Standing in my Truth

I get very angry with myself when I choose not to stand in my truth – stand for who I authentically am.  It happened again the other night and I’m still upset with myself.  I would describe my journey as an “all in” approach.  I seek and find the presence of eternal God in many different expressions.  It was in the midst of one of these experiences the other night when I hesitated to be myself.   Why?

I’ve been attending a weekly healing service for the last several months.  It’s a group led by a Catholic deacon with a distinct Pentecostal foundation.  I love the energy and presence of Spirit.   It’s a very Catholic Christian group and the teaching and rituals have an evangelical slant.  While I don’t agree with everything shared, I thoroughly enjoy connecting with other people who enthusiastically seek the face of God in their lives.  It’s often uplifting, energizing, and usually challenges me to stretch.

We were asked to share with a partner a “God moment” – a time when you were profoundly aware of God’s loving presence.  Here’s where I stepped off my path.  I have many moments when the presence of eternal Spirit has appeared and directly affected me.  Instead of sharing one of the moments when I experienced Love’s energy in transformative ways, I dug way back and shared something much simpler.  I talked about a time when sitting in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome the sun’s light beamed down on me from behind the stained glass dove behind the high altar.   This was not only a Christian moment it was a very Catholic one.  Rather than share from my heart, I used my head instead.  I didn’t want to ‘offend’ anyone’s sensibilities.

As I rummaged through my experiences, in a few short moments I judged that sharing a more profound experience of Spirit that wasn’t Christian-centered would not be acceptable.  Worse, I feared being ridiculed or considered unwashed by others.  I could have shared from any number of moments, where I saw the hand of God at work.  My list included:

1. A time when my friend Jodi, a Reiki master cleared my chakras and moved my energy instantly without ever touching my body.  Her hands hovering over my head sent a shock through me I'll never forget.
2. The wisdom imparted by a South American Indian shaman who transformed my understanding of my divine heritage.
3. The moment I met my good friend Lori and we both instantly knew we were bound together from a previous life.
4. When an angel healer channeled the spirit of my departed grandfather who was reassuring and supporting me.
5. The appearance of Archangel Haniel who came to me with the news she has been my guardian imparting the gift of intuition I’ve always been aware of.
6. The times when I’ve hosted angel parties in my room that light the place up so bright I can’t hold my eyes open.

And there are many others.  My experience in Saint Peter’s was certainly a “God moment” but it was a safe option for me.  Why did I choose to deny the divine within and take a path I felt more acceptable to the people I shared with?  I can trace my reluctance to religious experiences growing up and even recent interactions with others.

Having been reared in a Christian home, I was regularly instructed that they possessed the only path to a happy and successful life topped off with a trip to heaven for the faithful.  If I didn’t accept the Christian version of truth, I would be forever doomed to burn in hell.  Quite frankly, I was scared into believing it was the only path.  But I was never comfortable on this path and couldn’t fully accept that there was only one way in.  This is where Christianity and I started to part ways.  Well-intentioned as they may be, my path to divine self is not one in the same as anyone else’s no matter how fervent their beliefs.  I believe access to God is not restricted and there is no single gate to gain entry.  To use a Willy Wonka analogy, there are as many “golden tickets” available as there are people who bless our Earth. 

I believe what struck me in the moment that night, was the prospect that once again, someone would condemn me for not seeing God in a prescribed way.  I would then have to tolerate attempts to “save me” or get me to realize my viewpoint is wrong.  Later in the service, someone stood up and said they felt as if some in the building were resisting God’s calling.   Once again a wave of self-doubt hit me.  I thought for a moment – “is she pointing at me?”  This was the insecure little boy sitting in Sunday school once again and I had to remind myself I am no longer that scared child.  Standing in my truth, I knew they weren’t referring to me, but it didn’t make me feel any happier in the moment.

I will likely continue to attend the prayer and healing services.  God is certainly present there and I am always open to Spirit’s embrace through the many forms she comes to us.  Perhaps next time I have the opportunity to share a “God moment” I will be more confident in myself and stand firmly in my own truth.

Duane is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  He is a curious sage in perpetual development connecting all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com

The Bane of Static Cling

It’s happened to all of us.  You put on clean clothes, step out of the house, and suddenly find a stray sock or even something more intimate clinging to you.  Or you suddenly realize your skirt has decided to ball up exposing a part of your anatomy you’d rather not share.  Depending on the circumstances, you may find great humor or great horror in the experience.  But static cling is not just a clothing phenomena.   Our emotional and spiritual self also experience static cling and sometimes the uninvited guest is most unwelcome.  Are you aware when something is clinging to you or you to it?

There are all kinds of things that cling to us.  Another word for it is attachment.  Sometimes, we cling to things intentionally fully aware of it.  It’s not just physical things in our life like our possessions that we can hold tight to.  Take for example, a feeling of anger or resentment we refuse to let go of.  Someone hurt us and we’re just unwilling to move on.  What about specific beliefs?  They can be spiritual, political, societal, or personal.  When we knowingly attach to something, we have made a conscious choice and must accept the consequences of holding on.  We limit ourselves when we choose to cling - our spiritual growth becomes stifled.

But what about things clinging to us we’re unaware of?  Like the sock clinging to your pants, we can be attached to things without being fully aware of it.  At some point we may eventually notice the straggler tagging along.  Typically, it’s a friend or even total stranger that brings the unwanted traveler to our attention.  To correct the clinging condition, you remove the static.  By separating the object from its static source, it no longer clings.  The same is true of spiritual attachment.  You can break the attachment only when you address the source of static that is creating the clinging attraction.  So it's not the object itself we cling to, but the attraction (static) that holds it in place.  Therefore, in order to understand why we hold onto something, we need to look beyond the thing itself and examine the source of the attraction (static).

Differing West and East perspectives on attachment appear to be diametrically opposed.  The West often views the topic of attachment to be limited to material matters.  Some religious traditions encourage release from material goods.  But does that mean to be a true practitioner of ‘faith’ requires a monastic or ascetic lifestyle?  Is attachment only about what we own or is there a deeper truth?  If we are clinging to something (or it’s clinging to us), there is more to it.  It is meeting a need or desire.  To unhook then requires us to identify and examine the source of that need and break the electrical charge.

Attachment can cause suffering when we confuse objects with our deeper self.  When I allow what I ‘own’ to become part of ‘who’ I am the loss of that object can be devastating.  Objects are temporary but our true self is eternal.  Keeping things in proper perspective is a constant balancing act.  We don’t need to be tucked away at a monastery or ashram to understand this.  When we cling to something, it is often symptomatic of a deeper issue.  We use the 'thing' we cling to as a replacement for something else missing in our life.  Getting to the source of our desire to cling opens us to growth and allows us to eventually let it go.

Consider the following situations and ask yourself how you would respond:

You wake in the middle of the night to the smoke alarm and immediately realize the house is on fire.  You wake everyone and rush out as the fire department arrives.  You stand across the street as you watch the house burn.  When the fire is extinguished, nearly half your home has been destroyed. 

You’re strolling through a beautiful park with your best friend.  The air is clean, the birds singing and you feel the warm sun on your face.  Life is peaceful and the conversation is personal and uplifting.  Suddenly, someone on a bicycle rushes by snatching the camera from your shoulder and quickly disappears down the path. 

You invested hours and days preparing a presentation for the executive team.  Your work will have a profound impact on the future of the company.  You’re excited to present your recommendations knowing you’ve developed a truly groundbreaking approach.  Your immediate supervisor has been supportive and is just as excited.  As you prepare to make your presentation, your supervisor informs you that she will be doing the presentation – you have been disinvited from the meeting.  Your supervisor goes on to make the presentation and takes full credit for the work.

Did you experience any clinging as you considered each situation?  If so, why – what do you see as the source of your reaction?  We all experience loss.  When we feel attached to something, its loss can knock the wind from our sails.  On the other hand, would any of these situations result in a loss of your authentic self?  Would you consider the house fire to be different than the loss of a camera or theft of your work?  If so, why are they different?  Most would agree that the theft of a camera or someone taking credit for your work is wrong and unethical.  Likewise, should the perpetrator be caught, most would agree that some consequence is in order.  However, does any of that make your situation any better at a deep, personal level?  Do you seek revenge or feel justified in dispensing punishment?  These types of challenging questions can help us ponder the topic of attachment in our lives.

Here’s a few questions you can use when evaluating attachment:

1. If I were to lose this, how long would I grieve its loss?
2. How willing am I to give this to someone who is in greater need?
3. Am I clinging to this in some way as a reflection on myself?
4. By holding onto this, what am I hoping to compensate for?
5. What do I fear in letting it go?

Reducing the static cling in our emotional and spiritual lives starts with becoming aware of its presence and underlying source then eliminating the attracting charge that is holding it in place.  Find the source of static cling in your life and let it go.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  A curious sage in perpetual development connecting all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com

The Perennial Philosophy – Are We There Yet?

In 1944, Adlous Huxley published “The Perennial Philosophy”.  In his work, Huxley sought to examine the world’s religions through the lens of commonality.  He guides the reader down a path that ultimately leads one to conclude that at their very foundation, the world’s religions share a common thread; namely that we are all divine spirit seeking to love and be loved by the same eternal Spirit of life.  He concludes that humanity is bound together by the boundless drive that has no preference for race, religion, sex, or origin.  Love is the eternal energy that binds us all together.  Can we say we’re any closer to this truth?

Recent world events prompted me to once again reflect on this foundational truth.  As violence in the name of religion rages around the world, it seems to me that while we’ve journeyed far, we still have a long way to travel.  Violence perpetrated or justified in the name of faith is the antithesis of our divine heritage.  Where there is violence, love has been pushed into the shadows.  Great atrocities have occurred throughout humanity driven by the misguided belief that one religion or political philosophy is superior to another.  When we get down to the foundation of why we’re here, no religion contains the entire truth nor does it possess all the answers.  Until we come to embrace that we are all spirit experiencing a human existence and bound to each other in love, these atrocities will continue.  There are days I believe we are devolving, not evolving.

Whether its terror perpetrated in the name of God, the coercion, kidnap, and forced conversion of young women, or the destruction of sacred places, those that perpetrate these actions, do so as a direct assault on Spirit.  While perhaps well intentioned at times, the zealous actions of one spirit against another, is a direct assault on their soul and by extension humanity itself.  The good news is that the eternal Spirit of love cannot be defeated.  While it may be brushed aside, the divine within each of us cannot be silenced.   The resilience of the soul cannot and will not be denied.  The visible may be destroyed, but another cannot conquer that which is buried in every heart if we stand against it.

Let me go out on a limb and further suggest that such violence is not limited to obvious acts of destruction and harm we may read about in the news or revisit in humanity’s history.  From my perspective, everyday action of well-meaning parents can have the same effect.  When we coerce or force our children into a particular religion, we may be inadvertently harming them.  Parents should act as shepherds not taskmasters.  It’s our responsibility to model love while allowing our children to exercise their free will and find their own path.  I’m not suggesting we leave children adrift without spiritual guidance and support – far from it.  Instead, we should view our responsibilities to be more like a spiritual coach.  By loving versus pushing, we help our children develop their divine gifts.  We allow them to grow into their higher purpose and we accept them as fellow spirits rather than property. 

I came to this perspective based on experience.  My own parents are Christian yet as I was growing up, they frequently drifted from church to church.  There were long periods where we didn’t attend a church at all.  After getting married and having children, I became a practicing Catholic.  We brought our children up in the Catholic faith, but as they grew older, we could clearly see this was not their chosen path.  As they became teenagers, we relented and gave them the choice.  One of our daughters is deeply spiritual and gifted; I have learned much from her.  The other chose not to be confirmed in the Church, but possesses a spirit of compassion that is nothing short of miraculous.  They are each able to journey on the path that is right for them and we don’t condemn or criticize them for it.

We may not be able to have a direct impact on events in far away places.  Our hearts may ache for the pain inflicted on others but we often lack the means of stopping the violence.  By allowing ourselves to be affected by their pain, we can join our spirits with theirs in common cause – the search for love.  As parents, we can be loving caretakers guiding our children to the perennial philosophy and helping them find paths of higher purpose.  By doing so, perhaps we may be preparing them for something much greater.  Who knows - they may become the force of loving change that finally moves humanity toward its eternal purpose and truth.  We can always hope.

Duane Grove is founder of Connect2Action and an aspiring quiet, reflective servant-leader.  Curious sage in perpetual development connecting all on a journey of discovery of our highest purpose.  Follow Duane on Twitter @connect2action and connect with him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google+.  Learn more about Connect2Action by visiting www.connect2action.com.

You can follow his blogs at:  mindfulperspectives.blogspot.com and connect2action.blogspot.com