Sunday, March 31, 2013

Just For Today...And All Our Todays

Luke 24:34: "...He is risen indeed..."

Happy Easter.

I study Reiki through the lineage of Dr. Mikao Usui. One of the delights of this study is the mantra Dr. Usui asks that we repeat each morning:

"Just for today, do not worry
 Just for today, do not anger
 Honor your parents, teachers and elders
 Earn your living honestly
 Show gratitude to everything."

This is, of course the same mantra I use to honor Christ; I share this mantra with you on this holy day. 

Because of his sacrifice, just for today (and all of my todays) we need not worry; we need not anger. 

To honor the commandments sent by our Father, we honor our parents, our teachers, and our elders.

To honor all that we are as children of God, we earn our livings honestly.

Because Jesus loves us beyond human comprehension, we show gratitude to everything.

He is risen indeed...what a wonderful day to share in the blessings we all have received.

Peace be with you, for today and for all our todays.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Loop

Readings: Proverbs 8: 1-10

Our world, our country, our towns, our neighborhoods, our personal lives seem to be on a loop these days. We know what we need to do, what we should do, yet do we do it?

Nope.

Why?

No idea.

Life could be so simple...yet, for some weird reason, we make it anything but.

Wisdom...the central idea, word, philosophy of the Book of Proverbs. 

"Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand; beside the gates leading into the city, at the entrances  she cries aloud: 'To you, O men, I call out; I raise my voice to all mankind. You who are simple, gain prudence; you who are foolish, gain understanding. Listen, for I have worthy things to say; I open my lips to speak what is right. My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness. All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold'" (1-10).

I truly believe that the vast majority of us start out each morning with these words in mind--that we will follow them and choose wisdom. But then life gets in the way. By the end of the day, we're beaten and tired and realize we've done little in the pursuit of "our call to wisdom". We've fallen into the same old loop...working our tails off for lots of wants and few needs only to be let down after the initial excitement quickly wears off, not having the time to really enjoy life and the company of others. We start off the week--much like we start off each passing new year--this time we're going to live uncomplicated lives, take care of ourselves and of one another...living the command to love others as we love ourselves. Most of all, we'll put God in spot #1 in our lives, above all others and all things.

And then our good intentions fall far short...we're back in the loop. It's not a happy place to be. Stress, frustration, anger, confusion. No actual peace, no feeling of prudence, no true understanding. 

Let's all work together this week to avoid the loop. I'll pray for you...you pray for me...and let's pray for the whole world while we're at it.

Peace be with you.

Monday, March 4, 2013

The List the Leads to Inner Peace

Readings: Proverbs 6:16-19

We all read magazines, books, newspaper articles, and websites that are composed of lists. I kind of like those articles--they are easy to read and comprehend with no excess of words to make the content murky. As in the reading from Proverbs today, the writers of these books of wisdom--from time to time--supply us with lists much like this particular one.

"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him:
haughty eyes
a lying tongue
hands that shed innocent blood
a heart that devises wicked schemes
feet that are quick to rush into evil
a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers"

These verses offer us excellent guidelines still today on our journey to be people of peace.

--haughty eyes show a proud heart: humility is our goal to live lives of true inner peace;

--a lying tongue, a heart that devises wicked schemes, a false witness who pours out lies: a heart that is hardened to peace will always be searching to make others feel/act like him. Just as dogs go from docile to vicious when packed together by an aggressive leader, so will humans when led by a person with a hardened heart. The hardened heart will stop at nothing to destroy those with inner peace...lies, false witness, scheming...Once these elements of hate disappear, the heart and soul once again gains inner peace and the torture ends;

--hands that shed innocent blood: a commandment for all time. Inner peace cannot be achieved when innocent blood is on one's hands;

--feet that are quick to rush into evil: beware the one with the lying tongue, the false witness...if our feet fall into the pathway of those who live to hurt others to gain an advantage, we too will find our hearts and souls getting farther and farther away from inner peace;

--and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers--this can be somewhat confusing when speaking of inner peace. Should we always go with the flow? This is not what we're being guided to do. We must always look to the right and the true. If we're following God's path, our hearts will continue to have inner peace and our souls will feel free. To assure us that we can follow that path, we follow Christ, our eternal guide.

During this time of Lent, we follow the footsteps of Christ and look inward to find our eternal inner peace of heart and soul. Following this list that is provided will aid us in finding a smoother path to this wondrous gift.

Peace be with you.