Spirit In Gear

Greatness - Beyond Abstraction

I find myself plodding through Eckhart Tolle's latest book, A New Earth.  I'm only on chapter 3 - slow going on this end.  Don't get me wrong, I have read his other books and appreciate the brilliance of recognizing how we each create our own heaven or hell, depending upon how we utilize the power of now.  I'm just not a fan of his heady writing style.

A friend suggested that I jump ahead near the end of the book to chapter 9 - "Your Inner Purpose."  Eureka!  This chapter justifies the book.  Tolle illustrates his concepts with a practical dialogue to bring it all home.  I'll be writing several posts on gems in this chapter that resonate for me.

Today's gem - GREATNESS

"The great arises out of small things that are honored and cared for.  Everybody's life really consists of small things.  Greatness is a mental abstraction and a favorite fantasy of the ego.  The paradox is that the foundation for greatness is honoring the small things of the present moment instead of pursuing the idea of greatness.  The present moment is always small in the sense that it is always simple, but concealed within it lies the greatest power."  - Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

Rather than my expounding on this quote, I invite you to respond to it.  If this idea of "greatness" resonates for you, how have you found it true in your own life?  Or you may have another perspective altogether.  Please further the dialogue by sharing a comment.

Four Ways of Tuning Out Reality

It is always easier to see how others tune out, and more difficult to notice our own patterns - that is because we tune out the ways that we have been tuning out!

- Barbara DeAngelis, How Did I Get Here?

As much I may pride myself on being conscious and aware, I discover I am not.  Not always.  In fact I engage in denial without recognizing it for what it is - tuning out the truth.

Barbara DeAngelis turned the volume up for me in her chapter, "Playing Hide and Seek With the Truth," in her book, How Did I Get Here?  She identifies 4 common ways of tuning out reality, calling them the "Four Denials."  She says that unwelcome realities, unexpected wake-up calls, difficult turning points, and confusing crossroads trigger these denials.

These 4 denials include:

- Preoccupied Denial
- Idealistic Denial
- Angry Denial
- Unconditional Denial

Preoccupied Denial
After reading over this section, I can see that this form of denial runs rampant in American culture of extreme busyness, over-volunteering, and over-achieving.  I can see how I slip into this form of tuning out when I allow myself to become over-extended.  And then I tell myself I don't have time to deal with what I really want/value/need because I am so busy over here.  In other words, I don't heed my heart.  (I'd really like to blog more consistently, but I am so BUSY with my real estate investing business and dealing with my life!)

Here are specific examples from 15 that DeAngelis listed under this form of denial:
- "I know I need to work on controlling my anger, but we're remodeling the house."
- "I know I need to stop smoking, but I'm recovering from my father's death."
- "I know I need to quit my job, but my mother just moved in with us."
- "I know I need to start an exercise program, but Christmas is coming up."

What strikes me most about this form of denial is how impressive our excuses can be.  They sound so reasonable and logical.  As DeAngelis points out, however, it is always inconvenient and disruptive to face the truth and mess up our "to do" list.

Show Me the Substance

I've been intending to write this post for over two weeks.  Ever since I read an article about maverick journalist I. F. Stone in the Nov/Dec issue of Utne.

Granddaddy to today's political bloggers, Utne describes Stone as differing from most bloggers of a political bent by ". . . doggedly reporting and carefully crafting his essays, valuing insight over invective, and elevating the dialogue rather than reducing it to predictable partisan jousting."

To back up for a moment, I learned in the Utne article that I. F. Stone was an independent newspaperman and owner of his own publishing company.  He accepted no advertising.  He published a political newsletter, I. F. Stones Weekly, from 1953-1971.  Although circulation was small, his weekly essays were considered highly influential, covering his take on journalism, and the watershed U. S. events such as the McCarthy hearings, school integration, campus protests etc.  Utne included several of these essays in the Nov/Dec issue. 

In reading through Stone's essays, I was struck by two things.  His words still reverberate in timely relevance several decades later.  His strong opinions reflect an openness and willingness to both scrutinize and to understand.  What may sound like an oxymoron, in my opinion Stone demonstrated strong courage in looking "under the covers," to speak with substance, without pushing a blind agenda.  (Editor Karl Weber includes Stone's finest essays in the book, The Best of I. F. Stone.)

I was a freshman in college during the Kent State Shootings, attending school a hundred miles away.  I read with special interest Stone's essay, "In Defense of Campus Rebels."  He spoke out against the methodology, but provided insightful perspective on the underlying intention of the protesters, citing past historical context from other non-political movements.

But hey, I'm not here to talk about politics per se.  To do so is to miss the larger point.  I. F. Stone set a high standard we would do well to emulate.  And it is this.  To use our blogging forums to illuminate the conversation.  To expand understanding and meaning.  In short, to BE the substance the world needs, and allow our voice to reflect that. 

I didn't say it was easy to speak openly, honestly, truthfully.  Some days I can't find the time to blog.  Some days I can't hear my own voice.  Some days I'm feeling timid.  And some days I just can't stand not to speak up.  I'm still learning to give myself permission to show my strength - to let my "substance" out.  And be damned with whatever gets "thrown" at me.

It's much easier to hang out with like-minded individuals who share similar political/spiritual/social views than to take the time to listen and to understand what fears or motivations underpin an "opponent's" view.

But one thing I will say emphatically, with all its political connotations, thank God American voters decided Tuesday that substance matters. 

For those of us who care - I throw down the gauntlet. Let us begin with ourselves.

Show me the substance! 

Unleashing from the Mind

Today I felt like a master being pulled on a leash by a dog running helter skelter.  Except that it wasn't my dog, it was my mind and I was chasing after it like a fool.

It happened in a phone session with my spiritual mentor, who was doing a space and energy clearing with me.  During these types of exercises, I remain silent while he does his magic with me, also in silence.  He completed one of the exercises and asked me how I felt.  I admitted that my mind wandered into the near future, scattering me in different directions and dividing my attention.  I simply wasn't present.

We did a couple more exercises, and I focused my mind on staying p-r-e-s-e-n-t.  It was almost like practicing holding my breath.  That's all I focused on.  Allowing myself to receive.  Allowing myself not to have to do the work of the clearing.  It became a mantra - stay present.  Breathe that in and out.

Did I feel differently when I unleashed myself from my wandering mind?  You bet!  I felt that sense of calmness and peace that come when we are still.  What was more telling was what I didn't feel - anxiety, worry, fear, or preoccupation with new to-do lists.  I could just be with myself.

This experience of stillness, and detachment from mind, is what spiritual writer/teacher Eckhart Tolle describes in all of the books he's written.  My favorite is Stillness Speaks, because he frames all of his material in easy to digest nuggets, like the following:

"Whenever you are immersed in compulsive thinking, you are avoiding what is."

"Wisdom is not a product of thought.  The deep knowing that is wisdom arises through the simple act of giving someone or something your full attention."

Our minds are powerful tools for us to use, not dogs to drag us running blindly and unawares.  Unchain thyself!

It Isn't Supposed to be Easy - Guest Post by Dick Richards

Old tales reveal that we each have been given a gift, an energy which makes us unique and is the source of our earthly power, and that the gift (I call it genius) was forgotten before we were born.

Plato wrote that the gift was bestowed by the Goddesses of Fate as a power to protect and guide us during the mission we must accomplish in our lifetime. St. Jerome described the gift as an angel commissioned to guard the soul. Plato also wrote that, after receiving the gift, the soul is brought to the River of Forgetting, which it must cross in order to gain mortal existence. The river washes away all memory of the gift. In Buddhist legend, Old Lady Meng doles out the Broth of Oblivion to souls returning to earth.

Why all this forgetting? It sure seems as though we would all be better off if our gift was obvious to us. That would save a lot of work and grief, wouldn’t it? There would be no need for personal growth books, tapes, and workshops. I wouldn’t have written Is Your Genius at Work? I wouldn’t even be writing this! Why not save us the time, angst, and money? Why all this irritating secrecy?

I find an answer to the question of forgetfulness in other old tales. The gift is not given unconditionally, but as a prize that must be won by overcoming a challenge. Lancelot must meet the terrors of the Chapel Perilous in order to gain knighthood and pursue the Holy Grail. Theseus must slay the Minotaur in order to become King of Athens and save Greece. These old tales are echoed today in the stories of Luke Skywalker and Frodo Baggins.

So there it is: you have a gift, a natural power and a source of protection. But you have to earn it. You have to prove yourself worthy of your gift by facing the terrors of your own Chapel Perilous or by slaying your own Minotaur.

The notion that we must earn our gift is a problem for those of us who are told daily how quickly and easily things ought to come to us: fast-food restaurants, lose all that weight in no time at all, instant messenger, instant oil-change, instant photos, learn a foreign language in ten days, guaranteed. Look how easy it is! Look how quick!

It is a problem also for those of us who are told daily how we can purchase a self: drive the right car, live in the best neighborhood, buy the most up-to-date technology, use pharmaceuticals to create the mood that a person like you deserves, and send puffs of scent into your living room to show that you are a conscientious and caring person. You are what you buy.

To sum up, the old tales say that you have a gift that has been forgotten, and that you must exert yourself in order to recall it and prove yourself worthy of it.  So ignore any promises that the work can be quick or easy:  you can’t buy a self at a drive-in window.

Debbie has given us good advice in her posts about "The Illusion of Instant Success," Part 1 and Part 2: don’t fall for hype, know that some things take a long time and that you and I each must do these things in our own way, and don’t be beholden to ego-based fears (she also suggests ordering the Gethsemani Monks’ bourbon fudge and home made cheese, and I can vouch for that too).

To her advice I will add—have courage, be patient, and treat yourself gently.

The Illusion of Instant Success (Part 1)

Each day hype infiltrates and saturates our waking moments, perhaps even encroaching upon our nocturnal dreams.  Insidious in nature, hype inflates our expectations, programming us to expect quick and easy success, be it in losing weight, getting rich quick, moving ahead professionally in one fell swoop, or the ubiquitous weekend seminar promising us transformation.

Follow hype long enough, and soon you'll feel deflated, cause there's little substance (truth) to it.  Worse yet, you may become cynical, doubt yourself (my particular Achilles heel), or just give up on something worth pursuing.

Yesterday I breathed a huge sigh of relief.  Truth does that for you.  I was reading a selection out of Fr. Matthew Kelty's book, Gethsemani Homilies.  I'll get to that in a moment, but first let me tell you about Fr. Kelty.

I had the pleasure of meeting him on several occasions when I made self-directed retreats at the Abbey at Gethsemani in Kentucky during the 1990's.  At the time, Fr. Kelty, a Cistercian monk, was in his 80's.   He's now 90 years young and he really rocks!  Many years ago he was a novice under Thomas Merton, and later became Thomas Merton's confessor. 

Fr. Kelty, an Irish Bostonian, spent 10 years as a hermit in New Guinea, where he rode motorcycles as a monk.  It's been said that he has a " . . . keen nose for detecting pious cant."  I agree.  His homilies are down to earth, poetic, and reflect his deep love of God.  Unlike much of the Catholic hierarchy, he values and loves women as people.  (Not to exclude men - he loves them too).  Bless you, Fr. Kelty!

You can read Fr. Kelty's homilies online here.  Don't forget to order your bourbon fudge, and homemade cheese at the Monk's site while you're at it!  That's how they support themselves.

Okay, back to the selection of reading that triggered this topic.  That huge sigh of relief I exhaled.  When something rings true for me, I feel it in my heart.  And so it was with Fr. Kelty's homily on "Taking Up the Cross."

He opened the homily by telling a story of an Olympic athlete who sacrificed and disciplined himself for years, day in and day out, to win his medals.  Fr. Kelty contrasted that with the seeking of love.  To paraphrase, we expect that in seeking love we should encounter no difficulty, nor require demanding discipline.  Yet it is ". . .literally a life-time work."

Fr. Kelty continues by discussing how we tend to look for the easy answers.  And the best part:  without pain and effort.  There is no rule of life, no laws, no commandments, no obligations, no confrontation with evil, no repentance, no penance.  It is ethics-free, and morals free, this fantasy world.  People buy into it, pay for it, eat it up.  So [Saint] Augustine did and got so tangled he was years breaking free.

What rang true for me - the reminder that some things are of such great purport that they require the work of a lifetime.  And that some days we'll ". . .sense defeat, failure, lack of progress, no tangible reward for so much effort."  And that's the bare-ass truth.  (Have you exhaled yet?  Let me know.)

In the next post (Part 2), I'll continue this topic, linking it to the field of self-help, and in particular, to what I'm learning about myself in the world of blog posting.

Right Brain Thinkers Are In

Intuitive, creative, big picture thinkers like me (and maybe you too) finally get a fair shake.  I'm referring to Dan Pink's book, A Whole New Mind - Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age.

I bought Pink's book when it came out earlier this year and gobbled it up.  I gifted my daughter and her boyfriend with a copy when they graduated from college this past spring.

To quote Pink, " . . . the 'right brain' qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness, and meaning - increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders." 

The book convincingly documents why we can no longer rely solely on left-brain qualities to succeed in business.  If you want to develop or expand the (6) right brain aptitudes that the book describes, you'll want to read this, or risk getting left behind.

This book is, hands down, the most exciting book I've read in a long time.  It's already in its 8th printing since Spring, and I predict the well-researched ideas Pink lays out will reverberate far into the future.  Maybe even provide the momentum we all need to kick us into the "Conceptual Age."

Feeding the Soul

Today I went to my bookcase to put a book back on the shelf.  Before I knew it I was sitting on the floor, skimming over books I read years ago.

Two of these books were Richard Bach's Running From Safety, and my much beloved The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.  What led me to select these two?  Maybe it was a deeper part of myself wanting to be nourished.

We do need to take a break from the "how to" books.  Turn to books that feature parables.  I believe powerful stories and allegories go a long way to feeding our soul and stirring our imagination.  They help to transport us out of our linear head to that creative, intuitive, and more expansive part of ourselves.

My favorite passage from The Little Prince are the following words from the fox to the little prince:  It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. 

Running from Safety relates, in parable form, the journey to find oneself.  I remember when I first read it how it felt light, magical, and wondrous, kinda like how I saw the world when I was a wee little one.  At the end of the story, Richard's little Dickie tells him:  What you knew before you were born isn't lost.  You only hide it till you're tested, till it's time to remember.  Sure enough, when you want, you'll find some odd funny beautiful way to find it again.

Run, don't walk to your kid's bookshelves, or your local bookstore.  Get into a cozy chair, put your feet up, and allow yourself to be transported through space and time.  When you come back, let me know what book has fed your soul.