Words Fall Short

This morning's poetic greeting from Panhala is "What's in the Temple" by Tom Barrett.

I enjoyed the whole poem and particularly these sections-

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...The poets speak in obscure terms pointing madly at the unsayable...
The monk sits pen in hand poised to explain the cloud of unknowing.

I am reminded when teaching classes this fall that we are always describing the invisible and the mystery and postulating our belief how it works. This section reminds me of describing the 'unsayable'

Put your ear to the wall of your heart.
Listen for the whisper of knowing there.
Love will touch you if you are very still.

Although there is no recipe for hearing this whisper it does happen. When you listen, the attention moves from the brain to a larger knowing, which some would say comes from the heart. I think the heart is a word that just means, 'from within' It is amazing because this inner voice comes with loudness and clarity. 'Love touches you'

If I say the word God, people run away.
They've been frightened--sat on 'till the spirit cried "uncle."
Now they play hide and seek with somebody they can't name.
They know he's out there looking for them, and they want to be found,
But there is all this stuff in the way.

I love this section- People come from all different backgrounds of religious and spiritual training. In order to move ahead to a deeper understanding of the mystical each person must come to peace with where they have come from- what they learned first and then 'all this stuff' falls away.
Words we have learned in the past can be accompanied with strict interpretations- e.g. faith, heaven, hell. I have learned to speak using language inclusive of Divine qualities- infinite, joy, trust, support, peace, kindness. The choice of words helps to bridge old history and old beliefs into being present today to the Divine ideas.

I can't talk about God and make any sense,
And I can't not talk about God and make any sense.
So we talk about the weather, and we are talking about God.

This is my favorite. From Emerson's 'The Transcendentalists' we walk as idealists and materialists at the same time. And the weather, the sun, clouds, wind and rain help us bridge that which can be challenging to articulate.

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.

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.

'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.