A "New & Improved" Lord's Prayer

Ok, before you raise your eyebrows in shock and horror that I would arrogantly dare to "improve" the sacred Lord's Prayer, let me qualify my statement: I wrote the title (as I often do) so that you would be intrigued to read the blog article that accompanies it. If I had simply entitled it, "A Commentary," would you have even read this far? Although it is a mere reflection, read on anyway!

Our Father Who art in Heaven
Our Father: meaning, the source of all of us, the source of all Life; Our source is "heaven" or, in other words, our source is "eternal and spiritual."

What if we now just focus on the word, "our," and contrast it to other possible words that could have been used but weren't-- like the word, "my?" That is, with the simple, intentional choice to use OUR Father, I am being reminded that God is not just MY Source, but also hers, and his, and theirs-- - equally.

Hallowed be Thy Name
Your Name is holy; ALL names for You are holy because You are Holiness. And so, the names of God as Elohim, Yahweh, Allah, Great Spirit, The Way, The Tao, Life, Goddess, Truth etc. are all holy because they can each ideally accomplish God's holy purpose.

Thy Name is not just a label, but "Thy Identity, Thy Essence and Core" and so all the mysterious ways we can know you are holy. The forms and ways You choose to reveal Yourself to us are all potentially holy. God that resides in the core, inner Temple of each human body is holy. Therefore, God appearing in and through 'Robert' is hallowed. God appearing as 'Alliyah' is hallowed. God appearing as 'Ari' is hallowed. God appearing as Talik is hallowed. God appearing as Helen, Franc, Alexander, Mosiah, Ruth, Liu, Juan, and so forth....

Thy Kingdom come
Everything is ultimately THY kingdom; there is no mention of any other kingdom that could even dare to compete with Thy Kingdom. This is first and foremost another reminder for us: it is GOD'S kingdom (or more politically correct, God's "reign").

Then, let's look at: Thy kingdom come. Come Now. Come in the future. God's power shows forth in an eternal-Now that is not bound by human conceptions of time; God's kingdom is in the eternal-Now, if we have cultivated conscious awareness of Thy Kingdom within.

Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Of course, not MY will, not HER, HIS, or THEIR will, but Thine. Seek first only the will of God. Thy Will be done. Thy Will is done both now and in the future. Better yet: Thy Will simply IS. Thy Will "IS" both on earth (in our physical bodies, in the finite sense) and in heaven (in our spiritual bodies, in our eternal Life in God). Thy Will simply IS. Thy Will is the "place" where the finite, mundane stuff of "earth" (for example, that's just 'mom') is made INTO "heaven" (that is, God-appearing-as-mom in this moment, for me).

Give us this day our daily bread
Whatever we have of true substance YOU give us. "You" is not stated, but implied. I want to slow down and notice WHO is doing the giving, Who is the Source of all. You give us whatever it is we truly, ultimately need for our spiritual development, comfort and safety. We are not petitioning for all of our many wants; God gives anew each day, each moment, what our souls truly need.

And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us
God forgive us. I like that part a lot. Does God forgive us in like measure to how we show grace toward others? If so, we're all in big trouble, some more than others. However, this is just another way of expressing the Great Love Commandment: When asked which one of the 10 Commandments was most important, Jesus replied that two, interrelated ones were the most important: love God; love your neighbor.

When I come to this line of the prayer, I think of something I once saw on a T-shirt: "May God have one hand on my shoulder and the other over my mouth."

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil

As you may have picked up on by now, I am privy to focusing on not what it is we are requesting of God (give us, forgive us, lead us, etc.) but on what this prayer tells us about what God already DOES for us. So, I note here: God leads us. God delivers us. What if it weren't a request made by we, finite, sinful, impaired, doubting humans but instead a statement made by saints and angels: Fear not, God leads us. God delivers us. We just have to remember it and ask God.

God does not lead us INto temptation. This petitions asks that God intervene on our behalf: God, don't let me lead myself down the wrong path, into error, temptation, and evil. While some theologians will argue, "Yes, God DOES bring us temptation and trial," I believe that temptations and trials simply occur (as a result of our individual and collective actions) and that God can work through ANYthing that initially appears to us as "good" or even "evil."

For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever,

Again, I like to read and hear these words as a reminder. So many times, we pray and wonder, "When do I get my answer?" But the beautiful and amazing thing about the Pater Noster is that it contains the answers we need already. We just have to slow down and notice, really hear how Jesus instructed us to pray.

The prayer closes with this final reminder: It is all GOD's kingdom, It is all GOD'S power, It is all GOD'S glory. Ultimately, (according to all the mystics across the main religions), there is only ONE. There is only One kingdom and One glory. If we dwell --even for a glimpsing moment-- in that inner, still and sacred space where God's kingdom lies, we may come to realize that there is ultimately only One Power, for ever and ever, in the Eternal Now that knows no boundaries nor limitations.

Amen.

Not, "so be it" as in, "O, ple-e-e-ase let it be this way!'

No! It is "Amen" as in, "it IS so . . . now help us, Holy Spirit, to come to greater and greater awareness of these Truths."

"If You Are Like an Open Door, No One and No Thing Can Break You Down." -- C. Belogour, 2009

It's Not About Being Good

When it comes to teaching my child about God: My natural inclination is to urge him to "be good," that being good is God's primary requirement of us. Now I am leaning toward a different perspective. Perhaps my equating goodness with closeness to God is a set up for failure, disappointment, and doubt in later life. Afterall, we're all human. Eventually we sin badly and at some deep, primitive (not intellectual) level, we then feel like we've lost God. However, the Bible is full of examples of serious sinners-- murderers and other evil doers-- who became God's key representatives.

So, the message must be that it's not about "be good," rather it's about "keep trying." In other words, when sin knocks us down, we are asked to keep getting up; when sin sucks us in (as it eventually will), we must keep reaching for God. We are not required to be good, but to keep our determination for God. Isn't that what faith is? Be resilient in our spiritual faith rather than just do humanistic, good works.

The Peace Abbey in Sherborn, MA: A Review

I discovered The Peace Abbey via their website. At the time, I had been searching the net for an interfaith spiritual director. I read a few things about their retreats, but generally dropped the ball. Then, months later, I happened to drive by its physical site and impulsively thought I'd stop to investigate. Since I was dressed in my mismatched, wrinkled workout gear and since I only saw one car in the parking lot, I hoped that I could quietly sneak in, look about quickly, and slink back out just as anonymously as I had entered. Instead, I was immediately greated warmly by the peace chaplain, engaged in lovely conversation, and given a detailed personal tour.

The Peace Abbey is an interfaith, nondenominational retreat center; one of its primary missions relates to maintaining all forms of nonviolent living (e.g., conscientiously objecting to war, objecting to the killing of animals for food, etc.). In the world of social justice, "the biggies" (e.g., Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Elie Wiesel) have either visited or have been honored here. Upon entering The Peace Abbey, the images, letters, and mementos of the greatest world peacemakers provide both an humbling and inspiring experience.

I imagine that the "average" person will either love The Peace Abbey or intensely disdain it. What someone says about The Peace Abbey is likely more revealing of who the critic is than revealing of what The Peace Abbey is "truly" about. Like any group, it will appeal greatly to like- minded individuals. On the ramp to the main office, a Jurassic-sized banner lauding Obama certainly sets a tone. Even though my personal politics are tree-hugging, bleeding heart, liberal, I also recognize that any position (even the insistence on being "open-minded") can be rigidly adhered to and can render others as opposing outsiders. Therefore, a group that seeks to foster social peace may ironically encourage divisiveness and disharmony when that group creates the situation of insiders (we, "open-minded" liberals) vs. outsiders (those "rigid" traditionalists).

The Peace Abbey certainly intends to be open and affirming of religious diversity. Upon entering the main building, a visitor is flooded with rich imagery from twelve major faith traditions. Whether or not they are met, the abbey's ideals are expressed in symbolic form: for example, the Christian crucifix harmoniously hangs next to the statue of the Buddha. On the one hand, the place is an exploring seeker's delight to peruse all the icons, symbols, photos, letters, prayers, and textiles. On the other hand, I found that while the many sculptures and sayings were intellectually stimulating, the sheer volume of images also seemed to amount to a kind of visual noise that was not quite peaceful-inner-stillness conducive for me.

All this said, The Peace Abbey is not about its decorated buildings, pastoral grounds, or even its activist ideals. The real experience of The Peace Abbey comes out of meeting those gentle, passionate souls who work or visit there. If you go, you will surely learn something new. If you are lucky, you may also experience something profound.

Saying of the Day

I don't know who first said this, but I appreciate the quote:
"You can not lose what you have freely given."

Even after you have experienced loss, you can still decide to freely let it go, let it be as it is. Ultimately, nothing real is ever lost.

In a collection of private writings (see the book,"Come Be My Light"), Mother Teresa claimed that if you are suffering, it is because there is something you are not giving to the Divine. Perhaps if we give everything, there is truly nothing to lose.

Guardian Angel

Fact: The Bible speaks of angels. Angels are described in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. Christian Protestants aren't too big on angels though because we don't believe humans need intermediaries between God and individuals; Protestants believe that we are able to have a direct relationship with God without having to pray to saints, angels and the like. While there is a theological reason for shying away from angels if you're a traditional Protestant, I think there's more to it. I think we also shy away from "angel stuff" because it's come to be just too associated with New Age (a term that is usually said with disdain by "proper" Christians).

Nonetheless, there is something appealing to me about angels. Part of me likes the idea of having a guardian angel. Certainly, it is comforting to believe that each person has a guardian angel (particularly if that person is a suffering child). But isn't it enough to yearn for God? To desire that God is comforting us, protecting us? There's the image of two sets of footprints becoming one set . . . with the accompanying text, "it was then that I carried you" says God.

Still the appeal of angels remains for me. Very unProtestant of me, I know. As with many of my attachments and desires, I am choosing to believe that this one is the case of the right instinct but the wrong form. (Wha--??) I mean: the desire or pull I feel toward angels is a spiritual instinct that is right on track, but I've misinterpreted it. I have always focused on wanting to have a guardian angel, wanting to feel its presence in my life as though that would be the only way I could feel God's nearness. Now, I have to consider that perhaps my angel longing instinct isn't about having a guardian angel, but about being a guardian angel. Now my desire is no longer purely selfish, but agentic, empowering, (dare I use the word?): "vivifying."

Instead of cowering under the wing of an angel, I prefer the stronger, more faith-filled image of being the angel to all the people God has sent into my day. I can quietly rest in a secret assurance that I know . . .and that I can communicate without words that I know that there is nothing to fear because ultimately there is only One Power, One Life, One Love.

As if bursting my own idealistic bubble, I have to admit that this new image would likely quickly fizzle in the face of real crisis, but frankly that just doesn't matter. I can "be" an angel and have plenty to do in the little mundane interactions of my life right now. I accept that I am merely practicing being an angel. I can only hope that when I need to rise to the occasion of a "real" crisis, that either I will meet the challenge or that I will be forgiven for all too humanly failing. After all, I'm not a perfect saint; as an angel, I don't have to "succeed," I just have to keep trying.

Signed,
B.N. Angel ;-)

Healing Dreams

It was a lazy prayer that led to interesting results and a growing social experiment. I was lying in bed before falling asleep for the night, thinking about my day, reviewing all the little ways I fell short of my spiritual ideals in a mere 16 hours, and how I'm really at my best lying down quietly, undisturbed and in the dark. I wondered how many years (decades) I'd just keep repeating the same vices day after day-- impatience, self-indulgence, envy, etc. etc. Out of frustration and desperation, I decided to pray, "I don't let You in much during the day, but I'm willing to surrender completely to You while I sleep." (How daringly generous of me). I repeated my prayer and fell asleep. The next morning I felt as though something had shifted for the better.

A friend of mine tried something similar. She decided that she would trust (just for sleeping but not waking time) that God was working in and through her in healing ways even if she couldn't understand it. Like me, she wasn't quite willing to surrender completely (or in her case, "at all") during the day (when "we" want to be in charge --ha, ha), but there was a tiny willingness, a bit of trust we could offer at night. She prayed for healing dreams and said she had wonderful dreams, qualitatively different than any other. Moreover, when she did have "bad" dreams, they seemed to come with less of a sting during the dream or with less of a bad-dream-hangover afterwards.

We were amazed at our results. We shared our stories with friends and family. Everyone who tried our little experiment in evening surrender reported positive if not profound results.

Spread the news. Experiment for yourself. Commit to giving it a try for two weeks. Then tell me what happened as a result!

Thank you, Jackie

I don't know Jackie but she has greatly impacted my spiritual development. My friend, Annie, worked with her at one point in her life and told me bits and pieces about Jackie: she was in a miserable job with an oppressive, bullying, tyrant of a boss. She had no choice but to stay in that job. Annie would say that Jackie seemed to handle her burden so well. She'd sing her religious songs while working. It makes me think that those who sung those old traditional "negro spirituals" knew something about coping from which we can still learn.

Often when I grumble about something, I think of Jackie-- a faceless presence in my mind-- who I imagine would sweetly scoff at my "struggles." Then, I wonder "what would Jackie do" and sing out loud (if I'm alone or just have my child trapped in the car with me) or I hum. I intentionally stick to singing only religious and spiritual songs. I usually have to make up some of the words which is always worth a good laugh.

And so, I'm with my own burden, but not. Even though my feet and hands may be situated in an old, mired gully, when I sing my spirituals I am lifted out of that gully. Another part of me gets to flow to a better place.

Thank you, Jackie--- whoever or where ever you are!

breath of serenity

I imagine that God is breathing through me. I'm not breathing. God is. My body is like a sheer curtain through which God is moving in, through, and around.

It's instantaneous. I feel immediately more relaxed. I have "soft eyes."

I try to remember this mini exercise throughout the day.

Song: Come Rain or Come Shine

Come Rain or Come Shine
I’ve modified this popular song to make the lyrics sound more like a traditional spiritual. The original song was written by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The song was written for the musical St. Louis Woman, and was first published in 1946.

God did love me like no one can love me
Come rain or come shine
High as a mountain and deep as a river
Come rain or come shine

And I guess when I met God
That it was just one of those things
Girl, don’t you forget God
But remember just to let God, just to let God

God’s gonna love me like no one did love me
Come rain or come shine
Happy together, unhappy not ever
Won’t it be fine

Day may be cloudy or sunny
I’m in or I’m out of the money
But God loves us always
God loves us rain or shine
Rain or shine