January 2009
Dear Friends,
In her contribution to the 2007 book, The Life of Meaning, Marianne Williamson says, “We are living at a time in which we must recognize both the limits and the opportunities of the modern world view. The modern world view, particularly in the past hundred years or so, has lured the Western mind away from its spirit. Our attention has been diverted away from the inner domains, the realms of true religion and spirituality, to the outer world.” How much more relevant is her observation today!
She goes on to say, “Prayer, forgiveness, et cetera, are spiritual medicines that augment and complement physical medicine.” This morning the choir sang the beautiful meditation that I repeat to myself, almost every day. The words I normally use are these:
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be healthy.
May I be happy.
The words can change, depending on what one’s most pressing needs are. For example, when we receive some bad news, we might want to say, “May I receive life with grace.”
You repeat the words you need most until you actually feel your heart and mind slowing down and filling with the virtues you seek. Then you might think of someone with whom, perhaps, you’ve had a disagreement, and ask that they be filled with loving kindness, etc. And finally, you may ask “may we be filled with loving kindness, etc” to reach out in solidarity to all struggling humans.
We all suffer in life, and we all need a comforting touch. In Tegh Bahadur’s words, “Why do you go to the forest in search of the Divine? God lives in all, and abides with you, too.”
Williamson suggests that we are not punished for our sins, but by our sins. Therefore, we do not need a judgmental God (however understood). Consider God as a life-giving force that supports and sustains each of us in our will to become all that we can become…loving and kind, peaceful and at ease…you fill in the words that would be right for you. Then temper your resolutions for 2009 with your own inner “non-judgmental bestness.” Divinity lives in you; so it shall always be.
In faith,
- Olivia
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