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God is One, Non-Dualism, Inclusivity: What does it all mean?

Answering, Meister Eckhart says….

WHEN I WAS A FOREST by Meister Eckhart

When I was the stream, when I was
the forest, when I was still the field,
when I was every hoof, foot,
fin and wing, when I
was the sky
itself, no one ever asked me did I have a purpose, no one ever
wondered was there anything I might need,
for there was nothing
I could not
love.

It was when I left all we once were that
the agony began, the fear and questions came,
and I wept, I wept. And tears
I had never known
before. So I returned to the river, I returned to
the mountains. I asked for their hand in marriage again,
I begged—I begged to wed every object
and creature, and when they accepted,
God was ever present in my arms.
And He did not say,
“Where have you
been?”

For then I knew my soul—every soul—
has always held
Him.

-Various. Love Poems from God (Compass), renderings by Daniel Ladinsky

Answering, St Thomas Acquinas says….

ON BEHALF OF LOVE by St. Thomas Acquinas

Every truth without exception—no matter
who makes it—is from God. If a bird got accused of singing too early
in the morning, if a lute began to magically play on its own
in the square
and the enchanting sounds it made drove a pair of young lovers
into a wild, public display of
passion,

if this lute and bird then got called before the inquisition
and their lives were literally at stake, could not God walk up and say before the court, “All acts of beauty are mine, all happen on the behalf of love”? And while God was there, testifying for our heart’s desires,
hopefully the judge would be astute enough
to brave a question,
that could go,

“Dear God, you say all acts of beauty are yours,
surely we can believe that. But what of all actions
we see in this world, for is there any force in existence greater than the power
of your omnipresent hand?” And God might have responded, “I like that question,”
adding, “May I ask you one as well?” And then God would say,

“Have you ever been in a conversation when children entered
the room, and you then ceased speaking because your
wisdom knew they were not old enough
to benefit—to understand? As exquisite is your world, most everyone in it
is spiritually young. Spirituality is love, and love never wars with the minute, the day,
one’s self and others. Love would rather die
than maim a limb,
a wing.

Dear, anything that divides man from man,
earth from sky, light and dark, one religion from another… O, I best keep silent, I see a child
just entered the
room.”

Various. Love Poems from God, renderings by Daniel Lavinsky

Mary Oliver’s Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Witnessing Eternity Sing

May you experience the abundance of consciousness today!

I called my mother and shared, “Momma, I saw Eternity sing this morning!” She replied, “Did you fall?”

As Alzheimer’s strips the mind of the garments of memory and action, engaging with ourselves and others in mind and body fades away, in both subtle and drastic measure, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, increasing the refrains of behavior and the long pauses in our song. This morning, while visiting a Rabbi and a minister together in a memory care unit, I witnessed something quite miraculous: I witnessed Eternity sing and dance, joining our hearts in harmonious, joyful, hopeful fellowship! At the sound of a dear cantor attentively and gently inviting us to sing the prayer songs of Shabbat, I witnessed the eternal spirit of a Rabbi awaken, in spite of Alzheimer’s and all it has taken with reckless abandon. I saw the light shine through the cracks, the isolation and sorrow of Alzheimer’s that takes on the face of absence. Upon hearing these ancient songs in Hebrew, his head immediately fell back with gentle coordinated ease while his eyes slowly closed and rolled back in an ecstatic posture. In a heart beat he was joining in, singing his baritone voice. Soon after he began playing the table piano with both hands! All were perfectly orchestrated by the conductor within. And then, and then….he smiled. Oh did he ever smile. As he later made his exit, rolling out of the room with his physical therapist, he sang Hal’lu while tapping his feet on the floor to the timing of Eternity.

This morning I am so blessed to be witness to Eternity singing and dancing through the Rabbi, through us! “Yes, I did fall,” I replied to my mother. I fell into abundant consciousness! May you also experience such abundance today!

This video of a ballerina with Alzheimer’s was sent later by the cantor, speaking to the experience visually.

Balance

How is your balance?

There are many lessons to be learned and scales to be balanced. The laws of the universe cannot be altered for one’s convenience. Humanity must learn to accept everything that life offers as a learning experience. It is for this reason spiritually immature people cannot be spoon fed by someone else. The seeker must walk alone with God.

Peace Pilgrim
28 year walk for a meaningful life

“I own only what I wear and carry. I just walk until given shelter, fast until given food,” she said at the time. “I don’t even ask; it’s given without asking. I tell you, people are good. There’s a spark of good in everybody.”

Peace Pilgrim

Sponsor Message

Hope

“Hope is not pretending that troubles do not exist, it is the trust that they will not last forever, that hurts will be healed and difficulties overcome. It is faith that a source of strength and renewal lies within to lead us through the dark into the sunshine.” ~Liz Chase

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