Engaged Spirituality & Mystic Activism

With the eyes of your heart enlightened

These are, no doubt and by any number of interpretations, fast-moving times. Teachers of the Mayan wisdom speak of a shift in late November 2006, in which we journeyed from the '4th Night' into the '5th Day'. With such shifts comes an correlating acceleration, or said another way, time seems to pass more quickly and things seem more intense.

Whether you subscribe to this explanation or another, or no particular theory at all, you may be like most who would agree that things seem very accelerated, speeded up, moving quickly, flying by.

As a result, we find ourselves more and more in need of that which helps us to find our center, to ground, to find the place of calm and clear-seeing/feeling/hearing/sensing within the swirling winds of storm. As we say here in the Bay Area, the 'practice' becomes more and more essential; without it, we're like a paperbag tossed in furious winds.

Practice...

Practice comes in many shapes and sizes, but if we look closely, we will see an essential few shining out in common among many traditions, though perhaps called by different names, using different words that point to the same or similar practices.

Prayer, attuning to Spirit, practicing the Presence of God, aligning with the Grace Stream, centering prayer, meditation, following the breath, raising your vibration, tai chi. These are just some of the names for a beautiful, simple, powerful practice of opening to the Divine, to Light -- by which the Ancients meant the deepest and purest form of Love.

In the Christian tradition, for example, in Paul's letter to the Ephesians (1:18), the evangelist says, "I pray that the Divine may give you a spirit of Wisdom and revelation as you come to know the Divine, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which you've been called."

There are many translations of this phrase, including one that says "may the eyes of your heart be washed with light," and "I pray that your hearts be flooded with light."

Even attuning with that phrase ... I pray that your heart be flooded with light ... gives us a sense of what it feels like to attune to the Divine, by any name.

With so much unrest and turmoil happening around and within us, opening our hearts to Light and Love, aligning and attuning with the Beloved, the Divine, God, Goddess, Christ, can literally be our shelter from the storm.

Attuned, aligned, with our hearts washed with light, we are open to Wisdom, intuition, a sense of right action, loving thought and behavior ... all of the ways the Divine speaks to and moves through us.

I pray that your heart be flooded with light.

And that you will find light on your Way.

Love,
Jamie

The Devil's in the Details?

Many of you might remember hearing that phrase as you were growing up, 'The Devil is in the details.' According to various sources, this is a variant of the earlier saying, "God is in the details."

One meaning of the latter was that even the simplest actions during the day, our most modest 'to do's', can be done mindfully, and as a form of prayer. And if this is the case, the Devil in the details might mean that we take a "Devil may care" attitude and do things in a way that is careless, mindless (non-mindful), and lacking in thoughtfulness about potentially negative, harmful or hurtful consequences or effects on others.

This might have been what Emerson had in mind when he said, "Your actions speak so loudly that I can't hear what you say", or Alfred Adler when he said, "It's easier to fight for your principles than it is to live them."

There is great richness in "going through the looking-glass" with such sayings, because that very practice can often serve as a centering and wise reminder to us about how we truly wish to be in the world when we're mindful of it, and being from our hearts or, as Abraham Lincoln said, "from the better angels of our nature."

Our choice between "the better angels of our nature" and "the Devil in our nature" occurs at every turn, with every train of thought we allow to perpetuate and influence our thoughts, words, and actions for better or worse.

We make the same choice when we opt to be dedicated towards practices that help us to choose "the better angels of our nature", knowing that when we're fatigued and uncentered, it's much easier for the Devils of fear, scarcity, anger, greed and other thought-streams that usually lead towards unfortunate, hurtful, and unhealthful consequences and effects.

One of the things that I hear often -- often enough to make me frustrated with it sometimes -- is, "Well, it's not that easy" or "Well, you have an easier time with that. It's hard for me."

In fact, I don't have an easier time with it, though I don't often broadcast my struggles, because my wisest mentors have reminded me that to do so is to 'feed' such a train of thought. And frankly, four decades worth of journeying so far in this lifetime have taught me that indulging destructive or 'Devilish' thoughts doesn't have a very good or enjoyable result. Sometimes that takes me awhile to figure out in the thick of it, and sometimes my awareness of it is immediate. I wouldn't say that it's easy, but then what is 'easy', anyway, and why should we believe that everything should be 'easy' or it's 'bad'?

It's a practice, a discipline, and a commitment to engage in any spiritual belief or 'make real' the values, traits, and 'higher ways of being' associated with most spiritual traditions at their very wisest heart. Loving kindness, patience, compassion, integrity, grace, joy, Divine sensuality and creativity, and gracefulness, and so on. In a world that often seems dedicated to perpetuating the opposites of these traits -- their Devilish counterparts -- to cultivate the higher traits truly is a spiritual practice.

Yet we know that dedication brings its rewards, and in choosing the Angels or God in the details rather than the letting the Devil run rough-shod through the details of our days we're aligning with the promises of both spiritual or mystical wisdom teachings and the lessons from quantum physics.

Thoughts matter; details matter; small, in-the-moment choices matter; feelings matter; words matter; actions matter. Such 'details' add up to the quality of our days (and, modern medicine finds, the quantity of our days as well) and thus the quality of our lives.

Whether we like it or not, resist it or flow with it, this is the case. Thankfully, we can choose. I choose joy, grace, ease, beauty, and their kindreds, though I know there will be many days when that choice tries me. You?

Love,
Jamie

The Little Work of Major Change

Given what we see in the daily news headlines, most of us know that there are major changes needed to turn from a path of collective destruction to one of restoration and harmonious balance and wellness. This realization can easily become overwhelming, and more than a few people ask, "What can I do?"

With calls to major activism -- advocating on behalf of children, the elderly, First Nations cultures, ancient wisdom, environmental health, dignified healthcare, ethical institutions and leaders, and more -- it's easy to overlook one of the most powerful, and empowering, ways of spiritual activism and engagement that Dorothy Day called 'the little work'.

'Little' is often obscured in a culture blinded to all that isn't 'big'. Yet this is precisely the 'little way' and the 'little work' that gives life to Gandhi's challenge to 'be the change you wish to see in the world.' Small things, kind gestures, add up and ripple outward, perhaps combining to create an effect far larger than one seemingly impressive (albeit more noticeable) 'big work'.

What is the 'little way' or the 'little work'? It can be a lot of things, but the gist is to do the ordinary in an extraordinary way -- to enliven what you do with a spirit of loving-kindness, skillfulness, mindfulness, and dignity. In this way, even the smallest and most mundane action can become a radiant and loving prayer.

Many wisdom traditions emphasize aspects of 'the little work' in teachings about 'skillful communication', doing no harm, practicing loving-kindness, embodying compassion, being grateful, collecting evidence for grace, and living into 'right livelihood'. And most traditions teach that we do 'the great work' by cultivating these within us, which increases our capacity to embody such 'lived virtues'.

Each of these is a larger wave made up of the smaller ripples of hour by hour, day by day conscious choices. We're not perfect, though we may be 'perfecting' as we realize when we have a choice and make the ones that are kinder, more loving, more harmonious, and more heartful.

This is an empowering way, because any one can choose to walk it at any time, on any day, no matter what the condition.

With such thoughts we can, collectively, change the world, because our thoughts are seeds that grow into constructive action.

With love,
Jamie

The '1017' Project & Intentional Focus

There has been a buzz spreading in the cyber-sea about the 'Mission 1017' project, and calling all who resonate with the message to join in on a high-vibe game of heartful, loving, compassionate intentional focus. That means many people around the world will, today, be moving through the day with a mindfulness about what they think, focus upon, wish for -- for themselves, for others, and for the world and Earth.

The underlying basis for the 'game' comes from spirituality and quantum physics, and the belief that what you focus upon -- think, feel, speak, do -- expands. All great sacred and metaphysical texts and teachings emphasized this point: with your thoughts you create your reality, and to change what you experience and perceive, you must change how you think and perceive. Liberating!

According to the Mission 1017 communications, specific cosmic occurrences and 'energy waves' make this practice particularly potent today. This whole effect starts just after 10:00 a.m., wherever you are, strengthening and peaking between 5:00 - 5:30 p.m., and then winding down in the hours that follow.

Whether you believe this or not isn't actually that important; you don't need to believe or even think about that for it to be a wonderful, enjoyable, and expansive practice. Why not play? You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.

In fact, it's such a potent and potentially joyful practice that it might be great to consider doing it for an hour or two each week, and a half-day or day each month ... or more. Whether you set aside specific meditation and journaling time, or just put it on your calendar and carry that mindfulness throughout the day, it's powerful.

What types of things will be on your 'Mission 1017' list? Here are just a few of mine. Feel free to add your own to the dialogue, using the 'post/comment' option.

* Easy access and plentiful means for all people to receive preventative and alternative wellness resources, and excellent, compassionate healthcare;

* Harmonious connections and relationships between all peoples on the planet;

* Illumination, heartfulness, compassion, and wisdom for the planet's formal and informal leaders;

* Healing and harmonizing ourselves, so that we can help heal and harmonize the planet;

* A healed, healthy, plentiful planet Earth;

* Joyful, prosperous right-livelihood for all;

* A sense of joyful, loving, compassionate community for every person (and other sentient beings as well).

And that list can (and will) be so easily expanded. What's on your list?

Love,
Jamie

Radical Practice - Consumption Fast & Conscious Consumption

One of the primary concerns mentioned by many 'engaged spirits' and mystic activists is the increasingly urgent need for people -- particularly those in the mega-consumption-oriented Western cultures -- to live in a way that is more sustainable, easier on the Earth, with a smaller 'ecological footprint', and free of mindless consumption.

As with most things, that's very easy to say and much harder (though very gratifying) to practice or 'live into'. As Alfred Adler said, "It's easier to fight for your principles than it is to live them." Uhhh, yep. This is true.

Thankfully, quite a few people are beginning to learn from the example of the 'early adapters' who have demonstrated ways to live more gently on the Earth, in a way that is respectful and cruelty free. But including a couple of the more accessible practices, such as recycling, can also easily lull us into a self-congratulatory complacency, when the times call for more 'radical practice'.

A couple of years ago, a long-time mentor and respected Elder threw down the gauntlet (as the greatest teachers are inclined to do), and challenged me to do a 'consumption fast' -- for a period of no less than twelve months -- as a precursor to pruning what was extraneous and cultivating habits of more mindful consumption. I chose a 12-month fast, and extended it another six months, before moving into the 'conscious consumption' phase. (She also challenged me to go mano-a-mano with 'mindless auto usage', another challenging-but-expanding exercise that I'll share about in another post.)

She knew, of course, that I would accept the challenge, and she also knew that it would be both timely and a deep-core challenge. She knew that, like all radical practices and dangerous prayers, it was an ego-challenging (and false-self deconstructing) 'initiation' exercise.

Doing a consumption fast

When you take on a 'consumption fast', which I highly recommend (for reasons I'll share later in this entry), you basically agree to nix any extraneous purchases for the agreed-upon period of time. That means that you don't purchase anything that you don't need. You can set a baseline that is pretty ascetic, or allow for some basic things that will allow you to live simply and enjoyably but still be challenged each time you contemplate a purchase.

In other words, if you enjoy wine and also see it as part of a healthy diet, include wine. If your shoes are so old that the soles are coming off, buy new shoes. If you truly love dark chocolate, have dark chocolate. If you need to look a certain way for your work, then do so. But your questions in these areas might be whether you really need the most expensive brands, why you feel you do, and what has to happen in other communities so that you can enjoy that luxury. Ideally, you're really holding yourself to a standard that will challenge you. You get the gist.

The point of the consumption fast is to bring into crystal clear (and sometimes startling) mindfulness what your normal, and often unconscious, habits are with regards to consumption. When you feel compelled to purchase something, you have to stop and ask, "Do I really need this? Can I live without this? Why am I feeling like I need to have this right now? Am I wanting this because it's truly reflective of who I really am -- my deepest, truest Self? Or is my 'want' prompted by external standards or opinions? What has to happen, and who gets to sacrifice, so that I can have this product -- and am I willing to stand for and live with that?" These are just some of the questions that my mentor guided me towards, or that arose naturally as I took a close, clear look each time I felt compelled to buy.

So the point of not allowing -- by your own rule-making and agreements with yourself -- any purchases that you really don't need (and not justifying your actual 'need' beyond true need, just to let yourself off the hook), is that it brings you face to face with yourself and how you've been trained by the consumer-culture marketing-machine. Doing this for at least a year, and preferably a few months longer, means that you go well beyond what would be an easy timeframe for you to practice this exercise.

The benefits and wisdom reaped from 'consumption fasting'

A greater self-awareness of what you really need, along with a quiet confidence that seems to build each time you face yourself and your mindless-consumption habits, are two benefits that begin to show themselves a few months into your 'consumption fast'. There is also a quiet confidence that emerges as you begin to understand the joys of simplicity, of simple elegance, and of the real power of conscious choice over mindless reaction or habit. And there is a deeper creativity that is activated as you look at what you currently have with different eyes.

For me personally, I found a growing humility and gratefulness as I recognized just how much I was motivated by external standards and opinions, and also as I looked more deeply into the 'cause and effect' of various purchases and made decisions based on what I truly wanted to stand for or cause. This awareness gave me a growing sense of "inside out" motivation for how I wanted to live my life, and what was truly important to me. I also learned a lot more about the existence of practices, options, products and companies that reflected these values.

For you, the benefits and challenges might take a slightly different shape.

Moving from 'consumption fast' to more mindful and conscious consumption

When your consumption fast timeframe is completed, at a time when you truly can say you've been transformed and made more aware by it, you move into the 'maintenance mode' of conscious consumption. What you've learned throughout your 'consumption fast' can be deepened, expanded, extended, and lived, following your own Heart and blueprint.

I continue to be challenged, but the 'consumption fast' part of the exercise helped me to cultivate more of a foundation, so that I'm not as easily swayed by the external pressures to 'buy, buy, buy' so that you can be (fill in the blank -- prettier, happier, more successful, less anxious, more powerful...you know the list). But I still feel them; I know they're there. And I still have a ways to go before I'm truly living in alignment with my deepest values, in a way that is 'gentle on the Earth' and cruelty free, and rich in an appreciation for simple elegance and truly meaningful pleasures.

As with all practices -- the radical and the more gentle -- it's an inner practice and personal journey, though you may choose to share your intentions with those closest to you, so that you can have the support and encouragement of 'tribe' and perhaps even inspire someone to take the journey with you. You may choose, as I've been guided to do, to share your journey story. And your model, your own example may inspire others to inquire and engage themselves in their own 'consumption fast'.

If you have questions or want to play with your own 'consumption fast' exercise, feel free to connect with me. In the meanwhile, take good care.

Until next time...

Jamie