Giving and Receiving

I'm ready to move beyond Pure Potentiality and into the next spiritual law, in this space anyway.  The next law is the law of Giving and Receiving.  There are two words Chopra uses that help me appreciate the law of giving and receiving - circulation and breath.  Everything in the universe is in circulation; nothing can resist transformation and continue to survive.  In other words, change in inevitable.  Got it!

Breath is in circulation, breathing in and breathing out, changing in response to how and what the body and mind are feeling.  If body and mind feel threatened, the breath will be shallow and quick, preparing to assist the body in response to that threat.  When the body is open and relaxed, the breath is deep, natural, calm.  The breath gives the body what it needs to respond to different situations and it receives direction from the mind about how it should manifest.  The breath is an amazing example of giving and receiving.

When practicing this law, Chopra shares three strategies:
First, to give to all those you encounter (material gifts. gifts of kindness, sometimes silent blessings).  Second, to be open to receive abundance from the universe.  And, third, to experience gratitude.

I love the idea of Experiencing Gratitude.  This says so much more to me than simply being thankful.  In meditation, this is called lovingkindness meditation.  I've shared a little of this before, but lovingkindess meditation involves recalling a time or moment when you help another person and made a difference.  You sit in the feeling that comes from these moments and then ask for happiness and ease of being for yourself and all living things.  In the space between thoughts and in the silence of meditation, this experience can be deep, moving, overwhelming, intense, and magical.  To me, this is what it means to Experience gratitude.

So, I will enter the practice of giving and receiving.  As the academic year ends, it is a good time to be open to this law.  It is now that students will share what I've given them along their four-year journey and I will have opportunity to share my observations of their development, their transformation in most cases.  I enter this practice hopeful and confident!

May you be blessed with a heart to give, openness to receive, and may you EXPERIENCE gratitude!

Cousins

As a young girl, I remember enjoying play time with my cousins.  Though, as we've gotten older we haven't remained close.  My children have many, many, many cousins all of whom are very special to them.  But, there are four (and soon to be five) that are almost like siblings.  They are my sister's children.

My oldest and hers are six months apart.  The next two are 6 weeks apart, then 9 months, and then her fourth and fifth.  No more for me!  And despite the miles that separate the current seven, they remain close through her storytelling and mine.  My eldest niece wants to be a working mom like me and my oldest daughter reminds me so much of my sister.  In fact, I often confuse their names.

But, nothing (and I mean nothing) is more fun than getting the seven of them together for an extended weekend.  Here are some playful stories of their time together . . .

The youngest two sat together at dinner.  The shared a bench and shared a book while waiting patiently for food.  They both love Dora and Diego and had a wonderful conversation about the adventures of the more famous cousins.

Until . . .

Then, their uncle (the tattoo artist) came to visit with his fiance.  The cousins decided to try their own hand at tattooing. Welcome to the family for their new aunt!

Uncle even paid them for their craft ($1 each)!

There were quiet moments, too. 

Then, there was dancing - Irish dancing, ballerinas, and Just Dance (Wii).  Even the little man got to play, though his remotes were not hooked up.  He was happy!

There were sleepovers and bedtime stories.  There were giggles and laughing, silliness and tears, sleepless nights and quiet nights.

But, my favorite story goes like this:

Four-year-old cousin: There are trees out there.  

Three-year-old cousin: Do you have trees in your backyard?

Four-year-old cousin: No, God planted the trees.  But I planted the bushes.

Easter Traditions

No matter what traditions I've been questioning as of late, where children are concerned, tradition matters!  My sister, her husband, and their four children joined us this Easter from clear across the country.  So, with a packed agenda, we set off to share as many Easter traditions with the seven cousins as we could.  Here are a few . . .

A trip down Easter Bunny Lane

There not real, but they look yummy!

Noah's Ark

Telling the resurrection story

The empty tomb

Easter Egg Hunt

Ready to go!

Let's not lose count!  No really, the numbers are their ages!

We're off!

Coloring Eggs

Relaxing!

Hoping that you and your family had a blessed Easter, rich with tradition!

Through Mary's Eyes

Just after my son was born, we celebrated our first Christmas as a family.  That year, we traveled to my husband's hometown and found ourselves in an unfamiliar church to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Without the normal church music responsibilities, I found myself clearly focused in a new way on Christmas - focused on what Mary must have felt on that holiest of nights.  What was her childbirth like?  Did Mary feel the hand of God through her labor as I had felt Her in mine?  Did Mary have the loving breastfeeding relationship with her child that I had with mine?  Looking into my sons eyes that night, I remember feeling more passion, more love, more emotion than I had ever known.  Surely Mary had that experience, too.

My son is now seven and despite the new outlook on Christmas I had not made the shift with Jesus' death until tonight.  For the first time, I focused on Mary's thoughts and emotions as she watched her son accused, beaten, tortured, mocked, hung, as she watched him breath his last.  My heart hurt at the very thought!  I wept. 

Did you know that Mary was there at the foot of the cross when her son died?  His siblings had abandoned him, his followers had abandoned him, but Mary did not.  In fact, of the few folks who stayed with Jesus until the end, all but one were women.  There are few roles for women in the Bible, but perhaps this role is the most important.  She stayed!

Samuel Barber wrote a beautiful piece which helps us see the crucifixion through Mary's eyes.  We were privileged to hear one of our very talented voices sing this piece tonight.  Here are Barber's words:

At the cry of the first bird

They began to crucify Thee, O Swan!

Never shall lament cease because of that.

It was like the parting of day from night.

Ah, sore was the suffering borne

By the body of Mary's Son,

But sorer still to Him was the grief

Which for His sake

Came upon His Mother.

Lovingkindness

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." (John 15:12)  And Jesus example of love was to give himself over to death for you and for me.

Tonight, at worship, I found myself thinking, yet again, about this notion of non-judgement.  "Today, I will judge nothing that happens."  Is the notion of non-judgement connected with the idea of love?  I say, definitely!  Surely to love others the way Jesus loved us is to forgive and understand those that we love, to show compassion and to be unconditional.  How quickly judgement can tear apart our love for other people.

Christian or not, this commandment can be a great rule for life.  Love one another!  What if this were the ONLY rule we had to follow.  Wouldn't this fix the woes of the world?  Would we kill each other over difference if we loved one another?  Would we steal from each other if we loved on another?  Would we be self-righteous if we loved one another?  Would opinions be so right and so wrong if we loved one another?  Would riches matter if we loved on another?  Would we have to judge and be driven by our judgement if we loved one another?

In my meditation practice this week, I'm practicing a technique called lovingkindness.  I have to tell you that it is rocking my world!  In this technique, you recall kind things you've done for others and the way you feel in those moments.  Holding steady to that feeling, you say aloud "May I be happy.  May I have ease of living."  Then you say, "May all things be happy.  May all things have ease of living."

Recalling acts of kindness was hard enough, being the critic that I am.  But wishing me and all things happiness and ease of living has rendered me useless in my daily life.  Where I was quite capable of making sound decisions even a week ago, I find myself questioning my intent, the impact my decisions will have, and the consequences of my decisions with far more heart and empathy than ever before.  It's almost paralyzing!  I've lost my footing, but do believe these are growing pains into a new way of being.

I learned tonight that the word Maunday is a Latin word meaning commandment.  As such, today is Maunday Thursday because in Holy Week today is the day we honor this commandment Jesus gave us.  Today we also honor holy communion - another gift given to us by Jesus as an act of love.


In my Christian tradition, we call this love.  In Eastern tradition, it is called non-judgement.  Two cultures, two traditions, one gift that can bring peace to those who engage.

Wishing you the peace of love and non-judgement this Maunday Thursday.

Expectations

Yesterday, there was a story here about a tough personnel decision I need to make.  Having written, prayed, meditated, and talked through with others, I've come to a decision.  I felt compelled to remove my post, however, because the person involved would have been clearly identifiable.  In fairness, I didn't want to take that risk.

Thank you to those of you who listened, understood, advised, commented, and supported me.  You are much appreciated!

The Passion Story

Matthew 27:45-50 and 54

     From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.  And about three o'clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" When some bystanders heard it, they said, "This man is calling for Elijah." At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink.  But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him."  Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.

...they were terrified and said "Truly this man was God's Son!"

For many Christians, John 3:16  is the Biblical passage used to justify their faith.  The above passage is the crux of my faith.  The bolded verses, ("My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and "Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.") never fail to bring me to tears with the realization that it is ME who put him on that cross.

In the Lutheran church, the Sunday before Easter serves a dual purpose.  We begin in a joyous tone with the celebration of Palm Sunday and move quickly into a somber tone, one filled with anxiety and mourning as we read the Passion.  To hear the Passion story read and acted by members of the congregation sends the message home that you and I are the players in this story.  You and I are the chorus, the Jews, the sinners judging Jesus, the accusers.  No, we were not there.  But, it only takes one day of listening to the hurtful gossip in the office or in a high school, or even in a church to know that we would have behaved the same way if faced with Jesus in his time.

There is one other piece of Scripture, coupled with that above, reminds my of why I came to believe in the triune God along this faith journey.  In a moment of vulnerability, Jesus prays "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want." To know what pain and suffering he must endure for the children of God, to believe that his journey was necessary for you and me, to not question God's will is beyond our human capacity.  

 

I've been reflecting on the notion of pure potentiality this week - the notion of change and of becoming.  I believe as humans we have an amazing capacity to change, to rise above, to be transformed, to pursue our pure potentiality. But, I don't believe we could willingly place ourselves in the seat of suffering on behalf of the world.  Only through God, with God, and in God could this pure compassion manifest!

In our home, the Passion story has been in our hearts and it has been a creative weekend. Included in this post are those pieces that have come from our hearts.  Works of art they are not...

May this Holy Week find you at peace and able to slow down enough to take this message in!

Nature

The element of Pure Potentiality that I haven't addressed is communing with nature.  I love to be outdoors, but I am a self-professed fair weather fan.  This April has been colder than others and I have certainly enjoyed the warm, sunny days that have graced us with their presence.  

Today, it's raining and cold - again.  About 4 p.m., though, we got a beautiful break in the weather.  The bitter chill left the air and the sun shone as if to say, "Oh, gray clouds - you can't hide me!"

So, I grabbed the kids and my camera and went outside to commune.  Oh, how green the grass is today!  Here is what I saw:

Wishing you a day and vibrant and colorful as this!

 
Peace be with you...