Pray to Jesus

Sometimes everything seems connected. I found this refreshing video on NPR Ken Tuckers Top 10 Albums of 2013 with photos illustrating the lyrics that look like they are from a family photo album. What a wonderful juxtapostion in the refrain:

"Don’t wanna be buried in debt or in sin, So we pray to Jesus and we play the lotto, Cause there ain’t but two ways We can change tomorrow"

The last scene seems to let us in on the joke as it pans down to reveal a visual pairing, just in case we didn't (wink, wink) pick up the humor in the song (and in life). Then I happened upon a book review with the following:

"He believed that the little we do know about nature suggests that we know even less about God. We had only just managed to get an inkling of the grandeur of the cosmos and its exquisite laws that guide the evolution of trillions if not infinite numbers of worlds. This newly acquired vision made the God who created the World seem hopelessly local and dated, bound to transparently human misperceptions and conceits of the past."

• From "Varieties of Scientific Experience: Carl Sagan, Who Died on This Day in 1996, on Science and God" by Maria Popova.


Finally as I started this journal entry, I found something I had posted from 2007:

• In Mairs' view, faith -- and, for that matter, "God Godself" -- exists almost entirely beyond conscious comprehension, but then, that's exactly how it ought to be.

"The need to reduce God to a person having mental states with which we are familiar -- desire, anger, retribution (but seldom, alas, a sense of humor) -- does God little service and ourselves even less," she writes in this stunning collection. "We would do better to stand before God in silence, allowing the Holy to open to us without our definition or direction. Only God can say what God is. We can only allow ourselves to be taught."

• From the review by David L. Ulin of "A Dynamic God: Living an Unconventional Catholic Faith" as quoted in this 2007 blog entry.

A morning for personal reflection

I enjoy waking up slowly on a chilly winter morning to a near silent house. I have been unable to find the time to write much although I continue to ponder how Christianity and Buddhism intersect in my life.

I have not had a chance to read much in "Zen and the Birds of Appetite" but I like just having pocket classic edition around as a pneumonic device. I am encouraged in that I have found inspiration and understanding in Thomas Merton's writings in the years after college as I set out to make my way in the world. Just as he helped me make sense of the world then, I feel that I can again find handles to grab on to in this stage of my life.

Though no one is asking, I continue to ponder where I am in my spiritual understanding of the world. I don't have much opportunity to talk deeply about it so I mainly find encouragement through books and talks I find on the internet. I constantly find really good dharma talks and sometimes find some good progressive Christianity sermons.

My fantasy is to live as a Buddhist monk but I quickly come back to the reality of my current situation with family and friends. I say "fantasy" because I know the reality would not be anything like what I envision. I also have no desire to leave my family and friends that I love. I mention it though because I am finding so much wisdom in the dharma talks so the fantasy is to immerse myself.

The tension I find in my excitement is that I don't want my description of Christianity to sound critical of what other people have found helpful and valuable. I just find that American Buddhist thought has an easier time of getting to the point when explaining life and the world we live in. There is a consistency and simplicity:

"A Buddhist is primarily a person in search of a satisfying life while pursuing enlightenment and practicing compassion and loving kindness."

Although I hear them quoted all the time, I have not read Buddhist ancient texts. They do seem to directly offer guidance. I don't find the same for the bible. This collection of books contains advice but one has to find it within Jewish law, history, prophets, gospels, and letters

"Judas went away and hanged himself. Go and do likewise."

This is my ridiculous combination of Matthew 27:5 and Luke 10:37. The rapture is much more complex but not much different.

I am not enamored with Progressive Christianity as much as the buddhism I have encountered. I was delighted when I was handed a copy of "Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity." David M. Felton and Jeff Procter-Murphy have, as the publisher says, brought "together the voices of top Bible scholars and church leaders." I have read most of these authors and have found them very helpful in sorting out Christianity. This book is a great overview of how to go beyond the shallow view of American Civil Religion that many folks mistake for the message of Jesus.

Can You Trust Thomas Merton?

Anthony E. Clark. "Can You Trust Thomas Merton?" Catholic Answers Magazine

I recently found a used copy of Thomas Merton's "Zen and the Birds of Appetite" (1968) and then today accidentally found this article. I appreciate the overview it provides while warning the reader that Merton's "commitment to orthodox Catholicism appears suspiciously attenuated by the end of his life."

Change that to the orthodox Christianity and it is an apt description of me. While not comparing myself to Merton, his description of Merton resonates with me; "He writes as if his Christianity and his Buddhism had already become enmeshed into a new hybrid religion..."

I think a lot about how I would succinctly describe the current state of my spiritual journey. I have written about it here several times and often start articles in my head or as a draft. No one is asking me but I just want to be ready to not stammer but to clearly explain the way I see myself in life's journey.

I am glad to get this short entry down. Ironically, I found the article while writing a congregational prayer using some material from Merton. Some would be quite surprized that this congregational leader's  commitment to orthodox Christianity is attenuated.

I haven't had time to read the whole article and I haven't had a chance to renew my familiarity with Merton's book. I am greatly encouraged to delve back into Merton such as this tempting passage from the article;

Thomas Merton was more of a spiritual seeker rather than a spiritual settler. His ideas evolve and change often, and his immersion into Eastern religion often appears more like replacement than rapprochement. Merton’s intellectual and physical pilgrimage to Asia was, as he suggests, at least ostensibly an attempt to deepen and supplement his own religious life. He writes that "we have now reached a stage (long overdue) of religious maturity at which it may be possible for someone to remain perfectly faithful to Christian and Western monastic commitment, and yet to learn in depth from, say, a Buddhist discipline and experience" (Asian Journal, xxiii). He continues to assert that the Western Church is in need of such a Buddhist influence to be improved, to help the Church in its "long overdue" renewal.

Walking the Christ path into the mystery of God - Bishop Spong

My relationship to Christianity keeps running through my mind. When I listen to dharma talks, I find so much value in the approach to life and how to deal with so much of what we encounter. I am somewhat amazed at how much I agree with. I also find that it does not contradict my understanding of the Christian life. I appreciate the many encouraging voices that say "stick with your tradition," from the Dali Lama to a women I met at a Buddhist Mediation session who has been attending for a long time but is clear that she is still in the Christian tradition.

I appreciate encouraging voices from progressive Christianity that remind us about the truths of Christianity that are obscured by the cultural practices that cling to Christian practice and belief.

Try as I might, I cannot wrap my brain around the doctrine of the Trinity. I must confess to you that I’ve actually stopped trying to reconcile myself to this ancient doctrine. Any doctrine or notion about the nature of the creator that is set up as an absolute requires a kind of fundamentalism that I don’t have the stomach for. I cannot tell you, nor can I believe that anyone can tell you what God is. But I can tell you that when people start insisting that they know what God is, you should begin to worry. And when someone insists that if you don’t believe what they believe about the nature of God that you are dammed to “perish eternally”, well that’s precisely the kind of fundamentalism that I believe Jesus warned us against.

 If the doctrine of the Trinity helps you to understand or articulate some of the aspects of God that you have experienced, then by all means celebrate the doctrine of the Trinity. But if the doctrine of the Trinity gets in the way, then move beyond it. If the doctrine of the Trinity causes you to damn a fellow creature or to look upon someone who is seeking wisdom by another way, then take another look. 

Re-think your notions about God and do so without fear. For if I’ve learned anything about the nature of God it is that our God is beyond our abilities to describe. Our attempts at describing God are only as good as the effect they have on the way we live in communion with God and with all that God loves.

From The Athanasian Creed and an Unholy Trinity – A sermon for Trinity Sunday by Dawn Hutchings

Bishop Spong has a similar way of showing us how to not throw out the baby (Jesus!) with the bath water in an interview on a recent State of Belief podcast.

I have been wanting to write a blog post about this for quite awhile. Both of these helped my thoughts come together today though this has been a theme many times such as here, here, here, here, here, here and here (just a few of the most recent).

I also find the explanation of how people equate 'faith' with 'belief' helpful.

First Meditation and Mindfulness Practice Group

I attended a Meditation and mindfulness practice community in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh in a nearby community for the first time in 2013. It was a small gathering that has two leaders who have "day jobs" in related fields. I did not get the sense that they would define the group as a Sangha with a definite commitment to regular practice.

------- Not sure where I got the following from

Started center in Massachusetts. Alternative to Teachers coming and establishing a center that culturally feels very much like that country.

No robes, find a language for our culture. We had to find a language and a way to express these really beautiful, transformative teachings in a way that was ours in our culture and in our way.

That simplicity is a part of what has allowed for this great interest in mindfulness.


These teachings are not about becoming a buddhist, their are about becoming a Buddha; that you have within you the capacity to live with wakefulness and compassion and that is your birthright.

November 10, 2010

I have struggled with this

I have always been careful - how long it took me to get here

Spiritual Formation

Spiritual formation is commonly seen as an important part of the Christian life though there appears to not be much agreement on what is included or what to call the practice. I have always been interested in practices that involve study and an awareness of the transcendent. I think of my interest in mysticism and even the original confirmation class in junior high.

The obsession with persecution and martyrdom in Christianity has always bothered me also. Recently I read about that this was an early dispute among Christians and it appears the pro-martyrdom faction won out and is the only recorded opinion.

Many are also waiting for the reward in the afterlife which can give an odd perspective on this life. There are all kinds of common questions about babies and folks who lived before Jesus.  So we end up with a jumble of concepts that supposedly agree on one thing that Jesus died for our sins. I was released and relieved when Bishop Spong said, "Jesus did not die for my sins!"

The Path: Christian or Buddhist?

As I think about being a Christian who is going through a very positive experience as I listen to dharma talks and other Buddhist resources, I mentally list those items that got me to this point. Lately I have been thinking about the Catholic priest from Hawaii who taught meditation at a Matthew Fox retreat we attended in Montana. I was fascinated by his lectures, enjoyed the meditation, but I could not grasp and verbalize his basic teachings. Over the years, I have searched the "secret" in my journal and in some tapes I made of his talks. Now I think of it as a seed that has continued to grow inside me. I googled and found The Beginnings of a Christian-Zen Bibliography. On it I noticed two books that I read and have been involved in this search.

• de Mello, Anthony. (1978) Sadhana: A Way to God. St. Louis, MO: The Institute of Jesuit Sources.
• Merton, Thomas. (1968) Zen and the Birds of Appetite.

While this is not one of the Merton books that stands out in my mind, I remember reading "Sadhana" very carefully several times. de Mello is also mentioned in my blog post about Chuck Smith and his son, who added while editing one of his dad's books:

"a quote from a priest, Anthony de Mello, whose Jesuit affiliation alarmed evangelicals. And on Page 103, Smith Jr. inserted the suggestion that breathing exercises might put one in a spiritually receptive state.

This seemed, in the eyes of some, dangerously close to endorsing a Buddhist practice."

Gosh, they knew what they were talking about. Look what has happened to me!

Seriously these types of resources may help me remain within the Christian community while following the path (as mentioned in the teachings of both Buddhists and Christians). I don't think I have made this clear of a connection before though I have thought about how Thomas Merton visited Asia and found so much in common with monks from other faith traditions.

Sin Cursed World

"Another sad, tragic consequence of life in a sin-cursed world is that children have to undergo pain, heartache, and a host of burdens that children should not have to bear."

I could not help contrasting this sentence from a fundamentalist bible study guide with the Buddhist Four Noble Truths. This study guide takes everything quite literally so the authors struggle to explain each verse that might be an illustration rather than a literal description. The study guide goes on after this quote to suppose that things will be better in heaven.

Although this is an extreme example, the general tone has me thinking about how despite being very involved in church activities and Christian studies, I have never felt comfortable with the basic view of the world in Christianity. I have written here about some of the Christian authors that attract me. I have the feeling that they are outliers; that Christians find their writings inspiring but that don't fit very neatly into the main message of Christianity as many see it. My favorite authors don't deal much with some of the basic themes like heaven and hell. In some ways, it seems the Christian authors I like have truly glimpsed spiritual truths and share them in their writing but they are not central to the teachings.

This relates to what I have been thinking lately. If I have to explain how the world works to someone struggling with some difficulties, I would much rather use a Buddhist explanation than Christian. But I am not interesting in converting people nor challenging the support their Christian faith gives them. So I don't say much to my friends and family about the excitement I feel in listening to Dharma talks. I do think about some of the thoughts I can share: ideas that they might assume are coming from a Christian perspective but actually comes from Buddhist. These nuances are just not that important to most Christians unless it comes out into the open.

Henri Nouwen: "one of the world's great spiritual writers."

June 05, 2013

A Christian pastor friend posted another quote by Henri Nouwen:

Adversity is no stranger to any of us, though some of us may have encountered it more often than others. We cannot avoid troubles, both the kind that moves in to stay and the kind that just shows up unannounced at our door. One of the most practical uses of faith is to put it to work when things are a struggle. God is a steady partner in times of need. With humor, patience and hope: God works at our side to get us through even the hardest challenges. We may not be able to predict when adversity will appear, but we can always count on God to be there to help.

I have read several of his books. Looking back, I find them inspirational but the next part of his advice just does not resonate with me. I can't read this quote now without recognizing the first of the four noble truths. The first two sentences admit that "adversity, troubles, and struggles" are a part of every life. Buddhist thought just seems so practical at this point. I am not trying to ridicule Henri Nouwen, nor dispute that many find him to be, "one of the world's great spiritual writers."

Throughout my life, I have been inspired by writings like this but nothing seems to happen when "faith is to put it to work when things are a struggle." I have not had any really difficult struggles in my life. I went to a psychologist in the midst of a mid-life depression. After I read him some of my autobiography, he said, "You are really hard on yourself." At the time, I thought the sessions hadn't done anything helpful for me. It was only later that those words came back to me and I realized that he had helped me turn the corner to recovery.

Since I have been reading and listening to dharma talks, I am reminded of how helpful his words were.  Now I think a wise Christian would give me the same advice but it is sort of "built in" to Buddhist teachings. I also know there are lots of Christian pastors who would not have that understanding of the cause of my suffering. They would have lots of God words and there is a chance that would hit upon something as helpful. There is also a chance that I would feel worse as I try to understand what "God is trying to tell me."

Desire never left me

I feel a little trite and immodest saying that I have been searching for the truth all my life but let me explain. When I was in high school and college so much of the world didn't make sense. My brother went off to a war in Vietnam that no one could explain except that it had something to do with fighting Communism. I remember reading a thin book that tied to explain communism and it didn't make sense to me. This could be called an existential angst, one of my favorite books was Catcher in the Rye. (I must reread that.) Mainly though it was that I never seem to be able to sense of why the world is the way it is. I figured there was some kind someone must understand it so I read what I could. I think I had a similar deep down longing for spiritual truth also. I did not go for an all out search but I checked out each new "learning" with this in the back of my mind. In my college introductory psychology class, I remember that in class the professor did some kind of simple test and I came out - "I'm not OK, You're OK." The most common position according to Wikepedia since as children we see that adults are large, strong and competent and that we are little, weak and often make mistakes.

I no longer think there is Truth with a Capital T though I think there is much truth that is helpful if we know and try to follow it. Civilization is not only how we have figured out how to live with each other but We each do are best in trying to make it through life.

Seeking God

Get rid of adolescent confusion - war that made no sense - no sense of vocation

Belief - became intellectual

used to be practical activity and helping others

Robert Thurman - Luther quit being a monk and so they threw out a valuable part of religion - warriors of peace

was Monk or convent, preparation for Marriage and family. 

Stick with the religion we were born into Dali Lama

Share but implement within your own tradition - egotism when you switch is worse. Just because you didn't find it, doesn't mean it isn't there.

Stay with one tradition if you are able.

http://oceanaire.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-have-been-searching-my-whole-life.html

Equating 'faith' with 'belief'

. . . people were equating 'faith' with 'belief'. This is a recent aberration and one that is peculiar to modern Western Christianity. We do not find it in either Judaism or Islam. The Middle English 'bileven' meant 'love, trust, loyalty, and commitment' it was related to the German 'liebe' (beloved) and translated the Greek 'pistis' ('trust, commitment, engagement') in the New Testament and the Latin 'credo' which derived from 'cor do' ('I give my heart'). It was only in the late 17th century that 'belief' came to mean an intellectual assent to a rather dubious proposition. Karen Armstrong: Washington Post, On Faith, The Case for 'Faith', not 'Belief'

I enjoyed the episode of Global Spirit (2009) with Karen Armstrong and Robert Thurman. She wrote this column about the same time to explain why she wrote "The Case for God". I was very interested as she explained how this word, belief, had changed in meaning. When Jesus said, "Believe in me," she would say that he was inviting them to perform acts of compassion as their path in life.

A review in the Chicago Reader describes how Thomas Sheehan in his book, The First Coming: How the Kingdom of God Became Christianity, made explicit his call for a radical shift from believing the right things about Jesus (orthodoxy) to doing the just and merciful things Jesus commanded (orthopraxis).

"Jesus proclaimed a loving Father who was already arriving among his people," he wrote, "a Father becoming immediately present to them. God, while remaining God, was reigning not from on high but in their justice, mercy and love for one another. What this means is that God becomes incarnate because of men and women, pours himself out and disappears into his people, and can be found nowhere else. With the incarnation, the separation of God and human persons disappears."

Discernment in Solitude

The Spirit works deep within us, so deeply that we cannot always identify its presence. The effect of God's spirit is deeper than our thoughts and emotions. That is why setting aside a special time and place for prayer is so important. Often we do not feel like praying and our minds are distracted. The lack of motivation and difficulty focusing make us think that our prayer time is useless and wasted time. Still, it is very important to remain faithful to these times and simply stick with our promise to be with God, even if nothing in our minds, hearts, or bodies wants to be there. Simple faithfulness in prayer gives the Spirit of God a real chance to work in us, to help us be renewed in God's hands and be conformed to God's will. During these sacred times and places, we can be touched in deep, hidden, and tender places. We can become more fully aware of the divine presence and more open to God's guidance as we are led to new places of love. (Fr. Henri Nouwen)

I often think about an "in-between feeling" I have with Christianity and Buddhism. For a long time, I have enjoyed Henri Nouwen's books and often felt a deep affinity with a passage like the one above. I took special note in the assurance;"...that we cannot always identify [God's spirit's] presence." More and more though, I seem to prefer the Buddhist teachings that don't rely on God. What he says appears to be a very valuable spiritual practice but the "mystery" of God can be applied to anything.

I cringe when the same friend that posted the Nouwen quote "likes" a website such as "God understands our prayers even when we can't find the words to say them. Press Like if you agree! =)" on Facebook. "The God of the Gaps" has been replaced with a God of the cute kids, miraculous healings, and other things so amazing they must be of God. When the miracle doesn't happen, we are supposed to be comforted by this God we don't understand or worse, "God has a purpose" in our tragedy. Though there are some similarities, Buddhist thought seems to do a better job. I don't want to take this away from people for whom it works, I just can't see it for myself. I sometimes daydream about trying not to argue with someone who at my deathbed, is trying to comfort me with their understanding of God.

I don't have time today but this gets really scary when "God is by best friend."

Dealing with Death: Buddhist Concepts and Christianity

I keep finding good Dharma talks on various websites, my fav this weekend is Dharma Seed, "dedicated to preserving and sharing the spoken teachings of Theravada Buddhism in modern languages." I like being able to listen and if I like the sample, download and create a MP3 CD of several talks by a person to listen to in the car.

I was so impressed by Reflections On Aging, Sickness and Dying by Sky Dawson that I wanted to make a regular CD for "emergencies." I would want to suggest it to someone who is facing death and I would want to listen if I was in a end-of-life situation or talking with someone who is.

Finding these resources that resonate with wisdom also causes me to reflect on my conviction to continue to be intimately involved with a Christian congregation while experiencing such resonance with American Buddhism. It has been awhile since my last entry, I just looked back to find that it was on this very topic!

I am still teaching a bible study class each Sunday morning for a month, alternating with another teacher. I enjoy the preparation to see how this fits in with my understanding and listening to the faith stories of the class. I may agree with it, I am not going to blurt out anything like this:

I do not believe that Jesus died so that I might be saved, by a vengeful, sadistic and petty tyrant of a god, from an eternal torment as a result of an act committed by a mythical ancestor 6,000 years ago. I am a Christian by DairyStateDad

I don't think this would be helpful to anyone or understood. It does seem more and more to me that Christianity is superstitious much more than I have ever thought.

Unfortunately Christianity appears to fail to provide understanding or tools for many people at critical times in our lives. I know it works for many people but the answers often seem very unsatisfying to me as time goes on. I have listened to the Christian message most of my life and at times what I hear is right on. More and more though the part of the explanation that I like the most is consistent with Buddhist thought.

It seems that it is very common for Buddhist teachers to also be involved in care at the end of life. They seem to have the tools to deal with this extreme point in our lives. Sky Dawson's talk above is a good example, so good that I wanted to make sure I have a copy and reference.

Between Two Worlds

I think a lot about how I would explain where I am in my faith journey to someone else, especially a Christian. There is a sense that I am trying to figure out a summary for myself. I have never felt more confident (I am trying to think of the right word since maybe I mean assured). I just have this feeling that I have been always just kind of cruising along for most of my life. Bits and pieces interested me but I could not see how it all fits together. Now I am more eager than ever to learn and practice with a confidence that I am on the right path.

It may be that I never quite understood there could be so many faith traditions. How could one know if they had the right one? So I have hung in with the Protestant Christianity that I have been a part of since I was a young lad. In this blog I have listed writers who have been influential on me. An interesting example today was a quote by Henri Nouwen I noticed today.

Towards a Nonjudgmental life

One of the hardest spiritual tasks is to live without prejudices. Sometimes we aren't even aware how deeply rooted our prejudices are. We may think that we relate to people who are different from us in color, religion, sexual orientation, or lifestyle as equals, but in concrete circumstances our spontaneous thoughts, uncensored words, and knee-jerk reactions often reveal that our prejudices are still there. Strangers, people different than we are, stir up fear, discomfort, suspicion, and hostility. They make us lose our sense of security just by being "other." Only when we fully claim that God loves us in an unconditional way and look at "those other persons" as equally loved can we begin to discover that the great variety in being human is an expression of the immense richness of God's heart. Then the need to prejudge people can gradually disappear.

-- Fr. Henri Nouwen

I have always found Henri Nouwen's books to be great at digging a bit deeper in Christianity to get to important spiritual truths. The quote opens with a clear statement that he is describing a spiritual task. One of the ways I have tried to live out my Christian faith is through the practice of spiritual disciplines.  I was never very successful in my practice which could leave me with a feeling of guilt.

I wanted a link to this quote but did not find a nice link on many sites that quote Henri so I did a google search: Try it - Towards a Nonjudgmental life. I noticed that the statement links to various spiritual traditions and even advice columns. So there is no doubt that this is good advice and I find it interesting how the various sources explains the how and why of working to live without prejudices.

I am not trying to criticize those who find Christ helpful in this. I am glad it works for them. As I have said before quoting Marcus Borg, "I simply could no longer believe the orthodox version of the story." But I can't help noticing that the quote by Henri does not mention Jesus. He uses the love we feel from God as a bridge to discover that the great variety in being human is an expression of the immense richness of God's heart. This has been a pattern in Christian advice that I have learned over the years: If we experience God a certain way, that is a gateway to how we act towards other people.

I find as I listen to online dharma talks and read that the Buddhist way seems more direct for me. I just did a google search on buddhism love for all kinds of people and found an excellent example at BuddhaNet » Basic Buddhism Guide » Loving-kindness Meditation by Vent Pannyavaro .

Loving-kindness is the first of a series of meditations that produce four qualities of love: Friendliness (metta), Compassion (karuna), Appreciative Joy (mudita) and Equanimity (upekkha). The quality of 'friendliness' is expressed as warmth that reaches out and embraces others. When loving-kindness practice matures it naturally overflows into compassion, as one empathises with other people's difficulties...

So this skips the God-talk and maybe that is what I like. I do not directly experience or hear God but I know there is a presence in the universe that unites all life.

Having Big Ideas

Sometimes I sense that I have a deep understanding of the deep questions of life. These moments of Big Ideas create a sense of peace and clarity. This blog had mainly been a place for my religious and spiritual reflections because that is where I am most likely to capture these Big Idea moments. I want to be able to go back and be reminded since life intrudes and these moments fade quickly. I am not able to write them down often in the moment and trying to recreate from sketchy notes is difficult.

I was listening to On Being with Krista Tippett as she interviewed Immunologist Esther Sternberg about "the scientific research revealing how physical spaces create stress and make us sick — and how good design can trigger our "brain’s internal pharmacies" and help heal us." Ms. Sternberg doesn't like to use the word placebo since it is more associated with a sham treatment than as being a control in medical experiments for the act of testing a medicine. The positive meaning of the word is that effect that amplifies the healing pathways in the brain. Life is a constant process of healing so this positive quality can be used to enhance the processes that are constantly going on in our body. Our bodies are constantly repairing themselves (both physically and emotionally) against the insults they are subjected to. Disease is when the repair can not keep up with the damage.

Ms. Sternberg said "things like meditation and yoga and prayer ... help amplify these pathways in the brain that we know ultimately can help the immune system do its job to heal." I have heard this elsewhere and have found a measurable difference in my well being with yoga. The natural and built environment also has an effect. They mentioned cathedrals and labyrinths in contrast to a stressful maze. One local hospital is a good example of how the various additions have turned the building into a giant maze with confusing passage ways where monster machines might be lurking. I have thought that if I had to spend time in a hospital, I would want to be able to look out a window and if I was able, to walk in a garden area. Modern hospitals are realizing the importance of this and attempting to design in a way that helps patients heal as they are treated with medicines and procedures.

There was a little bit about the role of religious structures and scenic views. I have heard comparisons regarding the inside of cathedrals and other churches being being designed to give the same sense as being in the midst of a forest of tall trees. Certainly that is the feeling I get walking through the redwoods. The following part of the interview provided some perspective on that feeling of transcendence that I treasure.

Ms. Tippett: There is a phrase that especially occurs in Celtic spirituality: thin places. I don't know if you've ever heard that.

Ms. Sternberg: Yes.

Ms. Tippett: The idea is, well, a lot of people would think of cathedrals as thin places or, you know, green pastures, still waters. Um, being in a place where — and this is the way some people will say it — it feels like the veil between heaven and earth has worn thin, where there's a sense of being, you know, planted in the earth and yet also having some kind of almost physical sense of transcendence. I just wonder how you react to that, knowing what you know.

Ms. Sternberg: Well, I react to that. I have heard of that notion and I am actually very interested in exploring what is it about such places, about beautiful vistas of mountains, about the infinite horizon of the ocean. What is it that makes you feel that way about a cathedral? There are certainly physiological and neuroscientific bases to that feeling, that sense of awe. And I am convinced — I know — that these things can be measured and that's the exciting new frontier for me, to ask exactly that question: What is it that makes one feel transcendent and is the environment something that we can consciously manipulate to find those feelings of transcendence? You know, if we're so grounded in clay is there a way to at times, by simply going to a different place, achieve that sense of awe and transcendence?

They also discussed how people can go to an internal place to assist their healing and well-being as well as the importance of social support in healing. So my Big Idea today is how I can see this theme throughout my life. In other words, many of my desires and actions can be explained as sensing this need, seeking a way to experience a healing environment, and in some, perhaps small way, finding a measure of fulfillment.

I smile at the last sentence since I can't help thinking how I failed in many of those attempts, let other people down, or wandered off the path. That is the human journey though, so I forgive myself with the understanding that this realization will make me less likely to make the same mistakes in the future. I will also be more aware of healthy ways of responding to this desire and avoiding negative consequences for myself and others.

What are some examples? Gardening both edible and attempts at making beautiful landscapes. Riding my bicycle on long meandering trips. Rambling walks while exploring both the natural and the built environment (a forest trail or a path within a city). Visiting places of natural beauty such as national and state parks (nature walks and hikes with overnight camping). Riding trains and public transit (exploring by looking out the window while traveling). Reading, especially books about nature, spirituality, or biographies. I would also include religious retreats of various kinds with time for reflection: Christian and Buddhist including a week-long with Matthew Fox.

I would love my backyard garden to be a place of retreat and hospitality. I can see this as being a life-long quest that I was only vaguely aware of. My early desire to live in a rural area always imagined the happy farmer having a peaceful life amidst plants. This Utopian vision was very strong in my years after college. I can see the roots of that early quest.

The emphasis in this post has been on the visual but they also mentioned smell. They talk about the value in the ancient world of aromatic resins; myrrh and frankincense. The word for the latter apparently coming from the ancient french for incense of the highest quality.

That is my inspiration and insight for today.

Belief and teaching

"All beliefs . . . . have great potential . . .  to promote human happiness, human satisfaction"

Dali Lama speaking at Gethsemane Abbey (Video Link at this post).

It doesn't really matter what you believe as long as it leads you to practical compassion. If your belief in a traditional God makes you come out imbued with a desire to feel with your fellow human beings, to make a place for them in your heart, to work to end suffering in the world, then it's good.

Karen Armstrong Interview


This explains why I feel comfortable staying at my church and even teaching Adult Sunday School. I can skip what I don't like and few will notice. I feel compassion for these people I have spent some 25 years with and very few folks will step up or are capable of teaching. I enjoy the discussions and listening to their faith stories.

Worship other Gods?

I would like to write a spiritual biography; there are bits and pieces in this blog but it would be nice to be more chronological or at least organized. I often think about my faith journey especially in realizing that I am a Christian who no longer accepts the most common, traditional view of Jesus.

In simplistic terms, I grew up thinking that different religions just worshiped different gods; "You shall have no other Gods before me." I was not sophisticated enough to think about worldview and how one approaches life or even the activities of each day/week. As I have mentioned elsewhere, many Christian authors have nourished me without emphasizing or highlighting the differences with main stream Christianity.

One phrase I heard listening to an interview on a podcast (Thomas Sheehan) a few years ago was, "God doesn't need our worship. He is doing very well, thank you." That statement frees me from thinking the main purpose of gathering is to worship God. Sometimes a phrase just stays in the back of my mind and slowly changed my worldview. Or it just finally sinks in!

Not that anyone asks, but my ready answer is that I am still a Christian but I find value in Buddhist thought. My reflection on worship came because I realized that Buddhists are doing something different when they gather. This came to me during a recent mindfulness retreat. They did not expect just Buddhist to attend, so they did not assume we had any knew Buddhist practice. Before the meal we ate in noble silence, they handed out this "prayer" from the mindfulness practice of Thich Nhat Hanh.

The Five Contemplations 

• This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings and much hard and loving work. 
• May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to deeply value it. 
• May we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed, and learn to eat with moderation. 
• May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of living beings, preserve our planet and reverse the process of global warming. 
• We accept this food so that we may nurture our sisterhood and brotherhood, strengthen our sangha and nourish our ideal of serving all beings.

I think gratefulness is an important practice for life and many (most?) Christians would agree. But Buddhists don't find it necessary to direct it to a supernatural being (who might be angry if you don't). That makes more and more sense to be since I no longer think that we have to be saved to avoid burning in hell for eternity. As I have said elsewhere, I see myself continuing to be in the Christian faith. I probably do not go so far as to eliminate God completely but I am not going to obsess about the nature of God. I found the following interesting as I read this blog post by jason: leaves in the hand, the place of god in buddhism

Moreover, I think one can certainly present Judeo-Christian ideas, or those from any other predominately monotheistic tradition, in a more or less Buddhistic way, and vice versa. As I've often mentioned before, my dear friend Simon shared with me some of his ideas regarding the "excellence of the synthesis of the messages and practices" of Buddhism and Christianity, for example; and people like David Cooper (God is a Verb) and Thomas Merton (Mystics and Zen Masters) seem to continually find harmony between these spiritual disciplines.

YouTube and the Internet

As I mentioned in a post from the first year I started this public blog, I loved going into the library as a kid and just exploring. The knowledge and experiences of people fascinated me. I experienced that today and I was doing a wondering about folks interest in what I write here. The most viewed entry is the one I wrote about an article in the LA Times on Pastor Chuck Smith, Jr. I was quite interested in what came up when I Googled his name. As I watched on an interview with him, YouTube provided suggestions on the side that I wish I had a bit more time to explore. I seem to have stumbled onto a bit of an online conversation about some of the issues about Christianity that really interest me. I don't always easily find much to further my exploration. I have wondered about adulation of Rick Warren so this expose of Pastor Rick Warren was an interesting discovery. In my faith exploration, I have come to grapple with the issue of suffering in the world and specifically Jesus' suffering. Some folks say it is the main issue in any discussion of God so I was interested in that this interview with Rob Bell on a regular news station starts out with a question about suffering. The journalist probes without being judgmental or trying to promote his own opinion.

I just wanted to set down a few comments for my future reference. The comments under the interview with Smith are horrible. I hope they those folks don't find my blog as their comments express, as I quoted in the blog entry about Smith, "a general hopelessness about the world, one salved only by the promise of an imminent, cataclysmic Second Coming."