Body, Mind, Spirit & Service
Meditative Prayer Practice:
Two effective elements of prayer according to Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist Monk, author, poet and scholar, in his book The Energy of Prayer are:
- Knowing to whom it is that you pray, knowing that you are always connected to this Source.
- Tapping into the energy between us and the Source, a currency reached through love, mindfulness and right concentration.
Practice: Please take a moment to acknowledge the Source to whom you pray; we generally use the term God when we name this Source, but feel free to use the reverent term you are most comfortable using. Connect by asking yourself 'to whom do I pray?'
Next, please take a moment to create the energy, the electrical currency needed to establish an effective moment of intimate prayer with God. The electric currency is made up of love, mindfulness and right concentration. Direct your body and mind toward the present moment, be mindful of the connection between your spirit and the Spirit of God dwelling peacefully within.
With all this in mind, use this time to be with God in full awareness. Receive God's love now, give the Creator & Sustainer your gratitude and praise, share your concerns with God as you would with a close friend – for He is closer still. ………….
Listen to the higher thoughts coming to you from the First Source and Center of all things. Hear his answers to your prayers. …………….
Look to your higher self to contemplate and absorb these responses from God. You've always had God's love, you only need to claim it and acknowledge it to receive it. Do this now. Receive God's love in your mind, body and spirit. Live on this love, share it with others. You are at peace. Remain in God's love and peace. Amen.
Brain Rule #8 Stress
The following thoughts on Stress are gleaned from the book Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School - by John Medina.
Out of control stress is bad news for the brains of most people. Some of us tolerate stress better than others; some are super-stress-sensitive!
Handling stress – 'variable balance' (or allostasis) is the ability of the brain or body to change or adapt immediately to the present stressful circumstance – up to a certain degree. There is a point, different for each person, where stress becomes toxic – overloaded. Some things just kick us so hard that we react in strange ways; everything from loud verbal outbursts, to violence, to total withdrawal. The greater the overload, the bigger and harder the fall. Relationships, health, work; all suffer from our inability to maintain our variable balance. Stress can cause depression, which dampens or dulls the brain's natural instincts and problem solving abilities. Depression can also affect our relationships, health and work.
The bottom line is that we have lost our balance – we are out of control. If too much is expected of us and we have no control – we feel helpless and frustrated. We need to restore the sense of balance we have lost by taking control of the situation. Taking control can simply be a matter of changing things up a little, adding variety, letting go of control over others (author: "it's none of your business anyway!") . Taking control is never exerting unwanted, unwarranted, unnecessary control over others.
In the case of relationships, if yours has turned sour and hostile – the key to improving your relationship may be to simply reduce the frequency and severity of hostile interactions between each other, with a return to civility. Easier said than done – but this is the unmedicated prescription.
A More Compassionate Resurrection – a Gift
Interfaith Spirit Quest - An Easter Message for 2010
A Universal Message of Hope for People of All Faiths
Jesus willingly laid down his life – certainly not to give those who sought to destroy him any sense of victory – no, but to be the ultimate victory for all people in all times. Hallelujah! Praise be to God!
Whoever you believe Jesus to be – he gave his life for you. When Jesus said his final words while hanging on the cross: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34); he saved you.
Whatever you have thought about Jesus – when he said on the cross: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit…" (Luke 23:46); he put his future and yours into God's hands.
So what exactly did Jesus save us from? What does a future in God's hands look like for us today? These questions are totally unique to each one of us and at the same time, universally harmonious.
Unique because we are all individual spirits, unique personalities, working toward a supreme purpose of life – the development of the Christ Mind, a well-balanced and majestic personality – completely and totally, mindfully and lovingly connected and devoted to God – the First Source and Center of all things, including our individual and unique spirits.
Universally harmonious because we are one human race, thrusting together toward the God of our hearts – completely, totally, mindfully and lovingly connected and devoted also to each other – the source of our individual human existence in the physical realm.
Jesus shows us how our personal relationships with each other mirror the personal relationship we can have with God when we commend (entrust) our body, mind and spirit to him. Him? God is more than Father – but there is nothing wrong with using the term Our Father to describe God. God is a Universal Spirit and enjoys the benefits of both masculinity and femininity – he is whole. Does this mean we are not whole? Yes, in the same way that God is not a man (but a Universal Spirit). We are striving toward this goal of developing the Christ Mind – we are missing something. Perhaps, for the masculine minded person it is their feminine mind that needs to be developed. Likewise, the feminine minded person might have a need to develop their masculine mind. Typically, the relationship of man and woman represent our struggle to achieve oneness and balance. If our relationships with each other are more compassionate, we can say we have achieved the Christ Mind, we have developed a more fully, well-balanced, majestic personality.
Jesus still saves. He saves you by demonstrating to us how things ought to be between us; saving us from unnecessary suffering. He demonstrates this through his life by showing us a more compassionate way.
Jesus still saves. He saves you by introducing you, through his death, to the God of spirit and resurrection; saving us from the fear of not knowing. Jesus demonstrates through life and death that we are inseparable from God, for God is not willing that any should perish.
This is the gift of Jesus, a compassionate resurrection, given for all, to people of all faiths. You opened this gift when you were born. It is the gift of life; physical, spiritual and eternal, given to all.
Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Praise be to God.
