November 3, 2020

As America enters our official election day, the air is electric; it is the energy of large scale mobilization of people, of opinions, of hope, of fear, of meaning in our ability to participate in determining leadership. Our decisions, how we move through today and the days of waiting that are likely to follow are being watched by the world. All of this happening as the world struggles with a deadly Pandemic.

I want to encourage you to hold to your spiritual ground as you participate at whatever level is appropriate for you. Your community, our country and your world needs your peace and your blessing. It is not an easy task to stand on spiritual ground while the wave of intense emotions, along with misinformed reports and stories fly through social media. I am including today the text of the momentary spiritual practice that I spoke on last Sunday as one way to remind yourself and affirm for all this day, a spiritual underpinning of life.

Part of my sojourn in California has been learning the simple steps to managing potentially critical situations. Because of the fires, we have been reminded to "Stop, drop and roll", if

you suddenly catch a flame. Because of the earthquakes, we learn, "Drop, Cover, and Hold On." So out of those simple-- but not at all simple-- formulas, I am giving you a formula for something more positive, shifting your awareness in moments when you catch yourself entangled in thoughts and feeling states that disturb you. "Stop, Drop-it, and Know." Drop the fear, drop the resentment, drop the complaint, drop the confusion or despair. Know what? Know what you know spiritually. These are moments. It's raining moments. Not treatises. Not logical argument. Know at the level that you know in your best moments. Know life is intelligent and amazingly resilient. Know Peace is in the room. Know Healing is active. Know strength that rests in the heart of your own spirituality. Know Love. This is not something forced, this is what arises in you. Know what you know. Give it the space, the moment. Those moments will collect themselves in you. You and your world will be better for it. (Susan Nettleton)

November 1, 2020

Today is All Saints Day recognized by various denominations in Christianity. While a Saint in Catholicism is canonized through a very specific process, defined through specific criteria, Saints are recognized in all religions among those who seek the spiritual life. They serve as points of connection between our human frailties and shortcomings and our own capacity to discover the Transcendent, the Source within ourselves. They can be teachers or intermediaries, healers and ecstatic catalysts for our own awakening as unique spiritual beings. They are the promise of the holiness of life. In this contemporary rendition of a poem of St. Theresa of Avila, translator Daniel Ladinsky brings to life Theresa's humanity and her knowledge that we are transformed by loving what we love, until we can discover the one Love sustaining all of life. (Susan Nettleton)

Follow the link below: https://thisunlitlight.com/.../24/i-loved-what-i-could-love/

October 31, 2020

In my talk last Sunday, I spoke of the cost of the complaining mind which collectively, and for many of us personally, is reaching a crescendo during this election and this new seasonal surge of Covid-19. This morning as I reflected on that, the words of St. Paul came to mind, "I have learned whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." His words point to a state that is at peace with fluctuating needs and wants and conditions. It is a state which is learned, perhaps through Grace, perhaps through practice, and most definitely through experiencing both times of dark human hardship as well as the light of Divine Love and rapture. He was imprisoned at the time he was writing this letter to the Philippine Church (4:11).

Is there a state beyond both complaint and satisfaction? More importantly, can we discover an acceptance the enfolds human fear and despair in times of struggle and uncertainty as we "face the facts" and yet, with that acceptance know the peace of purpose and a calm center of fulfillment, a knowing of the beauty, wonder, intelligence of Life? I think Paul achieved that. It is not a denial of the seriousness of our situation, nor of our problematic feelings, fears and longings. It is a "contentment" that integrates our humanity with our highest vision, faith and acknowledgment that the Good is also present, right here, right now. Susan Nettleton

In the words (from Naked Songs) of Lalla--or Lal Ded--14th century Kashmiri poetess:

That one is blessed and at peace

who doesn't hope, to whom desire makes no more loans. nothing coming, nothing owed.

October 27, 2020

Today I am posting a poem by William Stafford as an extension of my talk last Sunday, "In a Moment". While we have much personal and collective "business" and "voices" to attend to this week, with the added pressure of the election, the pandemic surges, and plans to make for the holidays and winter, I am redirecting your attention to the present moment, whatever it maybe for you. The repetitive practice of returning to the present moment is one form of meditation. It is also a practice that helps manage anxiety, grounds us in reality right now, and as Stafford offers, it's even a gift we give to world when we approach the moment with respect. When we approach with devotion, the moment becomes, in the words of 18th century Jesuit, Jean Pierre de Caussade, a "sacrament"--be ready. (Susan Nettleton)

Follow the link below for the poem:

https://wordsfortheyear.com/.../you-reading-this-be.../

October 24, 2020

Here is your invitation to our Zoom Sunday Service tomorrow. If you don't know Zoom, you can get information from hillsidesource.com/zoom and a link for basic instructions. I hope you can attend! Susan Nettleton

Hillside Church is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting Sunday Service on

October 25, 2020

Topic: "In A Moment" by Dr. Susan Nettleton

Time: Oct 25, 2020 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

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October 22, 2020

As we move further into the Fall season, medical reports continue to emphasize the surges of Covid-19 along with the prediction of the Pandemic worsening as winter approaches. At the same time, there are increasing reports of "Pandemic fatigue"--people have grown tired of the news and tired of the warnings, weary of the caution and awareness that staying healthy and keeping others healthy requires. One way to understand Pandemic fatigue is looking at it as sensory fatigue.

The solution to sensory fatigue is resting the senses (through sleep and meditation, for example) but also through switching things up; giving our tired senses new material to stimulate them in ways that shift our brain's processing. If we are tired of the sound of news voices, urgent demands and combative argument, try listening to new music, or the sounds of nature. If out of convenience, we are eating the same meals over and over again because of the difficulty of grocery shopping and the complications of eating out, decide to push a bit to have new tastes and set aside the too familiar. We can explore new textures and focus on unfamiliar scents. We can allow our eyes new sights, even if that only means a car ride in a new direction, bringing new color into our homes, moving the furniture around. These may be small steps, but they are an aspect to keeping sensory awareness fresh through new sensory input. We can also consider expanding the social network that we have nurtured and been nourished by; social contact through one media or another involves multiple senses. Factor in the sensory level as you consider winter projects and plan in particular for ways to experience nature in the winter months.

Without some sense that our lives are growing, "Pandemic fatigue", can push us into impulsive states, or into pessimistic, resentful states. It's understandable, we've been at this for 8 months and the winter maybe long; the weather, unpredictable. It seems a good time to explore stretching our sensory awareness as well as our time of silent stillness. (Susan Nettleton)

October 18, 2020

I am affirming this Sunday as a day of peace for you--at least a time during today where you can touch that core of peace within you, even if it's brief, even if your day carries burdens.

This poem by Rainer Maria Rilke offers yet another doorway to peace. It carries the reminder, that the the source of reassurance, Divine Presence, is always within reach. Our longing for It is our means of discovery. And our vision of beauty gives It strength.

There are various translations of this from the original German, but this, to me, is the most accessible. Follow the link to Rilke's poem, "I am, You Anxious One"

https://beautywelove.blogspot.com/.../i-am-you-anxious...

October 17, 2020

How are you framing today, as we live through and experience October 2020? Inspiratonal writer and speaker Johnathan Lockwood Huie offers an interesting question below, and then offers his own celebratory vision. Worth pondering possibilities this Saturday as our Pandemic storms unfold.

(From the website that bears his name.)

"Is today a day to gather strength from the storm,

a day to learn life lessons for the next battle?

Or is today a day to sit by the fire

and watch the storm rage outside?

Either way, the storm is just life.

Give thanks for all of Life. " by Johnathan Lockwood Huie

"Today is your day to dance lightly with life,

sing wild songs of adventure,

invite rainbows and butterflies out to play

soar your spirit and unfurl your joy." by Jonathan Lockwood Huie

October 16, 2020

These last weeks of October are most likely to bring more tensions and turmoil as the U.S. election revs up and the Pandemic begins to surge. These are events that pull us to action as part of the larger community and our collective dependency. We are called to individually make our choices and follow our chosen course at whatever level we personally participate in the voting process. At the same time, we cannot forget the Pandemic. We already know what we need to do in the field of public health, so as I have said, this is a time to review habits and routines and not let down our guard. (It's also the time for flu shots.) It is a time of doing. But the collective intensity of these next few weeks can be soothed by times of stillness and silence and peace. I personally believe that any time you can carve out for meditation and prayer--whatever practice brings you peace--benefits the whole of life, even if it's incremental. Clearly, it is of personal benefit to your psyche and your spirit, but it is also a form of participation in healing and care that benefits a larger field. While the rhythm and routine of a daily time of spiritual practice allows us to clear the pressures of the outside world, there is also power in the immediate moment. Here is a short poem from 18th century Jesuit monk Jean Pierre de Caussade. When during these weeks ahead, if you are unable to find the time, space or freedom for daily practice, why not take the plunge into what Caussade termed "the sacrament of the present moment".

Follow the link:

https://artandtheology.org/.../the-divine-will-by-jean.../

October 14, 2020

When the weather is mild and the sky is clear as it was yesterday evening, the Pandemic seems to recede in a spurt of expansion and freedom. But this is not the time for us to drop our guard completely, particularly with the prediction of new surges of contagion as the season deepens. On a short walk yesterday at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, I was aware of conflicting feelings as my mind wandered to the places I would go and the people I would visit if this was not now the 7th month of Pandemic restrictions. These were not particularly useful wandering thoughts, except perhaps for taking measure of the changes and the toll of these times. This morning though, a haiku by the Zen poet Basho (1644-1694) popped into my mind:

"Though I am in Kyoto,

when the cuckoo sings,

I long for Kyoto."

Basho brings me back to an awareness that the beauty of nature is right outside my door. The mountain rising above the back wall. The towering cedar at the front door. Phenomenal bird songs echoing through the neighborhood. Sounds of children. Sounds of life. My phone is full of texts from connections nearby, across the country, across the globe, sharing our insights, humor, and care. Where else is there to be more wondrous than here? (Susan Nettleton)

October 11, 2020

This Sunday, I am posting a sprinkling of thoughts on patience. My intent is to lead you to idea that is ripe for you, and in turn, leads you to the well of patience within yourself. That is the space that you can draw on in the weeks ahead, giving yourself time to collect your thoughts and feelings, absorb whatever information is useful for you, and continue to participate in your community (whatever its shape and size). We can take action, we can respond from our spiritual depth in a constructive way, when we take the time to draw from the still point within. Peace. (Susan Nettleton).

David G. Allen (contemporary writer): "Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in your mind."

Rev. Croft M. Pentz (1931-2008): "The secret of patience is to do something else in the meantime."

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (philosopher, 1712-1778): "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."

Bruce Lee (martial arts/philosopher 1940-1973) "Patience is not passive, on the contrary, it is concentrated strength. "

Roy T. Bennett (contemporary inspirational writer): Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.

And two links:

W.S. Merwin: https://thedailygardener.org/come-back/

Walt Whitman: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../a-noiseless-patient...

October 10, 2020

As we move through October, the November election looms and it will continue to add to the intensity of this month, along with the concern that Covid-19 will surge in the new season.

This morning news points to new surges in several states, including the most recent data for New Mexico. While you sift through the news and sort out your own commitments and participation in the election, this is the time to also refresh and renew your personal protocols for reducing contagion and keeping yourself and others safe. Its easy to succumb to "virus fatigue", having heard all the arguments and opposition along with the continued message to wear masks, social distance, wash hands, avoid crowded and closed unventilated places--the mind and senses naturally overload and stop listening. The psyche is tired of the process. That fatigue is it's own protection of our metaphoric "circuitry". Don't over load the circuits. Rather, hit the refresh button. To do that, our spiritual practices assume renewed importance, along with rest and letting the mind wander to more creative and enjoyable pursuits. I am encouraging patience. A line from the Taoist Book of Changes (I Ching) comes into my mind: "...wait in the calm strength of patience. The time will fulfill itself."

A little search brings me the closing line of the passage, "...the main thing is not to expend one's powers prematurely in an attempt to obtain by force something for which the time is not yet ripe." (Susan Nettleton)

October 8, 2020

Yesterday, I helped my grandson set up the computer for his online preschool class.

He likes to attend alone, so once the classroom appeared on the screen, I was dismissed. Still, I sat on the steps outside his closed door, because he can't help experimenting with the keyboard during class and inevitably I knew I'd be summoned back with the call,"I lost my school!" Yesterday, I was summoned to retrieve the class image twice.

While I listened behind the door, the teacher impressed me with her ability to hold the class attention, and explain again and again, "If you are ready give me a thumbs up, if you know the answer show me your thumbs up." She explained to the children that she had a new computer and was having trouble with it during the morning class and reminded them of this again, when the video she intended to show failed to appear. Then she smoothly switched to story time. I could hear my grandson excitedly shouting answers and getting frustrated that the teacher didn't call on him while he repeated: "I want to share, I want share!" He had forgotten his microphone was muted until the teacher could see the thumbs up and turn it on from her end. But he remembered and was proudly called on to show and explain his drawing. When the session ended, he left the "classroom" satisfied and happy!

While I sat on the steps I reflected on the Pandemic and the changes and stressors that it has brought--how we have been forced to adapt and learn new skills. All of us have been pushed:

grandparents, parents, teachers, retailers, essential workers, workers at every level, and children. I marveled at the teacher's incredible patience, with the technical difficulties, with the 4 year olds, and the parents (and grandparents) popping in and out to "help". It strikes me in addition to all the other coping tools we need, spiritually and psychologically, patience is essential. It's hard to learn new skills without patience. It's hard to meditate without patience. It's hard to forgive without patience. So today I'm encouraging you to explore a new level of patience in the process of adapting to the Pandemic, beginning with yourself. When you look at what has been required of you this year, I hope you can feel a new self-compassion. Acknowledging how life has changed for all us gives you room to accept that it's difficult and we will make mistakes. We will make less and struggle less, when we can be patient with ourselves first, and then from there, with others. (Susan Nettleton)

October 7, 2020

Here is the information on the next Zoom Sunday Service.

You are welcome to attend. If you wish to receive e-invitations

to Zoom services, you can email your request to hillsideew@aol.com

Topic: "In A Moment" by Dr. Susan Nettleton

Time: Oct 25, 2020 11:00 AM Mountain Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87585080333...

Meeting ID: 875 8508 0333

Passcode: Hillside

One tap mobile

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Dial by your location

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Meeting ID: 875 8508 0333

Passcode: 99626185

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kd0V1gOpFo

October 4, 2020

I recently came across this poem by William Stafford (1914-1993) and it seemed to me to point the way to both a discovery of our oneness in the weaving of the world and the significance of individual consciousness in that weaving. It seems just right to further illuminate our possibilities of participating in the world's healing as well as in our own. For a Sunday meditation, follow the link below. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.susanaprana.com/.../being-a-person-by-william...

October 3, 2020

The last 24 hours has marked another turn of events in the Pandemic in America with the unexpected hospitalization of the President for Covid-19 and a cascade of contagion among

key government officials and staff. In this time of political polarization, social media is ablaze with interpretations, opinions, emotional outpourings and even excitement. My task, as I see it, is to help redirect you again and again to the spiritual ground of your being, that still point that is there not just during the Pandemic, but throughout all times and all of life. Most of us simply cannot stay at that point while everything thing around us feels in upheaval and the news is buzzing--we will go back and forth from the whirlwind of society to moments of spiritual insight and peace. But in those moments of Peace, we are part of the healing of society as well as ourselves. We participate in a spiritual process of healing our community, our country and our world through the Pandemic. Regardless of your politics, let that still point remain a space of healing and well-being for all.

In the words of contemporary spiritual writer Richard Rohr (Radical Grace: Daily Meditations):

“To finally surrender ourselves to healing, we have to have three spaces opened up within us - and all at the same time: our opinionated head, our closed-down heart, and our defensive and defended body. That is the summary work of spirituality - and it is indeed work. Yes, it is also the work of “a Power greater than ourselves,” and it will lead to a great luminosity and depth of seeing. That is why true faith is one of the most holistic and free actions a human can perform. It leads to such broad and deep perception that most traditions would just call it “light.”'

Remember to feed the Light. (Susan Nettleton)

September 30, 2020

As September enters October, the stirrings of Fall quicken. Officially we are a week into the change of season, but the temperature here today is 103 and expected to climb tomorrow. Still daylight is decreasing, sending mixed messages across the natural world. We are in a time where the construct of season may require a new definition. Yet as the calendar goes and the days shorten, summer passes and fall begins.

Many weeks ago I wrote about the collective difficulty of coming to acceptance of the Pandemic, looking at the emotional toll of these times through the lens of a process of grief. Since humanity is capable of a wide range of feeling states and responses to change, there are many more facets to the emotional consequences than grief , but the healing process includes acceptance. Healing includes acceptance of our experiences and their integration into our personal and collective history in a way that brings us new strength, peace, and hopefully, wisdom. I wrote previously that we cannot reach acceptance yet, because the crisis is still unfolding--no one can say what our post Covid-19 world will look like. That is still true as we face the fall, with medical warnings of dangerous spread of Covid-19 coupled with flu season and at the same time, areas of the country denying the risk of moving into fall "as usual".

One thing we do know is what Covid-19 brought to summer in our personal lives and in our communities. In the early spread of the virus, there was hope that the summer would bring respite. That turned out to not be so. Serious mistakes were made that cost lives. Some areas of the country self-corrected. Some had their first serious struggles with rapid contagion. Research continued. Treatments continued. Your life continued. We all gained new knowledge in one way or another. It strikes me that this is the time to look back, review the summer of 2020, and forgive. In forgiving, we reconnect to the spiritual aspect of life, because forgiveness underneath is an affirmation of life beyond human ignorance and moral failure. It opens the door to acceptance as well as a peaceful heart, clearing our way to healing. (Susan Nettleton)

September 27, 2020

Realistically, because modern society and cultural agendas frequently clash with nature's processes, we are often fearful of exploring the wilderness and the wild. We seek peace through security and control. But this poem by Wendell Berry, expresses our capacity to find aspects of the natural world that teach us to let go of our separation and places where we are peacefully at home with wise companions.

https://onbeing.org/poetry/the-peace-of-wild-things/

September 26, 2020

Since I wrote about the double bind experience in the Pandemic yesterday, and the potential to go beyond the fixed confounded dilemmas, I thought would post and illustrative example from Zen (Susan Nettleton):

“When you paint Spring, do not paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots, but just paint Spring. To paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots is to paint willows, plums, peaches, or apricots - it is not yet painting Spring.”

― Eihei Dogen  (1200-1253)

September 25, 2020

I have been considering the ways in which we can begin to heal our relationship with nature as a further aspect of the events of this Pandemic.  In California with the recent fires, we were put in a classic double bind.  Newer understanding of the airborne spread of Covid-19 includes the critical importance of ventilation, including open windows in homes, moving activities wherever possible outdoors, including exercise, dining, shopping pick ups, and any necessary social interactions to outdoors (along with masks and distancing).  But the fires have brought massive smoke and pollutants here with health warnings to keep windows and doors closed and stay inside.   With a double bind you face conflicting messages, one negating the other, so that to fulfill one, you must fail the other--either way you will be wrong.  In this case health and safety are at risk.  Depending on the context, such situations can push people into a confused and hopeless state, where they essentially give up.  On the other hand, they have the potential to initiate a creative leap out of the dilemma by seeing things in a new way, beyond the struggle of this or that.  As several modern writers have pointed out, Zen teaching koans are often presented as double binds that can exhaust the mind's limited concepts and analytic processes to open intuitive understanding of a larger truth.

As we faced the fire earlier in September, we chose to evacuate to a place away from the fire where we could still maintain the Covid-19 protocols.  Returning home as the fire still burns, presented the dilemma of Covid-19 ventilation vs smoke and unhealthy air.  It took a few days for this to sink in and to sort out options.  The solution was flexibility.  An air quality app allows me to open and close windows and doors and have time outside throughout the day, based on the local measurements.   It is an interesting exercise in shifting between technology and nature, the threat of contagion and nature's health enhancements, the balance of air, temperature, humidity, wind, humans and animals all flowing in and out.   It is not as simple as blending into the natural order, because it incorporates the tools of technology.  But there is a rhythm to it, and when seen from a spiritual viewpoint, the dance of life. While I have not had a lightening flash of Zen insight, I am beginning to see this 21st century world in a new light, with new possibilities.  The environmental changes that are looming for humanity and nature present all kinds of double binds that we must sort through.  Remember that in those seemingly impossible choices that will emerge from climate change, there is the space to leap beyond.  (Susan Nettleton).