Monthly Archive for April, 2011

Luminous Darkness

Published on April 30, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments

Dark Night of the Soul, written by St. John of the Cross, l is one of the most difficult books a person can read, but its difficulty is surpassed by its reward. It is one of the most profound works of Christian mysticism, which means most mainline denominations wouldn’t out it at the top of their reading list.

But, let’s look at a sister concept the John of the Cross also coined- luminous darkness.

Modern day psychologists might call what I’m about to describe as schizophrenia. Luminous darkness is a combination of great agony or suffering in the midst of exuberant joy. Say what? The concept is akin to Eastern Orthodoxy which believes that if something was authentic religious art, it would have to have a small flaw somewhere, and a bright sadness to it.

Strange, no?

Strange indeed and something that maturity most often reveals to us. The more experience we have in something, the less we judge it, condemn it, or feel a need to correct it. The first child always has the greatest amount of supervision. True?

As we get older, we realize that we’re not only NOT going to change the world, but it was never in our job description. We’re just to LOVE the world and everyone in it. When we come to that place where we see the not so good and love it nonetheless, we’re experiencing luminous darkness. Have you visited  that realm recently?

Tribal & Punitive?

Published on April 29, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments

Creating drama is something that many people think mainline Christianity is all about.

The issues seem to never end and they often times end badly, like the abortion issue. Abortion is obviously a HOT BUTTON for Christianity, especially Catholicism. How many times have you seen images and stories about demonstrations in front of Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics?  We also have those unfortunate stories of an abortion doctor murdered.

You also know the pains and drama the homosexual ilk.

We’ve made life far too complicated, extreme in many ways, and divisive. Elizabeth Seton wrote, “Live simply so that others can simply live.” The Pharisees were all uptight about who belonged to what group, who was IN and who was OUT, who was hearing on what day, and who was eating what!

Craziness,  and it is still going on today!

Is your God that small? Is your God a tribal (denominational) God and therefore one who PUNISHES those who don’t get his name right or forget one of his rules?

Think about it.

8 Before 10?

Published on April 28, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 1 Comment

Oaky, I’ll bite, what’s this about except for the sequential obvious?

Have you ever wondered why the EIGHT Beatitudes have never been placed on some monument in front of the court house? I mean you have heard many stories about the ACLU and others demanding that the TEN Commandments be removed from various court houses: one such a case was here in Houston.

Let’s face it, we’re a TEN Commandment society and not an EIGHT Beatitude one.

LAW is still our guiding lower level consciousness.

We’re still into telling people what they CAN’T DO and not what they might be encouraged TO DO! There’s really no MACHO-ism in the Beatitudes. There’s no war-cry that can rally the troops in the Beatitudes like we can generate from the Commandments. The Commandments have teeth, consequences, and action (lights, cameras too).

The bottom line is EIGHT does come before TEN but only in math.

Otherwise, TEN comes before EIGHT in life, for you see, we must develop our ego first in life and then once we see how detrimental it is to us, then we can begin to dismantle it and move into the more warm and forgiving aspects of life, which is the reality of life anyway.

How are you doing on those EIGHT anyway?

Fear Of Authority

Published on April 27, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments

We all need to be submitted to various authorities; however, the older we get, the less we should have a NEED to see such as authority.

Too much authority takes away our confidence and most importantly blocks our drive at exploration and the necessary searching that life entails. It’s very easy to get bound up in the web of those who are control freaks….with a good message. We are creatures of habit and we like the familiar. Thus once we begin to see the dangers of the controller, we’re already ensnared familiarity virus.

Who would follow Hitler?

Obviously the answer is millions of people. In fact, almost all wars and genocides have been fought by followers of very dominating and controlling leaders. However, we cannot let the abuses of authority lead us into an abnormal fear of authority generally. Find the balance. Render unto Ceaser that which is his and render unto the Spirit that which is spirit.

A cat that accidently sits on a hot stove doesn’t sit on any stove thereafter.

Could you be missing out on something great because of an earlier bad experience?

Get Out Of The House!

Published on April 26, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments

It seems that those most firmly committed to “spreading the Gospel” or those that we might call main stream evangelists love hanging around the house. When I say house, I am referring to all those SAFE places: personal residence and local assembly.

We like comfort and familiarity.

Think it not strange that early on in the Bible (the 12th chapter of Genesis) we see a principle of moving on being promoted. Abraham is told to get out of Dodge (actually Ur), get out of the comfortable confines of home and just GET! Where to? Well, look for a city whose builder and maker is God. Is that good enough.

The journey of life begins when you GO!

We find Jesus saying the same thing in the New Testament (Luke 14) wherein he says, ” If anyone comes to me without leaving his own father and mother and wife and children…..etc, cannot be a disciple of mine.” In fact, if you read Jesus too closely you discover that he wasn’t much of a family man (married to Mary or not). I’m sure the families of the twelve apostles weren’t happy with Jesus calling them away to go spend a few years with him.

Tradition says they just up and left their nets and went with Jesus.

The main point here is that like so many mythical heroes and stories, the main character had to GO, to leave HOME, leave the comforts of the familiar- to discover their destiny. How’s that working for you?

Put A Lid On It!

Published on April 25, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 1 Comment

I’m sure that you’ve heard that phrase before, maybe even expressed it.

Enough already!  :-)

The deeper one goes into the spiritual realm, the thinner the veil between our two worlds, and the higher the consciousness level of the individual, the more one needs to be careful of what’s said. Friendships could be at risk and even more dangerous situations could develop.

Ken Wilber is credited with the profound statement that, “Most of us are only willing to call 5% of our present information into question at any one point- and again, that’s on a very good day.” The message here is that we need to not get too far down the road from those that we are leading lest we turn around and find no one following.

People can only handle so much!

The scout takes the first arrow!

Richard Rohr gives the following examples, “Their wisdom sounds like dangerous foolishness, like most of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to Christians, like Gandhi to Great Britain, like Martine Luther King, Jr. to white America, like Nelson Mandela to Dutch Reformed South Africa, like American nuns to Catholic patriarchy.”

Got the point?

Sometimes the greater part of valor is to keep your mouth shut, about how much you know. Put a lid on it that you might live to fight another day!  :-)

We Will Arise!

Published on April 24, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments

The message rom Jesus is that life does not end with death: that the way UP is DOWN.

“Where you stumble and fall, there you will find gold.” Carl Jung

“First there is the fall, and then we recover from the fall. Both are the mercy of God.” Lady Julian

The only thing to fear in life is that you refuse to FALL…which means you can’t ARISE!

Guide- Don’t Proclaim!

Published on April 23, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments

I had an interesting conversation earlier this week about how one ANSWERS someone with a question.

You answer a question WITH a question; however, at some point you need to give some good counsel ; however, there’s a big difference in counsel that provides ANSWERS (usually stock answers), and counsel that GUIDES people to their own conclusions (with wisdom). You do remember that wise saying about giving a person a fish and showing one how to fish, right?

The church loves to provide DOCTRINAL answers.

God has no grand children. We all have to come to God personally and individually; however, we do need GUIDES to help us along the way. If we, anyone, has gained enlightenment and doesn’t share that with others, I’d say that they’re not really enlightened. What one shares and how one shares though is the key. There is a symbiosis between immature groups and immature leaders (and vice-versa).

To those that have grown in wisdom and grace (Luke 2:52) there is much to share. 

Where are you?

Good Friday

Published on April 22, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments
What’s Good Friday mean to you?
How about taking just a few quiet moments to meditate on that question?
It could be far more meaningful than reading a commentary from me on it.  :-)  

It’s For Your Good!

Published on April 21, 2011 in Daily Commentary. 0 Comments

The statement above works when you’re talking to a five year old!

We have some adults that still use that line on fifty year olds, especially whn directed towards a spouse. It’s not only condescending, but a bit obnoxious depending upon the tone within which it is delivered. Why is it that WE think we know another person better than they themselves (logical exceptions excluded of course)? On what level do we think we can speak into another person’s life?

It’s just our EGO and everyone has one.

We even apply the statement to ourselves  from time to time. What is usually the hidden agenda behind such a statement is the manifestation of fear, control, manipulation, or maybe even vengeance. It’s really difficult to check out intentions at the door of an emotional discussion.

Remember, Lucifer means Light.

More often than not we’re simply deceived about what we think is better for someone else. After all, if it is good for US, it must be good for THEM. And then we have to look at our own life and ask that Dr. Phil question. How’s your own counsel working out for you?  :-)