Support Small Churches and other Places of Worship

I have made it clear that I am not religiously dogmatic. I really don't care as much about what folks believe as what they do. I really don't care a lot if folks go to Church at all. Some find it a pleasant thing to do. Some get more spiritual charge out of sitting alone outside or hanging out with friends and family.

But, if you do wish to go to a church, mosque, temple, or whatever do yourself a favor and avoid the big gatherings. In spiritual matters, small is often better.

I have been to mega-churches and found them lacking. There are just too many people crammed in together, too mush loose, unfocused energy. And, of course, too much of a big business vibe. Believe me, business is the operative word.

Small churches, and I am going to assume that the same holds for temples, mosques, etc., have a close, warm feeling. Folks have time and space to get to know each other. The Ministers get to know the parishioners. You can take time after the Services to chat, instead of trying to get to your car to beat the traffic.

There are some things in this life that are best when small and quiet.

Bees

Today's blog will be short. It was recently announced that a species of bees has been declared endangered. It has long been acknowledged that many types of bees are dying at an alarming rate. Bees are prolific pollinators. Without them, our ability to produce edible crops will be very seriously hampered. Food prices will skyrocket and famine will develop. There is no way to continue ignoring this severe problem.

I am asking any and every one who reads this blog, no matter what your specific beliefs, to pray for guidance in efforts to figure a solution to this problem. quickly. I am not by nature an alarmist, but this must be solved.
And while your at it, say a prayer for bees. We owe the little guys at least that much.

Stories We Tell Ourselves

We humans experience the World fairly directly through our senses. Then, our brains go to work, and they do a pretty decent job of interpreting those impressions. But, there is a problem.

To put things in a woefully simple way, our right brain grasps a somewhat whole view of matters, placing the perceptions in time and space and interpreting them in terms of shapes and relationships.Then, the left brain steps in and applies logic to the perceptions, fits them neatly into place and give labels, names to them. This is vital if we are to work and communicate with other people, but their is a flaw. That left brain simply does not like to be quiet.

Our brain has a weird need to not just describe, but to make up stories, long detailed stories, about everything. It just will not stop doing that. It provides a useful narrative to our lives, a sense of continuity, of unity, but does not stop there. If presented with something beyond its immediate comprehension, it will begin making up outlandish tales with little basis.

Now, this can be grand fun. I love storytelling. And, in the course of spinning those yarns, it may be finding bits of truth and putting them in a coherent framework. But, the story is not the truth. Herein lies the conflict between spirituality and religion. Spiritual experiences are difficult, almost impossible, to put into words, yet our left brain cannot tolerate such vagueness, so it starts putting the experience into story form. The story gets told, passed along, and before you know it, a Holy Text is developed. At that point, along comes theologians and priests who know that folks long for spiritual experience but, understanding that such experiences are liberating, substitute the Text for the experience. They say, 'Believe the Text and you need not go through all the bother of experiencing yourself."

One problem: the Text will provide a watered down version in words of something that cannot be put into words. The authorities deny you the experience because, when you have it, you no longer need them. They certainly do not want to lose income and power, so the declare any legitimate spiritual experience as dangerous and heretical.

Holy Texts have their uses. They can and should function as sign posts showing the way to experience, but they are not the experience. An old Hindu proverb says that 'painted cakes do not satisfy hunger.'

Spititual Traps

There are psychic pitfalls we all encounter on our spiritual journeys, spiritual traps. Those traps can be deep and difficult to get out of and they all stem from one issue, ego.

We all have ego problems. Let me say first, there is nothing wrong with having a bit of ego. Without that sense of self, we simply could not survive. The problem comes when we get too full of ourselves. A too large ego leads to power issues, with all sorts of side issues, such as sexual, problems, greed, and the search for political power.

But, the spiritual traps that egoism can lead to are the most troubling. It becomes so easy to have a genuine spiritual insight and allow that to go to your head. Next thing you know, you are sure that you have The Answer, the Way. This is how cults start and this is how Religion, in its organized forms, begins. From there, springs dogma and the death of true spirituality.

None of us knows all of the answers, We do not and cannot fully know the Mind of our Creator. We gat nothing but glimpses. Why? Beats me. I'm not the Creator. What is, is what is.

We can use our insights to point others in that direction, like street signs help you get around a strange city, but we cannot make the journey for them, nor should we. In addition, to continue the analogy, they may step off the trail we have told them of and find a second, equally valid path and that path may offer further insights that supplement and amend our original directions.

All of this sounds very vague, I know, but it has to be that way. In discussing spiritual matters, we are entering a realm where words begin to fail. We do the best we can with the tools available, but words can be frustratingly inadequate tools. Again, it's all we have. What is, is what is.

All I can say for sure is this. If someone  tells you that they have The Truth, the Absolute Single Truth, run quickly away. And, if you find yourself thinking that you have the Answer, realize that your pride, your ego, has led you into a spiritual trap. Looks at this vast, unthinkably complex Universe, and realize how small you are; then step out of the trap.

This Too Will Pass

I have been watching the news, a little bit. It is a bad habit and I must get a grip on it, because we are in a state of turmoil. All sides are at each other's throats, arguing about every bit of minutia imaginable. Actually, they are arguing about stuff that doesn't really exist.

Nations are no better, Iran and N. Korea are testing missiles, Russia is in the Ukraine, Syria and Iraq are being reduced to rubble. Seldom a day goes by without someone in Afghanistan and/or Pakistan blowing up a few of their neighbors. Holland and Turkey are threatening each other and the EU is in its death throes.

You know what, don't worry about it. Face it, your worry will not change things one tiny bit. The leaders, the idiots running the show, don't care one tiny bit about what you and I think. They are going to do what they are going to do.

If, in your own life, you have a chance to change something, do so. If you have a chance to help someone, do so. You must change what you can.

But all of these big issues, don't bother yourself with them. Pay attention. You should keep track of what's happening, at least in a general sort of way. Just don't get all caught up in it. Don't let it spoil your day because you only get so many of them.

And, guess what? All of these problems will pass. That is the nature of things. Then, in time, new problems will arise. That too, is the nature of things. The cycle will go on for a long, long time. Don't let it get you down.

Everything changes. New things come, pass their existence, then fade out. Everything, from quantum particles to galaxies, including you, is in a constant state of change. Next time you find yourself bemoaning the latest news, just remind yourself that this too will pass.

Silence

True silence is rare in our current world. I guess that always it has been hard to find. A thousand years ago, when we lived more isolated lives, even a trip to a meadow would bring you some noise, wind, bugs, birds, but nothing like we have now.

I am currently in my apartment with the window open. I can hear the TV next door, traffic passing, birds, a neighbor yelling, wind, a distant train, a plane and a helicopter, and still, I would normal consider this a reasonably quiet day.

Here and there, I like to get up early, 4 AM or so, and go outside, especially if the wind is down. Then, with the birds and neighbors still asleep, things are very quiet. Sometimes, this is a good time to think, but, more and more, I like to go with the feeling and let my mind grow quiet.

No special insights are gained, no spiritual enlightenment presents itself, but, sometimes, not often, I can feel a presence, what Elijah called the still, quiet voice.

Those moments, and they never last long, are special, very special.

Meditation

Meditation is a wonderful practice and given the way folks seem to be attacking each other, it should become part of everyone's routine. A lot of pseudo-theological nonsense has been written on the subject and you can forget all of it.

There are various phrases, prayers, sacred passages and mantras that you can repeat to yourself that focus your attention. This is all meditation is, a focusing on one thing, to the point of releasing your mind from its normal patterns. If you wish to learn those words and any other techniques, there are countless books, web site and teachers around, so I'm not going into any of that.

Instead, I am going to offer a simple technique that will work, with no religious baggage attached.

Sit in a comfortable position. Or, lie down all stretched out. Breath in, following the air as it passes your nostrils. Breath out, again, feeling the air go out. Repeat, for as long as you have time available. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you will just no when you have been at it long enough; your mind and body just automatically tell you when. It does not have to be a long  period. If you are pressed for time, just a minute or two will help you feel calm and centered.

That's it.

Note: if you fall asleep, that's fine. It happens, especially when you are first beginning the practice. Until you get used to it, you may not want to start your meditating fi pressed for time. Again, falling asleep is fine. As you meditate more often, sleep will happen less often. Also, you can do this as often as you like, but, don't overdo it. You want to be calm, not lazy.

Stay in the Light, Part 2

The Enlightenment, The Age of Reason, is perhaps the greatest thing to happen to the human race, ever. We have moved from superstition to science, from magic to the real. Well, guess what? We owe all of that to the Early Christian thinkers, with a little help from the Hebrews, Greeks and Arabs.

Christian thinkers, working from their Jewish roots and from the works of Greek philosophy, declared Jesus 'the Logos.' This literally translates as 'the Word,' but it carries a more subtle meaning. It means that the Word is Logical, rational. The Universe, they deduced is governed by the Creator's rational laws and, as such, is understandable, to a large extent by man. This was a huge moment in human history.

Come the Middle Ages, monks got their hands on the old Greek texts, thought lost. They did this because the Arab scholars had saved them. The Arab scholars shared the belief in God's rationality and devoted much time to the study of the Natural world.

The monks began to do the same. We think of the Middle ages as the Dark ages and nothing could be less true. Great strides were made in architecture and that requires deep math skills and a basic knowledge of physics. Medicine advanced. The body was not understood vey well, but a fine working understanding of herbal cures developed. An understanding of the Earth's make up, the rocks and soils developed as did plant and animal husbandry. The alchemists did not spend all their time seeking the Philosopher's Stone; they had a practical knowledge of basic chemistry.

For sure, the knowledge of that age was basic, but at least a stat was made, and from that start came the Renaissance, and from that, came the Enlightenment.

Without the Age of Reason, we would be sitting in dark hovels, eating scraps of plants and suffering a constant series of debilitating illnesses. No electricity, no cars, no books. I read some blogs, here and there who seem to want a return to the old, pre-Enlightenment days, the old magical paganism. Not me.