just be it It’s about the work involved in establishing a dedicated practice to feelings of a bigger belonging through practices aimed at increasing feelings of compassion, gratitude and forgiveness

Surrendering to the Grace, Rhythm and Harmony of “This” Arising Moment

Published on 03/09/12
by randy

Opening Doors of the Mind, Entering the Heart

Opening Doors of the Mind, Entering the Heart

We have a choice.  We can fill ourselves with pride, feeding our ego with notions of being ‘right’ and of ‘knowing’.  We can humbly surrender to the vast mystery of the Divine, allowing the perfection and surprise of each moment’s gift.  We’re all creative artists of life, either nurturing this unfolding with deepening awareness to the pure heart or moving in fear, greed and ignorance from the pure heart.  The first requires an open mind that’s pliable under the influence of the Holy Spirit (Divine, Source, etc.).  The second is filled with notions of cleverness, intelligence or subtlety of mind, and other ego feeding notions of pride in separation from the Divine.  Rev. Jean-Pierre de Caussade says we must practice “a passive acceptance and yielding, like metal to the mould, canvas to the brush or stone to the chisel” p. 74 the sacrament of the present moment. He stresses that God is in and of all things and our work is to surrender to the gentle care of all, humbly listening to the heart for direction.

Yesterday I heard a Lutheran minister eloquently speak to this broader sense of belonging.  He suggested that whenever we separate we are sinning.  I like the origin of “sin”, which suggests it’s when we’re “missing the mark”.  Spiritually, can we say we’re missing the mark whenever we separate from others?  When we fill our minds in judgment and small belonging, whether through racial, economic, religious or ethnic discriminations, aren’t we missing the mark?  When we complain about the gift of ‘this’ moment, aren’t we missing the mark?  The heart doesn’t seem to know this separation.  Yet, the mind draws us to notions of pride, cleverness, greed, fear, and our ignorance to this interdependence we have to all beings and things.  Spiritual wisdom would say the Holy Spirit lives in all things, beyond any possibility of division.  It would say everything matters, so we must be very careful in our response to each moment.  When we are, we cause less harm, leaving a wake in life that’s more in harmony and rhythm to Divine action.

Today’s politics are filled with extreme, polarizing division.  A few extremely wealthy individuals and corporations spend billions of dollars attempting to influence an outcome that will place more benefit to them without regard to harm for others.  The Divine has challenged us with extremely difficult issues, asking us to explore with flexible minds, surrendered to Divine Providence, responses that come from a pure heart rather than a fearful, clever mind.  Whether dealing with complexities of how we handle birth/death policies, immigration, social safety nets, health care, or education, we’re being asked to let go our self interest in pursuit of a bigger solution.  When facing big problems, we have to get bigger than the problems.  We’re directed to sit with open minds, rooted in faith to the gift of Divine Providence, confident and humbled in knowing a better answer awaits when we still our dissonant minds from anger, fear, greed, and small belonging.

Each time I hear a politician trying to buy my confidence for a plan that’s trying to be sold or claiming credit for a policy that seemed to cause success, I lose confidence.  My life has been filled with every kind of con man you could conceive of.  And yes, they are me and I’m them.  My work is to not judge their journey, but only deepen my awareness to the tremendous carnage that’s left in the wake of selfish actions.  It’s Divine Providence that they came into my life so I could now write this.  It’s not chasing after our wants in desire but embracing the gift of each moment, in suffering and in celebration, in pain and in joy.  It’s about Big Hope, fully settled in the pure heart, mind stilled, filled with joy from the very grace of this arising breath.  This is harmony.  This is rhythm.  This is the music of the creative artist found in the hearts of all beings and all things.  This is why we must practice with an open mind, in faith, peace in every step, fully aware of the wake of our thoughts, emotions and actions.  This is ‘hitting the mark’, something we can all aim for.

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