Celebrating Love

Happy Valentine’s Day. As we celebrate Love, love for that special someone, love for ourselves, I wanted to share these poems, taken from various faith traditions, that celebrate the Love of God, of Spirit, of Life.

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”        Mark 12:30-31

 

“May the Lord of Love protect us. / May the Lord of Love nourish us. May the Lord of Love strengthen us. / May we realize the Lord of Love. May we live with love for all; / May we live in peace with all.

OM Shanti Shanti Shanti

The Upanishads (God Makes the Rivers Flow, E. Easwaran)

 

“Love came out of the former Eternity, / Went away in to the Eternity to come, And didn’t see anyone in the eighteen-thousand worlds Worthy to eat even one spoonful of its sweet sherbet – And when Love reached Truth at last, only this word was left: He Loves them; They also love Him.”

~Rabi’a (Doorkeeper of the Heart; Versions of Rabi’a, C. Upton)

 

“Her heart is full of joy with love, / For in the Lord her mind is stilled, She has renounced every selfish attachment / And draws abiding joy and strength From the One within. She lives not for herself, but lives / To serve the Lord of Love in all, And swims across the sea of life / Breasting its rough waves joyfully.”

Saint Teresa of Avila (God Makes the Rivers Flow, E .Easwaran)

 

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

I Corinthians 13:4-7

 

“To be united with the Lord of Love / Is to be freed from all conditioning. This is the state of Self-realization, / Far beyond the reach of words and thoughts. To be united with the Lord of Love. / Imperishable, changeless, beyond cause And effect, is to find infinite Joy.”

The Tejabindu Upanishad, The Shining Self. (God Makes the Rivers Flow, E. Easwaran)

 

“That one I love who is incapable of ill will, / And returns love for hatred. Living beyond the reach of I and mine / And of pleasure and pain, full of mercy, Contented, self-controlled, firm in faith, / With all their heart and all their mind given to me. With such people I am in Love”

The Way of Love (Bhagavad Gita, Ch. 12, E. Easwaran)

 

“The Circle of Love is complete. It comprehends all, includes all, and binds all together with cords of Everlasting Unity. I cannot depart from Its Presence nor wander from Its care. / My Love is complete within me. The Love of God binds me to Itself, / and will not let me go. I shall make a home for you, O my wonderful Love, and we shall journey through life hand in hand. I shall sit in your Presence and learn the wondrous things You will tell me; For you are God.              Love sits within me.

Science of Mind pg. 513. Ernest Holmes

–Love and Blessings to you, Sharon Whealy, RScP

Showing up as a Force of Inclusive Love

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The CSL 2024 Spiritual Living Convention will be held in Charleston, SC, February 19 – 22. There had been initial concern about holding the conference in South Carolina because of the state’s restrictive voting laws affecting African Americans and laws impacting treatment of transgender individuals.

Last November a case was heard by the US Supreme Court regarding gerrymandering of South Carolina districts. The decision has not yet been reported. Justices will decide whether the legislature subordinated traditional race neutral districting principles when it moved most of the Black population from a Charleston County district.

South Carolina does not have a statewide law that expressly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, leaving LGBT people vulnerable to harassment and discrimination in the state. Several localities, universities, and private corporations in the state have adopted local ordinances and internal policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Despite these policies, many LGBT South Carolina residents are not protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity absent a statewide non-discrimination law that includes these characteristics.

Posted under the Spiritually Motivated Social Engagement (SMSE) Council on the CSL website is a portion of a response to the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade: Centers for Spiritual Living’s North Star is our Global Vision, our organizational shared values, and our Science of Mind statement of belief, all of which speak directly to liberty, equality, equity, inclusion, human rights, compassion, safety, self-determination, and spiritual living. For that reason, we are unambiguously in support of the lives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color; unambiguously in support of gender equity and equality; unambiguously in support of LGBTQ+ lives, and unambiguously in support of women being sole decision-makers about their lives, wellbeing, dignity, and choices.

A task force, including the CSL Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council (DEI) was formed to study the matter and determined that CSL would indeed hold the conference in Charleston and show up as a ‘force of inclusive love.’ They connected with the City of Charleston and received cooperation in planning an inclusive conference. The Convention’s motto is ‘Soul to Soul to Soul – Lighting the Way of Love.’

A new International African American Museum opened in 2023 in Charleston. Representatives from the museum are participating in opening Convention events. A bus will transport CSL attendees to the museum. (iaamuseum.org) CSL will emphasize that February is Black History Month. A Gullah Geechee choir from the Outer Banks will perform. A diverse group of musicians will be performing at events throughout the conference.

CSL will be supporting Trans and LGBTQ individuals. The committee partnered with the Pride Center, who will have a booth at CSL’s event. After CSL’s gathering, the Pride Center will host a Prom for transgender individuals. Pride is hoping that CSL participants will stop by their booth and leave affirmations of support for those attending the Prom.

I anticipate a lot of stories of participants’ experiences during their time in Charleston. Centers for Spiritual Living is contributing to Social Activism on a global basis. They stress that efforts are not political and do not endorse any candidates. The basis is that consciousness should lead to action; prayer should lead to movement; CSL principles should become reality.

Excerpt from Centers for Spiritual Living Global Vision:

● We envision all people, all beings, and all life as expressions of God.

● We envision a world where each and every person has enough food, a home, and a sense of belonging, a world of peace and harmony, enfranchisement and justice.

● We envision a world that works for everyone and for all of creation.

–Linda Bullock

 

LOVE IN A WORD

Our theme for September is Loving Outloud and it’s got me thinking a lot about the word Love. In the     English language we say we love our  partner, our parents, our children, and our pets. We also say we love the ocean, the mountains, the desert, and the dessert. We love cake and ice cream, we love our cars and our homes, and some of us really love our stuff (you fill in the blank). We use the word love so loosely that it can almost lose its meaning.

 

 

The Greeks have eight words for the various types of experiences of love:

• There is the love of family, or storge, that is the natural love family members have for one another

• There is philia, the type of love friends have for one another

• Pragma is the love grown out of obligation, duty, or logic

• Erotic love is eros, the love expressed by physical desire.

• As it sounds, mania is obsessive love, the love that sparks jealousy and possessiveness

• Borrowed from Latin, ludus is playful love, often associated with courtship and new relationships

• Love of self is philautia that expresses how we feel about ourselves and our bodies

• Finally, there is unconditional, sacrificial love known as agape’. This is the love that one can have for God, humanity, or life itself.

Source: Dictionary.com

The famous passage in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes this agape’ type of love:

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Ernest Holmes defines Love as “the self-givingness of the Spirit through the desire of Life to express Itself in terms of creation. Emerson tells us that Love is a synonym for God. . . . Love is free from condemnation, even as it is free from fear. Love is a cosmic force whose sweep is irresistible.” The Science of Mind pg. 608

This is the love we strive for, the love that fills our hearts and helps us to find forgiveness that transcends human level conditions. In love, there is no fear, no doubt, no separation, only the infinite Love of Spirit that unites us with all of Life.

–Sharon Whealy, RScP

The Wheel of Time

By the time this newsletter lands in your inbox at 3am (MST) on Wednesday morning, I will have retired as the senior minister at CSL Tucson, and your CSLT board will have already begun taking the actions necessary to identify what CSLT desires in their next minister. I affirm that your next CSLT minister is already beginning to feel the pull to join this beloved community.

I thank you for the beautiful send-off that happened this past Sunday – for the applause after my talk, the party, the hugs, the cards, the gifts (you didn’t have to, and thank you!), and your words of encouragement about my next adventure. I also want to thank you for the things I learned as your senior minister, all the joys, the hard things and every single thing in between — all the growth that I personally experienced.

I meant every word I said Sunday about every individual already having everything they need to live as their full expression as their divine self – living out loud. God as you, right here and right now. This doesn’t, can’t, and won’t negate the Law of Cause and Effect, or choice and consequence, as I like to think about it, because we all get to learn as we go. Holmes wrote about life this way (The Science of Mind 384.1) “it leaves us free to work out our own salvation – not with fear or even with trembling – but with peace and in quiet confidence.” Each one of us gets to work out what gives us and our life experience more light, joy, delight, wonder, awe and life, or whatever qualities of Abundant Good each one of us chooses to experience in greater expression.

I also meant every word from that African proverb about being able to ‘go farther’ as part of a spiritual community that you support and that supports you. I know of no successful person who doesn’t have a community of practice. Give yourself that gift of community by participating.

I leave you with one final thought. Those of you who know me well, know I have a particular affinity for the Tao Te Ching, almost anybody’s translation. I came across a little book recently, called The Art of Pastoring, Contemplative Reflections, by William C Martin. He’s paraphrased the writings of the Tao Te Ching as guidance for ministers.

–Rev Janis Farmer

A Thank You for Teachers and What They Taught!

Thank you, Reverend Janis!

We should never be afraid of change, never fearful of what will come. Instead, we should bring to bear on each new event the influence of the crea:ve nature of our thought—an influence that is founded on an inward calm, a sense of certainty and peace, which will reflect itself in the changing scene of our everyday lives. Ernest Holmes, A New Design for Living, page 55.

When I first walked up to CSL Tucson at the Gregory School, I was early and looking for the meditation gathering. Reverend Janis (then a practitioner) was speaking with Keith Gorley. I interrupted them and Reverend Janis pointed me towards the entrance to backstage, where it was being held that day. After my first exposure to CSLT I felt that I had found my community.

At the time I was blessed to have a place to stay overnight in Tucson and could easily attend evening classes. A friend had moved to Hawaii and let me use his apartment on occasion while he was gone.

I attended all four of the Basics talks given by Reverend Donald Graves on Monday nights at the office. I showed up for Sunday services and took the next offered Foundations class. That was an awesome class of about 14 to 15 individuals, and I experienced a sweet closeness and camaraderie with several of them. Today at CSLT only Pat Masters and I remain as regular attendees.

I appreciated Reverend Donald’s manner of teaching Foundations. I enjoyed his Sunday talks, even some of the jokes. His energy and presentation of practical applications of Science of Mind principles helped this newcomer greatly. For a couple of years Reverend Donald was the face of Science of Mind teachings for me. I was living across the state when Reverend Donald retired.

Last year Keith Gorley made his transition. I participated in several book studies that Keith facilitated. I found him to be a dynamic model of wisdom and honesty and a genius at holding a safe space for participants’ vulnerability. Keith was special.

I have taken Foundations twice yet never got the degree of clarity I now have until being a student of Reverend Janis. Her instructions and practical exercises for Affirmations and Spiritual Mind Treatments have greatly benefited participants in her classes and workshops. She is a skilled teacher and mentor.

I was living part-time across the state for 5 years because in 2014 I became a grandmother. CSL in Lake Havasu City, AZ relied mainly on visiting ministers at the time. One Sunday the visiting minister was Janis Farmer!! I was so happy to see her that I shed tears of joy and took her to lunch where she filled me in on the changes and goings on at CSL Tucson. And now our beloved Reverend Janis is retiring. Personally, I will miss her.

Change sometimes brings sadness. Yet I must ask myself, how can my dominant feeling for these teachers be anything but Gratitude? They introduced me to Ernest Holmes, Science of Mind, and a new design for living. So, I remain open and optimistic about our future at Center for Spiritual Living Tucson. I am trusting the process. Especially I want to be ‘be here now’ and enjoy the journey.

To Reverend Janis I say, Thank you; I wish you peace and many blessings in your upcoming adventures.

 

–Linda Bullock

GOT LOVE

Since February 14 is Valentine’s Day, my thoughts bring me to want to write about Love.

Wait! Did I just say that? Want to write? Yes, I do want to write. ‘Change my thinking, change my life’ is definitely becoming apparent. But what’s love got to do with it?

Everything!

Love is one of the greatest feelings I receive every moment of my life. My mind and heart overflow with love. Love is everywhere and in everything.

“As for love, when our minds are filled with thoughts of love for others it seems that we are surrounded by people and situations of a loving nature.”
“Today I bestow the essence of love upon everything. Everyone I meet shall be lovely to me. My soul meets the soul of the Universe in everyone. This love is a healing power touching everything into wholeness.”

Ernest Holmes-A New Design for Living pages 80 and 238 (And a whole chapter on Love can be read in this book.)

For me, feeling and being a part of the love is very easy and comes quite naturally when life is going along as I desire. But (there’s always a but) being in the state of love can be quite challenging when life can change in an instant. That instant is usually something someone said or did to me. I know I am overly sensitive (I’ve been told) and my feelings easily get hurt (and that really matters to no one). Knowing this doesn’t ease the pain or change the way I feel in the moment. When that moment hits, I quickly shut down as the lump in my throat starts to grow. (That’s the mind/body connection which I’ll save for another article.) The only way I know to immediately try and ease the pain of the moment is to quietly cry to my self. The tears help to wash the hurt away. With time, everything heals although the experience often isn’t forgotten.

Then I return to love. I always come back to the love.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking.
It is not easily angered.
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.                                    Love never fails.
-1 Corinthians 13:4

–Madeline Pallanes

Report from our October 2 2022 Annual Meeting by Rev Janis

Apologies to the 6 folks, and any others, who tried to join on zoom. The sound was working when we tested it, so I don’t know what happened after that. Nothing changed, and apparently, something changed.

We had 14 people in the room. Maria ran the meeting. Each board member talked about their area of specific connection to our greater community. More on each group, team, and topic, are included in our Annual Report, which is linked elsewhere in this newsletter; specific details are shared in the monthly Board minutes. Board minutes are included in our weekly newsletter a couple weeks after each board meeting, and are made available on the website, under About Us, under Organizational Documents.

One question was raised about the number of major donors we have. Janet’s answer was a good one. We track that information by quarter, and report it to the Board, without attaching any names to the donation amounts. The information is also recorded and presented in the Board minutes. For the second quarter of 2022, we had 14 contributors who donated 80% of the monies that came in to our center. During the first quarter of the year, 80% of our donations came from 18 contributors. These are considered our ‘major donors’ and we especially celebrate them. We also acknowledge and celebrate all contributions of time, talent and/or treasure, in whatever form they occur. Generosity abounds. And as Rev Karen said last Sunday morning, “Money loves rhythm, … and flow.”

When I spoke about last January’s Community Envisioning, I mentioned that one of the desires of the community was to have more social activities. I reiterated that suggested social activities must arise from within our community. Board members can suggest activities, but they are not the only source of potential fun things we can do. These can be formal activities that take a bit of preparation and planning (see the next paragraph for how to do that), or more casual activities, such as going to Willcox to pick fruit, caravanning down to see the sandhill cranes, enjoying music and a meal at the lavender farms, or going for a hike or bike ride, or getting together to see a play at LTW, live music or a sporting event. Examples of other fun classes we have held in the past, tangentially related to learning, had to do with folding peace cranes, and coloring mandalas. Both of these are sneaky ways to expand each individual’s repertoire of meditation practices.

I didn’t mention it at the meeting, but we have an event proposal form on our website (under Organizational Documents). If someone were interested in proposing a big event, such as having a booth at the Tucson Pride Festival that happened this past weekend, this would be how they would do that. In the past, we’ve had a booth at the Tucson Festival of Books. There may be other events in town where we could have an identifiable presence. What are they?

In addition to the classes that I’ll be teaching, some of which will be certificated, Noreen Poli intends to offer an in-person, Wednesday afternoon book study on Emmett Fox’s Sermon on the Mount in January. You may remember when Noreen offered this book study four or five years ago when our office was still on E. River Rd. Also, Ethel Lee-Taylor intends to offer a book study on Brene’ Brown’s Braving the Wilderness in February. More book studies and assorted classes will arise, as other facilitators step up.

The last thing on the agenda was electing new board members. We had two seats available that had remained unfilled during the Covid years. No one rotated off the board this year. Linda Bullock expressed an interest in serving on the Board, meets the qualifications (as specified in our bylaws), and attended a board meeting to see what she was agreeing to. She spoke a few minutes to those assembled in the room, and was unanimously elected with cheers, and thanks.

We remain grateful to every single individual who participates with, and supports, this center. It is your active participation and engagement, as well as in the sharing of your time, talents and treasures that we become a more effective place of learning and growth, connection and community. We are grateful for you all.

Got Mom?

As most of you know, I am the mother of 2 boys. My oldest son David recently turned 30.

Madeline’s son David

He has brain damage and a severe handicap.

Since about the age of 3 David has needed a wheelchair, which is nothing any mother wants for their child. I have always felt deep sadness that my son needs a wheelchair.

I remember the perky little physical therapist bouncing around with such great excitement, paperwork in her hands, “David’s insurance is going to cover his 1st wheelchair! Aren’t you excited? David’s going to get a wheelchair!”

As I responded I began to cry, “No this is nothing to be excited over.” My son needs a wheelchair.

She viewed it as kind of like ordering a new car from the dealership. “You get to pick out the colors!”

I didn’t feel that way. I still don’t feel that way even after ordering his next one about 10 years later and so forth. I’ve become an expert on non-motorized wheelchairs through the years, yet I still don’t like them but that’s a whole different story.

This story is about a personal experience I had with a mother, 25 years ago, in Tucson. An experience I know I will never forget. I had this experience because I am a mother of a handicapped child who uses a wheelchair. I have always wanted to submit my experience to Chicken Soup for the Soul, or a letter to the editor of the Tucson newspaper, to honor this mother on Mother’s Day.

I’m glad I can share this story with all of you.

I was standing in the checkout line in a grocery store. David was about 5 years old seated in his wheelchair.

In front of us was a mother holding a baby on her hip with one arm, using her other arm to empty the groceries from her shopping cart onto the conveyor belt. Standing alongside her was her son who was probably about 4 years old. He was pulling on her leg to get her attention, looking back at us and saying, “Mom! Look! There is a boy in a wheelchair!”

I slightly cringed and pretended not to notice. It was a very awkward feeling. A feeling I had only a couple years experience with.

She said something to him that I couldn’t quite hear. Neither did the boy. She continued to remove the items from her cart with one hand, rather methodically, baby on hip, never looking back at us.

The boy continued pulling on her and now at the same time pointing at us, and with great urgency continuing to say, “Mom! Look! There’s a boy in a wheelchair!”

She continued removing the groceries from her cart, never looking back at us and repeated what she had said a moment earlier.

This time I heard what she said, “Did you say Hi?”

The boy stepped over close to David, looked directly at him and smiled. They were now face-to-face. He raised his hand in motion and said, “Hi!”

Happy Mother’s Day to all the beautiful Mothers reading this.

Madeline Pallanes

 

It’s the LOVE month!

Disclaimer: Due to the present circumstances of what seems like a forever ongoing Covid-19 to try and avoid, which now has variations that sound pretty scary, it’s difficult for me to focus on writing about love. And so, that’s why I practice and keep on practicing.

After Rev. Janis’ talk this morning, I realize there’s a part of me that sits patiently waiting for acknowledgement, and to be reminded, that I am a part of the Eternal Love – that’s what brought me to my life on earth, and that I have both given, and received, an abundance of love throughout my life. It’s so easy for me to feel separate and alone, especially when I can’t gather with my family and friends to feel the physical companionship that comes from socializing and physical contact in community. This has been limited for (almost) all of us … for what seems to be a very long time. I also miss the stimulation of my thinking that’s just different when we aren’t together in person.

The Bible tells us there are 4 kinds of love:

Eros, which is the Greek god of erotic love. Storge, which is familial love.
Philia, which is brotherly love.
Agape, which is selfless, unconditional love.

Mahatma Gandhi so beautifully stated, “Where there is love there is life.”

Love is essential for our lives, and is both a feeling and an activity. Love encompasses opposites, and understands all things.

The supreme happiness of life consist in the conviction that one is loved.

A quote from Helen Keller: “One of the most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or heard, but must be felt with the heart.”

Love moves us in a particular, beneficial, direction; I have to ask myself, is love my impelling force? And if not, I can ask Spirit to reveal to me how I am to love and serve, not just my family, but my community of sisters and brothers whether we are physically together or apart.

I remind myself today, as often as I need to – Love dissolves all fear and I live as a powerful expression of the Love of God today.

And from my favorite mystic, Rumi:

“Close your eyes,
Fall in love,
Stay there”

Happy Valentine’s Day to all, Namaste, Janie

Welcome to Brady’s World

As I sit here today and contemplate all that is happening here in our world, I am reminded of the truth. We are always at choice. No matter what is on going on out there, I have the power to choose what is going on in here. I can begin my day by scrolling through the news, which is now a strange confluence of health and politics. I can focus on the tragedy of the loss of life and the myriad opinions about it. However, as we know, where thought goes, energy flows! And so I can choose to not get caught up in all the noise and fear that is going on. Otherwise, I may simply be co-creating something even more from this fear and panic.

In the midst of this, I realize that the perfect example for me to follow is my sweet little dog, Brady. Throughout these days, he is always in the moment. He does not have a “to-do” list or regrets about yesterday. His thoughts and behaviors are simple.

For Brady, the Covid-19 epidemic means:
“My person is home with me nearly ALL the time! I get extra attention, play times and even more than one walk a day! If she is acting sad or upset at times, I just hop up into her lap or lay quietly at her feet. I especially like listening to the concerts on line with her or attending her Zoom meetings. Yay! Company but I’m still getting all the attention! I always wake up in a playful mood and now I can visit with her for a long time during breakfast. It doesn’t matter to me what is on the news—I don’t listen to it. But I do pay attention if there are other dogs on TV!!! I like being home and playing outside with her. She says I am her role model—always being in the present, whatever that means. I am here just to show and receive love. And get treats!”

For those of us who have chosen to share our lives with furry friends, you probably can relate. I can’t imagine going through the last several months without him. I also wonder — how much more peaceful would my mind be if I followed Brady’s example? Be in the moment and release judgments. Take time to play and always be open for new adventures. Sit quietly and contemplate by going within. Keep my life simple and loving to others. And always be on the lookout for treats!

 

–by Susan Seid

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