Monthly Archives: April 2013

April 20, 2013 · 9:04 am

Shall We Pray…..

I’ve been a pray-er for as long as I can remember.  As soon as I became aware that there was a power in charge and there was a possibility of a direct line to that power, I was all in.

Who I pray to and how I pray has taken different forms throughout the years depending on the spiritual practice I was involved in at the time.  I’ve gone from simple praying to a personal God figure for help to a more cerebral kind of praying to a scientific quantum level of connectedness.

Praying to myself seemed strange so I used the mantra “Om Namah Shivaya” during meditation which means  I honor the divinity within myself.  However, that also plays to the illusion of calling forth something for guidance and help that is hiding out someplace waiting for permission to show up.  Now that I’m drawn to nonduality…who am I praying to?

Even tho prayer is not a major part of my life like it once was, I still like the connectedness and need to stop analyzing it and just enjoy the silent conversation….with whatever it is….

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April 11, 2013 · 12:12 pm

Original Sin

I never understood the Christian idea of original sin and the concept that we are all sinners until I heard a theology professor interpret sin as simply a pulling away from God. Through our human conditioning, we perceive ourselves as separate individuals and lose touch with our connection to Oneness which causes suffering.

To use the much over-used metaphor of the wave and the ocean, we could say that when we are only aware of being the wave, that could be interpreted as living in sin.  When we are aware that we are the entire ocean perceiving ourselves as the wave, we are saved.

For the last few weeks I have not been able to do some of my regular spiritual practices or reading and find that I feel more like an isolated wave than the ocean.  Things don’t seem quite right.  I’m aware that my thinking is different, my body feels more tense, my mind works overtime and my peace is fading.

Does it take constant vigilance and effort to ride the wave and enjoy the ride?  At some point shouldn’t the ride become effortless?

The definition of sin is a transgression or violation of divine law.  The story goes that we are all born with original sin, there is no escape unless we receive the holy spirit (or whatever the tide-turning event may be).

As a seeker I guess I have been looking for the holy spirit in one form or another….calling it many names.  Maybe the answer is just to accept that the nature of a wave is to appear to be separate from the ocean on the surface….underneath there is no difference.

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April 5, 2013 · 9:26 am

Spiritual Hypocrisy

Sometimes I feel like such a hypocrite. I see myself as a spiritual person, a seeker possessing some clarity and think I have life in perspective.  All this is easy and flowing when my life is easy and flowing. It’s when life brings me difficult situations that I pull out all of the tricks in my “awareness/enlightenment bag”.

I’m in a difficult situation now caring for a parent and all thoughts unpleasant are arising from the past. I want to be the spiritual me and see the situation as growth, a challenge, opportunity, practice, learning compassion, staying with the here and now, integrating the past, acceptance, what is.  All the words and concepts help when I’m away from the situation but when I am immersed in it….they are not to be found. Emotions are set in the default mode and don’t respond to reason.

During these times I want to whip out my bag of tricks to help get to a place of peace and clarity.  I need to meditate, I need to do more yoga, I need to drink alkaline water, I need to eat more organic foods, I need to stay in the here and now, the past does not define me….anything to help.

Maybe the conditionings of the past will never leave…maybe this is who I really am…and the spiritual me is the illusion.  These are the thoughts that scare me the most.

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