Spiritual Solutions

Here’s a great article by Kevin Schoeninger of Mind-Body Training and Spiritual Growth Monthly that I don’t want you to miss, because it highlights so well the difference between assumption and experience. So, I’ll just let your experience of the story speak for itself. . . .

Is It Possible To Move Beyond Judgment?

Have you ever been in the supermarket where you witness a mother or father struggling with their kids and yelling at them? Did you get upset at the “meanness” of these parents? Did you feel that the kids weren’t being respected and cared for? Have you ever been shocked to find yourself being that parent?

Or have you found yourself annoyed at a driver weaving in and out of traffic because he was only thinking of himself and putting the rest of us at risk? Have you also found yourself occasionally being that driver?

Do you get angry when you see wars of religion—one trying to dominate the other with its “right” point of view? Do you find yourself being intolerant of intolerance?
The web of judgment is certainly tangled.

Is it possible to move beyond that?

Let me share a brief story that opened my eyes about this.
 
As I related in last week’s post, my wife and I take an annual trip to Sedona Arizona for our anniversary. On this trip we like to take a hike up onto Cathedral Rock. It’s one of our favorite spots. The lush environment around the base of the rock is so peaceful and serene, while the heights of the perches at the top are simply majestic. Legend has it that this gigantic red rock formation has a powerful energy that comforts you and makes you feel like everything is O.K. It’s even said, as I shared last week, that, if you are open to it, you can receive messages from this rock.

Any judgments come up for you yet?

So, my wife and I are enjoying the two hour climb around the north face to east face and upward to the top. At several points, the rock gets pretty steep and some folks balk at this point. On my first time here, I had serious doubts and had to take a moment to relax and dig for some courage. To an experienced hiker or climber, it’s probably nothing too exciting or dangerous. Nevertheless, everyone seems quite accepting of varying levels of courage when you reach these points. The comfortable ones take a break and wait for the less confident ones. The fearless ones assure the scared ones that everything will be O.K.

When my wife and I reached the top, or as high as you can go without equipment, we took some pictures and then settled into a comfortable spot to rest up and enjoy the “energy” of the mountain. We lay down on the red rocks, my wife in the sun and me with my back against the cool red rock wall in the shade. I enjoyed the silence, punctuated only by the occasional “thunderous” helicopter flying by for a bird’s eye view. As an experiment, I asked the big rock if it had any message for me.

Shortly, there came a blustery, athletic presence storming up the hill, huffing and puffing. He took the top, had a brief look around, made some loud comments to his girlfriend, and then quickly began his descent. “In it for the workout,” came to my mind.

Next there came a middle-aged couple. When they reached the top it was clear that the woman was pretty scared. She stared at the way back down with trepidation. Almost immediately she began her descent, backing down on all fours, while being coached enthusiastically by her husband. “Missed the experience,” I thought.
Soon thereafter, came a barefooted girl with tattoos on her arms. She arrived at the top silently, like a cat, found a nice slab in the sun, and lay down with a smile on her face. “She’s really got it right,” I thought.

I followed suit, closed my eyes, and felt “soooo” relaxed against the soft, cool, red rock. I asked again for a message.

Before long these words came into my head: “Everyone’s experience is valid.”

I instantly felt how this released my judgments against those who “raced” up the mountain, were “too scared” to enjoy the experience at the top, or “too noisy” to listen and feel the silence. As I let this realization soak in, I understood it in a visceral way, in a way I hadn’t before.

Everyone’s experience is valid from their point of view. It makes sense to them given who they are, where they’ve come from, and where they are going. Who am I to judge that? I have no idea about any of those things for someone else.

In that moment, I felt free of judgment toward others and free to be myself. These two fit perfectly hand in hand. I’ve since discovered that, when I carry this phrase into life—“everyone’s experience is valid”—it frees me to appreciate the unique qualities that each of us bring to the table. The consciousness behind this phrase creates a fertile ground of understanding which can be used to resolve conflict and cooperate toward what we all truly desire—which is, at once, different and the same.

Enjoy your practice,

Kevin

Kevin Schoeninger

If you are interested in knowing more about the Mind-Body Training Community and Spiritual Growth Monthly, I can tell you that I have enjoyed several of their programs and the Spiritual Growth Monthly newsletter for several years. You can go to Raise Your Vibration / Core Energy Meditation (Gift Page) for a powerful free meditation technique.

Remember, God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over forty years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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One of the most beautiful thoughts from the writings of the mystic medieval thinkers is the thought of the seventeenth century Carmelite monk, Brother Lawrence, “The Practice of the Presence of God.” But what does it really mean? And where do you practice the presence?

The practice of the presence of God is the consciousness that you live and move and have your being in God. It is taking the time to be still, to turn from the realization of inadequacy, of confusion, of sickness, to turn from the thought of being alone in a heartless universe, to get away from the idea that God is “out there” somewhere; to instead get the realization of your oneness, to know that you exist in God – I am in God, God is in me. Then, there is no separation.

True prayer is the realization that God manifests in you and in me as a presence, and the word “presence” means present here and now. God is always with you!

Practice that presence by turning from the outer sense of separation to an inner realization of oneness, of wholeness. Feel that you are alive and alert in the presence, that you are guided and directed in the presence and that you are free and whole and fulfilled in the presence.

Practicing the presence means to let go of all tendencies to look up or to reach out for something. Just be still and know your oneness. Let yourself feel the activity of this all enveloping presence, this universal essence which we call God that is in you, expressing through you and within you, and which has no other desire for you except to heal and guide you and fulfill you. Just be still and rest in this consciousness. Then you will practice the presence.

The practice of the presence of God is the consciousness that wherever you are, God is; whatever you do, you are in the presence of God. And it is a matter of turning instantly from an experience of conflict, from a momentary sense of insecurity, to a realization of oneness, of wholeness.

Practicing the presence is a beautiful idea, but it is probably like the study of music or any other artistic endeavor – it requires a great deal of practice in terms of the discipline and diligence of experiences of prayer and meditation. To paraphrase Emerson, he says that when you have broken with the God of tradition and destroyed the God of your intellect, then God fires you with His presence. In other words, you must let go of the God of your intellect and of the God of tradition.

Take time in the quiet of your home, perhaps in the early morning hours when you have awakened or the last thing before you go to sleep at night to just get still and feel the sense that you are in the presence, that you are surrounded and enfolded in this consciousness of love and of life and of substance and of intelligence which is God. It is this consciousness that can give one the real sense of preparation for life. It will give you the realization that you can go forth in life without any real concerns or any anxieties, truly confident, truly prepared in every way for all that may come.

Determine that you will no longer practice the absence of God; get the sense that every time you deal with God “out there,” you are practicing the absence of God. Certainly, every time you say as so many people do, “How could God allow this to happen? How could God allow this good person to suffer so?” you are practicing the absence of God. You are thinking of God as something “out there.”

It is important to get the understanding of God as a presence and an activity. God doesn’t will sickness or death or confusion. God is, and as the scriptures say, “Behold, I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” There is a constant support of love and light and guidance forever within you that functions just as constantly as the force of gravity if we allow it, if we work with it, if we practice it.

So take the time right now. Just be still, close your eyes and practice the presence. You don’t have to tell God that you are doing this or what you need – the Father knows what things you have need of even before you ask. God is, and God is an activity in which you live and move and have your being. It is life supporting, loving, healing, harmonizing, ever with and around you, ever expressing as you. Practice it. Be still and know it. The go forth this day knowing that you are in the presence of God, that there is no way that you can be separated and, therefore, you know that this will be a good day.

Remember, God is Blessing You Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-eight years, invites you to subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions.

Please feel free to publish this article in your blog or newsletter or share it with a friend, as long as you include this resource box.

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words.

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Some of the highlights we learned from the Third Conversation of Brother Lawrence in his book, The Practice of the Presence of God – The Best Rule of a Holy Life, were these:

Once he had established for himself what he felt was the foundation of the spiritual life, he focused on performing all his actions for the love of God to the exclusion of all else. If sometimes he neglected his attention on God’s presence he didn’t waste much time on beating himself up about it but quickly returned to his focus.

His faith and trust in God brought a great awareness of all the blessings he experienced due to this practice, causing him to automatically turn to God for guidance in all his affairs without even having to think about it beforehand.

He didn’t have any great expertise in the formal practice of prayer and meditation; indeed it caused him some anxiety and perplexity. But if in his ordinary everyday affairs he put his attention on God with genuine and loving feelings he was confident in being guided in every aspect of his life; and he felt that no particular knowledge or skill was needed for anyone to experience this for themselves if they would only put the love of God first and foremost in all things.

Now we turn our attention to the Fourth Conversation:

He discoursed with me very frequently, and with great openness of heart, concerning his manner of going to God, whereof some part is related already.

He told me that all consists in one hearty renunciation of everything which we are sensible does not lead to God. That we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity. That we need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see. He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done.

That in this conversation with God we are also employed in praising, adoring, and loving Him incessantly for His infinite goodness and perfection.

That without being discouraged on account of our sins, we should pray for His grace with a perfect confidence, as relying upon the infinite merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. That God never failed offering His grace at each action; that he distinctly perceived it, and never failed of it, unless when his thoughts had wandered from a sense of God’s presence, or he had forgotten to ask His assistance.

That God always gave us light in our doubts when we had no other design but to please Him.

That our sanctification did not depend upon changing our works, but in doing that for God’s sake which we commonly do for our own. That it was lamentable to see how many people mistook the means for the end, addicting themselves to certain works, which they performed very imperfectly, by reason of their human or selfish regards.

That the most excellent method he had found of going to God was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men, and (as far as we are capable) purely for the love of God.

That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times; that we are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer.

That his prayer was nothing else but a sense of the presence of God, his soul being at tht time insensible to everything but divine love; and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing Him with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy; yet hoped that God would give him somewhat to suffer when he should grow stronger.

That we ought, once for all, heartily to put our whole trust in God, and make a total surrender of ourselves to Him, secure that He would not deceive us.

That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. That we should not wonder if, in the beginning, we often failed in our endeavors, but that at last we should gain a habit, which will naturally produce its acts in us, without our care, and to our exceeding great delight.

That the whole substance of religion was faith, hope, and charity, by the practice of which we become united to the will of God; that all besides is indifferent, and to be used as a means that we may arrive at our end, and be swallowed up therein, by faith and charity.

That all things are possible to him who believes, that they are less difficult to him who hopes; that they are more easy to him who loves, and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.

That the end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshipers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity.

That when we enter upon the spiritual life, we should consider and examine to the bottom what we are. And then we should find ourselves worthy of all contempt, and not deserving indeed the name of Christians; subject to all kinds of misery and numberless accidents, which trouble us and cause perpetual vicissitudes in our health, in our humors, in our internal and external dispositions; in fine, persons whom God would humble by many pains and labors, as well within as without. After this we should not wonder that troubles, temptations, oppositions, and contradictions happen to us from men. We ought, on the contrary, to submit ourselves to them, and bear them as long as God pleases, as things highly advantageous to us.

That the greater perfection a soul aspires after, the more dependent it is upon divine grace.

(The particulars which follow are collected from other accounts of Brother Lawrence.)

Being questioned by one of his own society (to whom he was obliged to open himself) by what means he had attained such an habitual sense of God, he told him that, since his first coming to the monastery, he had considered God as the end of all his thoughts and desires, as the mark to which they should tend, and in which they should terminate.

That in the beginning of his novitiate he spent the hours appointed for private prayer in thinking of God, so as to convince his mind of, and to impress deeply upon his heart, the divine existence, rather by devout sentiments, and submission to the lights of faith, than by studied reasonings and elaborate meditations. That by this short and sure method he exercised himself in the knowledge and love of God, resolving to use his utmost endeavor to live in a continual sense of His presence, and, if possible, never to forget Him more.

That when he had thus is prayer filled his mind with great sentiments of that infinite Being, he went to his work appointed in the kitchen (for he was cook to the society). There having first considered severally the things his office required, and when and how each thing was to be done, he spent all the intervals of his time, as well before as after his work, in prayer.

That when he began his business, he said to God, with a filial trust in Him: O my God, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections.

As he proceeded in his work he continued his familiar conversations with his Maker, imploring His grace, and offering to Him all his actions.

When he had finished he examined himself how he had discharged his duty; if he found well, he returned thanks to God; if otherwise, he asked pardon, and, without being discouraged, he set his mind right again, and continued his exercise of the presence of God as if he had never deviated from it. "Thus," said he, "by rising after my falls, and by frequently renewed acts of faith and love, I am come to a state wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it was at first to accustom my self to it."

As Brother Lawrence had found sucn an advantage in walking in the presence of God, it was natural for him to recommend it earnestly to others; but his example was a stronger inducement than any arguments he could propose. His very countenance was edifying, such a sweet and calm devotion appearing in it as could not but affect the beholders. And it was observed that in the greatest hurry of business in the kitchen he still preserved his recollection and heavenly-mindedness. He was never hasty, nor loitering, but did each thing in its season, with an even, uninterrupted composure and tranquillity of spirit. "The time of business," said he, "does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament."

God is Blessing You, Right Now!

Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham

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Rev. Alan A. Rowbotham, a Unity minister for over thirty-six years, invites you to enjoy more articles and/or subscribe to his free inspirational newsletter, Spiritual Solutions or go directly to the Spiritual Solutions Blog

If you’d like to receive weekday inspirational quotes, you can subscribe at Rich Words

I have been asked how a person can donate to "Spiritual Solutions." Just go to Send a Love Offering and it will take you to a form you can use for your donation. Thank you – I am very grateful for your generosity!

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