The Only way to Salvation

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life promotes discussion on topics where religion and public affairs intersect.  It is a nonpartisan group and does not take any position on policy debates.  With that introduction the US Religious Landscape Survey was created from interviews with over 35,000 adults in the US.  I was impressed with the  summary which led me to read the rest of the report. The idea of Faith in the unseen is broad and the human constructs we create can be limiting.  When I was a youth I found the absolutism of salvation and damnation constraining. So I think it is interesting that adults today are willing to see a bigger picture of the Divine. Which view is 'correct'?  In survey and interview work there is no right answer.  It is only a statement of what is.

Summary:
"A major survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life finds that most Americans have a non-dogmatic approach to faith. A strong majority of those who are affiliated with a religion, including majorities of nearly every religious tradition, do not believe their religion is the only way to salvation. And almost the same number believes that there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their religion. This openness to a range of religious viewpoints is in line with the great diversity of religious affiliation, belief and practice that exists in the United States, as documented in a survey of more than 35,000 Americans that comprehensively examines the country’s religious landscape."

The Divine is Everywhere

Jesus was the body manifestation of God, the Divine, the Universe.  During this holiday season look to see the Jesus in each one you meet.

The Realization Process- Visioning

Recently I've made a conscious effort to catch up with friends and colleagues and to introduce myself to a wider circle of new people. As a result a few weeks ago I attended an evening networking meeting at a nearby church.  Networking is really a discussion in commonality where strangers openly share their plans and listen to the aspirations of others. Together they look for common elements, companies, opportunities that may be helpful during job search. The people I have met are genuinely interested in sharing contacts and strategies to help each other.

I met Judy at a networking meeting. She had recently left her work position and was beginning her search for a new opportunity.  She no longer wanted to use her skills in the old way, she was ready to apply them and learn skills in a new area. She wasn't sure of the next step but she was clear that she was done with her old role.

As the meeting was winding down I suggested to Judy to consider this question, 'What is God's idea for greater expansion of my work?'  It's a question designed to support the identification of a higher purpose in work and to move from uncertainty to clarity in what's next. Although there are many church denominations and dogma may make them seem separated, the fundamental Truth is that the Universe wants every individual to flourish. You see it in nature all the time.  Trees crowd each other reaching for sunlight, vines crawl up a wall, thousands of acorns drop from a single tree. You can also see it in individuals, companies and groups. An idea carefully formed wants to grow larger and expand.  My question to Judy came from the Visioning Process (highlighted here) which is a great tool for individuals and groups to open up their mind to a greater idea and greater potential in any area of life. It honors the connection we have with a bigger intelligence and recognizes the insight that comes when you listen.

The next steps after Visioning become more clear day by day until you know it's time to move ideas to plans and action. It is part of the Realization Process...of how ideas come into physical form. I saw Judy again this week at different meeting and will post more on 'the search' and the application of Visioning in future posts. In closing, what is your answer to 'What is God's idea for greater expansion of my work?'

John Muir and Emerson on PBS

The National Parks PBS series aired in 6 episodes from Sept 27 - Oct 2. It's online now this week through Oct 9 and can be purchased for $99 DVD ($129 Blue Ray). Or if you miss it I'm sure it will play again on pledge weekends.

For me, all six nights were good, but the best, the most fascinating were the first two nights. The common character in both episodes was John Muir, the naturalist and conservationist. In Episode One- ' The Scripture of Nature (1851-1890)' was the period of the Transcendentalists, the literary, philosophers and poets who believed that spiritual ideas transcend the material existence. For the past two years I've taught a class on Ralph Waldo Emerson and the Transcendentalists. During the 8 week class students are asked to increase the amount of time they spend in Nature and to keep a journal. John Muir spent years in the Yosemite valley and used a journal to characterize and interpret his experiences. The episode talks about how Muir would climb a tree during a storm in order to experience the rain from the tree's perspective (43 min. into the episode). His experience of Yosemite, the giant Sequoia forests and the great outdoors was that of the most holy place, his Sanctum Santorum. That is how I feel during a hike in the woods. That is what is revealed to each student as they study Emerson and they experience the multiple ways unity appears in nature.

I haven't been to Yosemite for 15 years but I understand the beauty in the meadow, the waterfalls and the granite. I visited Yellowstone for the first time in 1991, driving with a van full of family and staying for about a week. I visited again for a day in 2007. Each time I experience the wonder and the beauty as demonstrated in this one picture.

How Big Is Infinite?

Ok, if you believe that there is a creative idea, a force, and it can be represented as human but is also more than human, i.e. a non-personalized spiritual form then let's call that form Universe. As a name 'Universe' fits well because it represents the vastness we can not see and do not fully understand, yet we know it is there. It provides great mysteries for thought as we think about its bigness, its size and our relation to it.

Well represented graphically, this 2:34 video begins to describe our size on Earth compared to other planetary and galaxy objects...the infinite nature of the Universe.

Extraordinary Teens

One of my activities has been working with teens. When I was a teen, I attended an old brick church, Tinicum United Church of Christ in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Two formative activities were the confirmation classes and the 'Youth fellowship'. The worship services felt mechanical and I sang in the choir because my sisters were organists at the church. In the classes I remember it was the first time I felt an interest in exploring the meaning of the mystical. Even though it was a high structure curriculum the teacher was willing to engage some of my requests for proof and greater understanding in a way that was much more acknowledging than my parents concern and resistance to the topic.

In the Youth fellowship we had a circle of 15-20 teens who met, discussed spiritual topics and also created and went on adventures together. From theme parks, to retreats, dances, to attending a Billy Graham crusade in NYC. These were good times, spiritually, intellectually and socially.

We have that here at the regional level, and have created that locally. Three ministers have worked with the parents and teens to create an 8 week program. We'll study these types of topics and rotate teaching duties.

• Speaking about Spiritual Topics with friends
• How, when and why we pray
• Inputs from the many sources of media
• Ways to forgive
• Knowing your prosperity
• Being in service to our community
• ... and I'm sure we'll add more.
  

We begin tonight, meeting every Saturday (sometimes Sundays)in the early evening. Parents will rotate through and provide assistance. Feel free to comment on your teen spiritual experiences.

The Idea of Transcendence

Observing life exemplified through children, groups in discussion, love and nature I am reminded of the infinite capability, the transcendence of Spirit into every day activity. It might be during a conversation while drinking coffee with a friend, or as simple as when I get a thoughtful text message from one of my sons that I experience a sense of awe, greater awareness and / or satisfaction and I don't know how else to describe it. It is as though the infinite swooped in and opened my eyes to witness that which can not be easily described.

In my Christian upbringing no one ever mentioned the idea of transcendence, yet it does exist in the dictionary. Transcendence is a state of being or existence above and beyond the limits of material experience.

I'm teaching a class on 'the realization process',or how things become real or physical. One of the principles in the philosophy is that there is an infinite idea, non personal, that exists only to create. Call it Universe, Spirit, Divine Idea or God. Whatever you choose to call it, there is only one. Thomas Troward,1847-1916, was a judge, artist, writer and speaker who established a framework* on this process. His thoughts go like this. This infinite idea (Universe) makes up all things. Thus the creative power we witness in the Universe is ours. When we nurture our awareness, we can identify our unity with the Universe. Perhaps identification comes through a spiritual practice, a meditation, an experience of nature. Iti s during this time that we can transcend our normal thinking and access this power to create. Now I know that all the ideas don't fit for the totally logic based mind. I know that Troward is articulating a theory built on a set of premises that are subject to challenge...but I can only explain that experience of 'beyond the limits of material existence' as so joyous, so powerful that I then know I can accomplish anything I desire. So, I'm interested to hear about, what are your transcendent experiences? Are you open to see them?

* The Edinburgh Lectures, Thomas Troward, ch 3

Top Ten Reasons to Expand Mind through Study

Tomorrow is September 1 and most schools begin this week! There has been a shift, from the period slow summer relaxation into planning, scheduling and post Labor Day activity. Morning temperatures this morning were in the 50's and from the back porch see tree leaves sporting new yellow and red hues.

At the Spiritual Center I attend preparations are underway for a new series of classes. Always thinking of new ways to communicate this top 10 list seemed a great way to share the benefits of attending classes on philosophical and spiritual topics.

Top 10 List -- Reasons for Taking Classes this Fall
10. Explore great spiritual concepts like- Infinite Universe, Mind, Law, health, abundance and get home for CSI all in the same evening.
9. Learn one step at a time--- how to pray affirmatively—to do Spiritual Mind Treatment. When to use it, why you use it and begin using it in your day to day activities.
8. Understanding great thinkers like Thomas Troward, who lived in India, studied Eastern and Western Traditions and then lectured and wrote about ‘How things become Real- Mental Science.’ Learn a thinking structure about how thoughts become real objects and manifestations in your life.
7. Your Engine is running rough. You air filter is clogged and your check engine light is on. You need a tune up.
6. Explore and develop your own Spiritual Practice. Make friends while your study. Feel more deeply connected to the Universe. Free Coffee and Tea included.
5. Examine and Release old ideas of God that no longer serve you. ‘God is All There Is!’
4. Experience Diversity…Every 8 weeks is a new adventure- Three different teachers, 8 different classes are available.
3. Learn 3 responses for when your friends and family tell you, you’ve changed. You look so peace full.
2. Put more ‘juice in your life’. What you think you become!
1. You are already Perfect! Come see yourself in a brighter light!

Intro classes are on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning Sept 14 in Morristown. Which reasons speak to you? See you in class!

Life as a Mission and Ministry

Each of us is here living our mission. Sometimes we're really clear on the mission and we live, we love, we create and relate aligned and with the mission. Other times the mission may not be so clear- but over a longer period, whether a decade or a lifetime I am convinced the mission is always being expressed.

You can substitute the word ministry for mission. Stream-side yesterday I began writing about my mission and then that shifted into ways that I know the Divine, share the Divine and expand my idea of the same. That was when I realized that mission equals ministry. You can choose the 'M' or 'm'. Either way it came out as a list of the way my Ministry lives in...while...when... and more.

What is on your list of M/m? Try it, fill in the phrase "My Ministry lives..."

My Ministry lives in ...
the breath and the silence
the stringing of words and thoughts that come from a place beyond my intellect
my shivers at seeing beauty
my tears
trust and faith of an infinite intelligence

My Ministry lives while ...
watching the stream flow over rocks
seeing the mind of the student shift with an insight
keeping the big idea fresh in my mind
watching vortexes in the river after a rainfall
looking into the eyes of the deer in the woods
singing a song
in my home

My Ministry lives when ...
honoring the lives of those before me
speaking a quick witted response- by itself a memorial to my father
I see stars from horizon to horizon
within any church
in prayer
intently holding the gaze
opening my mind and heart to receive
moving to greater knowing when the infinite idea feels constrained
when conversing over a set of over easy's (eggs)
exchanging viewpoints over a cup of java

and more ...
ever expanding

Double Use

This poem, inspired at Ramapo Reservation, is on One Forest Many Trees - a blog about nature. It describes a lesson in beauty and faith. I am posting it here for double use-- Grass with Dew

Poet Seers

I don't remember where I found this site- Poet Seers. I enjoy the sampling of poems and poet's expressions from East and West available all at one place. Their simple explanation of the site, "Poetseers seeks to offer a range of spiritual and illumining poetry from a diverse range of cultural and poetic traditions." It is produced by two members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre

And then I found the sub-site of the spiritual and devotional poets. From Christian, Muslim, Sufi, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism and more--such a great resource of inspiration. I had never heard of Sri Chinmoy until finding this site. In his bio they mentioned that he provided an opening at the Parliament of World Religions and so in addition to finding great daily inspiration in poetry I now plan to also read about his work.

Meditation Shapes the Mind

The Meditation Awareness Research Center (MARC) at UCLA was founded by Dr Susan Smalley, PhD, who was interviewed in the Huffington Post by wellness editor Patricia Fitzgerald. There are several great links in the article, including meditation teacher, Diana Winston, a link to meditations and research measuring brain lobe thickness for people who meditate compared to those who do not.

From that data "brain areas are thicker in practitioners of Insight meditation than control subjects who do not meditate. Graphs show age and cortical thickness of each individual, red= control subjects, blue = meditators.

The study doesn't interpret lobe difference to mean better lifestyle it simply notes the difference in the shape.

Grounding- G1 revisited

I've recently experienced a period of G1. For me that shows up as my mind is very busy, I mull and rethink options and as a result I'm challenged when I want to focus.

So this is what I know. Moving to a G5 (high groundedness) is always about coming back to knowing what is really True- that I am this Divine idea here and now... I just forgot. So I work knowing that idea with affirmative prayer. Sometimes I work with a Prayer Practitioner who can see this Truth, my Divine essence when I am not seeing it myself. The Practitioner provides a professional service which I pay for and they affirm Spiritual Truth- they pray- with me. In this context the prayer helps me remember my coming to G5 highest level of feeling connected to living, or grounded.

Then there are three other things I've been doing. One- I'm back in Nature- taking time to walk and observe and connect with the woods. Two- I work with my hands. I led a workshop on creating a prayer stick, in which the creation of the stick is really a solemn prayer. Selecting the stick and different colors of yarn, then applying the yarn with a splicing knot that absorbs all loose ends and then finally applying my personal carvings into the wood became a prayerful activity. Often the things we do in recognition and awareness of purpose become some of the most significant. And three- I intentionally exercise and breathe with an intention to move out of my mind and into my physical body. The body, the breath, the heart know a natural rhythm. I know after my Tai Chi class I feel better mentally and physically. My chest is opened up and I'm much more limber, from legs, lower back and shoulders.

Apollo 11 and the Pale Blue Dot

I watched the Apollo 11 lunar landing from a campground on the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack. We were vacationing (building the house) in Hawley, PA that summer and in the evening went to the lake. No cable back then and only weak fuzzy signals from the Scranton VHF TV station. So on this 40th anniversary of the landing I have enjoyed reading, listening and watching the interviews and the expressions of the travelers, the Earth team that supported them and the population of observers.

And in that search I found the Carl Sagan segment called, 'the pale blue dot' based on photos taken by the Voyager I unmanned spacecraft in 1990 while 3,781,782,502.403 miles from Earth. I like the way it shows the relative size of our Earth to other celestial bodies. It gives a scale to compare our position and our history on this pale dot. And in that comparison I experience the vastness of the infinite universe.

Infinite Breath Exercise

Here is my favorite breathing technique. It comes from many teachers, most recently Don, and I am grateful to them all- both live and those on CD. I use it when I want to relax, move to greater calm or groundedness. It can also be used while lying down for greater relaxation into sleep.

• Stand with legs shoulder width apart. (lie down for sleep)
  
• Place your right hand over your abdomen with your right thumb touching your naval. Place your left hand over your right. Relax your knees, back straight and eyes facing forward
  
• Inhale through the nose and as you inhale, let the breathe go into your abdomen. Feel your hands move outward as your belly fills with air. Let it expand.
• Completing the inhale, begin to breathe out. At the final moment of exhale contract your abdomen to get a more full exhale, an emptiness.
• Then inhale again, this time pushing out your abdomen further than the last. Typically these muscles aren't used in our regular breathing patterns so gently help them remember full expansion as you inhale this time.
• Establish a rhythm of inhale and exhale. You can experiment holding the breath for a few seconds at the end of the inhale but I find it's great to have a flow, a rhythm of inhale to exhale, inhale to exhale. Continue for at least 10 breaths or 10 minutes or more- whichever you can support.
  
• I picture and map an infinity symbol with my breath. Breathing in I complete half of the symbol, a loop, mentally tracing it through my upper body. As I exhale I complete the lower half of the symbol with my breath going into the ground and back to my waist.
• Experiment and vary as you find what works best for you.
  

When you focus on the breath you will find that all other thoughts are removed. If you find you are thinking, just relax and go back to the breath. With regular practice this becomes more natural.

Mathematics and Physics

Study a language or study a culture and you find there are many ways that humans describe their experience, ways they describe the infinite. Today in the NY Times, I read that Bill Gates has purchased the video rights for Richard Feynman's 1964 Series of Cornell Physics Lectures. It's called Project Tuva and is online now.

I started watching the 55 minute segment titled The Relationship between Mathematics and Physics. In it Feynman says, (12 :20) and (14:05)
"It is impossible to answer really, honestly in the way a person can feel, to explain the beauties of the laws of nature without having a deep understanding of mathematics."

"Mathematics is not just a language. Mathematics is a language plus reasoning. Mathematics is a tool for reasoning. It is in fact a big collection of the results of some persons careful thought and reasoning. By mathematics it is possible to connect one statement with another."

Knowing that the Universe operates with specific and repeating laws, mathematics is a way to describe that operation, to understand the laws of nature. And the linking of that reasoning helps us predict with greater understanding how things work. It is a way to describe the the unknown, the infinite. When I was a student, we were proud that our discipline was one of the few that had theoretical footing for that predicted how things worked and at the same time, included teams of experiments designed to check the theory. Each aspect pushing the other to greater understanding.

Feynman is eloquent and animated in his explanations. Gates explained that if he had seen these lectures as a college student he might have been a physicist rather then leaving Harvard and becoming a software entrepreneur. And best of all you don't need a science background or PhD to appreciate Feynman's arguments describing nature.

Juxtaposition + Context- Lisel Mueller

Recently, I've been intrigued by the poetry of Lisel Mueller. Born in 1924 she won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1997. Her parents came from an academic background (bio short) (bio long) and fled Nazi Germany to work and live at the University of Evansville in Indiana. Some analysts say her work includes elements of a dark side- I like to think of it as contemplative. In support of the artist's work, here is her 1997 book Alive Together. I picked up a used copy from Alibris.

In a PBS interview 1997, Elizabeth Farnsworth asked, "Do you have a goal when you're writing poems? Is there some purpose you want to achieve when you write?"

Mueller responded, "Not really, not consciously. Something just comes to me. Usually it's the juxtaposition of two things. I see something in a new context in which I had not seen it before, and this excites me, and I mind this, try to figure it out in a poem."

It is the same for me. Sometimes the relative position of things makes them stand out against each other and it's interesting. I wonder about them and try to figure it out. It could be the light of the clouds and sky against the trees, the perfect reflection of sky water or the quiet of a conversation and understanding with a friend or family. About how business operates- measured by exacting metrics but enacted by breathing, emotion, thinking, tactile, unique human forms. These juxtapositions stand out and provide fuel for my thinking and writing. And often time it is through the writing that I come to a better understanding.

For the past two weeks I've kept a browser tab open with her poem, 'Monet Refuses the Operation'. I've read the poem many times but for some reason every time I go to close the tab I hesitate, there is more to interpret. Monet had cataracts and in this poem he is speaking to the doctor, explaining why he refuses the operation to remove them. Mueller depicts Monet saying, 'I will not return to a universe where objects don't know each other.'

When you begin to look at the Universe as being manifestations of one idea, you see a connection where objects know each other. There is no real separation. Monet and Mueller are saying this. In her closing line she says, "Doctor, if only you could see how heaven pulls earth into its arms and how infinitely the heart expands to claim this world, blue vapor without end."

That is beauty, that is nature, that is the Divine. I am now ready to close the tab.

Bud and Feynman on doubt, uncertainty and religion

Yesterday I spent a few hours and dinner with my 90 year old uncle (my dad's brother) Bud. We share family heritage, interest and careers in technology and we also discuss views on life, death and philosophy. Yesterday we were into, 'How do people come to an absolute belief in their religious view?' He says it comes down to 5 letters, F-A-I-T-H. There is no fact, there is no research or technique to prove a religious belief. It's faith. A consummate story teller, Bud's question is his hook when engaging visiting ministers at the assisted living community.

As a physics student I studied Richard Feynman through 'The Feynman Lectures on Physics'. In my youth, I was taught religion and participated in a great church community. I related to spiritual concepts which provided a good foundation but the absolute nature of my Christian upbringing did not fit well. It left no room for doubt and uncertainty. I enjoyed this Feynman interview and am today grateful for a sense of the bigness of the Universe and the mystery.

Needed: more effective prayer

Inspiration piece- Christian Science Monitor July 1, 2009

Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910) birthed Christian Science. The degree to which her platform was influenced by Phineas Quimby, considered the father of New Thought has been in dispute for a century. This makes interesting reading but with aging the fuel for controversy has long burnt out.

When I was a child I learned prayer as a way of reaching out and asking for something. Sometimes it was a barter but almost always my prayers were pleas, of outward bound wishes sent into some place that I did not understand. What I have now come to know is the power of affirmative prayer as seeing the outcome already done and completed.

Both methods have similarities as Emerson said in his essay Self Reliance, "Prayer is the contemplation of facts from the highest point of view. It is the soliloquy of a beholding and jubilant soul." I resonate with RWE's point. Recognizing the power of the Universe and its presence within me I now know this Truth (Truth with capital T indicating Spiritual Truth). I experience spiritual connection when in this contemplation of recognizing and unifying with this mystery, the unseen.

But to the point of 'more effective prayer'. This article talks about seeing the desired outcome as already done, already in existence and complete. It suggests that we spend time seeing this 'highest point of view' and that leads to the having the mental mindset and acting as if we already have the thing we desire. That is the mental preparation necessary to have the prayer 'answered'... to realize the outcome.

In the New Testament, Jesus said (1, 2), 'It is done unto you as you believe'. So when looking at a situation whether nearby or far over seas, whether in your family, your work or in your personal goal setting there is a place, a contemplation of facts from the highest good, that serves as the path to more effective prayer.

Pictures and Words

I've been writing about several activities recently- nature, the Divine, organizations, dads, sons and all of the interactions in between. In researching a Rumi poem, today I found the Panhala site and afer looking through it... I am excited! I know nothing about its origin nor understand its full objective but this site lists poems and the publication. But what made it stand out even more is that along with each poem is a really colorful outdoor picture. I recognize many of the authors, I've recognize a few of the poems- but what a great gift to have a picture and poem arrive in my inbox on a regular basis.

G1 needs redefinition

The definition of G1 is not sitting well with me. I am not trying to pose connectedness G5 as a polar opposite of focus, which is how I am interpreting the current G1 definition "I am floating above Earth; My thoughts are like leaves in the wind."

So today I'll rest with G1 - G5 as defined in the last post and know there is a better way to state the idea of less groundedness yet to come. Happy Father's Day.

The G Scale

How do you measure things that are subtle and that don't lend themselves to words? Once during a hospital stay the nurse and doctor introduced me to a pain scale. They would ask, 'on a scale from 1 (the least) and 10 (the most), how is your pain?' In the next days I calibrated my pain scale so we could dialog on the relative amount of discomfort I experienced in any moment.

So this post is about two things. First, the introduction of an experimental G scale, G1 to G5, that you can use to measure your groundedness in any moment and second, how to use this scale to support your movement to a higher feeling of grounding.

The G scale
Ask yourself, 'how grounded do I feel right now?'. Select your score from the choices below. My belief here is that I want to maximize my time where I feel greater peace and connection to Earth. Here are the 5 levels of the G scale.

G5 I am experiencing deep roots. I am peaceful. I am powerful.

G4 I feel connected. I feel my roots are deepening in the Earth.

G3 I remember what deep roots feel like. I can get back just give me a moment

G2 I am feeling challenged. I am doing many things. I feel unsettled and unfocused.

G1 I am floating above Earth; My thoughts are like leaves in the wind.

How to use this scale?
Check in and assess your G score 4 or 5 times during the day. Wherever you are is ok. Then make a quick note of your G score and what thoughts are on your mind?, What are you working on? Begin to correlate your activity, thoughts and G score. Over a few days or a week, go back and look for your patterns.

Next, identify the things you do that bring you peace. This is your grounding practice. Perhaps it's reading or spending time in nature, doing a hobby, or just being silent. You're the only one who knows what's right for you. When you're at G1 and want to increase your G number, note how you feel after spending time doing your grounding practice. Understanding the activities that bring you great peace, clarity, focus and grounding, you can apply them at any time. You create a ground shift.

Grounding

In electricity, ground is the source and the terminus of the electron. The voltage is the pressure that gives reason for the electron to flow. Ground completes the circuit.

The Hindus describe a system of energy centers or chakras. What I like about chakras is that they present a language, of body location, color and sound to describe the multi faceted aspects of existence, from the physical base to the pure mystical. In chakra terms, when you feel grounded, you feel a connection to the earth. You are rooted in a stable base from which to make daily decisions.

A teacher I knew described a grounding technique that I still use. Tree Hugging. Tree hugging is an experience of grounding and it symbolizes the idea of being deeply rooted. Find the park or backyard with a tree, your legs spread shoulder width or a little wider and simply wrap your arms around the tree. Close your eyes, breathe and let the tree's strength and deep roots support you, fill you, ground you. As you breathe in feel the nourishment coming from the earth into the tree and into you. Breathing out, imagine your breath, your energy moving out of the tree, into the ground, out through the roots and back into the earth. Stay in this breathing pattern for a few minutes or longer. I don't do the tree exercise everytime I'm in the woods but there are times where a tree stands out and I approach, hug it, hold it and remember my groundedness.

'Men Descend to Meet'

Ralph Waldo Emerson is greatly quoted. There are many great one liners which for years I have appreciated but could never find at my finger tips. I'd see a quote and wonder if it included the complete context of what Emerson meant. After teaching a course on his Essays for the second time I feel like I get it. The great thing about teaching a course is that you get to experience the work twice- first in preparing and then in presenting and discussing with the adult learners interested in understanding Emerson's writings as they pertain to spiritual life.

The essay Oversoul is about the great idea, the Divine and how we are part of the Divine. It is considered to be his most mystical essay. Filled with metaphorical descriptions in this essay RWE says, "From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all'. The light is the Over-Soul.

For the past week I have been walking with the idea found about midway through Over-Soul. 'Men descend to meet'. Let me explain why it's been enlightening to me. I see it as there is a Divine idea, the Universe, that wants to articulate, to create, to show up in form here on Earth. We are a form of this creative energy. And so in my daily walk, daily life this passage reflects what I am here to do. The idea of me, the idea of you; both having descended into human form to meet. We are not identical but we are unique forms of the same Universe. How simple, how clear, how elegant, how purposeful.