December 13, 2020

It is natural to want to be right; at least to see ourselves as right.

It is natural to want to be right about God and God’s commandments.

But there are inevitably great variations in what humans discern to be right.  People’s convictions about what’s right — particularly what’s true about God and God’s commandments — have led to countless wars and other conflicts.

If I believed that God regarded people who believe differently from me about God, and about what faithfulness to God requires, are wrong and should be corrected, or even shamed or subjugated until they believe as I do, I do not see how I could find inner peace, or relate to those people as equals, when the duty to correct remained undone.

If that’s what being right with God means, I shall not be right with God.  I’ll give up an eternity of peace and joy in the afterlife for peace and joy in this life, and for whatever contribution I may make to others’ experience of peace and joy in this life.  I will do my best to love others, including those of different beliefs, even those who are hostile to me or to my beliefs.  I will encourage others to be right with God their way — and I’ll do my best in mine.  I will strive for a loving relationship with everyone, thus to improve the chances for peaceful relations with others and peace within myself.

December 20, 2020

As the celebration, by Christians, of the birth of Jesus Christ approaches, it seems to me that the essential message of Jesus to us, to every one of us, is this:

“You are never alone.  There is always, within you and accessible to you, a Holy Spirit of love and of infinite reach and power to give you comfort, wisdom, and strength.”

I think I'm beginning to understand koans.

When we look within, when we question ourselves, getting a true answer shouldn't be the point.  Life is not an examination.  It is a series of perceptions followed by choices of action.  

The point of questioning ourselves, of self-examination, should be discerning the best action - the best response to our circumstances - and acting accordingly, with a clear mind, clean conscience, and open heart.

Then we should assess our results and, having learned something, repeat the process.

Our role in this moment

This moment comes and goes — and this moment is always with us.

Once created, we cannot change this moment.

But, guided by a loving Spirit within and accessible to each of us, we are the creators of this moment, of our response to it, and of our perception of its possibilities.

December 6, 2020

This morning I am thinking about the daunting and discouraging number of conflicts in this nation and in the world, and what we sitting here in worshipful meditation can do about it.

Conflicts will be reduced or resolved not by debate; by persuasion; by what one side or the other contends to be cogent, even irrefutable, evidence.  Conflicts will never be reduced or resolved by self-righteousness.

Conflicts will ultimately be reduced and resolved by love in the heart turned into love in action; by a bow and a smile, never by a sneer; by peaceful, respectful listening, starting unilaterally; by showing understanding, acceptance, moral support and, in the political sphere, fair economic and social support – while never rewarding bad behavior.

We can contribute to the reduction and resolution of conflicts around us by representing that of God within ourselves, by seeking and focusing on that of God in each party to a conflict, and by cultivating our capacity to do so.

November 22, 2020

This moment comes and goes — and is always with us.

Once created, we cannot change this moment.

But, aided by the Holy Spirit, we are the creators of this moment.

November 15, 2020

The journey of meditation this morning reminds me of another kind of journey — hiking.  When hiking, as when meditating, many things invite our attention — something imperfect, something in the way, something odd, something especially beautiful.  We can let them all be.

The leaves are dancing — without our doing anything.

The light, or the darkness, or the present mixture, is as it is for this moment — and then it changes, and changes again.

The air, through and with our clothing, caresses the skin.

The pines, roses, honeysuckle, mint and their botanical cousins spray their fragrances with abandon.

The wind, a voice of nature, is speaking; maybe calling us to prayer.

In meditating as in hiking, it is fine, indeed natural, to stop and look around.  There are always gifts of Life at hand, gifts worthy of notice, celebration, and gratitude.  But they rarely require analysis, let alone action.  We can let them all be.

Healing divisions in society

In any nation, the divisions in society are magnified by any leader who focuses on them, especially when the leader uses the existence and fear of those divisions for political advantage. 

Divisions both matter less and can be healed or harmonized by any leader who focuses on shared interests including national and local security, including racial and class equity and opportunities; on the national economy, including all sectors, workers as well as employers; on the nation's reputation and opportunities to help other nations; and on the future good of the nation and the world, including setting an example of honorable service, humility, and respect and compassion for others; demanding and relying on truth in public policy and discourse; working to have government live within its means (except in emergency - as families sometimes have to do); slowing down climate change and mitigating the harm it causes; improving public education, including adult education, and making it more available; deterring and prosecuting domestic corruption; and never rewarding any significant abuse of power.

October 25, 2020

“I love how I feel when I am with you.”  That expression of a realization came to me for the first time about a decade ago on a walk with a dear friend.  That sentence, and the experience to which it refers, has come back to me often since then, both with individuals and when I am conscious of the presence of the Holy Spirit which I believe is at once within each of us and beyond us.

I cannot adequately describe the experience of the presence of the Holy Spirit – but perhaps I can get close enough to evoke your experience of such a spirit, however named.  It is an experience of being aware; 

Of being amazed;

Of accepting;

Of being assured of love within every person and of love for Life within every living thing.

It is the experience of being empowered by consciousness of the array of our choices and of an inexhaustible source of spiritual refreshment, creativity and inspiration from which we may draw.

Health permitting, the availability of this experience is our natural state.

If I do not love how I feel when I am with someone, or when I experience being with the Holy Spirit, that is for me to examine, to grow from, and to change – if I will – to find that natural state again.

October 11, 2020

One of my frequent sayings is, “We raise our children to be independent – and they go and do it.”  We raise our children to be independent from us – not, of course, from responsibility for their own care, growth, and ethics; from society, economics and culture; or from the global environment.

I wonder if God says something similar about us.

To others, particularly those whose beliefs are very different from ours, let us choose love, not self-righteousness.

Let us say by our actions –

We are members of the same family.

I recognize you as my equal.

I love you, even if I don’t love everything you say and do.

Let’s get to know each other.

Let’s work together for what we both regard as a more just, equitable, peaceful and healthy society.

October 4, 2020

One of my favorite sources of amusement is photos of business goofs found on the Internet by searching on “you only had one job.”  But there is a serious, even holy, application of that phrase.  Each of us has — each of us wields — her or his own part of the power of God.  The use of the power of God — the use by each of us of our own piece of that power — has divinity in it.  Certainly restraint, patience, silence, and silent forgiveness can all be uses of our divine power.  But to neglect opportunities to use that of God within us to aid others or for our own growth — for stewardship of the piece of divine power entrusted to us — is to neglect our agency of the Holy Spirit.

Regarding that agency, let it be said of each of us, “You only had one job – and you did your very best.”

September 13, 2020

Belief in God as an all-powerful being, external to humanity, separate from humanity, can be a form of self-righteousness.

“God is responsible for the Universe.  God is responsible for this planet, and for all that people – God’s creations – have ever done and ever will do.  What can I possibly do to make a difference?  I am not responsible for what others have done, do today, or do tomorrow, let alone for the collective effects of their actions such as global warming, racism, income inequality, and war.”

This perspective can become an excuse for thinking small; for seeing the world and our roles in it narrowly; for being content to survive; for doing less than we are able to do; for staying comfortable at the cost of growth and service.

Let us turn the metaphorical telescope around – it is that simple – and view ourselves more and more as including God, however named.  Let us view ourselves as servants by whom that Holy Spirit acts in this world and let us dare to do our best, humbly and with love, to live that way.

August 23, 2020

Upon what basis – in essence, not deeds – is any person unworthy of my love?

Do human beings all have the same Creator, however named, or do they not?

If I believe that God is omnipotent – indeed, that the Holy Spirit is in every person – how can I believe that some people are not God’s creations; God’s children?

If I believe that every human being is a child of God, how can I – how dare I – claim to love, and to try to serve, God and at the same time believe that some people, some of God’s children, are in their essence less worthy of love than others because of how God made them: because of their physical appearance; because of their experienced sex or gender; because of where they were born; because of the beliefs or customs with which they were raised; because of how some others of God’s children choose to treat them?

Every person is, in his or her essence, deserving of love.

August 16, 2020

Holy Spirit, we’re all trying to survive – spiritually, emotionally, functionally; to care for the gift of Life; to remember that our health as cells in the body of Life depends on the health of the entire body.

I have not figured out how not to be right – in my eyes and in Yours – about how I do that.

Thank you for this moment, this opportunity to reflect together on our relationships with You, with each other, and with our neighbors; supporting and learning from each other; learning to be less right and more loving; thinking about ways to grow, and show, love for humanity and for the natural world.

August 9, 2020

I try to imagine that a part of God in each person I meet is observing me.  Today I imagine that God is watching me through ten pairs of eyes, ten different lenses, at one time.

I imagine myself as an insect moving through life in the ambient Light of God, including that of the summer sun.

I imagine that, figuratively speaking, God holds a magnifying glass that could immolate me at any moment.  I try to imagine being constantly aware of that vulnerability.

With that perspective, how will I steward the gift of Life in this moment?

[Since March of 2020, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, New London Friends’ meetings for worship have been “virtual,” that is, by way of an Internet meetings application in which those participating by computer video camera are able to see each other throughout the meeting.]

Yearning, forbearance and consciousness

Life and growth include accepting and sometimes just bearing yearning, including forbearing from any action to yield to, or even express, yearning which is likely to be unwelcome to another person or inconsistent with one's higher values or goals.  Being conscious of one's yearnings, which can make dealing with them more difficult, is essential to this process.  But consciousness is its own reward: consciousness of the realities of one's life is essential to growth.

The Holy Spirit and dreams

If I believe in a Holy Spirit - something more than just a part of one person's brain, conscience or soul; something beyond me which is powerful, wise, loving, graceful and available to every person - I'd expect that Spirit to inform my dreams.  And It does.

What would it mean if I did not have that belief - particularly if I were certain that such a belief would be a false belief - yet the presence of grace, of something unexpectedly wise, helpful, creative or comforting, is revealed or suggested in my dreams?

Would I not want more of that presence?

Wouldn't I at least want to explore that suggestion or revelation?

Or would I rather continue be right about the non-existence of such a Spirit?

July 26, 2020

The Light of God is in every human being.  The Light of God is, then, wherever people gather.  The divine Light is in every demonstrator, in every law enforcement officer, and in every other public servant.  Though it is often obscured by anger, fear, and self-righteousness, the Light is in every debate on every issue of public policy.

In every human action and interaction revealed by any public spotlight, the divine Light is there.

Am I willing to look for that Light in what I see in the public spotlight?

Am I willing to acknowledge that Light when I find it?

Am I willing to honor the divine Light wherever it appears?

Am I willing to hear and answer the call to service of that Light, and to bring all of that Light I can muster to the public spotlight?

Reality check #15

About a committed relationship:

I don't expect either myself or my partner to be perfect, but, as a partner, am I doing my best to live up to my expectations of myself as a partner?

Am I doing my best to live up to my partner's commitment to me?

Am I doing my best to learn my partner's expectations of me and to deal promptly and directly with my partner about the expectations which I cannot meet, or don't wish to try to meet, and why?

Do I consistently work to make the relationship stronger, more productive and joyful - and the commitment easier to fulfill?

Am I kind?

Am I truthful?

Do I value and acknowledge my partner's, and the relationship's, contributions to my own growth?

Do I value and acknowledge my partner's growth?

Do I view the attention, work, and discomfort - the vulnerability - which the commitment requires, and the resulting growth, with gratitude?

Dancing with Mother Nature

I used to think that when I cultivated some plants and culled others; when I tried to maintain a lawn, or to keep trails open, trees trimmed, or a pond clear, I was resisting Mother Nature, even fighting Her.

Yesterday it dawned on me: there is little joy - and no point - in trying to resist Mother Nature. 

But I've come to believe that She loves to play.  She loves to dance.

So I bow to Mother Nature, take Her hand, and we dance.

She always leads.

Is there a spirit within each person?

Spiritually, each of us is either entirely alone in this life or we are not.

Each person - with her or his own personality and ever-changing body, brain, perceptions, memories, thoughts, desires, emotions, and will - either has access to a power of a spiritual nature or she or he does not.

There either is a spirit - a non-physical source of wisdom, guidance, power, growth, and peace - within and accessible to each person or there is not.

If I reject that dichotomy, what IS true?

That there is such a spirit in every person? 
That, whatever one's beliefs, there is no such spirit in any person?
That there is such a spirit in some people but not in others?

Who will refuse even to look within herself or himself for the answers to these questions?

Who, concluding after careful search and thought that there is no such spirit within and accessible to herself or himself, will deny the experience of those who do find such a spirit within - accessible, wise, useful, even loving?

Who, considering the described experience of those who do find such a spirit within themselves, would rather be right about the non-existence of such a spirit - would deny others' lived experience of such spirit as merely imaginary - than continue to look for such a spirit within himself or herself?  And those who would rather be right about the non-existence of such a spirit do so at what cost?

June 28, 2020

A great many people are in a rush – driven, often by fear, to survive, including emotionally; to find security; to succeed; to succeed more than others.

Collectively, the result is like a mob, with no individual – but everyone together – responsible for what happens: people can’t get out and away; people get pushed, shoved; people get knocked down, trampled, hurt, even killed.

Am I willing to use my life to save a life?

Am I willing to do what I can - to put my emotional and physical comfort, my security, even my life at risk - to slow down and try to calm the mob, to prevent even one other person from being trampled?

How willing am I to seek and recognize the ways in which I can do that?

June 21, 2020

In stewardship of the gift of life, we are not, as Thomas Kelly wrote, required to bear all crosses.  What is required is that we do our best - the best that we can see to do - in adapting to life with all its changes.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed human life in our homes and neighborhoods, and across the nation and the world.  The pandemic is affecting people's health, activities, resources and emotions.

As we adapt, as we cope with the pandemic, are we alone?

No.

We have each other, individually and as communities.

We have that of God in each other.

And we have that of God within ourselves, the Holy Spirit, the ever-present guardian, master, and guide to growth, resilience, creativity, wisdom, self-care and love.

June 7, 2020

To make the most of the gift of life - to grow, to cultivate peace and love in our hearts - we must in every waking hour seek balance between seemingly paradoxical choices.

We must pay attention – without becoming too attached to what we behold.

We must take responsibility – without neglecting joy; without, as Thomas Kelly put it in A Testament of Devotion, attempting to bear all crosses. 

We must maintain a discipline of growth and service – without being self-righteous about it or neglecting self care.

We must cultivate compassion – but avoid disabling exhaustion.

We must seek peace without becoming complacent.

We must love without seeking control.

What a relief it is simply to surrender and ask, 
“Lord, please guide me in this moment;” 
to listen for the answer; 
and to do one’s best to act follow that leading.

Reviewing and revising the social contract in the wake of the killing of George Floyd

In an 18-minute soliloquy dated May 29, 2020, Trevor Noah eloquently, cogently, walks the viewer through the American social contract; its breach as to Black Americans; the blindness, in one degree or another, of most of us to that breach; and a path to compassion and a new, just social contract. I highly recommend viewing that talk.

Each person must think for herself or himself, of course, and we must be true to ourselves.  But if we do not take constructive ACTION as "a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens" [Margaret Mead], and ultimately in large numbers, to IMPROVE our society - society being ultimately our relations with each other, from neighborhood to nation - our children will be entitled not only to reject us as examples of responsible citizens.  They will be entitled to indict us for our neglect - of them and of our responsibility to ensure our local, national, and global social contracts are equitable - and for adding to their generation's burden of seeking justice and economic, social, political stability.

As for racism in particular, I think the most important thing I can do is to commit, to be alert and willing, to grow - including with others' help - as an informed and effective ally of its victims.  This commitment, for me, includes being uncomfortable for the rest of my life about my own implicit racism and doing my best to reduce it; being alert to others' racism (particularly that of public officers and leaders) and, with due respect, even love, acknowledging it and opening and discussions about it; and supporting, as best I can see to do, the changes to our social contract for which Mr. Noah calls.

May 24, 2020

There are many ways to seek, to worship, and to serve the Holy Spirit.  There are many steps to discernment of what the Holy Spirit calls upon us to do; to perception of the various ways to answer that call; and to effective action.

Overarching all those steps are, according to The Bible, only two principal commandments and they share only one verb: to love and, implicitly, always to act out of love.

May 10, 2020

“You may call me Life.  Each of you is a part of me.

“I have given each of you great power.  I have given you the power to imagine things being different than they are.  I have given you, individually and collectively, creativity ¬¬¬— the power to create what you imagine.

“I have given you love and service of others as the highest sources of fulfillment.

“I have given you freedom: freedom of thought, including your own perception of what is right and what is wrong; freedom to seek and develop my gifts; freedom to use my gifts, to decide when and how to use them, or not use them.

“And always, I love you.”

- God (attrib.)

Social protection, advancement and health

Society - as it is perceived by lawmakers to exist when laws are made - is rudamentarily protected by voluntary obedience to law and appropriate enforcement of laws.  But society succeeds and advances only by people doing more for justice, peace, public health and environmental protection than the law requires.

The health of any society, from nuclear family to humanity as a whole, depends on its members exercising their freedom - expressing their natural selfishness - with love of others and the commitment to do one's part, ideally one's best, for others' health and well-being.

April 26, 2020

God has many names and descriptions.  Today it seems enough to describe God as whatever one believes to be the Source of love and grace and meaning.

All the evidence I need to sustain my faith that God is present is that we gather to seek God together, including in each other; to encourage, and to try to inspire, each other; and to strive to live up to that of God in each other, in our ancestors, and in our children. 

Each of us is called to be an agent, a messenger, an emissary of God.  We may sometimes think that we cannot find God – or that God is neglecting us, or has even abandoned us.  We may feel sometimes like astronauts in space who have lost our connection to Mission Control.  But it becomes apparent, when we simply do our best as emissaries of love and peace, as agents of grace, that God is always present for, and in, everyone who does so.

April 5, 2020

Gandhi said, "if you don’t find God in the next person you meet, it's a waste of time looking for him further."

But what about all the people we don't meet?

In particular, what about the approximately 66,500 human beings - every one of whom had a part of God in her, or in him - who have died in the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic so far? How is God not diminished by such a loss of God's creations, vessels, and agents?

I do not know. But I believe God is not diminished. God is not diminished by the deaths of hundreds of thousands of other people every day from other causes. God has not been diminished by the deaths of countless of his human, and other, creations since the beginning of time. For God is the power of life itself, and death is a part of life.  God is the Holy Spirit, the power of love.  Being in each person, God is in the collective power of human agency and human love.

As the present pandemic shakes and ravages human society around the world, let us continue to seek and find that of God in every person, and to represent Love - to represent God - in helping to care for each other.

Each of us makes a difference in flattening the virus curve #doingourpart

Look at the second tree diagram at this New York Times link showing the effect of preventing just one transmission of the coronavirus. Let us each act with compassion and discipline so as to avoid causing any transmissions!
You Can Help Break the Chain of Transmission https://nyti.ms/2x6NHw4

Reality check #14

We make our lives one decision at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time - by what we choose to do and by the countless other thoughts and actions we forego, not just frivolous distractions and temptations, but also acts of kindness and paths of growth which we deem less important to our chosen lives.

Am I willing to examine my choices, moment to moment, and take responsibility for them?

Will I admit that my true ethics and priorities are revealed by what I have done?

Am I willing to grow in wholesome discipline, including by sound stewardship of my time and health, commitment to the truth, keeping my promises, and kindness and service to others?

Seeking holiness in others

I grow more from seeking and honoring the holiness – the holy spirit – in others than I do from seeking and trying to stay with the holy spirit within myself.

February 23, 2020

The black box. Every airplane has one – and many cars do, too, nowadays: a device which constantly, precisely and without judgment records everything that the operator does.

Imagine something which constantly and precisely perceives and records everything that we think – even unconsciously, like many fears and biases; every choice and decision we make; and everything we do.  Imagine further something which does all of that with love and active support for our growth, individually and in relationship to each other.  That is how I see the Holy Spirit.

Let us strive to be ever more aware of our thoughts, choices, and actions so that we may have ever less cause to seek forgiveness from the Holy Spirit, and from ourselves – and ever more desire to seek guidance from that spirit.

Let us honor, seek and apply the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit – of love – within each of us in service of that spirit, of our growth, and of greater peace in our world.

February 9, 2020

Why, according to The Holy Bible, did God not want people - Adam and Eve - to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?  Was it – is it – not important to know the difference between good and evil?

I believe that’s not the point of the story.  After all, God, or Life, has always given all but some very ill people the capacity to reason, and thus to judge good from evil.

Today I believe the point of the story – the reason God forbade partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (or rather the tree of the perception of the knowledge of good and evil) - is that perceptions of good and evil would eclipse love as the foundation of our view of ourselves, of each other, and of the natural world around us.

February 2, 2020

Does God change?  Has God changed over the past 5000 years?  The past 50,000 years?  I do not know.

Does God grow?  As the universe expands in all directions at the speed of light, as countless manifestations of creation grow, and new ones are born, hatched and sprout – and die – every second, does God grow?  I do not know, except by faith.

Does the Holy Spirit of life – not the laws of physics, chemistry, gravity, and thermodynamics, but that part of God which we believe is within, and accessible to, each human being – grow?  As long as we grow, particularly as long as we strive to increase the expression and experience of love in the world and to appreciate and honor the love and compassion in others, how could the Holy Spirit we strive to serve not grow?

January 12, 2020

In every moment there is a seed of growth, love, and mystery.

In every poem and song there is meaning beyond the ken of the poet or songwriter.

Every act of kindness has effects – including on the actor – which are no less important for being unnoticed.

We do not need to understand the full power of grace or the extent of its effects – we do not need to become Jesus, or Muhammad, or the Dalai Lama – to serve well as agents of grace.

December 29, 2019

The light of the Holy Spirit within every person, once seen, cannot be unseen.

Holy Spirit, help us to serve you by sharing, and by contributing to others' seeing in themselves, the light of love, compassion, and peace.