“Stupid hurts, and it should.” (Graves’ Law #97)

“This Is How It Works”

“Stupid hurts, and it should.” (Graves’ Law #97)

When we do something against the Laws of Nature, or against our true nature or values, we suffer… and we should. This valuable feedback gives us the information, and possibly the motivation we need, to change.

What’s interesting to observe is that the hurting escalates if we don’t pay attention.

Initially, we get feedback from our emotions and/or feelings. We feel emotional discomfort or upset, and this could be as vague as an internal “stirring” or something more specific as anxiety.

If we don’t listen, then it escalates, and we get feedback in our environment: in our affairs, at home, at work, in the world around us, etc. It shows up as “noise”, chaos, “failure”, defeat, resistance, etc.

If we don’t pay attention and listen, then it escalates further, and we get feedback in our body. It shows up as chronic and/or acute pain, disease, sickness, and/or with other physical symptoms. The body is the first and the last place where the Universe gives us both our first and our last chance to wake up to the thinking that is out of whack. If we continue and do not listen to the feedback of disease, we move into an even deeper phase.

Since the Universe “loves” us and gives us to ourselves so totally and continually, It is willing to kill the body and let us start all over again. The Universe escalates the feedback until we get it, up to and including our getting to “start over”.

Paying attention to this process can encourage all of us to pay more attention to the various kinds of feedback presented to us, and therefore, help us to find ways to live more congruently and joyfully.

I trust you will choose to enjoy your process.

Reverend Donald Graves
(Excerpted and expanded from Graves’ Laws: Aphorisms to Live By, by Donald Graves)

Spiritual Oneness Through Music

How wonderful it is to observe and think about the many different ways people may walk a spiritual path, and the different places along that road where one can find oneself. This is not an either/or proposition, but rather an opportunity to exercise the power of choice among the many options available. Depending upon what someone needs at any given moment, different approaches can fill that need.

There are times on the journey when one needs inspiration or guidance or a change in perspective, or maybe a deeper realization of love while working through a life situation. Sometimes what’s missing is the mystical and transcendent experience of oneness: that deep realization of truth where everything shifts and one experiences everything as perfect, as divine, as God in everything and everyone.

As each spiritual center, church, synagogue or mosque finds their unique way of talking about and fulfilling these human needs, more people can experience a depth and richness in the teachings and feel invited into a deeper acceptance and understanding of the Infinite.

Music is one of the most effective tools in facilitating the spiritual journey, and it is a powerful avenue by which all teachings and philosophies can find common ground and provide inspiration, a deepened realization of love, joy and peace and sometimes, between the notes and lyrics, that transient experience of the mystery comes, joining everyone in the divine. What a sweet place that is…especially when shared with others.

Three spectacular and unifying musicians, David Roth, Jana Stanfield and Richard Mekdeci, will offer the first Tucson emPower Music PosiPalooza Concert, from 6 to 9 p.m., September 21, at Donald R. Nickerson Performing Arts Center, in Tucson.

Admission is $20, or two for $35. Concert location: 3231 N. Craycroft Rd. Buy tickets at empowerma.com/upcomingevents or at Center for Spiritual Living Tucson, Unity Spiritual Center for Peace and Unity of Tucson on Sundays.

Blessings, Reverend Donald

Using Imagination and Will

Having run across this following tidbit today, I thought it very appropriate for consideration given our theme for June: “Imagination and Will”.

“We take our point of view so much for granted, as if the world were really as we see it. But it doesn’t take much analysis to recognize that our way of seeing the world is simply an old unexamined habit, so strong, so convincing, and so unconscious we don’t even see it as a habit. How many times have we been absolutely sure about someone’s motivations and later discovered that we were completely wrong? How many times have we gotten upset about something that turned out to have been nothing? Our perceptions and opinions are often quite off the mark. The world may not be as we think it is. In fact, it is virtually certain that it is not.” (Norman Fischer, Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong, pg. 63)

How many times have you taken a piece of information and built it into its own false universe, only to find out later that the information you had was mistaken? You thought something happened, and maybe you took offense or felt hurt or diminished by it, when in fact it never happened at all, or it happened very differently than you thought.

Huge suffering can come from a misuse of imagination and will, and no one is exempted from doing this. We all have done it at one time or another. The key to sanity must be in understanding how to do this differently.

While thinking on Fischer’s quotation, I considered some questions:

How might I rightly use my imagination and will?

How can I use my imagination and will FOR my benefit, as well as for the benefit of those around me?

What if I use my imagination and will to “create” a world that works for everyone; where everyone respects differences and looks for connections and relatedness, instead of focusing on the differences. Since we all live in the same human bucket, how might I use my creativity to assist all of us more effectively getting along and finding mutual joy?

The questions continue to help my mind explore, and so far, I only have a few answers. This tells me that more answers are on their way and more joy is unfolding each minute. I think the beginning is to become ever more aware of how I am using my imagination, and how I am applying my will to those imaginings.

BestBlessings,

Reverend Donald Graves

This is the Season

This is the season when many find themselves struggling with how to get on in life. Maybe the holiday season brings up past negative memories, or maybe there is simply a lot going on. It’s been said, “Trouble comes in three’s,” and sometimes, it seems like Trouble doesn’t stop there.

When I was asked to offer some words of encouragement by someone who is facing several life-challenges simultaneously, the following suggestions flowed onto the page. Over these many years, I have found that all of them work, but whether they “land” for you, Dear Reader, based on however much is roiling around in your mind, only you will be able to say. If you can implement all of them at once, you’re probably not as bad off as you think you are. Just pick one per day, or one per hour, or one that resonates with you in any given moment. Even that much can make a big difference.

Keep breathing. Nothing can change if we are not around to help change it. That’s the reality of this existence. Tough times go away, if we participate in their going away. When we bail, they stick around…and usually follow us wherever we go.

Keep loving. Which means, keep talking, keep hugging and keep nurturing those around you, starting with yourself. How to do that? It depends. First, we have to know what we really need. This may take some time to figure out, but it’s time well spent. Second, we need to realize that needs can change, moment to moment. Long-range needs matter the most, but the “needs of the now” are important, too. Third, we have to be able to accept whatever feeds that need if it’s given, because if it is offered, we have to let it in, in order for that need be filled. Ask for a hug, if that’s the need. Ask for quiet time, if that’s the need. Ask for what you need when you need it…and this may take some practice.

Eat. Nourishing the body is vital, while it helps us do the inner work. During tough times, food may be tasteless and uninteresting. However, the body needs air, light, fuel and water. It’s another of those realities of this plane of existence. Feed and water it. It doesn’t have to be anything spectacular, but eating is important.
Rest. I won’t say, “Sleep,” because sleep may not come easily in difficult times. But rest is as important as food and air and water. Rest is in the baseline of Maslow’s hierarchy for a reason.

Keep talking. Let the words that are inside come out. Sometimes they may be garbled; sometimes they may be brilliant pieces of wisdom. Sometimes they reveal the reality of whatever is going on in such a way, that it becomes obvious that things aren’t so bad. If talking with someone is not possible, talk with yourself. Write. Write down the conversation that needs to be spoken. Write down the conundrums that bubble up. Getting whatever’s inside out, is as important as evacuating the bowel. When we “plug up”, we dam ourselves. Keep the flow flowing.

Get outside. Take a walk. Breathe the fresh air. Feel the sun on your face. Gaze at the stars or watch the moon for a while. Nature nurtures. We are part of Nature, and to the degree that we physically connect with It, It will nurture us, because we are part of It.

Do something. Anything. If any or all of this is too hard, mop the floor. Clean the toilet. Rake leaves or rocks or dirt. Do something, and then acknowledge that you did that something. We only believe we have the power to do anything, by doing something and recognizing that we did that something. The mind is a funny and tricky companion, and it’s important to use it the way it works. Do something and acknowledge even the little things accomplished, and the mind begins to think differently about itself. Think something positive, even if you don’t really believe it when you think it. Think it enough, and sooner or later, that thinking becomes believable. Doing and thinking and feeling are all connected, and by realizing this, you will begin to feel the truth of it…and then one day, seemingly all of a sudden, the light is brighter, and there is an awareness inside that this ‘Tis the Season of Joy and not something else.

Love&BlessingsOnYouAll.
Rev Donald

A Few Words about the George Zimmerman Verdict

Back up from the media, whether it’s ABC or FOX or Facebook or whatever, and take a look from a bigger picture: Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Mourn the unnecessary & tragic death of any young person or adult, and then extend that mourning to any perceived injustice. Honor the life of anyone who is senselessly killed or treated unjustly by advancing and/or establishing the very ideals that were violated. Take whatever energy you feel, about the George Zimmerman verdict last Friday evening or the Marissa Alexander verdict of May 2012, and use them and other similar situations to educate, beginning wherever you are right now.

George Zimmerman is not a free man. He will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life. Zimmerman is far from free.

Keep in mind that two people died in Sanford, FL on February 26, 2012. And in a very real way, both deaths were a result of the race consciousness in which they lived. Every perpetuated thought, decision and belief contributes to this pool of consciousness, and this is something each of us can do something about.

We each can heal the racial barriers in our own minds and hearts and promote inclusion rather than separatism, beginning right now. We each can remember: When senselessness and injustice have no place to live, they cease to be.

Let’s remember The One Life, The One Light. Let’s let THAT Light shine brightly within and without. Let’s light up the darkness by infusing it with Light.

BlessingsBe,
Rev Donald

Being in Peace

Today’s posting was written by a friend of mine, who captured a sentiment I desire for us all. Enjoy! And be in Peace…Rev Donald

I had an experience this week that was both remarkable and rare, at least for me.

I was at peace.

I was driving around the town where I live, a place I have grown to love as if it were another member of my family, my window was down and the bright sun was shining on my arm, and I thought to myself, that I had nothing to do, nowhere to go, nothing to achieve, no unmet dragons to slay or damsels to save, and for that moment and several moments after, I was at peace.

Now I know that peace is a difficult state of mind to cultivate. God knows I’ve tried my whole life either to find it, or keep it when it comes. But here it was, almost the antithesis of my personal mission, which is to do something remarkable with my life; to attain the impossible, and win the prize at the end.

And so I began to look into what allowed these few moments of peace. And this is what I found:

Peace is who I am – I am not the gerbil on the treadmill. I am free.

Peace is not a destination – It doesn’t come because you’ve been good, or because you’ve finally arrived. It comes with the realization that letting go is more fun than holding on.

Peace comes when you stop looking for it – You can look all you want, but eventually you come back to the moment you’re in, and the sheer joy of being alive and aware of it.

Peace is not a weapon, a political ideology, or a reason to leave – There are some things in life that are just fine as they are, with no need to label, change, or improve them. Peace is like that.

Peace is available when wanting ends – Nothing needs to be added or taken away, for me to be happy and at peace, right now.

If peace is the light that enters the room of my mind, then that room is brighter today. I can see more opportunities when I look out my windows, and I’m more willing to risk, that it might disappear, or even be greater than I ever imagined it could be.

My wish for you is to be at peace.

– Michael Davis

Enemy or Opportunity?

Vernon Howard wrote,

We lose enemies when no longer having a false need for them.

WOW! What a powerful and accountable viewpoint.

We lose enemies to our self-expression, or threats to our person, or the experience of other people resisting our life expression, when we no longer have a false need for their behaviors or stimulae. I interpret this as “No one is against us and every thing and every one is FOR us. Or, at the very least, these things are there for our benefit.”

In example, when we have eliminated our doubt or uncertainty about some aspect of our life, when we are clear about the life we want, people don’t challenge us about that which we were doubting. It never even occurs to them. They doubt us because we get them to.

Every thing and every one in our life gives us feedback or information about our OWN point of view.

Everything and everyone helps us to awaken and to see where we are “on the map” in our life. This is tremendously good news! With this viewpoint we can experience every aspect of our life as a blessing. We can experience every person and every event as a gift we have given ourselves to awaken to how we are defining and interpreting our life. With this information, if we like the outcome, we can reinforce our point of view. And if we don’t like the outcome, we can change our point of view. The liberation potential is HUGE!

If may be hard at times to keep this point of view, when we get fired or divorced or experience illness or injury or financial crisis. However, if we can look at these events as supportive of our awakening, then maybe, just maybe, we can learn something about ourselves and can move into the experience FROM power and awareness, FROM the possibility of betterment.

It has been said many times and ways: “Whatever you focus on expands in life.” Well, there you have it!

Would focusing on how awful it is help to create an experience of possibility, or would it create an experience of victim-hood and potential despair?

When we look for possibilities and potential in a situation, we feel like we are more in the driver’s seat than when we feel at the effect of the same situation. And by definition, we can also see more possibilities and potential when we look FROM that point of view. It’s hard to see wildflowers while focusing on the thickness of the forest.

If you find an enemy in your life, give up the false need for that enemy and see what you might create from the situation.

Best Blessings,
Rev. Donald

Stone Soup & Letting Loose

There are many variations on the story of Stone Soup, but they all involve a traveler coming into a town beset by famine.

The inhabitants try to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing that he wants them to give him food. They tell him in no uncertain terms that there is no food anywhere to be found. The traveler explains that he doesn’t need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them. The villagers watch suspiciously, as he builds a fire and fills a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulls a stone from a bag and drops the stone into the pot of water. He sniffs the brew extravagantly and exclaims how delicious stone soup is. As the villagers begin to show interest, he mentions how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brings out a cabbage to add to the soup. This episode repeats itself until the soup has cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets; indeed, a substantial soup that feeds everyone in the village.

This story addresses the human tendency to hoard, especially in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. We isolate ourselves and shut out others. It’s a biological reality, too. Individual cells in the body can either preserve or expand. However, the cell uses all of its resources to do one or the other. It can’t do both.

As individuals, we are more than a single cell of the body. Metaphorically, we are individual cells of a community, yet much more complex, with many more resources available.

Several experiments have proven that we actually change the composition of the cells in our body by thinking differently. By focusing on certain thoughts and feeling certain feelings, we change our body’s chemistry and the environment around the cell. We create the environment for the cell in which it makes its choices. As far as biologists can tell, the cell reacts to its environment, and it changes according to its survival requirements. We have choice, indeed many choices, and in our choosing, we create the environment in which our cells “choose” to survive. We choose our reactions to a world we have created. This is a closed-loop system in which we live, move and have being, and in which we choose how we will live, move and have our being.

“Stone Soup & Letting Loose” is not about survival. It’s about thrival. It’s about claiming the bounty we are made from and live in, the bounty of choice. It is about making choices from the awareness that abundance is our nature, and that Good fills our world.

The Stone Soup story reveals that by focusing on deprivation and lack, we deprive ourselves, and often everyone else, of a feast. This metaphor plays out beyond the realm of food. We hoard ideas, love and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep them to ourselves, when in truth we make the world and ourselves poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves. The traveler was able to perceive that the villagers were holding back, and he had the genius to draw them out and inspire them to give, thus creating a celebratory spread that none of them could, or in their state of mind, would have created alone.

Are you like one of the villagers, holding back in your world? Come forward and share your gifts. You will inspire others to do the same, and the reward is a banquet that will nourish many.

BestBlessings,
Rev Donald

Is Faith Made Up or Is It Real?

I’ve been thinking about a note that an interested party sent me the other day. To paraphrase and abbreviate a long missive: “Is faith made up, or is it real? I don’t want to fake it.”

What if, since we make it up sometimes to our advantage and sometimes against it, if we realize that the name of the game is to make it up in a way that stacks the deck in our favor. What’s the disadvantage of this approach? None, from what I can tell.

We’re going to make it up some way: God exists/doesn’t exist; compare me with others; dark now, light now; faith or lack thereof (I’ve already said, “There is no such thing as no faith.”); structured inquiry or spontaneous expression or combustion; personified deity or cold law… and so it goes. We’re gonna’ make up something, and no matter what we make up, or what we have convinced ourselves is true, we still made it up and will always be making it up. That’s what we do. We’re designed that way.

Sometimes we convince ourselves we are safe by talking ourselves into believing that we are safe and by assuming that we know what’s going on around us. If this only helps us to feel more creative and at peace, so what? We are by design, automatic, organizing machines that overlay a notion of order into the absolute chaos of creation. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this approach to calming down. Most of us could use something to calm down; that’s for sure…and there’s no hangover.

Whether we’re boinking or breathing or musing or levitating, we can’t get out of this thing called Life. Even if we attempt escape by so-called suicide, there is no guarantee that we get “out” or avoid suffering. I also think that we make up all of the potential options and outcomes in this one, too.

Instead of is faith real or imagined, I think the real question is, “How are you gonna’ make up your life from now on. You’ve done it the way you’ve done it up to this time, and you always have the option of doing it a little or a lot differently every moment hereafter. What now, Dear Traveler? What choose, Ye? The blue or the red pill?

This time, I choose blue. Why? Because I choose blue.

What are you making up about all of this? You will make what you make up.

BestBlessings,

Rev Donald

It’s About Time!

We are a soul, we are an immortal being, we are the personality of God… To know that one is the personality of God is the beginning of wisdom.
~ Ernest Holmes, 10 Ideas That Make a Difference, 64.3 ~

The question is, “What if you really believed you are the personality of God?” No conceit, no regrets, no more what-iffing—just plain, unadulterated acceptance of that Truth, and then allowed yourself to live in that consciousness? Frankly, In my imaginings, I find the idea of living this way enthralling and exciting, and as I imagine the results of everyone living that way, I get excited beyond belief.

My personality is the same as God’s. It IS the same as God because I live IN God.

Your personality is the same as God’s. It IS the same as God because you live IN God.

At this time, it appears that more lip-service is being paid to the idea of living FROM the Divine and as the Divine, than taking it to heart and actually living this way. What if, from this moment on, more of us go for the whole enchilada, accepting this as true, believing it as viable, living it in every area of our lives, and enjoying the results as we do?

Every longing and yearning we have ever had, every secret desire of our soul, and every constructive ambition we have had is but a whispering of this Power, assuring us that we are One with It, that we are a manifestation or personification of It, that we are a center in It.
~ Ernest Holmes, ibid, 45 ~

From the wings, I can hear God saying, “For heaven’s sake, it’s about time!”

– Reverend Donald Graves