As further spiritual reflection on yesterday's post and our relationship to Nature as an overarching dimension of human existence and healing, I offer this poem by William Stafford.
Follow the link: https://internetpoem.com/william-stafford/ask-me-poem/
We returned last night to our house on the edge of the San Gabriel Mountains, after fire evacuation. We remain under evacuation warning but the fire is now imposing greater threat to the north, into Antelope Valley. As I drove on the LA freeway system, headed back toward the mountains, I watched the columns of smoke rising from both the Bobcat and the El Dorado fires, distinct from the smoky fog surrounding the entire area. I was thinking of two simultaneous texts I receive a few days before, from two deeply spiritual friends, living in very different places. From India, there was simply the comment, "The Never Ending Crisis". It didn't need further elaboration. From the midwest, the message read: "Is this the Apocalypse?"
Despite the re-closures from the Covid-19 surge, the traffic was heavy. Even though the west coast fires have raised the alarm on global warming, the immediate scene showed little ecological concern. I too was one of those drivers. So I thought about Apocalyptic thought and the "Never Ending Crisis". As I have written before, I have chosen to see the Pandemic and the subsequent upheavals of this year, including the fires, as one process and I name it healing. No one model can possibly explain or interpret all the events of life. Life moves beyond our human capacity to hold it all; Life always has something hidden and something in reserve. Yet, human intelligence and the human heart are integral parts of that Life. We hold a reference point and from that point we impact the whole.
As I watched the magnificent trees along the highway towering over us, I felt a point of choice: to give way to human confusion and the fear-based focus on disaster or to surrender and trust that we are inseparable from the natural order and let nature lead. I saw in a new way, how civilizations and groups have formed around nature worship, although modern times have left that far behind. The vastness of the spiritual, the Transcendent, the Source, infolds the Earth and Nature, all that we know and all that we cannot name or comprehend, far beyond the ideas and life of our planet. We cannot go back to a time of Nature-worship, but we can mature in our understanding and acceptance that in the 21st century our well being, our healing, remains dependent on our relationship with Nature. As Larry Morris would say, "The Earth is not your enemy. The earth is your friend." And cannot be ignored. (Susan Nettleton)
For this Sunday I am posting the latest blog post from Jack Correu, from two weeks ago, reflecting on Rumi and preparations for the storm.
Follow the link: https://hillsidesource.com/little-shack-rider-on-the-storm
Thanks to all of you who left comments and continue prayers in this month of fires across the west. Here we continue in watching and waiting mode, including the air quality. As with the Pandemic, watching and reading the updates across the Western states (and our community!) can quickly overwhelm you. I am learning more about the science of fire-fighting and the strategies of containment, as we have all been learning more about medicine, immunity, vaccines and the principles of managing public spread. And, as in the pattern of the Pandemic, misinformation has already been seeded around the fires. Clarity and Truth are necessary for stable ground. So I am reaffirming for all of us, the basic spiritual foundation of balancing the news and outer activity with time in silence in meditation and prayer.
The recognition that we are interwoven with one another and with all of life, all of nature, puts our personal fear in perspective. The way is to bend and flow with Nature's ways and tend to what we can, as we can. When all these events become so complex, our inner direction is the wisest source of guidance. Take the time to sit and listen. (Susan Nettleton)
Here's a taste of silence to balance the intensity. From French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil (1909-1943):
"Our soul makes constant noise, but it has a silent place we never hear. When the silence of God enters us, pierces our soul and joins its silent secret place, then God is our treasure and our heart. And space opens before us like a fruit that breaks in two. Then we see the universe from a point beyond space."
~ Simone Weil Translated by Carol Cosman. From: Random Thoughts on the Love of God, Quoted in 'The Soul is Here for its Own Joy' Ed. Robert Bly
It started on Sunday, a concern because California was already burning, but it was still described as an incident brush fire in the San Gabriel Mountains, spreading to 500 hundred acres. The temperature rose to from 112 the day before to 114 on Sunday. By late afternoon, the sky was darkening, the sun was red, and above the ridge, the fire was glowing as it rapidly grew to 1,800 acres. We considered the possibility of leaving, but it was Labor Day weekend and fire reports were still developing, compared to the big picture of California and other fires in the region. It was a long night though, grappling with another threat in the time of Covid-19. We began packing emergency bags until the power went out around 10:30. I sat in blackness in meditation with a battery-powered candle. By Monday morning, the fire was almost 5,000 acres, but the temperature had dropped to a tolerable 98. By Monday evening though, we were on evacuation warning. It's a 3 tier system here, Ready, Set, Go. We were at "be Ready". We kept packing. Tuesday morning the fire had grown to 8,500 acres. We finished packing not sure of how long we'd be gone and what kind of return we would face.
That afternoon we left for a Covid-safety-compliant Air BnB on the coast. Later that evening, we received the emergency text advisory to evacuate. The fire had grown to over 10,000 acres and the Santa Ana winds were looming. Last night as I wrote this, the fire was over 19,000 acres, this afternoon hitting 24,000 acres, but the fire fighters' grueling work to protect the foothill cities has so far kept the expansion away from those areas, as the fire spreads north into the forest. The weather softened a bit, and mercifully, the winds did not reach the full expected force. (Weather and wind are crucial determinants.) The fire remains 0% contained. This is just one fire, the one that personally affects me, but as you know from the news, the western half of the country is...inflamed.
We will watch developments from a distance for a few days further, knowing how these situations can change in a heartbeat. For now, I can only underscore this deep sense that, as with the social upheaval and economic unrest, the fires are not separate from the Pandemic. Humanity is capable of a better way, a way of healing that includes all, the way that Life is all. We are capable of understanding that success means caring for all of life, as we are cared for. I hold much awe and gratitude for those who are facing the flames for all of us. (Susan Nettleton)
This Sunday I am posting a few affirmations of truth and two more in-depth affirmative prayers that you can change, adapt or combine for your own prayer life.
Affirmations of Truth from the web site: Bmindful Self-help Community:
“My deepest truth sustains me continuously.”
“By living in the present I acknowledge truth in my life. That strengthens me.”
"Flexible curiosity allows me to discover endless truth."
Two variations from me:
1. I am asking for the truth about_______________, and in asking, I receive. I let go and let anything that is obstructing the truth become clear to me. Any obstacle, any false or mistaken information now dissolves; anything that is holding me back now gives way in my understanding. My path (or relationship or condition...) is illumined. I trust the truth. I accept the clear way, as the next step is now revealed. I am receiving the knowledge and understanding needed to move me forward. I relax into the truth with a grateful heart, trusting I am supported as I open to the freedom of truth here and now.
And so it is, Amen.
2. All I need to know now, in this situation (small or large) is made known to me. Within me, there is no barrier to this truth; there is no obstructing power, no fear, no control, no resistance in myself or others involved. I release myself and everyone involved in this situation from the burden of the false. I trust the intelligence and wisdom within me to handle the truth appropriately. I trust the intelligence and wisdom of the Allness of life to handle the truth for others as I release any need to control their truth. Within the depths of each mind and heart, this truth is already present and known by everyone involved. It now comes to light in the best possible way. Life itself is truth; Truth is another name of God. No one stands outside life, no one stands outside of God and no one stands outside Truth. Within and without, this situation is now made clear. And I am thankful. And so it is, Amen. (Susan Nettleton)
For Unity's World Day of Prayer (Sept. 10), you may want to participate with this year's collective affirmation: "Standing on Truth, I move from fear to faith."
And finally, from the Bible, Jeremiah 33:3 "Call to me and I will answer you. I will tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know. "
It's interesting that in these times when truth is being eroded, mindfulness is being promoted. Mindfulness training, when packaged in secular form, is aimed at developing concentration skills, and as an evidence/research based way to manage anxiety and other stress reactions, to improve emotional regulation, aid in addiction recovery, as well as improve social skills and relationships in general. Mindfulness is a component of various other forms of spiritually based meditation and other practices such as yoga. It involves observing and tolerating, thoughts, emotions, and/or sensations (what you see, what you hear, what you smell or taste or touch, body awareness) without judgement, often presented in a meditation format. As such, although it is not framed in this way, it seems to be it is a practice of sitting with the real, the truth. Perhaps it's benefits arise out of a willingness to accept truth, by removing the framework of the judging mind. With mindfulness you are attending to what is, without having to change it, escape it, interpret it, or judge it. The research on the health benefits of mindfulness may be pointing us to a further discovery: humans need truth for health and well-being. (Susan Nettleton)
There is another aspect to truth that is voiced by both Jesus and Buddha. Jesus said, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) Buddha said, "Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so the Dharma has one taste, the taste of Freedom.' (Udana) Dharma has a variety of meanings in Sanskrit and this statement has been translated in different English forms. In its larger sense it means the order and way of the cosmos, but it can also refer to the individual path of spiritual practice, duty and discipline. It Buddhism it refers to the totality of Buddha's teachings and instruction. One word English translations often use the word truth. In the ancient Hindu scriptures, the Upanishads, it is written: "Therefore, when a man speaks the Truth, they say, "He speaks the Dharma"; and if he speaks Dharma, they say, "He speaks the Truth!" For both are one."
Both Jesus and Buddha proclaim that spiritual practice reveals spiritual truth which in turn brings freedom. I particularly like the phrase, "the taste of freedom" because it implies a subtle test or measure for truth: does it bring that flavor of freedom?
Freedom from what?-- from the burden of illusion, of separateness, of fear and emotional suffering and the strain of a false self. (Susan Nettleton)
There are a few further aspects to truth that we can explore as a way to stretch our own understanding and depth of what truth means and why it is a core value in both religion and social functioning. When we turn to the spiritual level to understand and experience truth, we encounter what seems too abstract. As our inner life--our sense of something greater than ourselves-- draws us to find peace in the daily difficulty and threat of the pandemic, this abstraction though, lends itself to spiritual practice and faith.
Consider these ideas: Theologians, notably Saint Thomas Aquinas, view of the mind of God as the transcendent realm where Truth is not about corresponding to reality, but reality is the out-picturing of Truth. As such, Truth, God, and the creative process supersede our constructs. We can contemplate this Source of life with it's intelligence and patterns, arrangements, creative power, and awareness from the perspective that one of Its names is God, and one of Its other names is Truth. Out of that Truth reality arises. Whether you see the Cosmos and our world as intentional design, with creation and creatures directed as Divine ideas, or as an unfolding process of the Unknown, Un-namable, playing with particles of Itself, without plan, in the Joy of Creation, that is Truth.
For some, this Truth is permanent, fixed and established, unchangeable, objective, consistent: One true God, One Truth, absolute, known only by Divine revelation. On the other hand, from a Taoist perspective, Truth can never be captured as a fixed concept, it is in movement because Life is in movement. As Bruce Lee put it, "All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns."
Here is the bridge: human, societal and scientific truth are partial subsets of transcendent Truth. We are stretching toward Truth as it unfolds, always out of reach for a rigid intellect, but nevertheless, available to us as clarity and intuitive direction when we turn toward it. What begins as our spiritual commitment and consent to know the truth in human situations, invokes the transcendent, and opens to door to truth. (Susan Nettleton)
In the pursuit of truth as humans, we have partial understanding, insight, and revelation. We study the pictures, the things that we know as reality, including ourselves and others, to discern truth. The world and the things of the world reflect the truth, if and when we can see them as they are. The more we align our thinking and experience to genuine openness to the actual, the closer we move to Truth. But there are many aspects to the human experience that move us away from truth. We relish our own ideas from a sense of separateness. Modern society has become so complex that the truth, to borrow from Al Gore, can be "inconvenient". And the truth, as the ancient Hindu poet Lalla lamented, can sometimes be as painful as a blister on the heart. We can deceive ourselves and others because of social pressure and confused value systems. Both desire and fear, emotions that obscure truth, can put us in a place where we in turn are deceived by others out of misplaced trust or even lack of experience. All these factors play a part in the Pandemic, adding to mis-interpretation of information, along with deliberate misinformation. The affirmation of truth as a value, is a compass and a reminder, to stay open to seeing things as they actually are as our attention shifts from concrete reality to transcendent spiritual reality and back again.
In Maya Angelou's both intense and inspiring poem (link below), she lays bare the conflicting images of humanity's struggle to fulfill the "possibility and imperative of learning the truth". Although written in 1995 it's themes of peace and survival apply to our Pandemic world.
https://www.melodicverses.com/poems/32869/A-Brave-And-Startling-Truth
In continuing reflection on truth and the Pandemic, I feel the need to simply state that the further away we move from truth, the greater the threat of the Pandemic. At the same time, it's important to realize that arriving at the truth of anything is a process that leads us to seeing layers or perspectives of reality. We put boundaries around reality--"what is"--so that we can limit the parameters of our search for understanding. We aim for the essential pieces to master them them, but none of us hold the Allness in our knowledge. This is the root of conflict between science and spirituality. Scientific facts are pursued in pieces that can be carefully tested and measured. In science, and particularly in medicine, we are trained in objectivity, to experience the object being studied, whether a virus or an ill human being, from the outsider point of view, separate from ourselves as the observer, the clinician, the researcher.
Spirituality, on the other hand, pulls us to be aware that we are not standing outside at all; what is seemingly out there, is happening within the larger whole that we are. The more we try to grasp understanding the more it eludes us. But in stillness and quiet affirmation, it finds us at a level that is specific to us and our need.
We come to realize that our view is partial, that the whole view would have to include the partial view of everyone else, but that is not possible as an individual. So we make our peace with the process of truth, that leads us to this seeing of layers. We learn to trust the value of truth, even though the whole of truth is beyond us. One of the layers is Scientific truth, the facts of studied components of life. It has great importance in a Pandemic, even though it is not the whole of truth. Legal truth is yet another aspect or layer; it has its place in social order. So humanly, truth becomes an array of partial yet meaningful truths, the key word being "meaningful".
When truth is just understood as partial, it can open the door to justification of dismissal, half truths, polarization and outright fabrication that leads to cynicism. Cynicism erodes trust as well as faith in life's goodness, beauty, intelligence and renewing, healing capacity. But when truth is affirmed as meaningful, even though partial, our definitions of scientific truth, legal truth, and ethical truth give our world stability. Spiritually, we can see these collective movements of society, striving for greater truth, as yet another layer of the Real, the Whole, the All. (Susan Nettleton)
I am continuing to reflect on Truth as a key issue in moving through the Pandemic. While preparing my talk last Sunday on "The Mind of Truth", I realized that the Pandemic has brought such a rupture of public trust in truth, that it now seems to me essential to continue to affirm the value of truth. So although I may repeat myself, I want to review aspects of Truth to contemplate and explore as summer winds down and we prepare for an uncertain fall. We start with the basic definition of truth as that which correlates or is in agreement with what is. To speak the truth about the Pandemic is to state what are, in reality, actual qualities and events of the pandemic. If we equate truth with scientific facts, then we are looking at what has been demonstrated as true, through scientific testing, research, and review, meeting the standards set for medical research through precedence and accumulated knowledge. We expect coherence of truth, that is, new facts about the Pandemic fit together--not mirror--but hold together with our understanding of previous Pandemics, and that we gather understanding of the ways in which this Pandemic is different. We expect coherence of truth about the virus itself as new studies are completed and reviewed. Because Covid-19 is a "novel" virus, understanding has wound it's way through different medical frameworks that have had to be revised as new knowledge comes to light. What first seemed to be primarily a respiratory virus is now understood as a multi-system virus, and possibly a blood-vessel illness, with severe inflammatory responses.
One of the amazing truths of this pandemic is the international exchange of research that allows multiple projects across the globe to study various components and rapidly share information with other scientists. Unfortunately, one of the reasons that truth has been distorted is that scientific information has been dispersed, distorted and disseminated through social media so rapidly that scientific precision is lost. Emotions and often the need for attention, over-ride the need for truth. The seriousness of the Pandemic and it's destruction across the country and the world, of course, make every piece of information seem urgent, but we cannot afford to lose sight of truth in a desperate race for answers and solutions.
One of the benefits of finding the Still Point, through meditation and spiritual practice, is to step outside the pressure of urgency that leads to haphazard understanding and undermines truth--both truth as scientific fact and truth as spiritual wisdom. While we may not reach what Evelyn Underhill, a scholar of mysticism, called, "the leisurely-ness of eternity" as she described the peace of sainthood, we can find our own timeless moments, where truth is revealed. The truth is not just "out there", it's in you. The truth that comes from inner calm, is not separate from the facts of the Pandemic. You can move through both levels of life in a re-affirmation of truth.
This Sunday, I am sharing some of the quotes on truth that I read this morning--for your own meditation on "The Mind of Truth". (Susan Nettleton)
Integrity by Larry Morris
I bow before that fierce honesty,
That knows
no compromise.
Excerpt from:
Lalla-14th Century Indian mystic (Naked Song by Coleman Barks "One Dance")
...This day has been so meaningless.
I feel I can't go on.
When I was with my teacher, I heard a truth
that hurt my heart like a blister,
the tender pain of seeing
something I loved as an illusion...
This was my inward way, until I came
into the presence of a Moon, this new knowledge
of how likenesses unite. Good Friend,
everything is You. I see only God.
Now the delightful forms and motions
are transparent. I look through them
and see myself as the Absolute. And here's
the answer to the riddle of this dream:
You leave, so that we two
can do One Dance.
Follow the link for a poem by Daniel Erway, also known as Nirmala, a contemporary spiritual writer and teacher.
Saint Hildegard of Bingen was one of the early visionary Christian mystics (1098-1179). She was a German Benedictine abbess who also excelled as a writer, composer, philosopher, and polymath. This particular excerpt has been read at Hillside many times. I first encountered it in "Cries of the Spirit" edited by Marilyn Sewell, 1991. Reading it again, in the context of the Pandemic and the California wildfires, I had a clearer insight into the way spiritual energy, the Divine Mystery, works creation through human hearts. We feel in our most prayerful moments, grasping for more or better, that we and our world are empty and in need of fulfillment, but perhaps our very longing is an essential aspect of the energy of life as it moves--pulling us, filling us and life around us--with the good. (Susan Nettleton)
Excerpts from Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen*
I am the one whose praise
echoes on high
I adorn all the earth
I am the breeze
that nurtures all things
green
I encourage blossoms to flourish with ripening fruits
I am led by the spirit to feed
the purest streams
I am the rain
coming from the dew
that causes the grasses to laugh
with the joy of life.
I call forth tears,
the aroma of holy work.
I am the yearning for good.
*edited by Gabrielle Uhlein 1983, by Bear & Company, Inc.
This is a reminder notice of this Sunday's Service Zoom talk.If you would like to receive Zoom invitations directly to your email, please email us at hillsideew@aol.com or through the website "contact us" tab at hillsidesource.com
Topic: The Mind of Truth by Dr. Susan Nettleton
Time: Sunday, Aug 23, 2020 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada), 10:00 AM Pacific
A friend of mine recently send me a quote by the great Indian Hindu sage, Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950). Ramana's words are their own form of meditation. If you find yourself unable to quieten and find that "still point", consider that not only all religions discharge themselves, but thoughts too will discharge themselves when you no longer wrestle with them.
"There is a state when
words cease and silence prevails.
Silence is the ocean
into which all the rivers
of all religions discharge themselves.
It is the speech of the Self.
That which is, is Silence."
Ramana Maharshi
One final quote to remind us that the times of silence carry their own purpose and potential, perhaps especially in this time of Pandemic. (Susan Nettleton)
"Silence does not mean negation of activity or stagnant inertness. It is not a mere negation of thoughts but something more positive than you can imagine." Ramana Maharshi
As another aspect of silence, I am posting a link to Jack Correu's blog as he shows us the positive potential of silence in the space of relationships, especially when conflict arises! (Susan Nettleton)
https://hillsidesource.com/musings/2019/8/8/little-shack-stops-having-the-last-word
Tibetan Buddhist teacher and author Chogyam Trungpa described a spiritual process where “The bad news is you’re falling through the air, nothing to hang on to, no parachute.” “The good news is, there’s no ground.” When you see through the illusions of belief patterns that we have clung to as certainty, as the ground of reality, it can be frightening to be in free-fall. But the interior door has opened to a measureless space, and therefore, there's no danger of plummeting or a banging injury...instead, there is freedom.
I have been thinking of this quote in terms of the seemingly "endlessness" of the Pandemic, which is another level of reality. Yet, there is a similarity here. It may feel like our lives are frozen while the Pandemic rages on, but to move forward when there is high risk, frightening possible consequences, and an uncertain future, can feel like falling though air. As human beings, we have the capacity to build some kind of stable ground, eventually, even after we have crash-landed or things have fallen apart. As an individual, consider this as a time to build your platform for the new, your ground that is flexible, cushioned, with some bounce to it. Whether the Pandemic miraculously lasts just a few more weeks, or reigns for another year or two, what would you like to do or experience tomorrow, how do you want to be this weekend and down the road. Look deeper for aspects to life that are not dependent on whether or not there is a Pandemic. Consider both goals of "doing" and goals of "being". What can you do tonight or tomorrow that is a step of renewed life? That is the space of freedom. (Susan Nettleton)
There is an article from nature.com that is recently being posted on medical sites, as well as in the general public, that offers various predictive models of how the Pandemic will "play out" in 2021 and beyond. It presents an overview of the known possible factors affecting the Pandemic: human behavior preventions such as social distancing and masks (including the degree of human cooperation), the conditions of immunity (i.e. how long does natural immunity last?...we don't know), how the virus will be affected by winter and flu season and other seasonal viruses...we don't know), how new contact tracing programs will function, and what types of vaccine will emerge (when, where, for whom, and lasting how long?).
The conclusion of the article is that the virus is likely to be with us, somewhere in the world, at different places, at varying times, for an indefinite period (likely some years) beyond 2020. Numbers and severity of cases will continue to be affective by different variables, including the age distribution of the population of a given city or community. Although we have behavioral tools to reduce the spread, how to actually induce human behavior to do what is necessary, remains fragile and, again, uncertain. While the article offers some interesting data, predictive models, and constructs, we are left with uncertainty.
Hence we have the idea of "learning to live with" Covid-19 at least for "some time". The burden of this conclusion though, is softened with the clarity that social distancing, masks and hand washing, when done by at least 50 -65% of the population, make a significant difference in the spread. The article also offers possible breakthroughs in overcoming the pandemic--if immunity turns out to be long lasting and/or a significant long term vaccine is produced. So there are possibilities of hope.
I write all this to add a spiritual perspective. The article does not mention the possibility of new, undiscovered, or creative mitigating factors. While we must pursue scientific solutions with intelligence and discipline, there is so much more involved in this healing and in maintaining health. That "more" begins with open minds AND open hearts that can envision beyond the known. And not losing sight that this a global pandemic, we can continue to focus on ways we can enhance our own lives and the lives of others with renewed stamina, new hope, and new possibilities.
"In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair." Howard Thurman
For further thoughts on Hope by Dr. Larry Morris from our website, follow the link below:
This poem, also from On This Sweet Earth, takes the relationship between nature and silence further. But the poetic desert is more than the landscape--spiritually, the desert can be an inner state of barrenness, when we doubt, are world weary and spiritually dry. Perhaps that is our path to a deeper realization. The link below the poem carries the thought further, with a reminder: The stillness of nature is the stillness within us. The peace that it offers is discovered through a simple daily practice. (Susan Nettleton)
"Silence in the Desert" by Larry Morris
I hear someone hammering in the distance
and think of the spiritual life that has chipped away
at me all these long years.
Does the desert have a soul or
is it just sun and sky,
hardly any movement
and so much silence.
So quiet even the bird
is reluctant to speak.
Do we hear God in that silence
or just ourselves.
Who is it that speaks when we listen.
Do we go to the desert to find God or
does God lead us to the desert
to find ourselves?
Follow the link to more by Larry Morris at
https://hillsidesource.com/daily-thoughts/2018/3/22/stillness
The Hillside Source is an online resource project of Hillside Community Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico.