Clear Path to Peace

One of the ways that we can live a generous life is with empathy – and with compassion, humor, laughter, and joy as well. We don’t have to reach out only when times are bad, thinking, “Oh, it’s a crisis; I’d better reach out.”  How about simply connecting with each other because it’s more fun to live on a planet where we share the good times, the medium times, and the bad times – all of it?

We can share a smile, a wink, a sunset, a poem, a rainbow….

Envisioning a world in which we all live this way comes from our own desire. We do it simply because it’s natural. There is no neediness, and no feeling of being drained or exhausted. Instead, there’s a playfulness to it, so that when we travel away from home across the street or across the world, we’re recognizing equality in all beings. We feel safe to stop and chat, to look people in the eye, to share love and art and beauty with them.

Lay forgiveness on your mind

and let all fear be gently laid aside

that love may find its rightful place in you.

— A Course in Miracles (T198)

Forgiveness is a link between me, you and freedom.  Every time I forgive, I release my pain and make room for Love.  It isn’t about being weak or relinquishing power, it’s about letting go of what hurts … for me, and for you, if you choose.

Forgiveness, in a radical sense, is for all of us. For more peace in our hearts and in the world. For a new beginning.  That’s what this time is all about – new beginnings and fresh starts.  How can we be fresh and new when we’re carrying boatloads of past pain, anger and resentment?  We can’t.  We need to clean house.  Make space. Allow the grace of the Holy Spirit to wash us in the River of Love. Our world, and our sanity, depends on it.

On our forgiveness path, we examine many aspects of our emotional life. For instance, what is the difference between sympathy and empathy, and how do they fit into a life dedicated to generosity and healing?

We are often taught that sympathy is the same thing as love. “Oh, you poor thing!” = “I really care about you!” My mother taught me that from the time I was about 4 years old. Agreeing that sympathy is love became the normal way that we interacted with each other.

But when we’re having sympathy for someone, it’s not respectful of who and what he or she is. We might be giving caring action or words, yet we think that people in general are victims of their circumstances and that, to receive sympathy, there must be something terribly wrong with them. These thoughts create a distortion and an imbalance. Sympathy actually lowers the energetic vibration of our interaction together, because it is based on falsehood instead of truth. There isn’t much room for real love to enter.

In sympathy, there is no respect for our inner divinity, which everyone shares. Instead, there is a belief that our outer circumstance is, in fact, reality. That’s a mistake. A Course in Miracles says, “I am not a victim of the world I see.” (WB 48)

When this error is corrected, then we realize that we are in fact all equal beings, no matter what the circumstances. We can reach out with compassion to simply join with our friend, to support with love while accepting whatever the situation is in the moment. This is empathy. It doesn’t need the drama, excuses or pity that comes with sympathy. Instead, we simply open to the possibility that there is a perfection beyond what we can perceive, and we are all sharing it all the time – in sickness or health, pleasure or pain.

How can we be more generous with ourselves and others, by giving empathy instead of sympathy? Our forgiveness path requires that we make the switch – consciously – so that we can respect our inner light and reach to it, past our circumstances in life.  Instead of saying to each other, “Oh, poor baby!” we say, “I know you can wake up out of this, no matter what it is.” Sounds like real friendship to me.

I just received this link and it is beautiful! If you click on this, you will see Americans all over the world, standing on bridges as a symbol of the bridge to change…http://blip.tv:80/file/1338283  If you are an American citizen of voting age, PLEASE VOTE. Support clean, honest voting in the United States! I support Barack Obama because he stands for health, sanity, environmental sustainability, peace, and respect for all people.  How about you? As a peace educator and forgiveness counselor, I’ve been inspired by the unity of purpose and strength of caring that characterize the Obama campaign.  Obama’s supporters come in all sizes, shapes and colors, just like the citizens of this country.We can learn to live together in peace, and to export peace and goodwill around the world.  Yes we can! 

It was summer.  I was on a river trip with a group of women; all of us adventuring together on the Klamath River in far northern California, near the Oregon border.  I was paddling my kayak, happy with the day, the beauty, and the sunshine.

Underneath, though, I was worried.  What if I get tossed?  Every serious river runner has to deal with this fear at some point or other.  I’d been kayaking the Klamath for years and had voluntarily jumped in plenty of times. I’d also been quite handy with my kayak, managing to stay in the boat through countless rapids.  I’d only “gone swimming” once before, years ago. I knew that at some point, the river would take my little body and propel it out of the boat, because that is just how it is. You can’t do a lot of river rafting without that experience, and the more I kayaked, the closer I came to the inevitable.

I was lucky – the day was warm. Coming up to a class 3 rapid, I paddled hard in preparation.  I needed to align my boat with the perfect slot in the rocks ahead. As usual during river rafting, the slightest drop in my concentration would be my undoing.  I looked quickly to “river right”, making sure to avoid overhanging branches, then put my attention back on the slot ahead of me.  But that glance cost me one micro-second too many, and the river wasn’t waiting for me. I went over the rapid and into the river so fast I couldn’t even think about it. I was swimming, and I had no choice.  I was wet, the water was moving, and my boat was bobbing somewhere close by.
Here’s the magical part: after the first shock of surprise, I realized that the Klamath River was embracing me. I felt absolutely safe in its arms of love, and I began to cry. My salty tears met the river water and we celebrated the truth that, in that moment, there was nothing wrong, nothing scary, nothing to be avoided…just warm water carrying me downstream.

The river was so strong and steadfast! Except for my upturned face and knobby knees, it completely covered my body. It took me. I relaxed into the safety of it, still crying with relief and new understanding. It was a moment I will never forget.

River rafting can be a dangerous sport. Every toss from a boat will not be as ecstatic as the experience I had that summer day.  Just the same, I gained a powerful lesson from the Klamath. It taught me about the river of love, the river of life itself.  All of my fears, hesitations and assumptions were exposed and laid bare in one moment of my heart’s relief, when I got wet and realized they were not true. The lesson moved me because I was so aware of the metaphor: this water was alive and teaching me to trust – just as the water of every moment is also wet and alive and welcomes my trust, even if it doesn’t look like I’m in a river any more. I am. It is the river of life.  That day, I found out it’s also the river of love.

What a time of upheaval and change!  And what a time of no upheaval and no change at all!

I don’t know about you, but the past week has been a time when all of my *&#! came up. Any place where I wasn’t trusting my connection to the One came to greet me with a devilish grin. Yikes!  What an unpleasant crash into a hell world of my own creation. I notice that I get really bent out of shape if I get worried about the future. In reality, in this moment I’m fine…doing my thing, healthy, with a roof over my head and all the blessings of my beautiful life…

In my imagined future, I can create all sorts of scary possibilities. And it sucks. Reeling my mind back to this moment NOW has taken all of my patience, strength and self-love. I know I am not alone. Everyone I work with and play with is also feeling this deep inner challenge of remaining present in the Presence…or losing our way and coming back…So if you are feeling slightly or majorly insane these days, go into your heart and reach out to all of your teammates…the incredible souls around the world (and beyond) who are committed to the awakening of Love and Peace and Health and Justice on Earth.  There are millions of us, and we are strong. Tap into the group determination that we yield, especially if you’ve temporarily lost your way.

Together, we awaken. Together, we support each other and learn to love Life. God is perfect love.  And so are we.

I received this email from Randall Butisingh, a wonderful, wise man I met through the Internet.  Randall is an elder to almost all of us, since he is in his 90’s. I share his words to inspire you:

“We are all, when we choose, 100% saints and also 100% sinners. That is the challenge in our lives. In the present we are faced with our greatest challenges; a diminishing environment, economic deficiency, attack by terrorists, the proliferation of the Aids virus and other dreadful diseases; all caused by man’s greed, his excesses, his selfishness and recalcitrance.  But this should not affect those who love and have the inner peace.  Bear in mind, the darker the night, the brighter and more brilliant the stars. So it is with evil – the greater the evil, love and mercy and forgiveness manifest to a greater degree. This we can see in the work of selfless individuals, charitable organizations and benevolent governments.  What happens outside of us is of very little consequence and is transitory, but what takes place inside of us is what greatly matters; like the continuous ticking of the clock in the most violent storm.

Here is a stanza from a hymn that bears me out:

“A faith that shines more bright and clear

When tempests rage without;

That when in danger knows no fear,

In darkness feels no doubt.”

Thank you, Randall, for your long life of service, faith and love. You are a blessing to this Earth.

This morning I stretched my body, emotions and mind in yoga class. I was deep in prayer about being truly naked before God. I wanted to release anything that appeared to be in my way, any thought or feeling that could obscure the glory of the Divine – for me – in each moment.

As I traveled into my breath, in and out of yoga poses, I also journeyed in and out of perceiving myself as a separate person. Intellectually, I know that my individuality is a scam, and I’ve touched upon the vast, unfettered Truth of Goddess many times. This morning, and more and more recently, my prayer was (and is) to experience the vastness on an ongoing basis.

I began to sense Aliveness in the air around me. Not only in the very atoms and molecules, but beyond physicality. I started to drink copiously from the prana which completely filled what appeared to be space all around me – it stretched from one centimeter beyond my skin all the way to immense creations of divine intelligence, to “places” that my mind has not yet imagined. Everything was seamlessly linked inside this river of love. I floated in joy….and remembered to include my body and what is inside my body in the river, too.

I’ve been getting bored with only tasting the good stuff – and only sometimes. I’m tired of snacking…OK – enough noshing, as we say in Yiddish. I’m pulling for the eternal experience of experiencing eternity. I’m desiring freedom with the full extent of my glorious being. Can you relate? There are many, many people who are sharing this prayer with me. We are a team, and we are awakening together.

Here are the words to a song I wrote that describes my desire for the mystical touch…and my experience of the Beloved One. Hope you enjoy it.

River of Love

wash away my fear

River of Love

take away my tears

River of Love

cleanse me to my soul

purify me

River of Love

cleanse me to my soul

Call me and I’ll sing it to you.

530-926-4639 PST, California, USA

We are all swimming in this river, but we don’t remember, most of the time…and this is changing…there is no place else to be…

Come swim with me in the River of Love.

In the last few days, I’ve come even deeper into a realization about the connection between anger, violence and sadness. It is grief that lurks behind destruction…and the willingness to feel and release sadness is the cure and the balm for our pain.

Where does this grief come from, you ask? It grows from our collective refusal to live in accordance with Divine Love and its ways: union, blessing, expansion, mercy, comfort and caring for each other and our beautiful green planet. There is a shared, tragic and fearful howling that is constantly baying a mournful melody beneath our sleepy awareness. This is the grief I’m talking about, although we rarely recognize it and even more rarely give ourselves some breathing room to feel it.

I recently came across a short Buddhist tale about a monk who was crying at his master’s grave. When asked by a traveler, “Why are you crying? I thought you were enlightened!” the monk replied, “Because I am sad.” (from Everyday Grace, by Marianne Williamson)

When I read these poignant words, I thought about how much violent behavior could be transformed if we really take this story to heart. Just think – if we all gave ourselves permission to feel sad – what would our world be like?

We’d no longer answer, “Fine” to the ubiquitous question “How are you?”

Instead, we might say, “Oh, I’m feeling the tender stabbing and ripping feeling of my heart as it opens to grief.” Then we’d both pause, and take a breath together, standing by each other as we released our sadness into pools of trust and love. And it wouldn’t have to be a problem, or a drama, or a cheerleading session — just a quiet recognition of suffering as it appears here on Earth.

We could breathe and relax and feel together, and then feel a whole lot better, and closer. We’d go on about our days with more creative energy and more compassion for the next sisters and brothers who came along…and when we asked them, “How are you?” we’d pause to listen to the ringing truth of an answer that might, or might not, contain some sadness or discomfort of any kind.

I hold a vision of this world where joy, elation, fear and sadness are recognized as inner markers for how close we are feeling to God at any moment. If we want to feel closer, then we simply release our grief and in doing so, make room to expand our joy.

Notice how no violence of any kind is necessary or desired in this honest world. Connections between us just dance deeper, until someday, we’ll be done with releasing grief and the forgiveness of all deeds will be complete. The At-Onement, which lives eternally inside us, will be manifest on Earth, and we will notice that we’ve created a garden, you and me….a delightful, heavenly garden of peace.

I recently had the great blessing of traveling to the Indonesian island of Bali. It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to be there, and I came home deeply moved by the beauty and spiritual depth of the Balinese people.

One day while I was in Bali, I had a wonderful stretch into new territory for myself. I was learning how to scuba dive, and I asked my teacher, “How many dives have you done?” He had to think about it and then he said, “Well, within the last 20 years I’ve probably done at least 4,000 dives.”

Here I was in the pool, basically a raw beginner. I admitted to myself that I didn’t know what I was doing, and my gratitude for his experience, trust, and confidence went very deep. I thought, “How wonderful to have someone who’s had the experience of 4,000 dives to guide me.”

My dive master held onto my body, anchoring me while I floated around, explored my equipment, and tentatively began to relax into trusting that I could breathe under water.

Like my aptly named dive master, Siddhartha, I hold onto people and guide them through emotional waters. At the same time, I, too, am learning.

I came to understand that my gratitude for this man and his expertise is also the gratitude that others have for me in my work. I felt soul satisfied at the thought.

I began to think about what I do and how I am a guide for people in the deep tides of our emotional lives. Knowing how much I have committed my life to this work and how much I’ve done it on my own, I realized, “I’m a dive master!”

I’m an inner dive master, demonstrating the connection between our Spirit and how we live in our emotional bodies, and of course, our mental and physical bodies as well.

We dive in all of these bodies, and very often we’re in denial of the depths to which we need to go in order to find the truth about ourselves. It can take a while to realize how much sincerity is required in order to dispel what is not true, to see what we have been holding as a veneer, and impressing it upon the world.

When people ask me, “What do you do?” I use this metaphor and it helps explain the territory and the journey. I help people to dive within. I guide and support; I hold their hands.

I learned to scuba dive as a gift to myself, so that I could have my own experiences with the animals and plants of the sea.

I help my clients to have their own experiences in their interior, personal aquatic environment, given as a gift to themselves. They learn to accept and include all of it – the amazing corals, the tropical fish and the Loch Ness monsters that may be living down there.

Once we’ve learned to dive, we may then return to the light, into the Oneness that we are. Just traveling around under the water is not the full picture.

Offering what we discover on our journey to the One Life Essence…to the One that creates us, and gives life…this is the full picture.

When I told my dive master about my realization, he said, “Yours is a much bigger ocean.” He’s a wise man. That’s why they call him Siddartha.

Thank you, Siddhartha, for showing me the way.