Thoughts on Jesus and the Two Criminals

Posted on by Daniel

Thoughts on Jesus and the Two Criminals   

When Jesus was crucified, there were two others crucified at the same time and place, one on either side of him. (Luke 23:32-43) In this passage we are told that one of them derided Jesus, challenging him to save himself and them. The other, recognizing who and what Jesus is, and who and what he himself was, asks Jesus, and I am going to frame this in a way you may not have heard, he asks Jesus for wholeness. Jesus assures him that he, the man who has experienced the broken, dark, lonely existence of humanness, will experience the wholeness that can only come from spiritual communion with the Divine.

Now, what is equally important in this passage, and I am only focusing on the two who were crucified with Jesus, is that Jesus did not respond to the other man who derided him, the other man being crucified and who joined with the crowd and insulted him. The arrogance that led this man to criminal activity stayed with him as he suffered a torturous execution for his crimes. He remains part of the herd, unable to honestly reflect upon his life or recognize the opportunity for reconciliation that was there beside him. He lacks humility. I am digging myself into a dangerous hole, which, if you do not already see it, will soon be evident.

In every moment of our lives, there is a continuous desire emanating from the Divine calling us to recognize and respond to It, who is Love, who is Life, Whole, Undivided, and Eternal. All it asks is that we turn to It, allow It to Love us, and then be that Love in this world of chaos, pain, danger, war, addiction, poverty, hunger, disease, destitution, and death.

I pray every day for peace on this planet, that war between those who call upon the name of God will cease. But the Prince of Peace never promised that all of these evils on this planet would end, he promised that we will have inner peace and be able to not return to the herd. Yet, in my desire for peace on earth, I look at the actions of others and judge them. This is not the example of the Teacher.

In one of his many parables, he gave another example of how to act when confronted with those who destroy relationships or the abundance of this beautiful planet. The prodigal squandered everything that he could get. All the time that he was away ‘doing his thing’ the loving parent watched for any sign that their child was turning back towards home. At the moment when the child confesses to their disrespect, wastefulness, and near destruction of their life, the parent does not acknowledge the break, only the return. The loving parent does not punish but lavishes all their best upon their child.

War, disease, hate, hunger, thirst, pain, poverty, greed, power-grabbing, crime, death, all these things are not likely to go from this world in our time. What can change is my attitude towards these things and the people behind them. What I can do is follow the example set by the Teacher and turn from the problem to a solution, turn from the judgment of ‘others’, and live by maintaining an attitude and the actions of Love. In a sense, it is a matter of where we call home, who we consider our siblings, and what the Source of Life is.

In the first letter to the Corinthians[1], we hear, “Love never fails., … when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. [For the first time, we will know Truth.]

13 And now [today, in this moment, or as Richard Rohr says, the naked now] these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” There is no mention of judgment. I think Paul got this one right.

Now to the hole I dug, the serious error I created. I judged the man hanging there with Jesus, the one deriding him. I judged him as being arrogant, who he associated with, and I questioned his honesty and his lack of humility. I did not see him with eyes of compassion or hope that he have a last-minute change of heart.[2] I did not see the continuing desire for love emanating from the heart of Jesus to everyone and everything around him, including the one who derided him, including me.

Daniel+

***

My providence has given you food to strengthen you while you are pilgrim travelers in this life. And I have so weakened your enemies that no one but you yourself can harm you. ~St. Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue[3]

Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the peace of God. ~Course in Miracles[4]

[1] 1Corinthians 13:8a,10, 12-13 NIV

[2] We are wired for executive thought and need it, but mine is overdeveloped and overused, way beyond my need for safety and well-being. I am usually protecting my ideas or perspectives, which are ideas set about someone or something else.

[3] https://digital.giveusthisday.org/Digital  Accessed 10.17.23

[4] https://acim.org/acim/preface/what-it-says/en/s/43 Accessed 10.17.23

The Dilemma of Human Wholeness

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Although I cannot say for certain, I do not think that plants and animals hold different versions of themselves, or different worlds within themselves, created intentionally or not. Their inner and outer worlds are the same. Not so with humans. This is one way that we are created in the image and likeness of God. Our job is to become the likeness, to become complete, to become whole. But becoming who we are by following the Inner Guides, developing into who and what we are to become, is one place where religion and society can fail us.

To know ourselves we must live into who we are. This requires discovering and knowing our shadows. Society often does not tolerate much difference within the closer circles. What the differences are determines how close we allow them to get to us. Our familial, religious, cultural, and political groups and leaders are our primary code makers. When what our soul needs for wholeness differs from what is acceptable to the various circles we inhabit, there is a dilemma.

The closest circle is the family, and this group is made of circles within circles and interconnected circles. We are born into a family as were our parents. We will possibly have a family of our own, as will our siblings. Some couples will separate and form other families. This basic social group can be quite complex, being homogeneous or integrating individuals of differing religious, social, economic, racial, or ethnic backgrounds. The family can mirror a local society or reflect a broader perspective. For good or ill, our family is where we get our earliest instructions on what is expected of us. Then follows the culture we are in, perhaps a religion, the education systems, and whatever other influences we are exposed to.

What do we do when who we are or are becoming is not acceptable to the social world in which we find ourselves? How far do we push the boundaries that define who a person is and what they can do? Does a person have to live in secret in order not to make their family uncomfortable? Do individuals in society have the right to punish, including eliminate, others who are crossing the boundaries of society? Understand that I am not talking about psychopaths or sociopaths, or harmful illegal activities such as manufacturing and distributing fentanyl, or terrorism.

Society, beginning with the family, has an obligation to protect the safety and well-being of those for whom it is responsible. But really, how dangerous are the differences that we fear? Do they actually threaten us? Or is it possible that what is threatened is our perception of the world, and maybe even of ourselves? Is protecting these perceptions, these ideas, worth destroying another human being?

What are the real threats? One threat is that by not knowing and integrating our shadows we tend to kill what we are not willing to see in ourselves by killing what we do not want to see in others.

The universe is magnificent, and the earth-organism, including us, is incredible. Yet the earth is such a minuscule speck that should it burn up, either by environmental decimation or nuclear war, it would not be noticed, except by the Creator, who is love and loves what it imagines.

Can we imagine loving that part of ourselves that we keep hidden in the dark pit of our soul? Can we imagine loving those who live contrary to the codes of the family and society? Can we imagine loving what the Creator imagines? What would our world be like if I stopped running with the herd and took the time to know and love myself—all of me? Could I then love my neighbor, especially if they are not like me? We each decide whether to live in half-darkness and fear or live in the Light and love as Christ loved.   

Forgiveness in 12-Step Recovery

Posted on by Daniel

Writing about forgiveness is difficult for me because, like the Divine and unconditional love, complete forgiveness is almost beyond my ability to fully comprehend. One hurdle can be acceptance. Is forgiveness incomplete until acceptance of the present moment has occurred? I have heard this said by others but had not experienced it from a personal psychological and spiritual perspective, mainly because I had not been injured by another to a degree that it was difficult to forgive. Oddly enough, this experience came about when faced with the truth that I had not forgiven myself for a past action that hurt someone, although I had made amends to the best of my ability. My side of the street had been swept and there were no resentments towards the other person. Then I realized that they had blocked me from their life. With this new realization that the injury to the other had been more than I had been aware of, the remorse returned. I found that I had not fully forgiven myself, though through both faith and experience I knew that God had forgiven me.

How did I know that I had not fully forgiven myself? Because I still felt regret. Complete serenity and peace eluded me. These uncomfortable feelings were not overwhelming, in part because I do live by the spiritual principles of 12-Step recovery and had made amends. But there was a low level of discomfort that increased when triggered by a couple of events. At this point it seemed prudent to examine where I may have missed something for which an amend would be in order. As I searched my conscience, I felt that I was clear as nothing new came to mind.

Then the Light turned a bit and showed me that even before this new awareness of the hurt I had caused I had not forgiven myself. The act was incomplete—I had not accepted the situation as it had been, including the other person, myself, or my actions at the time, which made it impossible to accept things as they are now.

This lack of acceptance had kept me bound to the past, making it impossible to be completely free in the present. As I mentioned earlier, this was not a major disrupter in my life. But it did keep me from the freedom, peace, and serenity that were awaiting me when I accepted myself and the situation as we were then. It was like being on a boat whose anchor is stuck on the bottom of the sea keeping the boat from moving. Acceptance is like cutting the anchor’s line, freeing the boat to move on.

Acceptance does not mean that we approve of the injury/offence/assault that occurred. It simply says that my forgiveness is not conditional on anyone else but me. With acceptance, as sorrowful as the past event may be, I am released from the bondage that bound me to the transgression, whether the transgression was mine or the other’s. This is an act of faith and trust which allows me to let go of judging myself or them.

I am grateful that the Divine is part of all relationships and that our Higher Power wants us to be whole. I am also grateful that, if we are willing, the Light will show us what we need to see when we can see it, while all the time loving us regardless of anything else. It is this Love that I can abandon myself to.

Daniel+

What Is a Mystic?

Posted on by Daniel

Someone who has become God’s friend. A person who in some way or fashion has abandoned themselves to God…and recognizes God’s response. A person whose reality is not complete without God. A person who knows the love of God. The Divine’s call to intimacy is unceasing. Much of the time we are not aware of the Light that is continuously searching us. Not for us, because we are never lost to God. The search is within, so we can see where we are. God is here. Where am I?

Letting Go

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Letting go can be hard. But hanging on when indications are telling us it is time for change creates stress that may lead to anxiousness or depression. There can be fear associated with letting go, perhaps fear of the unknown.

Scripture tells us that we “live, move, and have our being” in the Divine. Believing this can be difficult when we look at the world around us. This is where cultivating faith comes in. But where do we find faith if we don’t feel like we have any or what we have doesn’t feel strong?

There is the spiritual concept of the Seed. The Seed can be understood as that part of our being that is the Divine within. Relationship with the Divine is invitational and is continually being offered to us. To develop the relationship requires a response from us. This can be compared with the sprouting of the seed and the subsequent growth of our awareness of the Divine. Once aware, how can we get to know God?

The spiritual way of living that is the basis of 12 Step recovery offers a way to develop this relationship. Early in the Steps we encounter Step Three, which is, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” This can be scary, but many of us found ourselves at a place in our lives where our way was not working. Considering the “bottom” we had hit, the seeming uncertainty of trusting God looked better than the certain internal hell we found ourselves in. The decision made in Step Three puts us at a gate. If we walk through and work Steps Four through Nine, we will find that we are in a conscious relationship with the Divine. We will no longer have the same fear of letting go because we will know the faithfulness of the Divine. Continuing with Steps Ten, Eleven and Twelve, we build upon this foundation while improving our relationship with God and the world around us.

In whatever way one comes to be in relationship with the Divine, eventually, through experience, many realize that there is more to life than can be explained scientifically. These experiences are personal and subjective. Time and time again, often in small group settings, we hear people share their experiences of sensing and knowing that God is working in their lives. To borrow from the Big Book, they say that “God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.” If you are struggling with any area of your life, I believe that you, too, can experience the power of the Divine in you life. Is it time to let go and let God?

I thank God for the water lilies on the lake. Nature is such a wise and wonderful teacher. When we are aware of Divine Love within and around us, we appreciate the present moment and trust that this experience is producing the seeds for a beautiful tomorrow. I pray that reading this is one such moment for you. Daniel+

[The Big Book is the book Alcoholics Anonymous. The Twelve Steps are the steps used in recovery from addiction first described in the book Alcoholics Anonymous and adopted by other 12 Step groups.]

Spiritual Experiences Within Spiritual Awakening

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Dr. Carl Jung once told a desperate man that, occasionally, some individuals were able to recover from the hopeless state of addiction to alcohol that this man was suffering from. In this story, we hear how Dr. Jung explained to this man that recovery from an alcoholic condition such as his did occur and that it usually involved, “…huge emotional displacements and rearrangements.”[1] He told him that, “Ideas, emotions, and attitudes which were once the guiding forces,” in the person are “suddenly cast to one side, and a completely new set of conceptions and motives begin to dominate them.” For this man, that did happen. Soon afterward, he passed on what he had learned to Bill Wilson, who eventually passed it on to Dr. Bob Smith, leading to the beginning of Alcoholics Anonymous.

The experiences of the early members of AA showed that for many individuals, this psychic change did not occur in a single “sudden” transformative event. They found that it usually occurred over some time, and we refer to this as a spiritual awakening. In 12 Step meetings, it is common for individuals to share their experiences and wisdom regarding this crucial facet of recovery from addiction.

On a Sunday during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, I participated in an online worship service with about twenty-five participant screens showing on the computer. Activity on one participant’s video feed caught my attention. This is what I saw: Four-year-old Kevin (both names are changed) walks over to his mother Maggie who is sitting in front of her computer. He stands beside her and looks up as he leans his shoulder against her. Maggie responds, gently bending over him like a tree in a soft wind. They are fully connected as their eyes gaze deeply into each other, their smiles expressions of pure joy. In that moment nothing else exists for them. Maggie continues to smile as words flow to Kevin. His smile grows as he coyly turns his head away, evidence of receiving a delightful message.

As I watched this blessed interaction between mother and child, I recognized that what I witnessed was an example of how God loves me. Perhaps many can say that they have had a similar experience—I have. But this awareness was more significant than I can express and went deep, filling a place that I had not been fully conscious. In that moment, I knew that God continuously loves me the way Maggie loves Kevin. What is more, I knew that this love, the complete and unconditional love of God for me, is all that I need and that I do not have to seek it from anyone. But I also had a strong sense that I must give this love to others, everyone, in fact.

In a minute or two, the scene on the screen changed as the service progressed. I knew that I had just had a spiritual experience and that this experience had changed me.  “Emotional displacements and rearrangements” occurred, and a psycho-spiritual problem resolved. Today, I am different because of this experience.

I have had other such experiences, but I cannot say that there has been any one that stands out as the spiritual experience that changed my life. They have all changed my life in some way. The way I see it is that within the mix of my life, which is a process of spiritual awakening, spiritual experiences occur that are acts of Grace that are specific to my condition. Spiritual experiences and spiritual awakening are part of the recipe. They are blended in such a way that, though they have distinguishing characteristics, they are part of the batter and are not separable, just as am I not separable from them or the Divine. When we live our lives using the “simple kit of spiritual tools laid at our feet,” we will come to know this. Then, like those who helped pen the Big Book, we can say that “We have found much of heaven and we have  been rocketed into a fourth dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed.”

I often hear recovered alcoholics and addicts say that they are glad that they went through what they did. Their experiences brought them to the 12 Steps and the better life that results. One does not have to be an addict to use the 12 Steps. The 12 Steps are a set of spiritual principles and instructions on how to put them into practical use. One way to look at it is that Holy Scripture tells us what we need to live loving and purposeful lives, and the 12 Steps show us how. When we live a God-centered, God-led life, we find that the things we stand to lose are things that we don’t want anyway. The things we gain are what gives joy, purpose, and satisfaction.

“Vital spiritual experiences,” necessary for recovery from addictions, can be experienced by anyone. A transformation happens that, in turn, leads to loving service to others. This awareness of God that becomes the center of one’s life is available to any person who incorporates the simple spiritual principles used in AA into their daily living.

[1] Anon, Alcoholics Anonymous: Third Edition, Thirty-second Printing edition (Alcoholics Anonymous, 1976., 1976). All quotes are found on pp 25, 27.

The Experiment with Light

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The Experiment with Light meditation was first formulated by theologian Rex Ambler and is based on his scholarly gleaning of early Quaker writings. What he discovered is that, though not explicitly stated in their writing, the Quakers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries had a systematic way of ‘waiting in the Light’ for spiritual communion. During this ‘waiting worship’ they had transformative experiences that first showed them the truth of their personal lives and how to improve them. Some individuals may then receive guidance on what their ministry to the world may be. What we know from both historical and contemporary practice is that each individual’s experience is unique, though there may be common themes within the community or even worldwide.

This mediation has four stages plus prompts to begin and end the meditation. MOWS is the acronym that is used, and the four stages are:

  • Mind the Light-be still and wait for things in your life to rise to awareness.
  • Open to the Light—when things arise remain aware of them. The main one will become evident.
  • Wait in the Light—let the Light show you the truth of the situation without judgement.
  • Submit—accept what has been revealed to you.

A wonderful thing about this meditation is that each person interprets for themselves just what ‘the Light’ is for them. The Experiment has proven effective across a wide spectrum of religious and spiritual beliefs.

Each step has its purpose, and we will look at these one-by-one in subsequent posts. Daniel+

Definitions

Quaker(s)-A member of the Religious Society of Friends, also referred to as Friend(s).

Light-A term used to refer to the Divine, Self, or Mystery.

Waiting worship-A form of religious service where the gathered group sit in prayerful silence waiting for the Spirit to offer a message to them. This message may be either for the individual’s benefit or it may be a message to be shared with those in attendance.

Trust and the Experiment with Light

Posted on by Daniel

There were times when I questioned if I should continue with seminary, and then there were times when I wondered if the course work would ever come to a completion. It was a long journey, one which required that I draw upon all my spiritual practices to persevere. The Experiment with Light is one of those practices.

Trust is a thread that ran through many of my Experiments during that time. Trust. It is such a simple concept, yet one that is not always easy to know when and how to apply. Trust. There was no other guidance, suggestion, or direction given. Trust. It wasn’t just the studies that were causing a strain. Trust. I’d traveled over eighteen hundred miles and missed my friends and familiar surroundings. Trust. At times I wondered if my marriage would survive. Trust. And what difference would seminary make, anyway? Trust.

There were many forms of support around me—my wife Jaimie; Gil, my spiritual companion; there were new 12 Step connections; fellow seminarians, professors, and staff; and of course, God and all those on the other side of the veil. Still, there was often an underlying sense of doom and impending catastrophe which, I realized, was of my own making through replaying messages from conscious and unconscious stories I’d been telling myself most of my life. The Experiment with Light meditation helped me to move through these impediments and arrive at a more wholesome state of being.

The Experiment with Light is a simple guided meditation that is most often practiced with a small group, though the meditation is effective when practiced alone. What is this Experiment with Light? Let’s explore this over the next little while. Daniel+

Welcome

Posted on by Daniel

Welcome to Light’s Ways where we share our journey together. Even the Desert Abbas and Ammas came together to share prayer, worship, and a meal. We do not live the spiritual journey alone, though sometimes if feels that way. Visit this site from time to time or contact me for companionship along the Way.  lightsways@gmail.com

Love and Light

Daniel