SPIRITUAL COMMUNICATION

PathWay

Visualize a golden chalice
filled with diamond elixir.

Our friendship is the chalice.
The elixir is wisdom.

I am using the term Spiritual Communication
to mean a depth of conscious communion.

Spiritual communication is
not merely horizontal –
with words crossing over
between the different persons.

Spiritual Communication is
actually vertical –
with ideas springing forth
from a shared center.

If people gather together in trust and care,
then the group forms a human vortex that
tends to give rise to what they need to know.

The authentic conversation is Noumenal.

A noumen is an opening
between Nature and Spirit.

It could be a glade or a grotto,
a flame, a spring, a tree, a hill.

It could also be a center of
ritual, prayer, dialogue or meditation.

It is well known that sacred sites
possess this special property.

What is not so well known is
that every circle of human beings
has the potential for noumenality.

The seminar or workshop,
the counseling session,
the family meeting,
the company retreat –
each of these can serve to
bring one vision
through many voices.

It is the degree to which
we can be, at once, both
utterly truthful
and
totally loving
that brings wisdom
through friendship.

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SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

SunPine

If you are reading this blog, then chances are good that
you are an intuitive, empathic, creative person.

Occasionally, you just know what you need to know.
Occasionally, you just feel what others are feeling.
You may or may not be an artist of some kind,
but you tend to find your own way of doing things.

Intuitive, Empathic, Creative.
This is an emerging typology.

You are very likely sensing a vision
of the part you might play
in the creation of a better future.

You are very likely sensing a calling
to be of greater service in the world.

And you have a deep longing
for your work and your love
to be ever-more real.

As if your doings could be
true to your very being.

You tend to be ecologically conscious –
with the capacity to consider
impacts on other living systems.

Your are also holistically conscious –
with the capacity to consider
spirituality as universal.

This profile is unusual
but not unique.
Perhaps about 10%
of contemporary humanity.

It is still a fairly rare type.

That is the reason we are
vulnerable to doubts and fears
about our worthiness,
or may wonder if we are
alien to our own birth cultures.

This is the reason we struggle with
being what we are meant to be,
and doing what we are meant to do.

This why it takes such courage
for us to stand forth,
and why we must find friends
who care for us, that we can trust.

It is important to remember
that the spiritual leaders
of our species’ journey
are not the ones on top,
but the ones in front.

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Nature & Spirit

RoseViewRoseLakeRoseFalls 

One of the great things about my counseling work
is that I get to share the wild beauty of this locale.

PierSet

I meet with clients at
Ventura Pier,
Harbor Estuary,
Botanical Gardens,
Lake Casitas,
Pine Mountain,
Rose Valley,
Matilija Creek,
Chumash Trail,
Lake Shrine,
Sacred Space,
Krotona
and
the Mount…

Vta Eagle

I love not only the nature of the place,
but also the spirit of the time.

Stones

There are legends that the New Era starts here,
amongst valleys sacred for 10,000 years.

Bloom1

Profound wisdom and healing power
are hidden between mountains and ocean.

Bloom2

 Each of the World’s Faiths has a center in this region,
and every kind of human being now lives in this area.

BeachArt

Wondrous things are happening.
It is a blessing to be a part of it.

Vta Swan

http://www.thesacredspace.com/

https://www.theosophical.org/membership/local-groups/1110

http://meditationmount.org/

http://www.mehermount.org/

I need to say a deeply loving thanks to
The Ventura Center for Spiritual Living
for letting me use office space as needed.

http://www.venturacsl.org/

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Common Knowledge

Vta Pond


 

“Kindness is the basic wisdom.”
(Fortune Cookie, circa 2000.)

A deep study of the World’s Great Faiths
will reveal a hidden secret.
There exists an ageless wisdom teaching,
a single core idea, arising
through every period and culture
of humanity upon this planet –

We are not merely our personality –
composed of body, feelings, thoughts.
We are a spiritual consciousness.
We are essentially divine beings.

There comes a point on the Path
where the light touches our mind –
we realize that we are beings,
and must not be treated as things.

There comes a point on the path
when the love touches our hearts –
we realize that others are beings,
and must not be treated as things.

If I am a being, then all these others are too,
and I must treat them as if they were the Self,
because that is what they truly are.

This is the Diamond Rule.

If I search deeply into myself,
and then search deeply into
family, friends, strangers, enemies,
I do not find separated entities,
I find One Soul of love and light.

All beings are of one kind.

This is the basic wisdom of our species.
And it is the reason for kindness.

We are living through the moment
this ancient hidden secret might
finally become common knowledge.

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Practice of Presence

Waterfall

I have made a lifelong study
of the world’s wealth of disciplines
for awakening consciousness,
trying to find the common basis
of the various approaches to
meditation and contemplation.

I have finally come to believe that
the basic human practice is presence.

In my own life I have learned that
fear, grief and pain tend to ease
as I bring my focus home
to the depths of my own being.

If I mind my heart,
then I am at peace.

In my work with clients
I notice that humans become
more serene and tranquil,
less worried and angry,
as we become skillful at
breathing our breath,
feeling our feelings,
thinking our thoughts.

It seems like things go better as
we become conscious of ourselves.

This is a basic human practice –
being present with ourselves.

The mystery of this practice is that
being present with our own being,
brings us into a greater presence
of loving kindness and loving wisdom.

(Photograph by Annette Klaus.)

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Broken & Perfect

CHRIST?

Among the spiritual communities
in which I have the honor of serving
are two that might seem to be
based upon opposing worldviews.

The metaphysical communities of New Thought
espouse the concept that all of us are perfect.

The anonymous fellowships of Twelve Steps
espouse the concept that we can be broken.

I used to make my living treating PTSD,
and have become familiar with
the enduring impacts
of trauma upon human beings –
some of us tend to go sad and scared,
some of us tend to go tough and mean.

I have become convinced that
trauma is a global condition,
that it can be carried across
incarnations and generations
and
that it touches every life in this world.

So I have no trouble believing
the Anonymous paradigm
about human brokenness.

I now make my living consulting
with people about their emerging spirituality,
and I am blessed to witness everyday miracles
of learning, healing, growth and change.

I have also become utterly convinced
that every single human being
possesses astonishing capacities for
transformation, liberation,
redemption and awakening.

So I have no trouble believing
the Metaphysical paradigm
about human perfection.

“I am perfect, whole and complete…”
(Louise Hay)

“We admitted we were powerless…”
(Bill Wilson)

What if they are both right?

This is how the study of
Wisdom comes in handy –
there is an obscure teaching
that arose in the Himalayas
in the 4th and 5th Century
(Arya Asanga’s Uttaratantra).

This Wisdom Teaching suggests that
spiritual consciousness has a twofold aspect –

A perfection aspect
because we are creatures
whose essence is infinite awareness,
and
an unfolding aspect
because we are by nature
eternally developing and evolving.

It is the perfection aspect which gives us
our miraculous potentialities,
because the human spirit is grounded in,
and therefore one with, the Divine Spirit.

It is the unfoldment aspect which gives us
our persistent appearance of brokenness,
because our trajectory has, forever,
both a leading edge and a trailing edge.

The poignant grandeur of our species
lies hid in the differential between
our perfection and our brokenness –
we are simultaneously angel and animal.

This is our struggle and our glory.

For me the implication is
that we will do very well
to embrace and enjoy both
our perfection and our unfoldment.

I need to express appreciation
for two friends –
Speaker Rick Wilson
and
Reverend Bonnie Rose
who are serving
by bringing through
great treasures of
kindness and wisdom.

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Spiritual Friendship

Healer

About three years ago I was driving home from
an evening meeting during a thunderstorm, and
I was surrounded by beautiful lightning strikes.
This stunning display gave me a glimpse of vision.
I sensed for a moment the many points of light
that we are, in the community of spirituality, and
I felt deeply the great need for us to build
links for a network of loving friendship.

Lately every week I go
to various spiritual events
in the area near my Ojai home:
metaphysical centers,
anonymous fellowships,
esoteric communities,
as well as
churches, temples, and service agencies.
I am seeing and hearing the signs of
a greater Wisdom Family
drawn from this wealth of diverse groups –

Different people talking about the joy of a life given over
to loving service, helping others and sharing kindness. 

What does it matter if one of us studies
the Dharma of the Buddha,
and the other one of us studies
the Gospel of the Christ?

One day our grandchildren will ask us
what we did during the global crisis,
and we will take no pride in
petty disputes between points of view.

What does it matter if there are difficulties
between our differing personalities?

One day we will all be attending
each other’s memorial services.
In that moment we will be mourning
only the barriers that kept us apart.

Prayer

We are meant for spiritual friendships that
connect us together for the good of the whole.
We are called to help heal this wounded world
and to take part in building a City of Peace.
We are being gathered together from our
sects and tribes for an urgent common reason –

We need a planetary recovery –
an awakening and redemption that unites us.
At this point the deepest basis
for human relations
is spiritual friendship.

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Emergency Meditation

Work

I have taught many exotic techniques of meditation,
but if I am in real trouble, then I use this one –

Bring your mind
to your heart
&
find your breath.

I call it Emergency Meditation because
you can do it in the middle of an accident,
you can do it in the middle of an argument,
and you can do it just as you put your hand
onto the doorknob of the really hard room.

Bring your mind
to your heart
&
find your breath.

By this I mean focus into the center of your chest,
and let yourself breathe a little bit deeper.

It’s a bit like coming home.

As you deepen your breath,
the body tends to ease,
the heart gets a little calmer,
and the mind gets a little clearer.

Bring your mind
to your heart,
find your breath
&
feel your feelings.

Don’t fight your feelings, just feel them, as they are.
There is no need to go to war with your own heart.

If you have judgments about your feelings,
then embrace your own heart with loving kindness.

Just for one moment be at peace
with your own heart, as it is.

Bring your mind
to your heart,
find your breath
&
watch your thoughts.

Don’t fight your thoughts, just watch them, as they are.
There is no need to go to war with your own mind.

If you have judgments about your thinking,
then observe your own mind with loving wisdom.

Just for one moment be at peace
with your own mind, as it is.

Bring your mind
to your heart
&
find your breath.

Deepen your breathing.
Feel your feelings.
Watch your thoughts.

Whatever arises,
moment by moment,
as you breathe in, let it be,
as you breathe out, let it go.

Whatever is happening, no matter what –
As you breathe in, let it be, just as it is.

As you breathe out, let it go, just as it will.

As you breathe in, let it be.
As you breathe out, let it go.

If you can bring your mind and heart to peace,
heart calm, mind clear, even if only for a moment,
then your thinking, feeling, and actions
can become that much wiser and kinder.

With practice,
you can do this,
whatever is happening,
no matter what.

I do it wherever I am making a choice,
whenever I am getting upset,
and as I enter into a difficult situation.

Mind,
Heart,
Breath,
Feeling,
Watching.

By this simple way,
we can bring the peace.

(Photograph by Domz Groovie.)

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The State of Peace

Command of the Master

I just served as keynote speaker for
the Camarillo Hospice 30th Annual
Community Memorial Service.

It was such an honor and humbling
to be a part of this profound event.
As it usually does, the task of planning the talk
brought me my own fresh revelations.

I was asked to talk about
Life, Death, Love and Loss.
I will try to convey the gist.
This message is intended to be useful
for anyone who seeks peace in this world.

Close your eyes for a moment and
let yourself see a departed beloved in your mind.
Are they not still a living light in your life?
I am going to say that a life is a light.
And that light is undying.

Perhaps the light of a life does not die,
but bodies die, and with them sometimes
shared hopes and dreams also seem to die.
But I have had the experience of
holding a loved one in my arms
as they breathed their last breath,
and I have seen the light of
their life fill the room.
There is research now on this,
and many are seeing it.
So I am going to stand by my statement
that a life is a light, and that light is deathless.

Close your eyes for a moment and
let yourself feel a departed beloved in your heart.
Are they not still a living love in your heart?
I am going to say that love is a bond.
And that bond is undying.

No one wishes for sorrow.
But grief is a bond of love
that links us across partings.
If we cross paths with another being
and let ourselves trust them and care for them
then a bond is forged that links us
together with the beloved forever.
Over time the pain mellows and sweetens
and even losses deepen our heart and enrich our life.
So I am going to stand by my statement
that love is a bond, and that bond is deathless.

A few days ago I was driving down PCH
to LA to meet with clients.
On the way I was listening to a CD
of Napoleon Hill about
the power of prayer and the sixth sense.
He used a phrase that rang bells for me –
“the state of faith.”
I have pondered deeply about
what it means to keep faith,
and this phrase helped it finally click in for me.

Hill is addressing the scientific,
rather than religious aspect of faith,
by studying it as a condition of consciousness.
The moment I heard that phrase –
“the state of faith,”
I was clear that faith is a yogic state
of mind and heart
that brings the sense of peace.

If I can keep my mind in the light
of whatever greater power has been there for me,
and if I can hold my heart in the love
of those who count on me to be there for them,
then my mind and my heart will know peace.
Peace is a sign of our own right path.

The brighter our minds the more able we are
to fool ourselves and scare ourselves.
But there is no peace in our hearts
while we are lying to or doubting in ourselves.
We only feel the state of peace
while we are giving ourselves into the state of faith.

Just for the moment, rest your mind
in the truest light you have ever known.
Just for the moment, rest your heart
in the deepest love you have ever known.
This is the state of faith
and the sure sign of it
is the sense of peace.

I know that this is hard to believe
considering all the bereavements, divorces
and the kids moving away,
but there is a way to prove
the enduring reality of light and love –

Whatever is happening
there is always a greater purpose
to be served in the moment.
Whatever is happening
there is never a lack of others
who need the help we can give.

Greater purpose and helping others
are a proven path for anyone
to learn the power of

keeping faith and finding peace.

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New Life

images-2

I have spent a life studying wisdom and healing
and using both to help others find their way.
This month marks three years since I began
my own journey of recovery from caregiving.

 I seem to have made
a good start for a new life,
living and working once again
in the beautiful Ojai area.

This past year I have been very busy
teaching classes, leading groups
and giving talks about
meditation, peace, change and happiness,
as well as coaching clients about
recovery, caregiving,
relationships and actualization.

This transition appears
a bit miraculous to me,
but it is based upon
a set of proven ideas and skills,
and these are what I strive to bring
to my clients and my classes –

Mindfulness and serenity,
wisdom and kindness
can help us persevere beyond losses
and create a new life
of greater light, love, hope, joy,
purpose, meaning and service.

The definite miracle is that I am
presenting meditation for agencies!
For much of my career as a psychologist
I had to remain hidden and secret about
the spiritual consciousness that drives my work.
I doubt if I ever really fooled anybody,
but it is wondrous to be able to speak openly
about the greater depths of human beings,
and amazing to be able to do so professionally
for clinics, rehabs, hospices, etc.

Yesterday I served as the keynote speaker
for Ventura County’s 5th Annual
Conference on Brain Injury.
My message was that we are more than
our brain and its traumas  –
we are beings, we are souls.

A diverse group of survivors,
caregivers and professionals
made it very clear to me
that they found this lesson inspiring.
The world is changing!
I believe this signals the potential emergence
of a non-sectarian spiritual profession.

I need to say thanks to
Nick Haner, Kathi Whalen,
Devaki Berg and Anne Bowen
for helping me through
the transition from bereavement,
and also to Sue Tatangelo
of Camarillo Healthcare District
for believing that spirituality
is just what is needed
to help all kinds of people find their way
through the changes life takes us through.

The artwork for this blog is
by the 20th Century Russian
Painter Nicholas Roerich.
This painting is entitled
“The Star of the Hero.”
I take it to be about the act
of faithfully keeping watch
for signs of ever greater things to come.

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