Vary Your Diet

Reading: Jeremiah 23:23-24 "Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord,  “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord.  “Do not I fill heaven and earth?”declares the Lord.

We all have been told since we were kids that we should vary our diets. It's actually no healthier to eat only carrots every meal of the day everyday than it is to eat only a hamburger every meal of the day everyday. Besides, it's boring and we'd eventually just get tired of the whole idea of eating and keeping up our health.

I'm kind of this way in my spiritual path when it comes to religions. As a kid growing up, I was raised in one church and that was great--it gave me some really strong roots that have and will continue to guide me throughout life. When I became a teenager and started being with other kids more independent of parents, we had a little singing youth group that would go around to different churches to perform. We were made up of several different churches in our area. No one in our group was concerned that we were all coming from different religious backgrounds; in fact, it was pretty fascinating. Once I started college, my expanse widened. One of my good buddies was Jewish and he took me to his synagogue's Rosh Hashanah services--beautiful and interesting. At that time I was also friends with several Catholics and ended up with them at a mass more than once--beautiful and interesting as well. 

Now, well immersed into my "middle ages", my spiritual path has broadened from my early roots. It is remarkable to me how lives over thousands of years have molded into the various religious groups of today. On a somewhat related note, I also now love to cook. I especially enjoying cooking foods from different regions of the world; I enjoy how food is tied to peoples' history and their spiritual faiths and religions.

My mom taught me a long time ago that it's all about God--not about any specific rules or regulations that groups of people come up with. And like her, I believe that God is everywhere; even in the food we eat and in the ways we prepare it. 

Don't ever let your diet go stale. If you ever start feeling that you are less interested in your spiritual life because of something your particular church is or isn't doing, vary your diet a little. Because, as Kent M. Keith wrote in his Paradoxical Commandments: "You see, in the final analysis, it is all between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway".

Peace be with you.

Setting the Monkey (Mind) Free

Reading: Romans 12:2 "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

The topic of "monkey mind" has come up several times in reflexology sessions this past couple of weeks. I've read in several different books on meditation that "monkey mind" is what happens to us when we just can't turn off our thoughts at the end of the day or during any time we set aside for relaxation. Those who practice intense meditation work for long periods of time to free the monkey from the mind. It can be done, but those monkeys are a stubborn lot!

Continuous thoughts can fill up our heads, day and night, day in and day out. Ever go to sleep at night only to wake up with a start that you'd forgotten something earlier in the day or needed to remember something for tomorrow? Psychologists and numerous magazine article authors advise us to get up and write these things down; better yet, they say, keep a pad of paper and a pen by the bed to write down all these random thoughts that come about. Talk about "conformed to the world". Yikes.

All religions talk about becoming more spiritually in tune; Christianity has a very useful guideline as well; the reading from Romans 12:2 is a nice example and incredibly useful to us. Our need to conform to the world doesn't allow us the renewal of our minds--and a renewal of our minds is vital to living a full life. The monkey represents all that is of this materialistic and limited world, and, more often than not, it's on a rampage of some sort. Have trouble getting to sleep? Staying asleep? Staying focused during the day? The monkey is present. And let's face it--a mind full of monkey is never a good thing.

 Renewal of the mind comes from the ability to meditate throughout the day as well as enjoying restorative sleep at night. We don't get either of these as long as we limit our minds to the mundane. We need to remember at all times that we are spiritual bodies on a journey--this truly isn't all there is. When we limit ourselves to this small way of thinking, our problems seem bigger and many times insurmountable. And the monkey runs rampant.

We can, however, quiet the maddening monkey in our heads. Wayne Dyer, in his book There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem writes, "I simply do not know how to resolve this situation and I am turning it over to the same force that I turn my physical body over to every night when I go to sleep." Acknowledgement is the first step. If we can admit with conviction that our small, limited thinking of I can handle this on my own (aka ego) will not still the monkey but will only feed it, then we can open up our lives and our minds to a daily spiritual walk with God. It is the infinite power of God that will set the monkey (mind) free...and we will once again sleep and go throughout our days with great restoration of our minds and our bodies.

Peace be with you.

Want? Need? What's the Difference?

Readings:
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
2 Timothy 3:1-4 "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God." 

We've all been there...the little kiddo in the store in the midst of a meltdown, the parent nose-to-nose with the little guy or gal asking above the wailing, "What do you want?" And, usually, the child can't answer...and the wailing gets a bit louder.

More than likely the little person can't answer because, frankly, the little person doesn't know what he/she wants. It's all too overwhelming. Too many choices...too much stimulus from all the "stuff" in the big, giant store. It's frustrating and, in little person terms, this equates a meltdown.

We're not much different these days, it seems. So many meltdowns all around us--locally, on a national scale, on a world-wide scale. It seems that we have so much of what we "want" that we've begun to overlook what we "need".

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a tried-and-true theory triangle that shows that we humans, in order to become better at being truly good humans, need certain things. We need shelter, we need food, we need safety. Once we have these, we can move up a ladder of sorts into being able to distinguish wants from needs. In today's society, we are beginning to invert the triangle. We're bent to getting our wants met with immediacy. We want to have the nicest car, the best vacation, the easiest lives, etc. We're pretty good at wants. Herein lays the problem...we have, many times, what we want, but it's coming at the sacrifice of what we need. We want nice things, so we work crazy hours of the day, we max out credit cards, we burn out, and then we wonder why we're still not happy. We've forgotten to first take care of our needs. We need to have good food in our bodies--not junk. We need to have good food for our souls--God's word and time for meditation. We need to have safety in our lives--not compiling so much that we need to barricade ourselves in with our "stuff". We need to be able to sleep at night--not lie awake at night worrying about our over-spending and our over-indulgences. And we need to care for one another--not being self-centered with our time, possessions, and our patience. When we once again meet our true needs, our wants will fall into our lives more neatly and more orderly.

Want? Need? What's the difference? There's a big difference, indeed. We need to make the triangle point the right direction once again. The easiest and quickest way to do this is right at our doorstep...love one another, help one another, and, above all else, love God.

Peace be with you.

Clutter, Clutter Everywhere

Reading: Matthew 6:19-21    
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
I woke up this morning thinking about clutter--rather the temporary disposal of it. By temporary, I mean removing it from view.

I'm just not a fan of clutter. I think it has something to do with claustrophobia; I don't like tight spaces and a bunch of clutter gives me the same feeling as being in a too tight spot.

So, this morning, after a fruitful weekend of cleaning and hauling various treasures and trash to the Goodwill and the dumpster, I woke up thinking about how to take on the next batch of clutter.

How or why do we accumulate so much stuff? I have no clue.

When I was younger, I tended to be much more cluttered--just ask my mom. My bedroom was cluttered to say the least. I didn't throw much away; it all held some fun memory, so I thought I needed to keep it. Happily, as my mom predicted, I passed through that teen-age phase of hanging on to anything and everything and got pretty much clutter-free. Nevertheless, living in the same house for 20+ years tends to invite clutter, no matter how vigilant we are. So, every once in awhile, I take on the role of anti-clutter ninja and clutter becomes enemy #1.

The reading today tells us to not get too carried away with these earthly "treasures". And it's right--they do tend to rust, break down, and lose their initial enticement. It's that temptation to buy more, more, and more rather than help a neighbor--near or far away--with our limited resources that gets us in hot water. "For where your treasure is, there you heart will be also."

So, the next time I'm out and about and I'm thinking that whatever it is I'm looking at would be just great at our house, I'm going to do my best to remember today's reading. Uncluttered home--uncluttered mind. Sounds great!

Peace be with you.

OUR Father...

Readings: Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:1-4

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. Traditionally, this is the day of bad ties, naps in the hammock, and adoration. Dad is in the spotlight...as a dad should be. It's not an easy job. What, keeping up with kids' schedules, daily work duties, fix-its around the house, etc...it's not for the weak.

Now, for a moment, think of OUR Father...who is in heaven.

He, too, has some kids to keep up with--frankly, the whole WORLD. And his kids are some doozies! We're enough to wear anyone out--thank God He IS our Father.

Repairs needed around the house? Look at what we've done to our "house"...this poor planet has been pummeled, polluted, and roughed up to the nth degree. We're not very good kids when it comes to keeping our house in a neater state then when we found it.

Bad gift? A tie can't hold a candle to the lousy gifts we've given OUR Father. Although we know what's right and what's wrong, we still don't do a very good job with honesty, we don't treat our "siblings" as we'd like to be treated, we don't share our toys, and we don't do a very good job of keeping in touch with Him. In short...we're kind of weak in the faithful kids department.

Dads in general don't get much extra rest--those occasional naps on the couch or a hammock or a special "sleep in" time some morning can be pretty nice, but we all know they're pretty rare. Now just think of OUR Father--it's only 24/7/365 that someone needs Him and is calling His name for comfort, assistance, or rescue. No hammocks in His world.

So, on this Fathers Day, when Fathers are honored in person or in memory, let's remember OUR Father who is in heaven and keep His name hallowed.

Peace be with you.

"It Was Never Between Them and You"

Reading: Deuteronomy 15:10--"Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to" (NIV).

We generally have a tendency to be concerned with what those around us think of us. We start hearing this as kids and it embeds itself in our minds and in our actions throughout our lives. We want to be accepted by others--it's human nature. All is fine with this, until it starts infringing upon our need to be, first and foremost, concerning ourselves with God's will.

Mother Teresa, one of the most loving and giving of God's servants in modern times, is quoted as saying the following:

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 

How exhausting it is to try and keep unreasonable and self-centered people happy? How many hours have each of us spent thus far in our lives trying to accomplish the impossible by making truly unhappy people happy? How about from now on that we do as Mother Teresa suggests and forgive them for being as they are rather than falling into the trap of becoming unreasonable and self-centered ourselves?

While living our lives simply and practicing active kindness, we occasionally find ourselves being accused of having ulterior motives. We are caught by surprise. Upon further examination, the accusation against us of practicing something less than pure kindness may have little to do with our gestures and much to do with the soul of the accuser. Our true test--are we being true in the eyes of God? If so, all is well.

We've all been cheated, one way or another, in our lives. Our feelings are greatly hurt when we know we've been honest; how could someone do this to us? And when a friend or relative is the one doing the cheating, the hurt is all the deeper. Our consolation? God knows. We don't need to point out all the errors. We can, however, pray for those who find honesty a difficult task.

When something really nice happens to us, we might find ourselves floating along in a mood where the sun seems to be shining just a bit brighter and the birds are singing just a bit more on key. We catch ourselves smiling--what a great feeling. And then, out of nowhere, comes a cutting remark or an arrow of ill-will shot in our direction. What happened? Why do people need to bring us down from our happiness? It could very well be jealousy--nothing more. It's a truly "human" nature. Don't let it spoil your moment...it's not between you and them anyway, remember?

I once had a professor that asked the class how important we thought we all were. We weren't sure how to answer. He further suggested that to see just how important we were we should take a bucket, fill it with water, dunk our hand in it, swirl around liberally, and then remove it to see how big of a hole we left. Yep...it's the same with the good gesture we perform for others. It can quickly be forgotten by the recipient. It's the chance we take in being benevolent. We should, however, look for every opportunity to help one another. I do believe it makes God smile.

We work and work, practice kindness, give our best...and people continually ask for more. It's okay--truly it is.

When we work as a hand of God, we will naturally give without ceasing, practice kindness on a daily basis, act honestly, and accept the fact that we will probably never meet the needs and wants of our fellow men and women. And, at the end of the day, it's all okay.

"For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Psalm 4:8--"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe" (NLT)

  "Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

If I should die before I wake,

I pray the Lord my soul to take."--New England Primer

Sleep...elusive sleep. That simple, wonderful restorer of life is becoming more and more rare in our society. As a result, more diseases are attacking more people of all ages. Bodies are unable to successfully perform and keep themselves in good health when such a large part of restorative health is missing.

Simply put, we surely need our sleep.

Kathy Gruver, PhD., writes in an article entitled "The Disruptive Nature of Chronic Stress" (Well Being Journal, May/June 2013) that we have become so stressed on a daily basis that this stress now never leaves us and creeps into our precious hours of sleep. When stress takes over our sleep, it takes over our dreams. Our dreams become more and more vivid and memorable. When we wake up feeling more tired than we did when we exhaustively fell into bed the night before, stress has won out and the body suffers further damage.

How did we get to this point?

Perhaps we got away from the simple, yet profound prayer taught to us as little kids.  "Now I lay me down to sleep...I pray the Lord my soul to keep...if I should die before I wake...I pray the Lord my soul to take".  Maybe if more of us started saying this prayer at night again, we would discover that the troubles of the world can stay with the world, allowing us to drift into blessed, restorative sleep. This little prayer said at night once we're ready to truly rest, is a true testament to our faith that all is truly in the Lord's hands.

So, tonight, when the lights are out and the day is done, take some long, deep breaths and try this little prayer. And remember, "In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe".

Peace be with you.