The Secret Beauty of Their Hearts

Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depths of their hearts where neither sin nor desire nor self-knowledge can reach, the core of their reality, the person that each one is in God's eyes. If only they could see themselves as they really are. If only we could see each other that way all the time, there would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed... I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other.

[Christian mystic, Thomas Merton]

Use it or lose it

The days come and go like muffled and veiled figures sent from a distant party, but they say nothing, and if we do not use the gifts they bring, they carry them as silently away.

[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

Utter

The nature of God is a circle

of which the center is everywhere

and the circumference is nowhere.

[Empedocles]

There is a field...

out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,

there is a field.

I'll meet you there.

when the soul lies down in that grass,

the world is too full to talk about.

ideas, language, even the phrase each other

doesn't make any sense

[RUMI]

[shared with me by blogger friend, Zafu]
[photography by Kevin Schnepp]

Gators and Turkeys and Lizards... Oh, my!

One of the biggest differences from living in "the Lowcountry" of South Carolina as opposed to the Midwest is the wildlife - and since our development is so new, rural and mostly undeveloped, we're quite literally in the middle of the wild.

Here are 10-11 wild turkeys that I see every Sunday morning. They're actually quite large when you see them up close.

Then, of course, there's the alligators (picture not taken in our development, though there is at least one gator in our area).

Besides that there are wild boar, snakes, lizards, crazy prehistoric-looking birds, armadillos, foxes, and God-knows-what else lurking in the wilderness.

Every day is like living in a zoo. Minus those... cage things.

Into the Wild

As I've said before, I've always been a fan of adventure movies. So watching "Into the Wild" - a story about a young man rebelling against the status quo by giving his life savings to charity and trekking to Alaska to live in the wilderness alone - was quite a pleasure. Stunning cinematography, a touching story, great acting and commentary on themes such as freedom, forgiveness and materialism made this one of my top films of the year.

"When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines upon you."

"Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth."

Gone Beyond

Beyond the senses are their objects, and beyond the objects is the mind. Beyond the mind is pure reason, and beyond reason is the Spirit in man.

Beyond the Spirit in man is the Spirit of the universe, and beyond is Purusha (God/Godhead), the Spirit Supreme. Nothing is beyond Purusha: He is the End of the path.

The light of the Atman, man's Spirit, is invisible, concealed in all beings. It is seen by the seers of the subtle, when their vision is keen and is clear.

[from the Katha Upanishad]

Most of the time I'm content to stay within the realm of the very first level - the level of the senses. There's not much depth - just getting by in life, spinning from this project to that project, feeding my belly and doing things that feel good.

Oh how much we miss when we choose not to delve deeper. As Deepak Chopra says, perhaps Jesus' condemnation of "the world" and worldliness is not so much a disdain for the things of this world, but rather an invitation to see outer things as a trap that keeps us from going within to deeper realities.

This is why the Buddhists say:

"Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha"

or

"Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone completely beyond, oh what an awakening!"

Bonk

Last night, while putting up my books after teaching guitar lessons, I spun around and slammed my head into a wall-mounted bookshelf. I mean I really creamed myself. It was so intense, I dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

Reaching up to my forehead, I found my fingers covered in blood. Not only did I get a big knot on my noggin, I split it wide open as well.

Some dudes get cool scars from UFC fights and bar brawls. I get one from a damn bookshelf.

For what it's worth, I got to learn from my wife how to seal a minor gash with superglue and butterfly wings. And here I thought that stuff was for fixing cracked dishes and broken toys. Turns out it was used in Vietnam for sealing wounds. Huh.

The Third Jesus: Book on the Way

It's been a little while since I've been excited about a new book that is being released. I don't tend to be ahead of the curve that much and only pick up books that have been out for a while. That said, I happened to open an email from Amazon.com about some new releases and found this. As a fan of Mr. Chopra's work (generally) and as someone who is always looking for fresh and ever-widening ways to understand my Christian faith, I'm very much excited to dive in. Watch for a review in the coming weeks.

The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore (Deepak Chopra)

From Amazon.com's book description:

"Who is Jesus Christ?

In The Third Jesus, bestselling author and spiritual leader Deepak Chopra provides an answer to this question that is both a challenge to current systems of belief and a fresh perspective on what Jesus can teach us all, regardless of our religious background. There is not one Jesus, Chopra writes, but three.

First, there is the historical Jesus, the man who lived more than two thousand years ago and whose teachings are the foundation of Christian theology and thought. Next there is Jesus the Son of God, who has come to embody an institutional religion with specific dogma, a priesthood, and devout believers. And finally, there is the third Jesus, the cosmic Christ, the spiritual guide whose teaching embraces all humanity, not just the church built in his name. He speaks to the individual who wants to find God as a personal experience, to attain what some might call grace, or God-consciousness, or enlightenment.

When we take Jesus literally, we are faced with the impossible. How can we truly “love thy neighbor as thyself”? But when we see the exhortations of Jesus as invitations to join him on a higher spiritual plane, his words suddenly make sense.

Ultimately, Chopra argues, Christianity needs to overcome its tendency to be exclusionary and refocus on being a religion of personal insight and spiritual growth. In this way Jesus can be seen for the universal teacher he truly is–someone whose teachings of compassion, tolerance, and understanding can embrace and be embraced by all of us."

Once (again) / Lies

This is one of my favorite songs from the movie "Once." The verse chords and melody are simple, the pre-chorus is a little quirky, and then the chorus is flat out amazing. Great songwriting, great choice of lyrics. Enjoy.



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Now playing on Trev's iTunes: Glen Hansard - Lies
via FoxyTunes