June 13, 2021

Sundays offer a tradition of a day set aside for spiritual gratitude, renewal and even repair. As more areas of the country loosen Covid-19 restrictions, we have the opportunity to explore new possibilities for our lives as we balance an ongoing risk with the need to move forward in our lives. I find myself ready to tackle many tasks that were necessarily set aside during the peak months of the Pandemic and seek inner guidance for the best use of this time. As a part of my own re-entry contemplation, I'll continue to post, but for right now, only on Sundays. And I will post the schedule for the next Zoom service here as well. If you would like to be on our e-invitation list for e-mail notification of Zoom services, email the request to: hillsideew@aol.com

Whether Covid-19 will continue to fade or whether it will surge again as it continues to mutate in areas that are resistant to vaccinations, is not clear. But now, it is summer and there is new freedom. Gratitude, renewal and repair seem the order of the day. In that process, as old as mankind, we automatically begin to spin a vision for our future. Let it be filled with Light, Love and Laughter. Below is a passage by Aelred of Rievaulx: England. c. 1110-1167, from Sacred Poems and Prayers of Love, edited by Mary Ford-Grabowsky (1998)-- a reminder of the ageless Divine power of renewal. (Susan Nettleton)

"Just as day declines to evening, so often after some little pleasure my heart declines into depression. Everything seems dull, every action feels like a burden. If anyone speaks, I scarcely listen. If anyone knocks, I scarcely hear. My heart is as hard as flint. Then I go out into the field to meditate, to read the holy Scriptures, and I write down my deepest thoughts as though in a letter to You. And suddenly your grace, O Lord, shatters the darkness with daylight, lifts the burden, relieves the tension. Soon tears follow sighs, and heavenly joy floods over me again."

June 6, 2021

For this Sunday, I am posting a quote by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami (1949-current). When I read it, I immediately thought of these times, although it was written in 2002, in his book Kafka on the Shore. Murakami speaks of an internal, metaphysical storm, but his passage to me seemed to perfectly fit this phase of the Pandemic. The storm is really both something that takes place inside us, and something that takes place all around us--a reminder that we are both a part of life, affected by the collective movement, and at the same time, we are the center. It's a worth Sunday meditation. (Susan Nettleton)

"...Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step...."

"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” Haruki Murakami

May 30, 2021

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a time to remember, mourn and express gratitude for those who have died in service to America in war. Yet, the weekend has become a time to celebrate the change of season, as spring reaches its fullness and becomes summer, with it's images of outdoor freedom. To the heaviness of war and loss, we have come to add the joy of sharing summer. Last year, that sense of summer brought terrible surges in the Pandemic; hopefully this Memorial weekend will be different. War remains heavy, including our metaphor of war against the Pandemic, and a contemplation of the sacrifices made by first responders, medical staff and essential workers. It all seems a strange mixing of emotions, tragedy, heroics, and celebration. But these polarities can meet in the human reach for meaning. As the American poet Archibald MacLeish wrote his poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak":

"...They say, We leave you our deaths: give them their meaning: give them an end to the war and a true peace: give them a victory that ends the war and a peace afterwards: give them their meaning. "

We are the ones that shape the meaning. We honor the sacrifice by our recognition and gratitude, and by remembering. And we expand that meaning, as we expand spiritually, moving beyond a world that is full of division and conflict, to a mystical revelation of ourselves and those who have sacrificed. Follow the link to America's poet laureate for 2019-2021, Joy Harjo's poem "Remember." (Susan Nettleton)

https://wordsfortheyear.com/.../05/25/remember-by-joy-harjo/

May 27, 2021

This week, I crossed a new milestone. I made a dental appointment for an exam. That hardly seems like a milestone, except that it was a symbolic new level of re-entry into PRE post-pandemic life. I am coining the new phrase because the Pandemic is not over, but certainly in California, there is cautious optimism that we are moving beyond it. It's a time of taking stock of what needs to be done, while it can be done--moving forward, but a with sense that the situation could still change--looking backward, yet, each day brings lower case counts and rising vaccinations.

My teeth had been giving me signals to begin my return to a "changing normal" with the dentist. My car gave me signals, too, that it needed a visit to the mechanic. The mechanic responded that his business was swamped by people who now felt free to have things fixed that they had largely ignored over the last year. I have to wait my turn. The dentist squeezed me in, all masking protocols, practical distancing, and sanitation stations well in place. I felt safe, comfortable and reassured. I go back tomorrow for my cleaning.

Different areas of the country, differing populations will have their own pace and so will you as an individual. What is calling you to action? Expect the back and forth movement of returning to life beyond your doorstep, as is the way of all healing. Listen, especially to the calling of self-care. (Susan Nettleton)

May 23, 2021

For this Sunday's post, I turn to our website blogger Jack Correu and his Little Shack of Insight. Here is a reminder that the world of nature continues to offer it's beauty and delight, even in as we humans struggle with the Pandemic and environmental shifts. We need our day of rest from our inner and outer wrangling. Take time today to be aware of the peak of Spring and it's annual reminder of renewal and awakening. (Susan Nettleton) Follow the link below:

https://hillsidesource.com/.../the-little-forest-sings-by...

May 22, 2021

I have spent the week watching and reading developments on the CDC's Covid-19 announcement that those who are vaccinated no longer need to wear masks or social distance, except in very crowded situations, in public transportation, and in the case of the immune compromised. The non-vaccinated are advised to continue wearing masks. On Sunday, I spoke a bit about the announcement in terms of trust as an aspect of faith. I also spoke of my multi-generational household and our decision to continue current mask practices. because young children have no vaccine as yet. The week has brought a cross current of opinions and state announcements, stirring confusion and controversy. Still, Covid-19 case rates continue to decline.

Vaccinations are now at the forefront of public health outreach, while we face daily news of catastrophic Covid-19 spread across the globe. Research has shown that this vaccines are powerfully protective. No vaccine is 100% effective. We know this from years of annual flu vaccines. What we don't really have is data that shows how much additional protection mask wearing would provide in a population that has partial or the majority vaccinated. We do know that the 2020-2021 flu season saw the number of flu hospitalizations and deaths plummet. This is attributed to masks, social distancing and people staying home when ill. The new Covid-19 recommendations are meant to spur more people to follow through, be vaccinated, and then be mask free. There is some hope among medical practitioners that we have learned to use masks and other health prevention that could continue to be practiced when needed and benefit public health, even when the Pandemic is gone.

In America after 2020, trust is not automatic, but without some amount of trust, we cannot progress. Trust on a human level is one thing, but trust on a spiritual level brings the idea of faith. Trust is an aspect of faith. The idea of trust includes the question who or what are you trusting? Life requires some degree of trust. As a culture, we are now sorting out whether or not we can trust that non-vaccinated people will wear masks and that those who do not wear masks have indeed been vaccinated. Since a certain amount of the population have refused to wear masks all along, or greatly resisted, wearing only when forced, this brings an unusual reckoning with our personal ideas of trust and realistic expectations. With new guidelines, we are given the freedom and responsibility to assess our personal level of risk, the risk we potentially bring to others, and measure our own tolerance for risk after over a year of Pandemic threat.

Trust in something beyond our own efforts is an essential part of faith, especially when sooner or later we find ourselves in situations and pursuits which are beyond our total control. Spiritual clarity begins when you can answer who and what are you trusting. Where is your focal point? What has personally carried you through this Pandemic? For most of us, it is a mix of human support, reliable information, our own intelligence, intuition, experience, and spiritual faith. These may seem separate and at times conflicting, but with deepening understanding, God (or however you name the Un-namable) becomes the overriding, organizing principle of life. Trust that. (Susan Nettleton)

May 16, 2021

I am posting late this Sunday night. In this morning's talk I spoke of rest as nourishment and sleep as the point of rest when we are our most vulnerable selves. Because we are vulnerable and defenseless, we are the most open to spiritual nourishment, healing, and restorative energy. So tonight I offer the link the Rilke poem I read this morning: You Darkness. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.maryreynoldsthompson.com/.../unc.../you-darkness

May 14, 2021

Here is your reminder for this Sunday's Zoom Service!

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Hope you can attend!

Topic: Faith as Trust (Part II, Movement & Rest)

Sunday, May 16 11:00 A.M. (Mountain Time), 10:00 A.M. (Pacific Time)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3094215757...

Meeting ID: 309 421 5757

Passcode: Hillside

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Meeting ID: 309 421 5757

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Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbt0Ads5qs

May 9, 2021

It's Sunday and it's Mother's Day. Mother's Day originally was begun with a link between religious worship services and the honoring of mothers for all that they do in the care of their children and families, and community. Initially, the predominantly Christian idea (in 1908) was for families to attend church services together, in acknowledgement of God's love, expressed through a mother's heart and hands. Over the years, with the growth of mass marketing techniques, Mother's Day became commercialized. On one hand, this diminished the religious meaning. On the other hand, the tradition spread to become an multi-international recognition of the role of mothers. Eventually, Mother's Day leveraged recognition of the crucial role that father's play in human culture with the establishment of Father's Day.

The larger cultural, intentional, conscious reflection on our mothers--our own, societies', and indeed Divine Mothers--is a wondrous example of how consciousness itself grows and expands. The process can be painful for some. It can easily get diluted and tainted with issues of materialism and profit, as well as personal emotions of obligation, rivalry and disappointment. Yet overall, in honoring one level of mothering, we have opened the door to a deeper understanding that life takes care of life. There are layers to our relationship with our mothers, because we are all complex and even mysterious beings, just as there are layers to our understanding of Divine or Transcendent Love and Care. Divine Mothers exist in all spiritual traditions and in the human heart as well--male or female. (Susan Nettleton)

For further contemplation, follow the link below: https://megansspark.blogspot.com/.../they-say-she-is... (Contemporary American poet, Judy Grahn)

May 6, 2021

If you have not yet turned in prayer today for our country and our world, take the time now to join in the National Day of Prayer in America. Just let the words flow from you, or if not words, silent blessings in the spirit of letting go to the Highest and Best you envision. As American Poet, Mary Oliver,reminds us in her poem"Praying", begin by paying attention and let your heart lead. (Susan Nettleton)

follow the link: https://becomingflame.com/2018/01/19/praying-by-mary-oliver/

May 2, 2021

or this Sunday's post, I am sharing a link for a poem by Sufi poet Sanai Hakim (Afghanistan 1050-1113). I am choosing this poem because it has the feel of visionary insight and at the same time is like the opening of a fantasy tale and spiritual journey. The time of Covid-19 easily leads to murkiness, or we can use the modern term "brain fog". Why not let that fog paradoxically open visionary doors? Perhaps even now we are in the spiritual "fire" of new life. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../Thenthrought/index.html

May 1, 2021

As we enter May 2021, much is changing in U.S. with the Pandemic. We have been through many previous changes, much upheaval and tragedy, as well as extraordinary scientific breakthroughs and human acts of courage and self-giving. With the amazing vaccine roll-out, Covid-19 cases across the country are falling (but not in all states) and the Covid-19 "rules" are changing. Far from perfect, the fact that we have vaccines at all, in such a short time period, produced under extreme social conditions, is to me amazing--as of April 29, CDC reports a total of 237, 360, 493 vaccines have been administered. That breaks down to 143,793,565 (43%) people with one shot and 99,668,945 fully vaccinated. Yesterday and today more are added, even if the numbers are slowing down. As cases drop, the recommendations loosen.

While the new recommendations for people who are vaccinated are liberating for some, for others, particularly for those who work, visit or live with children, they are confusing. We may be able to be outdoors without masks, but it is never clear whether those without masks have been vaccinated or not. Children as yet cannot be vaccinated. Over age 2, they need to wear masks outside the household. That's a skill that must be practiced and learned. Masks remain essential for those who are immune compromised and must take exceptional precautions. In addition, we are all warned to continue to wear masks in "crowds". What is the definition of a crowd? (My rule of thumb is that I am in a crowd when I cannot maintain social distancing of 6 ft., but in some situations, social distancing is now defined as 3 ft. In a brief pinch, I'll use 3 feet, but maybe it's more prudent to just wear a mask...) This dilemma is compounded by the ambiguous message of the more transmissible variants, the surges in specific states in the U.S. and the overwhelming global spread across the globe, most particularly today in India with it's variant. The scientific research about transmission, immunity and vaccines on the newest variants is still in process and not yet clear.

We have been at this point of confusion before. Overall for the U.S., the news is positive. It's important to remember that because, spiritually, we can choose to focus on the Good, while doing our best to protect ourselves and others. At the same time, when our public protocols begin to become foggy, it's time to tune-in to our intuitive leanings, on the deepest level we can access. Each situation is different and we need to approach it with refreshed awareness. Eventually the confusion will lift. Time and experience with new knowledge, accumulated through research, as well as public and communal reflection, will clear the way. In the meantime, stay with your moments of prayer and meditation. And above all, listen to the inner directive. (Susan Nettleton)

April 28, 2021

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Hope you can attend!

Topic: Faith as Trust (Part II, Movement & Rest)

Sunday, May 16, 2021. Time: 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3094215757...

Meeting ID: 309 421 5757

Passcode: Hillside

One tap mobile

+16699009128,,3094215757#,,,,*52601190# US (San Jose)

+13462487799,,3094215757#,,,,*52601190# US (Houston)

Dial by your location

+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)

+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)

+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

Meeting ID: 309 421 5757

Passcode: 52601190

Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbt0Ads5qs

April 25, 2021

This week, amid the world acknowledgment of Earth Day and the urgent call for countries to enact new policies in the face of climate change and ecological shifts, the Pandemic has taken a grave turn in India as well as Brazil. Here I offer poems from both countries, as a reminder that we are, as one world, in this Pandemic together. (Susan Nettleton)

"Eternal Life" by Contemporary Brazilian poet (1935 - ) Adelia Prado, translated by Ellen Dore Watson, from Ex-Voto, Tupelo Press, 2013

Half a century.

The weight of that word used to send me straight to bed.

No more. I’m gathering wisdom. Alchemists aren’t law breakers — sure, they’re naïve sometimes like the saints,

believing in stones, fish seen in dreams,

signs written on the sky. Where is God?

April is reborn out in the cosmos,

in the most perfect silence.

Inside and outside of me. +++++++++++++

Excerpt from "Harmony" # 22, pg.189-190, "The Garland of Guru's Sayings, the Guru Vachaka Kovai by Sri Muruganar, tr. by Prof. K. Swaminathan (poetic rendition of the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)

...Whatever creed you may believe in, Turn inward with true faith, live up To it, instead of setting out To hate and attack the faith of others. Giving up sundry controversies...choose the best, Self-knowledge. Make your tapas (spiritual disciplines) ripe, Meditate on God and win His grace. While mind exists, creeds too exist. When mind turns inward in Self-quest And gets caught up in the heart, no creed Can in that peace serene survive.

April 22, 2021

Today is Earth Day. This year Earth Day includes America's Global Climate Summit, with 40 world leaders assembling online to discuss the urgency and economics of climate change, as well as Earth Day's 51st annual program and events, initiated by earthday.org. (Streaming programs this year). The thematic focus of this year's program is Restore Our Earth. It's a fitting theme as the Pandemic continues it's global spread, with new crises erupting in some countries, while others enter the path of recovery, and we all race to vaccinate the worlds' population. In this 50 year tradition, Earth Day has been a time to appreciate humanity's connection to the Earth as well as promoting awareness of our environmental changes and threats.

The idea of "Restore Our Earth" encourages the application of natural processes in restoring ecosystems, along with emerging green technology and innovating thinking. With over a billion people in 192 countries participating, this is a day of creative, affirmative energy and a call to personal as well as collective action. Take a little time today to reflect that you too have some part to play in this Restoration. Even small actions bring you into a new kind of communion with the earth and with those who work with global projects on a much larger scale. Spiritually though, a greater discovery awaits--as we are in the world, so too, the world lies within us. We are more than of the earth; the earth resides in us. Restoring our Earth requires action in the physical world, but the deeper spiritual mystery is restoring Earth's home in our hearts. (Susan Nettleton)

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."

-John Muir (Scottish-American environmentalist, 1838-1914)

April 18, 2021

For this Sunday I am posting a link to a portion of the poem "Vacillation" by 20th century Irish poet William Butler Yeats. This is a reminder that a spiritual door can open suddenly, wherever you are and often when least expected. Even though that awakened state may be brief, the impact is life changing. In such a moment, we realize the underlying reality that our lives are "blessed" and in turn, with this discovery the way opens for us to "bless" the world around us. We are an aspect of the ongoing creation of Good. As the Pandemic continues to bring devastation to large parts of the world, this is a time to consider your own capacity to bless and be blessed. That may seem to be unrealistic fantasy, but as another poet, Alfred Tennyson wrote in the 19th century:

"More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend? (Morte D' Arthur)

Why not share your blessings and prayers as much as you can this Sunday? Don't wait until an extraordinary moment. Sometimes it is the best way to find yourself lifted beyond preoccupation with your own situation and entering the door to a new awakening. (Susan Nettleton)

follow the link: https://www.poetryireland.ie/.../view/from-vacillation

April 16, 2021

Today, I hesitated as I approached this Facebook post. The news is a confusing, mixed, mish-mosh of description, interpretations and opinions. Are we moving forward beyond the Pandemic, or are we at a standstill, or are we regressing into new and dark surges? It seems to depend right now on location, the prevalence of variants, politics and of course, unknown/undiscovered factors. So I decided to randomly pickup a book for another source of inspiration. (In a world of synchronicity, is there such a thing as randomness?) I opened a text, published in 1980, "A Buddhist Spectrum: Contributions to Buddhist-Christian Dialogue, by Marco Pallis. My eye landed on this passage, pg. 89) "...Buddhas are normally shown as seated upon a lotus, that serene flower resting on the waters of possibility and thereby evocative of the nature of things...". That one phrase was enough, "resting on the waters of possibility and thereby evocative of the nature of things..." The world, life itself is a continual creative process. Every situation, every event is the flowing water of possibility. Can we "rest" on the waters of the creative, cultivate the serenity latent within ourselves, wait until the nature of the thing, the way, the highest and best possibility reveals itself? The waters of positive possibilities are everywhere. Begin just where you are right now, the parameters of your day, your "world". It's the perfect time to affirm the Good, arising now. (Susan Nettleton)

April 11, 2021

For this Sunday's post, I am offer a link to a short poem by contemporary American poet Danna Faulds. As we move through this divided corridor of Covid-19 vaccination hope and resurgent/mutations fear, this poem is a reminder that we grow from the Earth but the Earth extends from the Cosmos and therefore, so do we. How can we know and hold to that knowledge, how do we draw our strength from that? All of nature shouts the way, including our own voice. (Susan Nettleton)

April 9, 2021

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." T.S. Eliot

Yesterday, I had my first post-vaccine lunch with friends, who have also completed their vaccination process. We live in different cities and have several years of history of meeting up half-way, whenever I am in the Los Angeles area. It has been a long time, well over a year, since I have driven the one and a half hour route to the mid-point city. I have only rarely driven outside the immediate neighborhood during the strict stay-at-home orders in LA County. Now I had to think in the way of "travel" that once was second nature to me, but had become a shadowy memory in the daily pressures of a Pandemic household. I rummaged through boxes and found a small travel bag for my spare mask, hand sanitizer, paper towels, phone charger, etc. I slowly reviewed the route on the computer, which involved shifting exits for I-210, Hwy. 57, Hwy. 71, Hwy. 91 to I-15. (Southern California commutes simply can't be compared to New Mexico. ) I watched with wonder my clouded process of organizing what I needed. Then there was the challenging chore of finding something appropriate to wear...my daily crocs and jeans did not seem "special" enough for this journey...

I write all this just to make the point that as restrictions lift, the transition zone is not automatic. We have all been jolted into new routines and demands. Vaccination, as the public health officials frequently remind us, means some recovered freedom, but also the continued responsibility of self-protection and community protection of the unvaccinated.

The drive itself was strange, alternating between surreal and familiar. There was plenty of California traffic, but still, less than previous years. Our favorite comfortable restaurant was gone, but we found a perfect outdoor dining, mask promoting spot. These are friends whose spiritual journeys intertwine with mine. Reconnecting was immediate, giving a solid spiritual perspective to our Pandemic experiences. We laughed a lot, even as we exchanged the deeper issues of our lives. It was so natural. Yet, I watched my own uncertainty flare as we tried to keep the health protocols in place while exploring new places. Constant vigilance seems the new natural too. In the late afternoon, we discovered the perfect bakery--all protocols in place and heavenly treats as well! I drove those winding freeways home, renewed in spirit, ready to begin again. (Susan Nettleton)

April 4, 2021

Easter Greetings--This morning I looked at a variety of poems that would be appropriate for anyone and everyone on Easter Sunday, regardless of religious background. The essence of Easter is deliverance and the experience of renewed life and beyond that, eternal life. Those phrases can be interpreted in vast ways; in Christianity those ideas are held in the sacred story of the resurrection. Yet life also offers us the moments of resurrection that are held in each day as this poem by Mary Oliver illuminates. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.aspeninstitute.org/.../Oliver_Why-I-Wake...