Tag: Truth

I see light everywhere

About a year and half ago I was at a retreat and was led through a meditation using the mantra, “Be still and Know that I am God”.

During the meditation I had the most beautiful vision in which I was following a whisper of a voice through a vast landscape of different terrains. Some beautiful and enjoyable, others harsh and bleak, and others dark and foreboding. I never caught up with the source of the voice and so was constantly chasing/following it hither and thither.

The pursuit ended on a high mountain top, with a clear day and stunning vista. I heard the whisper again behind me and as I turned round to look for its source I was immediately transported to another realm, or given a different perspective.

There before me lay the journey I had taken/life I had lived in an overlayed image, and I realised I was looking into the face of God/being itself. We met face-to-face, and in that infinite moment I knew as I was fully known.

As I sat in my seat nearing the end of the meditation, as my attention returned back to this physical plane I realised how I had just felt. I had been transported outside of myself, I felt expanded, huge, floating in unfathomable space and at peace. It was glorious.

Sometimes seeing ‘light’ in the world around us can be a case of being in the right place at the right time and don’t blink or you’ll miss a glimpse of flash, a bit like pursuing whispers. We can easily question our senses, did I really hear or see anything. If the whispers and light are ones pointing out, or emanating love, life and hope I believe they are real and they are from God. We would all be the better for pursuing things like that real or not and so would the world. Believe it or not there are whole communities of people who believe that this is one of the main aims of human life and they call themselves churches.

Perfection mad

Efficiency and results are important things in business and society at large and rightly so, but is there a down side to this drive for better and faster?

One thought that has been in my mind for a while is that this drive seems to be creating a type of ‘societal perfectionism’ which sets unrealistic expectations and lacks in compassion and empathy.

An environment is created where people are driven to hide their weaknesses and offer instead the illusion of being in complete control.

We can be left thinking there is a pattern, a way of being to which we have to conform. If we just think more carefully, try harder and be different.

This creates the perception that mistakes and errors are intolerable completely stifling our ability to learn from mistakes. In short we are gradually losing the ability to see failure as a vital part of growth in creativity.

We become terrified of failing to such an extent that in the blink of an eye our morals are cast out the window if it will preserve the shimmering gloss of perfection we seek to upkeep.

In this type of environment community becomes fragmented as we fall into self-preservation mode. We lose compassion for ourselves and others, and turn our backs on supportive and life-giving ways of being.

Could there be a better way, a more gracious way? What would it look like to allow room for mistakes and even more importantly create an atmosphere where people can be vulnerable, mistakes can be talked about and learned from?

Are we willing to take the risk and push for change?

“We must be willing to fail and to appreciate the truth that often ‘Life is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived.'”

M. Scott Peck

Are you really listening?

One of the essential needs of all humans beings is to be heard above being corrected with ‘the right answer’. As subconsciously we equate being heard with being accepted possibly even loved. Yet how often do we actually listen to what someone is saying?

More often than not I find myself thinking about how to solve their problem or, coming up with reasons why I disagree with them or, worse still trying to come up with witty comment so that somehow I still get attention.

Let your mind revisit recent conversations and reflect upon your actions and responses.

When we resist these urges and truly, deeply listen to what is being said we achieve a deeper level of perception where we are able to understand what is being communicated. We enter a new level of connection with the person who is speaking and let them into our heart, the depth of who we are.

We have engaged with their ‘being’ and discovered more about them but in some way we’ve also learnt more about ourselves.

When we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for others, willing to let them into our hearts and get involved in their lives we will both be transformed.

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

James 1:19

Hope-full

Sometimes realisations only hit you when you stop, take a step away from the busyness and reflect on the bigger picture from a removed place.

I had one of those moments this weekend after having just completed a big week of events at my school aimed at instilling hope. It was a frenetic, fantastic, stressful yet enjoyable week!

As I have been resting this weekend I got to thinking about where do you go after a big event like that? What is the follow up, how do you maintain momentum? And I realised that although big events can provide a remarkable catalyst for change they are not the ‘end’, instead they are just the beginning.

The thing that really makes a long term difference in anything is the consistent, small interactions and acts carried out day-by-day, everyday. Just like the key to a good level of fitness is not one massive session in the gym once every 2 months, rather it is regular manageable sessions in the gym several times a week.

Consistency and discipline produce results. The same is true when seeking to make a work environment more a hope-full place. What’s needed is a hopeful mindset, consistent actions along with language promoting hope and gradually the frame through which everything is perceived begins to change.

To step out on this journey we need to ask ourselves a vital question, ‘What is that hope based upon?’

This is quite possibly one of the most important questions we can invest our time in answering.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Do you perceive it?

It is interesting the range of responses there are to the term ‘faith’, many people have honestly told me that they don’t possess ‘a faith’; in terms of feeling like they belong to any religious group in particular.

A helpful definition for faith could be; ‘A belief/trust/confidence in someone or something, based on a spiritual conviction rather than ‘concrete proof’’. A deep knowing about something rather being able to see it.

I believe many people, whether consciously or subconsciously understand or perceive that there is some illusive, mysterious yet discernible pattern to life and all that comes with it. For Christians and people of many other faiths this ‘discernible pattern’ is God-at-work.

The Bible repeatedly reminds us that the method in which God operates in the world is love. Through all of life’s moments; the exhilarating highs and the shattering lows God’s love is at work to bring something good out of them. That kind of love has the power change people, situations and the world.

The love described in the passage above was demonstrated by Jesus during his life and describes God’s love. What would it look like if you and I had ‘faith’ in that kind of love and sought to model it in our everyday lives?

 

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude…. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

One Act Of Kindness

‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ is such a well-known adage that we rarely stop to give it a second thought. Yet Jesus placed a lot of emphasis on this truth at times pushing its meaning beyond what some might consider ‘reasonable limits’ by adding, “I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” This could cause many of us to question the benefit of doing such a thing, especially for those who are against us!

However Franciscan priest Fr. Richard Rohr offers us the beginnings of an answer when he says, “Until we learn to love others as ourselves, it’s difficult to blame broken people who desperately try to affirm themselves when no one else will.”

The truth is we never fully know another person’s situation or reasons for the way they behave. Most of the time what we perceive as a personal attack is actually the manifestation of that person’s own internal struggle. So by choosing to love others as ourselves, especially those who are against us maybe we can begin to break these ongoing cycles of negativity thus allowing all of us to move closer to a state of inner healing.

“Love your neighbour as yourself.”

Matthew 22:39