer at our local gym. After working with me for about a year, she planned this with my wife. We joined her at a healing service at a local church. She told my story, and those present surrounded me and prayed over me in a laying-on-of-hands ceremony. I was very moved, but it being a surprise, I really could not relax enough with strangers to realize the full impact of the service.

I am presently a prayer minister at our church in Fredericksburg. During communion, I sit in a secluded corner and any of my fellow parishioners, who need an additional individual prayer, will come and share his or her need with me. After listening carefully, I ask permission to lay my hand on a shoulder and proceed to offer an intercessory prayer, done with my hand placed gently on a shoulder. Having been a recipient of this prayer corner, myself, I know how comforting and reassuring this is.

In all instances, we are only doing what Jesus did in most of the healing stories in the New Testament. He laid his hands on the person, and immediately this ill person was cured. I am not saying that our present ceremonies will heal as Jesus did, but with our prayers, we are offering our care receiver to God with the hope that a healing touch will help healing proceed.

One more example: I am a hugger; I believe that a proper greeting for friends is a hug, regardless of the gender. I hug many men in my life. This human contact establishes a strong relationship between people. I believe that these hugs are replicas of the laying on of hands. Hugs and similar practices reassure people that they are loved for themselves, no matter who they are – – – even Donald Trump.

We traveled by bus from Lake Louise to Jasper in the Canadian Rockies. The bus ride included stops to see various examples of God’s beautiful creation, the earth we live on. We awoke Saturday morning to rain; looking out, Linda noticed the birds that were in the corners adjacent to our back door. It was one of the most beautiful and serene sights at the Fairmont Park Lodge. I could have spent the whole day just staring at this wonder of nature; knowing I couldn’t, I took many photos as shown above.

One of the nice things about our three weeks in Alaska and Canada was the fact that we stopped thinking about what was happening in Fredericksburg. It took three or four days, but by the time we rode the wilderness bus in Denali National Park, seeing Grizzly Bears, Dall Sheep, Caribou, Elk, Moose, and of course our American Eagles, we were living our vacation. All thoughts of Fredericksburg and our duties at St. George’s Episcopal Church had left our consciousness. We were living our vacation.

Most of us do not take enough time to live in the present time. We are always worrying about what we left undone; and how things are going without our being there to help; and what kind of mess or confusion will we find when we return home.

We learned that things went just fine while we were away. The fact that we were not texting; not emailing; not even thinking about our duties, meant that we were truly living in the present time. Richard Rohr and Eckhart Tolle speaks of this as living in the now.

We do miss a lot by not living in the present. My wife and I try to walk every morning; yes, we talk about what we will do the rest of the day, but we also talk with neighbors, wave to others driving by, notice the eagles and hawks floating in the air. We also see what others are doing in their gardens, or new construction on houses in the neighborhood. We also notice the local swim team training at the community pool. This is living in the now, living in the present.

We just purchased a new patio set; now I can sit in our back yard that was designed to attract birds (and squirrels); we have many feeders and a constantly running fountain, all designed to attract God’s creatures. If all works well, I can sit there reading, or writing, and watch the birds land on each of the feeders, drink from the water, and squabble over the seed on the ground. This worked when I was writing my dissertation on our patio in New Jersey, so I pray that this will repeat.

If this does, I will take the time just to watch and listen to the wonders of God’s creation that we have in our very own back yard.

Life is good!.

 

It was from the top of Pikes Peak where Katherine Lee Bates wrote the prayer “America” in 1893 that was so loved by Americans that it was put to music by Samuel A. Ward in 1910. The name eventually became America the Beautiful.

I offer this as a tribute to the United States on this 241st birthday.

 AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America!  America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America!  America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America!  America!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

 

                        New Days to Remember

July 2, 2017: a beautiful sunny morning with wispy white clouds floating gently in a serene breeze. Hawks and turkey vultures using the air currents and updrafts to effortlessly search for hidden prey. A new promise in a new day.

We must try to keep this spirit alive in us through this holiday weekend. We must ignore all the negativity on the news channels and in the newspapers. This national holiday celebrates the birth of our nation, the day that representatives from all the former English colonies finally agreed to compromise, swallowing their acute objections to create a new idea with a new nation. This nation was not easy to create; it took much arguing, threatening, and compromise to succeed. Over the course of our history, there have been many contentious times. Arguments billowed over into sometimes physical fights on the floor of congress.

Times are no different today. We are still arguing over whose ideas are best to run the country. We have a love-hate relationship with our elected leaders, which is a healthy place to be. Our leaders and our free press push their ideas down our throats, expecting us to believe everything that is put in front of us.

But, you know what? We succeed. We are successful in driving our nation forward to something that, with compromise, is better for the people. Sometimes this takes years, but it always comes about.

So, when we criticize others, be considerate; things will change.

I know that this is not Veterans Day, or Memorial Day; but it is a time to remember that our independence did not come cheaply. Many men and women have sacrificed their lives to bring us where we are today. These heroes were Republicans, Democrats, Blacks, Whites, Native Americans, Asian Americans, gay, straight, scared, and brave. All types of humans died to bring us where we are.

Those of us who wore our country’s uniforms, or were married to, or raised by these men and women, understand this. Those who did not must allow a little empathy and understanding to enter their thinking to realize that our country is great, because we the people, the former military, the educators, the mine workers, the salesmen, the truck drivers, all Americans make this country great. We work at it; we sweat to bring this about. You are these great Americans.

So, my friends. Let’s think about this as we celebrate with hotdogs and hamburgers, coleslaw and potato salad, and my all-time favorite, corn-on-the-cob, none of which were invented by us, but were brought here by the immigrants whose families have helped make us a great nation.

God, please continue to bless America.

With all of the shootings we have had this past week, I am confronted by a stark reality that is discomforting. According to the news, none of the shootings were terrorist shootings, and none of these shooting was done by a Muslim; they were committed by mentally challenged people. It seems that only Muslims can shoot with terrorism in mind. I apologize to my conservative friends, but any shooting that causes loss of life or serious wounding is terror.

I decided to search for Jesus in the Qu’ran. Not being that familiar with this holy book, I examined other literature and found a book written by Zeki Saritoprak, called Islam’s Jesus. According to Saritoprak, Jesus is truthful . . .always. According to Islam, Jesus is one of the most important prophets of God, who was born of the virgin Mary, without a father. Jesus was a healer and a miracle worker, but was not God, nor was he the son of God. Two interesting examples are that Jesus speaks from the cradle and creates a real bird by blowing into a toy, clay model.

So, what does this mean in today’s world? Too many people, not much; but, to some of us, we can accept that our Muslim brothers and sisters recognize the important of Jesus and the effect he has had on society. However, we must listen to our brothers and accept how they also believe in Jesus.

I believe this is so. Therefore, we cannot accept that all shootings done my Muslims are terrorist-driven. And all shootings done by Christians are done by mentally deranged individuals. All shootings create terror, and all shootings that take lives are done by mentally deranged individuals.

 

Who are you? Who are we? Who am I?

Three relatively simple questions that all of us can answer. You are . . .; I am Russell Kendall Carter; we are coworkers, family, friends, lovers. All very interesting relationships.

You are someone whom I met in elementary school, and we have been friends for years. I know just about everything about you.

We are coworkers; our group has been together for fifteen years. We work, bitch and moan together, retreat together. And some of us have good outside-of-work, friendly relationships. Our spouses and children also are friends. I am just a simple college professor, aiding my students in their preparations to face the real, cruel world.

It’s as simple as that. WRONG!! – Each one of these relationships is very complex, changing day by day, causing us joy, then grief, then joy . . .

We are individuals with our own unique problems, needs, and desires. We are unique in everyone’s eyes. We are complex individuals, trying to cope with the madness of the world around us. I must tend to my needs before I can even think about helping others. Me and my family are the most important things in my life.

Sound familiar? It should; I hear this every day; from my friends and family, from my ministers, from my students, and from my fellow professors.

We live in a society that insists that the only path to take is one that leads up; up to where? Making it to the top of the heap; what heap? Fame is fleeting, and lasts only minutes; fifteen minutes of fame, then an abrupt drop.

What if we take the time to share ourselves, our true selves, with others, and then we allow them to share their true selves with us. Are we then challenged to step on them on the way to the top? It is very difficult.

In the 1970s, President Jimmy Carter invited the leaders of Israel and Egypt to come to Camp David to show each other pictures of their grandchildren; they did and a delicate peace was declared that lasted until these two leaders either died or were voted out of office. They recognized that they were not enemies, but proud grandfathers.

Can we do the same in our lives? Can we recognize others and people and not obstacles to defeat? We need not fear others; we need to see others as ourselves.

 

 

 

Words and Communion with Others

Words can hurt; words can heal. It is our choice to use the words that heal. By doing less is to go against the norms of traditional society. In the United States, and around the world, we are trained to strike back when something we do not like occurs.

How different would life be if we stopped to think how our reaction affects others – and ourselves.

If we ignore the training that our parents, our teachers, and our coaches have instilled in us, if we lower the me-first instinct that has been instilled in our very essence by our mentors, perhaps we can look at others as equals, not as competitors.

These mentors do not mean to harm us; they are doing what society expects of them and of us.

If we do not respect others, we cannot look at them as people, only objectives to be overcome. For years, I try to have the students in my literature and writing classes to form study teams. I coach them in the advantages that study teams give all students. I stress that we cannot learn in a vacuum. We can only truly learn by sharing.

In studying for my doctorate in literature, I learned how to write properly, taking courses in dissertation writing, poetry writing, short story writing, and novel writing. I was very successful in all courses. Saying this, I truly did not understand how to write until I began teaching it to others. By sharing my knowledge, I had to be as expert as possible.

This holds true for team study also; when we share what we learned with others, we become more expert, and when others share what they learned, they become experts.

Only by seeing each other as equals can we truly share our lives and become better teachers, accounts, lawyers, and yes, even politicians. When we respect others for theirs views and needs, we become a better society.

Words in communion with others uplift everyone.

An enjoyable time on public transit.

For the last two days of our anniversary vacation, Linda and I have traveled by the public bus routes throughout much of Vancouver. This has been a truly wonderful experience. For $1.75 per person, we were able to travel to any area in the greater Vancouver area. These busses were driven by electric overhead wires; all electric, which adds to Vancouver’s desire to be the most green city in the world by 2020.

On Tuesday, June 13, we travelled to the Vancouver Aquarium. This is not my favorite activity, but it is ranked as one of the highlights of Vancouver. As aquariums go, it was a nice experience. The aquarium was filled with people, many school groups, and a service staff that is very pleasant. The aquarium itself was very clean in all areas, including the restrooms and the food courts. Some of the students, especially the boys, were sometimes loud and boisterous, but were respectful of others, meaning they did not obstruct anyone from viewing nature’s beauty.

On Wednesday, we traveled to the University of British Columbia to visit the Museum of Anthropology. This was absolutely fantastic, showing art, tools, and clothing from the many cultures of the indigenous peoples of the world. This was one museum that I truly enjoyed; I could have stayed much longer than we did. We missed the connecting bus to bring us to the city hub just outside the campus. Rather than wait a half hour for the next, we decided to walk through the campus to the hub; about a 20-minute walk.

We wondered at the diversity of the University and the obvious impact of the types of natural sciences the school offers. I was very thrilled by the diversity of the students. They represented all colors, all nationalities, and all age groups; and, they interacted beautifully; there was a feeling of close congeniality.  Although, they did seem to stick with their ethnicities.

On the bus ride returning to our hotel area, there were a group of eight high school girls who were with us on the bus. These were the typical and universal mid-teen girls; they were dressed in skin-tight genes, purchased with many holes in the knees and legs. They all had lots of silver (braces) in their mouths; and they giggled and closed ranks with whispered secrets that brought on more giggling. It was an interesting bus trip. However, they all displayed a delightful respect for elders. Every time an elderly person entered the bus, they gave up their seats so that the person could be seated, rather than be forced to stand. Watching the respect these students showed their elders was impressive and a delight to see. I am ashamed to admit that the students I see in the United States are too spoiled to offer the same respect to their elders.

The parents, teachers, and other mentors are to be congratulated for a proper upbringing of these students. I pray that we can do the same.

As I am watching the scenery pass by my train window upon leaving Kamloops, British Columbia I am truly amazed at the regal nature that God has given us, if we take the time to really look to appreciate it. Smooth-as-glass lakes sometimes appear as perfect ice skating rinks. These glacial lakes are fed by rivers that are, many times, torrents of water propelled by the snow melts from the mountains.

The wonder of the rapids of the river and the smoothness of the lakes never ceases to amaze me. I was born and raised as an inner-city denizen whose experience with nature was the urban rat; not a regal animal. Even when moved to the suburbs in my early teens, I rarely, if ever, really experienced the beauty of God’s pristine valleys and highlands.

My wife and I are celebrating our 50^th wedding anniversary this summer and decided to celebrate it early by flying to Alaska for a cruise, then enjoy a ten-day train ride through the Canadian Rockies. This is a 23- day forced relaxation for both of us, a most unusual event. We have never taken a vacation longer than a week, usually only a three-day getaway.

My passion has always been to photograph the birds and jets that pass by our hotel patio at Virginia Beach, or the birds, deer and sheep in our rare visits to Skyline Drive in Virginia.

I am always most satisfied with these minor pauses in our daily routines, routines that are not full-time jobs, but full-time volunteer assignments for my wife and part-time teaching and full-time spiritually shared prayer with my fellow congregants. This 23-day tour of Alaska and Canada has convinced me that by not taking the time to appreciate the beauty of God’s Earth, I am short-changing myself by working at my chosen trades so much that I do not take the time to both appreciate and glorify the grandness of God’s world.

I am disappointed and appalled at the lack of compassion for the Earth that our political leaders have. Mankind has been raping the Earth of its natural wonder with little regard for future generations. Small mindedness and lack of foresight leads us down the path of assured final destruction, due to a lack of all natural or man-made necessities, such as food and clothing. We are all concerned with the life of our grandchildren, but how many of us are truly concerned with the life of our grandchildren’s grandchildren? We will never know them, so why must we think if them? Who cares . . . but, who should care?

That is a very difficult question to ask. All too often we take the stand that basically goes like this: “I have worked all my life and it is time to enjoy the fruits of my labor.” I agree; but let’s not destroy what we have without concern for our future generations. We do not have to consume it all. We do not have to ignore expanded technology that will alleviate our passion of destroying or raping Earth.