The Key to Forgiveness

If you are anything like me, there are times, more than you would care to admit, that you find it difficult to forgive. I know I sure do. "How could they do that?! It's just wrong / bad / stupid / inconsiderate!! Grrrrrrr." I rarely have been able to see past and let go of my judgment that they were wrong and I am right and entitled to my righteous judgment. And then I came across these wise words of Eckhart Tolle in his marvelous little book, Silence Speaks. On page 92, he writes:

"If her past were your past, her pain your pain, her level of consciousness your level of consciousness, you would think and act exactly as she does. With this realization comes forgiveness, compassion, peace."

Isn't that marvelous? Now, if anyone should cross me or do or say anything stupid or bad, bad, bad, I feel that, armed with this realization, there is the chance that I may not succumb to the temptation of righteous judgment, but instead forgive, and even act out of compassion. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

The Smallest Things

Surfing the web this afternoon, I chanced upon an interesting little book titled, The Smallest Things Make the Biggest Difference, by Raymond V. Haring, Ph.D. The book is all of 160 pages, with most chapters being one, or in some cases two, pages. Here's a peek into a chapter dealing with values:

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Service or courtesy, like any other value, must be supported with absolute conviction. Yet a value unsupported by actions is much like a table without legs. There is nothing to stand on.

Thinking about a value is actually much different from living it. If you are unsure about your values, all you need to do is look at what you are doing, because it's your actions that reflect your values. "What you value," writes Joel Weldon, "is what you think about. What you think about is what you become." Simple values have far-reaching consequences.
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This is such a big issue for me. I often think about the issue of values, and how important they are in determining the course of our lives. But the values I espouse are all too often not the values I live. Therein lies the rub. This, of course, is a matter of integrity, character, virtue, and I, unhappily, fall short, far short, of demonstrating the kind of character I would like to have. But what can I do except to continue to struggle with the issue, and with my own weaknesses, until such time as I finally manage to bring the values I profess into alignment with the values I live? Very difficult and challenging. But whoever said a life of virtue is an easy thing? Today is yet another opportunity to see if I can get it right. God help me.

Anxiety and Trouble

For a few days now I have been reading a most interesting book on Morita Therapy by David K. Reynolds, a book with the unlikely title of "Playing Ball on Running Water." To give the briefest of summaries of Morita therapy, we might say that, in the author's own words, "The purposes of Morita therapy are quite clear. They are to teach students to accept feelings as they are, to know their purposes, and to do what needs to be done." Well, that's straitforward and pedestrian enough. But later in the book Mr. Reynolds has this to say about anxiety:

"It is not a new idea that difficulties in life generate the construction of purpose. Happiness, peace, and a life of ease would destroy us. [What a concept!] Without anxiety and trouble, we could not survive. Without conflict and struggle, life would not choose to continue. It is not that suffering is good; it is necessary for our existence. To say this is not to say that all pain must be passively accepted. We are responsible for doing battle with the ills that plague us and others. Yet, if we were ever to succeed in eliminating all discontent, our human species would be doomed. We struggle, and in that struggle lies life's meaning. We are born fighters; we will find something to oppose. If we cannot find a worthy foe, we create one, even if that foe is ourselves. When our last enemy is vanquished, we shall die -- as individuals, as a species.

"So don't seek anxiety-free living; don't strive for constant bliss. Choose rather to continue your struggle. Resolve to react forcefully to the challenges of reality. Hold to your goals. Fight your fight. And live with purpose."

Now how's that for provocative? And I always thought that anxiety and trouble were my enemies. I am going to have to rethink this whole thing all over again.

The Choice

I went and heard Leonard Jacobson speak a couple weeks ago. I had read one of his books a few years ago and thought it excellent, and so I had high expectations for his talk. Even so, I was not disappointed. This fellow really seems to have awakened. I picked up his latest book the same evening, and find it, like his other book and talk, to be first-rate. Here is a brief excerpt from "Journey into Now":

"Each moment you have a choice. Will you be in the present moment in the truth of life or will you be in the illusory world of your thinking mind? With gentle remembering, you can choose to be present.

"You are not trying to stop thinking. You are not trying to escape from the mind. You are not trying to become enlightened. You are making a choice to be present, simply because the present moment is the truth of life and you are free to make that choice.

"As you choose the present moment, your mind will become silent. Relax into the silence. Deepen into Presence. Enjoy all that God has to offer you in this moment. Enjoy the fullness and abundance of this moment."

The subtitle of his book is "Clear Guidance on the Path of Spiritual Awakening," and this is exactly what Jacobson offers readers in his latest book. Highly recommended.

The Secret of Greatness

Religious leaders may disagree about some things, but they all have one thing in common. They all recommend you do one important thing in your life. You might find this recommendation difficult to follow. For a few, it's nearly impossible to live this way. However, when you use this advice, you earn the most wonderful gifts in the world.Not only does this advice make you happy, it lowers your stress and boosts your intelligence. You face difficult situations with less fear. You are much more successful.

What Is Greatness?

"The hardest task one can have is to continue to love his fellows despite all reasons he should not. For the one who can achieve this, there is abundant hope. For those who cannot, there is only sorrow, hatred and despair. And these are not the things of which greatness, or sanity or happiness are made.

"A primary trap is to succumb to invitations to hate. Never use what is done to one as a basis for hatred. Never desire revenge. It requires real strength to love man. And to love him despite all invitations to do otherwise, all provocations and all reasons why one should not.

"Happiness and strength endure only in the absence of hate. To hate alone is the road to disaster. To love is the road to strength. To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness. And may very well be the greatest secret in this universe.

"To love in spite of all is the secret of greatness." -- L. Ron Hubbard

Excerpted from "What is Greatness?" by L. Ron Hubbard. You can read the full article at http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=y4xcgbcab.0.yhvjlrbab.n55yivn6.54054&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.realhubbard.org.
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No Self

I can't anticipate how these words of John Wheeler (http://thenaturalstate.org/) will strike you, but I found them positively enlightening:

"You are not creating thoughts. They happen spontaneously. Then we say, “I am thinking,” “I am deciding,” “I am remembering.” This is totally false. That “I” is not present in those things. It is only assumed afterwards. This assumed “I” is the ego, and it is the cause of our problems. There has never been an ego, except as an assumption."

Angela's Ashes

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you may have noticed that I am not big on fiction. I guess I am one of those who prefers "just the facts, ma'am." But this lack of appetite for story doesn't keep me from opening up a novel now and then and reading the first page. Which is just what I did the other day with the #1 New York Times bestseller, Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt. On page one we find:

"When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I survived it at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

I'm not really sure why this excerpt delights me as much as it does. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I am half Irish and was raised Catholic, and didn't exactly have the happiest of childhoods. But in any case, I find this eloquent passage so deliciously funny and clever that I am inclined to read the whole novel, but doubt if I will. Who's got time for storytelling? Not me, despite the fact that man has been defined as "the story telling animal." But that's another story....