THE NEXT FEW BLOGS WILL BE ON THE SACREDNESS OF THE ELEMENTS

This week's is on the Oneness of Creation 

We are all made in the image of the Divine. As above so below, as is the microcosm so is the macrocosm, as is our body so is the universe. The world was created with all the elements coming together - animated by the Breath of the Creator. 

"What is God? The breath within the breath." Kabir

Kabbalah talks about the Four Beings; still, growing, wild and talking. We are all animated by the same breath but have varying  and different levels of vibration.

The early Druids recognized this and embraced our connection with  the elements and all of nature.

According to The Ancestors there are different ways to connect with the various Beings all according to their vibratory level. 

"FINDING OUR MYTH,"  or ARCHETYPE, 

and GRATITUDE

Albert Schweitzer said; "I don't know what your destiny will be but I do know that the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."

This has a lot to do with finding what Campbell calls our "myth," destiny or archetype and as Ryff describes "living virtuously." This,  essentially is the hero/ine's journey where one comes back with the grail only to give it away and serve other beings - the still, growing, wild or human.

Thurman would say this is what it is "to come alive"  which is usually to find that unique gift we were given that no one else can do.

The hero/ine's journey involves fear, taking a chance, "leaping off the cliff," doing something that is not necessarily safe physically and or psychologically. It means separating from one's conventional security and going into the cave or forest to confront the "dragon," the success of which results in attaining this gift. 

The process  can be subtle or profound. We come back from the adventure to incorporate the result into service for others. Equanimity and gratitude are the result. This can be done anywhere and with any encounter but nature and especially wild places are often the greatest catalyst. 

Since life is so complicated these days, for many of us this requires living in two worlds. We keep our day job which attends to our survival needs but follow our myth for our spiritual and growth needs - whether we get paid for it or not. 

If it does not make us content and grateful we can be assured we are on the wrong track.

There are basically four archetypes each of which can take many forms. Some of us are a mix of all four but there should be one predominant one; Healer, Teacher, Warrior, Visionary. There are many ways to teach and heal. The Warrior can be a businessman, attorney, politician or soldier whose interest is in others and not him/herself. The Visionary can be a musician, author, poet, artist, shaman, or elder. The Warrior is also often a Visionary and the Healer often a teacher and vice versa. 

Jung said that it is useful to look at what we wanted to "be" when we were a teenager or even younger. Many of us get distracted from our dreams when young by parents, peer pressure or financial restraints. We may need to go back to who we really wanted to be when we were much younger.

FINDING GRATITUDE IN HIDDEN  AND EVEN PAINFUL PLACES

These are some of the simple exercises used in the gratitude research that caused such astounding results

Neuroscience has also shown what the Ancestors affirm; "What you resist will persist, what you defeat, defeats you, what you destroy, destroys you." It is better to go into the pain and experience it than try and shut it out. Practice (as in meditation) makes perfect, and Vipasana meditators have been shown to be more skillful in handling pain when subjected to painful stimuli than non meditators.

 There are many who would agree about going into the pain in order to let it go more quickly. Forgiveness goes hand in hand with this, if required, either for oneself or for another.

At the end of the day it is often the most painful situations that wake us up from our complacency such as; loss of a loved one, job or health and that put us on a spiritual path. Even if we cannot be happy about the event we can still be grateful for the growth outcome. In studies on patients who have had catastrophic illnesses one often hears that they would not have chosen to be sick but later became grateful for the inner gifts the crisis brought to them. This was true even in those who eventually succumbed to the illness.

Neuroscience is again coming into alignment with ancient wisdom. Robert Evans and Michael McCullough using gratitude journaling and exercises have shown what taking gratitude to heart can do for us.

 The Ancestors

What they showed was that gratitude, by increasing dopamine and serotonin, had an effect equal to that of an antidepressant . It also  increased neuronal density in the prefrontal cortex on FMRI studies much like that seen in advanced meditators. 

Gratitude is spiritual practice!

This also applies to our spirit guides. We stand on the shoulders of others and shamans and those who work with spirit are only as powerful as the guides that are linked to them.

...since it is often life changing events that are not positive such as loss of a job or a loved one or a debilitating illness that we need to be grateful for. Without them we would not have had the growth we needed at that time.

These were some of the other effects that the researchers found with their study:

 The next few blogs will take extracts from the recent talk on Gratitude. 

Gratitude can be equated with well being, happiness, joy, equanimity, ecstasy (quiet or overt.)

Gratitude is spiritual practice.  Positive psychology and neuroscience are now confirming its attributes and are coming into alignment with the teachings of ancient wisdom.

Seligman summarizes his work in the acronym PERMA which stands for...

If we add some ancient wisdom and Carol Ryff's teachings which have a more spiritual bias and include virtue we come up with...

Environmental mastery here has to do with the "place" where we live. We should add nature to that and what wilderness psychologists have called the "accessible green." There is abundant research to show that exposure to nature causes equanimity and hence gratitude.

Meaning or purpose in life are key and are most associated with doing things for others or the planet rather than oneself. Buddhism also teaches that this is the road to true happiness and Albert Schweitzer said; "I do not know what your destiny will be but I do know that the only ones among you who will be truly happy will be those who have found and sought how to serve."

Seligman the father of positive psychology stresses that accomplishment (fame, material wealth) are ok but should not be pursued if meaningless. Ryff seems to favor autonomy over accomplishment.

In next week's blog we will focus on what neuroscience has to offer in its research on Gratitude (ROBERT EVANS and MICHAEL McCULLOUGH)

More quotes and caveats to help us with forgiveness

Shame and guilt have no place in healing or spiritual growth. 

Shame is a contracting emotional force which can harm the spirit and cause soul loss or sickness. Shame is even more debilitating than guilt and leads to an increased lack of self worth!

Ezekiel implies that our unskillfulness on the path of life have a somatic effect. This may be why we need to translate our spiritual practice and our forgiveness also into our bodies.

Forgiveness can release us from our karmic blemishes ...

...even if we are not forgiven in our attempts

Ancient wisdom can help us see we are all one though not the same and all made in the image of the Divine - "namaste - I see the God in you."

It pays to have a sense of humor

More on Forgiveness with quotes from the last lecture

What we do to others we do to ourselves and to the Divine since we are made in the image of the Creator

The bad we do to others requires that we ask forgiveness - whether given or not - it will help cleanse our karmic record.  Completing unfinished business before death makes reconciliation on the other side much easier.

These are the steps to be taken.

Giving forgiveness is healthful and more important for ourselves even than to the one who is forgiven