Meditation for Grief

I submitted this prayer/meditation for a book on grief:

Essence of healing, of strength, of life,
Gentle me into the next moment.
My heart is open and breaking,
My mind has lost its bearing.
I trust you are ever with me,
Your presence abides within.
Hold me in this crossing
From what has been to a new way of being.
I pray this with gratitude for all I've been given
And for what is yet to become.

A Dance In Infinity

The sky surprises me every morning.  It reminds me that I have not seen it all.  What genius this creation is, a dance in infinity.

Your Holy Resonance

Nature gives us clues on how to live fully.  In every cycle of life, there needs to be time to rest, time for renewal, time for regeneration, time for fallow ground.  The winter beckons our slowing down.  The soft snow blankets the verdant fields for a time.  The silence of diminished life models the wisdom to pause.  The longer nights call for a time to rest.   Animals hibernate to regroup and recharge.  They go through a metabolic depression in order to conserve energy.  Perhaps our winter depressions are signals, in part, for us to unravel the busy-ness of our lives and regroup in the worthiness of our being.

The London Times published an article in February of 2000 that confirmed a gene for hibernation was found in humans, perhaps even activated eons ago, to sustain our primitive ancestors during harsh winter months. 

The calling to refuel or regenerate still resonates within.  It is a calling of the soul, the animating spirit of our being, a calling that we too often ignore.

When we become expert at diverting the stirrings within that speak to who we are, and respond to externals which allow others to define us and prioritize our lives, then we eventually lose the ability to recognize ourselves.  We then become susceptible to fading into the woodwork or the day to day routines, easily distracted, seasoned for manipulation,  and less able to make decisions about ourselves without depending on the opinions of others.

Animals that hibernate spend time in a dormant condition, often to survive harsh conditions that would threaten existence.  If we think of this in soul terms,  we need pockets of time to rest, to come to the resonance of life’s worth.   Brother David Steindl-Rast shared his discovery that the Chinese word for "busy" is composed of two characters: "heart" and "killing". Our busy-ness can destroy our ability to center on what we love, on what we are, on the pulse of our lives.

Animals hibernate in holes or caves to steady the environment for the work of regeneration.  Caves in ancient cultures were the sacred places of initiation, of transforming into the next level of growth.  The cave symbolizes the womb, in soul work, a warm dark place where the knowledge of growth commands the space.  It is a place where the divine and human meet, in ancient consciousness, where mystery takes form and eventually emerges into life.

We do not always have the luxury of a cave, neither literally nor symbolically.  Most of us cannot remove ourselves so completely from the doing of our days.  But we can find ways to give glimpses to that process which will happen at the slightest invitation.  The soul is ever ready for our attention and replenishes us when we brave the moments of stillness and mystery, the moments when we set aside our busy-ness and defer the need to control the future.    Take the time to find your holy resonance.

Our Common Humanity

About fifteen years ago, I preached a sermon around Thanksgiving entitled “Love Is A Many Gendered Thing”.  After the service we had an open dialogue.  It was a spirited discussion, one that led a congregant to stand and say, “it’s all right if they are gay, but I don’t want them teaching my children.”  This was in a Unitarian Universalist church.  At that point a visitor, who had clearly come to hear this sermon, stood.  He was visibly shaken, but chose to speak to this room full of strangers.  “My family will not let me come to Thanksgiving dinner because I’m gay.  They don’t want me to influence my nieces and nephews.  They have heterosexual parents, heterosexual grandparents, heterosexual aunts and uncles, but they think that the presence of one gay uncle is going to endanger them.”  This brave messenger then broke into tears and we held the moment in silence.

The power of the truth of this man’s life was palpable and the love that his courage and kindness conveyed filled the room.  That love, that truth equalized the moment into a deeper understanding.  And those with ears to hear and eyes to see were set free.

“Since all creation is a whole,” writes John Heider, “separateness is an illusion.”

The Past Is Over

The past is over
      the wisdom is won
           the gratitude remains
                 the way is clear.
                                             Begin Again.

We block our growth in soul and wisdom by harboring grudges, regret and resentment.  We remind ourselves of our past imperfections as a kind of dysfunctional monitor to keep us in our place and away from the power of our fullness.  Forgiveness, among many things, is the willingness to give up the hope of a better past.  Let it go.  Embrace the present.  Go on from here.
                                   

How Do You Measure Happiness?

My ears perked up when I heard a question raised on a recent radio news story.  “How do you measure happiness?”  I gathered studies are being launched to measure happiness in various cultures and countries.  The response offered in this short news clip was to research a person’s job, home life and health.  My initial response was quite different. You measure happiness, I thought, by a sense of well- being in your life.  It is attitude, not circumstance,  that solidifies happiness.  Happiness is a choice, not a chance.

So, then, if it is a choice, how do we cultivate happiness?  There are, of course, as many formulae for happiness as there are people.  Let me offer one.  Attention…Intention…Extension.

First, we foster gratitude and pay attention to it.  We notice the gifts that each moment offers.  When we pay attention to what is good in our lives, we increase its presence in our consciousness.  This nurtures our sense of well -being which then takes root and grows.  When we’ve centered ourselves in gratitude , then our choices begin to resonate with the good life.  To cultivate happiness we resolve to increase the circumstances and opportunities that bring about our well being.  This calls for an inventory of mind, body and spirit and the intention toward wellness.  This cannot happen in a vacuum, but must be lived in our relational lives.  So we find communities where we can grow and engage our happiness.  We extend ourselves to others, both familiar and new,  to keep a flow of new energy about us and an ever expanding experience of the blessings in and of our lives.  We extend by sharing our wisdom, creating ways to exercise our gifts and serve others when called to contribute.  And the wonderful resonance of happiness is its desire to be spread.  It naturally follows that we then encourage those we meet and know of to come to wellness.

May you know the root of all happiness in your ways and walking.

Blessings Be,  Rev. Lisa

(this column will appear in the february edition of the UUFHC newsletter)

Our Staging of Separateness

Our birth -- our staging of separateness -- is for sensual pleasure
   Seeing, tasting, feeling, hearing, touching, connecting
       For awe and wonder
           For participation in joy
               To know love.

With this comes impermanence and death
   Encouraging our full living
       For conscious blessing
          For humble navigating
              To know the wholeness beyond understanding.