July 4, 2021

Today is American Independence Day, celebrated as the birth of a new kind of nation, now 245 years old. It's declaration of this independence was carefully crafted to present a clear statement of human rights and freedom as the foundation of a "new experiment" in government.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The process of living these formative ideals over the last 245 years has of course brought need for clarification, amendments, challenges, conflicts, and maturation. Times change and with them their demands. On a human level, we continue to struggle to actually live and demonstrate our highest ideals. As I was reflecting on those struggles over this time of Pandemic and the political upheavals that have come with Covid-19 across the globe, I ran across an essay by one of the early leaders of New Thought, Emmett Fox. His essay was written in 1942, at Christmas, a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor and America's entrance into WWII. Here is an excerpt from his Christmas message:

"Christmas has come around once more, and we find the nation passing through a time of great testing. Today the American people are called upon to prove their faith in God, and in those American principles which are written in our Constitution. The response has been magnificent. Every section of the community has demonstrated its unshakeable resolve to make every effort toward the great Victory that we know will be ours. People do not speak of making "sacrifices" today, for we feel that to forego, temporarily, some of our liberties and some of our comforts, is a privilege and a high honor. Above all...we rejoice in the knowledge that we can help those we love with our prayers, realizing that they 'who dwell in the secret place, abide in the shadow of the Almighty'--and that they can throw the protection of their prayers around their loved ones. "

These words are not about specific facts. This is affirmative prayer in a time of heroism and grave danger for many, and yes, actual sacrifice, not just for this country, but for the world. Here is the practice of claiming the highest spiritual truth that flows from your heart, as a prayerful declaration. Now, we are in a delicate balance on many issues in this country--the Pandemic variants and vaccines, our relationship with the world's nations and populations, and our planet's ecological changes. Consider your personal prayer for your country and community on this 4th of July, 2021. Think of it as a prayerful birthday wish from your heart. What gift of grace do you affirm for America? Speak your word. Amen. (Susan Nettleton)

June 27, 2021

Last week, California officially "re-opened" with 70% of the population over age 12 now at least vaccinated with at least one shot. On July 1, New Mexico also plans re-opening with 60% of those over 16, fully vaccinated and 70% of adults with at least 1 shot. Take a moment for amazement and gratitude that human clarity, focus and I believe prayer has made these numbers possible. (The development of vaccines and programs of mass inoculations, this quickly is indeed amazing.) Yes, there are other states doing well and yet others which are not. Still it is incredible, even miraculous, that we have achieved this.

In the push to bring the rest of the country to these turning points and to aid the global catastrophic spread of Covid and new variants, we are again flooded with news reports and scientific and political opinions. Even though, we face these and other ongoing global issues, let today bring a reminder of what we have managed to accomplish, individually, as well as collectively. Take a little time today to quieten all the outer voices for inner listening and guidance. There is a pressure coming from the culture to return to activity, to push for further ground, and to even ignore the time of the Pandemic. Give yourself time outside the field of that pressure, to be grateful, to remember the events of your Pandemic time as it passes and to consider positive possibilities for your life and your community. There are choices facing each of us. Gratitude and the inner directive point our way. Listen. (Susan Nettleton)

Psalm 93, from Steve Mitchell's translation: A Book of Psalms (1993)

God acts within every moment

and creates the world with each breath.

He speaks from the center of the universe,

in the silence beyond all thought.

Mightier than the crash of a thunderstorm,

mightier than the roar of the sea,

is God's voice silently speaking

in the depths of the listening heart.

June 26, 2021

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: A God With Heart

Time: Jul 11, 2021 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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June 20, 2021

This weekend has marked the first federal recognition of Juneteenth by declaring a federal holiday. The official, public celebration of the end of American slavery in 1863, is a powerful acknowledgement that goes beyond symbolic recognition of equality. It opens the way for the country to heal by a confession of slavery as a part of our history. It gives a reason to 'tell the story' for future generations. It demonstrates that healing comes through truth. It reaffirms mankind's capacity to repent, to grow in understanding, and bring the shadowy into the light. It has taken over 150 years to get to just this point and the turning point came in the pain of the Pandemic.

We all understand that prejudice and race-based injustices still foment here and across the globe. Yet, there is healing here. Here is a fruit of a spiritually-based movement that has pushed human consciousness to expand beyond primitive ideas and emotions to come a bit closer to our capacity for spiritual truth, truth that includes unity in diversity, individuality in inclusiveness, freedom in inter-dependency, redemption and forgiveness. I encourage you to take some time to reflect on the ways of collective consciousness--you are not left out. (Susan Nettleton)

This poem by Persian poet Hafiz (1350-1390) is a place to start. (From "The Soul in Love", ed. by Deepak Chopra, 2001, pg. 52.)

"Blessing"

We are all great rivers flowing to their end Swirling inside us is the silt of ages and creatures and lands And rain that has fallen for millions of years. All this makes us cloudy with mud. Unable to see God. As we struggle for clarity and the open sky The Lord keeps saying the same thing Come to me now and be blessed, Come.

June 13, 2021

Sundays offer a tradition of a day set aside for spiritual gratitude, renewal and even repair. As more areas of the country loosen Covid-19 restrictions, we have the opportunity to explore new possibilities for our lives as we balance an ongoing risk with the need to move forward in our lives. I find myself ready to tackle many tasks that were necessarily set aside during the peak months of the Pandemic and seek inner guidance for the best use of this time. As a part of my own re-entry contemplation, I'll continue to post, but for right now, only on Sundays. And I will post the schedule for the next Zoom service here as well. If you would like to be on our e-invitation list for e-mail notification of Zoom services, email the request to: hillsideew@aol.com

Whether Covid-19 will continue to fade or whether it will surge again as it continues to mutate in areas that are resistant to vaccinations, is not clear. But now, it is summer and there is new freedom. Gratitude, renewal and repair seem the order of the day. In that process, as old as mankind, we automatically begin to spin a vision for our future. Let it be filled with Light, Love and Laughter. Below is a passage by Aelred of Rievaulx: England. c. 1110-1167, from Sacred Poems and Prayers of Love, edited by Mary Ford-Grabowsky (1998)-- a reminder of the ageless Divine power of renewal. (Susan Nettleton)

"Just as day declines to evening, so often after some little pleasure my heart declines into depression. Everything seems dull, every action feels like a burden. If anyone speaks, I scarcely listen. If anyone knocks, I scarcely hear. My heart is as hard as flint. Then I go out into the field to meditate, to read the holy Scriptures, and I write down my deepest thoughts as though in a letter to You. And suddenly your grace, O Lord, shatters the darkness with daylight, lifts the burden, relieves the tension. Soon tears follow sighs, and heavenly joy floods over me again."

June 6, 2021

For this Sunday, I am posting a quote by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami (1949-current). When I read it, I immediately thought of these times, although it was written in 2002, in his book Kafka on the Shore. Murakami speaks of an internal, metaphysical storm, but his passage to me seemed to perfectly fit this phase of the Pandemic. The storm is really both something that takes place inside us, and something that takes place all around us--a reminder that we are both a part of life, affected by the collective movement, and at the same time, we are the center. It's a worth Sunday meditation. (Susan Nettleton)

"...Because this storm isn't something that blew in from far away, something that has nothing to do with you. This storm is you. Something inside of you. So all you can do is give in to it, step right inside the storm, closing your eyes and plugging up your ears so the sand doesn't get in, and walk through it, step by step...."

"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, in fact, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about.” Haruki Murakami

May 30, 2021

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a time to remember, mourn and express gratitude for those who have died in service to America in war. Yet, the weekend has become a time to celebrate the change of season, as spring reaches its fullness and becomes summer, with it's images of outdoor freedom. To the heaviness of war and loss, we have come to add the joy of sharing summer. Last year, that sense of summer brought terrible surges in the Pandemic; hopefully this Memorial weekend will be different. War remains heavy, including our metaphor of war against the Pandemic, and a contemplation of the sacrifices made by first responders, medical staff and essential workers. It all seems a strange mixing of emotions, tragedy, heroics, and celebration. But these polarities can meet in the human reach for meaning. As the American poet Archibald MacLeish wrote his poem "The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak":

"...They say, We leave you our deaths: give them their meaning: give them an end to the war and a true peace: give them a victory that ends the war and a peace afterwards: give them their meaning. "

We are the ones that shape the meaning. We honor the sacrifice by our recognition and gratitude, and by remembering. And we expand that meaning, as we expand spiritually, moving beyond a world that is full of division and conflict, to a mystical revelation of ourselves and those who have sacrificed. Follow the link to America's poet laureate for 2019-2021, Joy Harjo's poem "Remember." (Susan Nettleton)

https://wordsfortheyear.com/.../05/25/remember-by-joy-harjo/

May 27, 2021

This week, I crossed a new milestone. I made a dental appointment for an exam. That hardly seems like a milestone, except that it was a symbolic new level of re-entry into PRE post-pandemic life. I am coining the new phrase because the Pandemic is not over, but certainly in California, there is cautious optimism that we are moving beyond it. It's a time of taking stock of what needs to be done, while it can be done--moving forward, but a with sense that the situation could still change--looking backward, yet, each day brings lower case counts and rising vaccinations.

My teeth had been giving me signals to begin my return to a "changing normal" with the dentist. My car gave me signals, too, that it needed a visit to the mechanic. The mechanic responded that his business was swamped by people who now felt free to have things fixed that they had largely ignored over the last year. I have to wait my turn. The dentist squeezed me in, all masking protocols, practical distancing, and sanitation stations well in place. I felt safe, comfortable and reassured. I go back tomorrow for my cleaning.

Different areas of the country, differing populations will have their own pace and so will you as an individual. What is calling you to action? Expect the back and forth movement of returning to life beyond your doorstep, as is the way of all healing. Listen, especially to the calling of self-care. (Susan Nettleton)

May 23, 2021

For this Sunday's post, I turn to our website blogger Jack Correu and his Little Shack of Insight. Here is a reminder that the world of nature continues to offer it's beauty and delight, even in as we humans struggle with the Pandemic and environmental shifts. We need our day of rest from our inner and outer wrangling. Take time today to be aware of the peak of Spring and it's annual reminder of renewal and awakening. (Susan Nettleton) Follow the link below:

https://hillsidesource.com/.../the-little-forest-sings-by...

May 22, 2021

I have spent the week watching and reading developments on the CDC's Covid-19 announcement that those who are vaccinated no longer need to wear masks or social distance, except in very crowded situations, in public transportation, and in the case of the immune compromised. The non-vaccinated are advised to continue wearing masks. On Sunday, I spoke a bit about the announcement in terms of trust as an aspect of faith. I also spoke of my multi-generational household and our decision to continue current mask practices. because young children have no vaccine as yet. The week has brought a cross current of opinions and state announcements, stirring confusion and controversy. Still, Covid-19 case rates continue to decline.

Vaccinations are now at the forefront of public health outreach, while we face daily news of catastrophic Covid-19 spread across the globe. Research has shown that this vaccines are powerfully protective. No vaccine is 100% effective. We know this from years of annual flu vaccines. What we don't really have is data that shows how much additional protection mask wearing would provide in a population that has partial or the majority vaccinated. We do know that the 2020-2021 flu season saw the number of flu hospitalizations and deaths plummet. This is attributed to masks, social distancing and people staying home when ill. The new Covid-19 recommendations are meant to spur more people to follow through, be vaccinated, and then be mask free. There is some hope among medical practitioners that we have learned to use masks and other health prevention that could continue to be practiced when needed and benefit public health, even when the Pandemic is gone.

In America after 2020, trust is not automatic, but without some amount of trust, we cannot progress. Trust on a human level is one thing, but trust on a spiritual level brings the idea of faith. Trust is an aspect of faith. The idea of trust includes the question who or what are you trusting? Life requires some degree of trust. As a culture, we are now sorting out whether or not we can trust that non-vaccinated people will wear masks and that those who do not wear masks have indeed been vaccinated. Since a certain amount of the population have refused to wear masks all along, or greatly resisted, wearing only when forced, this brings an unusual reckoning with our personal ideas of trust and realistic expectations. With new guidelines, we are given the freedom and responsibility to assess our personal level of risk, the risk we potentially bring to others, and measure our own tolerance for risk after over a year of Pandemic threat.

Trust in something beyond our own efforts is an essential part of faith, especially when sooner or later we find ourselves in situations and pursuits which are beyond our total control. Spiritual clarity begins when you can answer who and what are you trusting. Where is your focal point? What has personally carried you through this Pandemic? For most of us, it is a mix of human support, reliable information, our own intelligence, intuition, experience, and spiritual faith. These may seem separate and at times conflicting, but with deepening understanding, God (or however you name the Un-namable) becomes the overriding, organizing principle of life. Trust that. (Susan Nettleton)

May 16, 2021

I am posting late this Sunday night. In this morning's talk I spoke of rest as nourishment and sleep as the point of rest when we are our most vulnerable selves. Because we are vulnerable and defenseless, we are the most open to spiritual nourishment, healing, and restorative energy. So tonight I offer the link the Rilke poem I read this morning: You Darkness. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.maryreynoldsthompson.com/.../unc.../you-darkness

May 14, 2021

Here is your reminder for this Sunday's Zoom Service!

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Hope you can attend!

Topic: Faith as Trust (Part II, Movement & Rest)

Sunday, May 16 11:00 A.M. (Mountain Time), 10:00 A.M. (Pacific Time)

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May 9, 2021

It's Sunday and it's Mother's Day. Mother's Day originally was begun with a link between religious worship services and the honoring of mothers for all that they do in the care of their children and families, and community. Initially, the predominantly Christian idea (in 1908) was for families to attend church services together, in acknowledgement of God's love, expressed through a mother's heart and hands. Over the years, with the growth of mass marketing techniques, Mother's Day became commercialized. On one hand, this diminished the religious meaning. On the other hand, the tradition spread to become an multi-international recognition of the role of mothers. Eventually, Mother's Day leveraged recognition of the crucial role that father's play in human culture with the establishment of Father's Day.

The larger cultural, intentional, conscious reflection on our mothers--our own, societies', and indeed Divine Mothers--is a wondrous example of how consciousness itself grows and expands. The process can be painful for some. It can easily get diluted and tainted with issues of materialism and profit, as well as personal emotions of obligation, rivalry and disappointment. Yet overall, in honoring one level of mothering, we have opened the door to a deeper understanding that life takes care of life. There are layers to our relationship with our mothers, because we are all complex and even mysterious beings, just as there are layers to our understanding of Divine or Transcendent Love and Care. Divine Mothers exist in all spiritual traditions and in the human heart as well--male or female. (Susan Nettleton)

For further contemplation, follow the link below: https://megansspark.blogspot.com/.../they-say-she-is... (Contemporary American poet, Judy Grahn)

May 6, 2021

If you have not yet turned in prayer today for our country and our world, take the time now to join in the National Day of Prayer in America. Just let the words flow from you, or if not words, silent blessings in the spirit of letting go to the Highest and Best you envision. As American Poet, Mary Oliver,reminds us in her poem"Praying", begin by paying attention and let your heart lead. (Susan Nettleton)

follow the link: https://becomingflame.com/2018/01/19/praying-by-mary-oliver/

May 2, 2021

or this Sunday's post, I am sharing a link for a poem by Sufi poet Sanai Hakim (Afghanistan 1050-1113). I am choosing this poem because it has the feel of visionary insight and at the same time is like the opening of a fantasy tale and spiritual journey. The time of Covid-19 easily leads to murkiness, or we can use the modern term "brain fog". Why not let that fog paradoxically open visionary doors? Perhaps even now we are in the spiritual "fire" of new life. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../Thenthrought/index.html

May 1, 2021

As we enter May 2021, much is changing in U.S. with the Pandemic. We have been through many previous changes, much upheaval and tragedy, as well as extraordinary scientific breakthroughs and human acts of courage and self-giving. With the amazing vaccine roll-out, Covid-19 cases across the country are falling (but not in all states) and the Covid-19 "rules" are changing. Far from perfect, the fact that we have vaccines at all, in such a short time period, produced under extreme social conditions, is to me amazing--as of April 29, CDC reports a total of 237, 360, 493 vaccines have been administered. That breaks down to 143,793,565 (43%) people with one shot and 99,668,945 fully vaccinated. Yesterday and today more are added, even if the numbers are slowing down. As cases drop, the recommendations loosen.

While the new recommendations for people who are vaccinated are liberating for some, for others, particularly for those who work, visit or live with children, they are confusing. We may be able to be outdoors without masks, but it is never clear whether those without masks have been vaccinated or not. Children as yet cannot be vaccinated. Over age 2, they need to wear masks outside the household. That's a skill that must be practiced and learned. Masks remain essential for those who are immune compromised and must take exceptional precautions. In addition, we are all warned to continue to wear masks in "crowds". What is the definition of a crowd? (My rule of thumb is that I am in a crowd when I cannot maintain social distancing of 6 ft., but in some situations, social distancing is now defined as 3 ft. In a brief pinch, I'll use 3 feet, but maybe it's more prudent to just wear a mask...) This dilemma is compounded by the ambiguous message of the more transmissible variants, the surges in specific states in the U.S. and the overwhelming global spread across the globe, most particularly today in India with it's variant. The scientific research about transmission, immunity and vaccines on the newest variants is still in process and not yet clear.

We have been at this point of confusion before. Overall for the U.S., the news is positive. It's important to remember that because, spiritually, we can choose to focus on the Good, while doing our best to protect ourselves and others. At the same time, when our public protocols begin to become foggy, it's time to tune-in to our intuitive leanings, on the deepest level we can access. Each situation is different and we need to approach it with refreshed awareness. Eventually the confusion will lift. Time and experience with new knowledge, accumulated through research, as well as public and communal reflection, will clear the way. In the meantime, stay with your moments of prayer and meditation. And above all, listen to the inner directive. (Susan Nettleton)

April 28, 2021

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Hope you can attend!

Topic: Faith as Trust (Part II, Movement & Rest)

Sunday, May 16, 2021. Time: 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time

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April 25, 2021

This week, amid the world acknowledgment of Earth Day and the urgent call for countries to enact new policies in the face of climate change and ecological shifts, the Pandemic has taken a grave turn in India as well as Brazil. Here I offer poems from both countries, as a reminder that we are, as one world, in this Pandemic together. (Susan Nettleton)

"Eternal Life" by Contemporary Brazilian poet (1935 - ) Adelia Prado, translated by Ellen Dore Watson, from Ex-Voto, Tupelo Press, 2013

Half a century.

The weight of that word used to send me straight to bed.

No more. I’m gathering wisdom. Alchemists aren’t law breakers — sure, they’re naïve sometimes like the saints,

believing in stones, fish seen in dreams,

signs written on the sky. Where is God?

April is reborn out in the cosmos,

in the most perfect silence.

Inside and outside of me. +++++++++++++

Excerpt from "Harmony" # 22, pg.189-190, "The Garland of Guru's Sayings, the Guru Vachaka Kovai by Sri Muruganar, tr. by Prof. K. Swaminathan (poetic rendition of the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950)

...Whatever creed you may believe in, Turn inward with true faith, live up To it, instead of setting out To hate and attack the faith of others. Giving up sundry controversies...choose the best, Self-knowledge. Make your tapas (spiritual disciplines) ripe, Meditate on God and win His grace. While mind exists, creeds too exist. When mind turns inward in Self-quest And gets caught up in the heart, no creed Can in that peace serene survive.

April 22, 2021

Today is Earth Day. This year Earth Day includes America's Global Climate Summit, with 40 world leaders assembling online to discuss the urgency and economics of climate change, as well as Earth Day's 51st annual program and events, initiated by earthday.org. (Streaming programs this year). The thematic focus of this year's program is Restore Our Earth. It's a fitting theme as the Pandemic continues it's global spread, with new crises erupting in some countries, while others enter the path of recovery, and we all race to vaccinate the worlds' population. In this 50 year tradition, Earth Day has been a time to appreciate humanity's connection to the Earth as well as promoting awareness of our environmental changes and threats.

The idea of "Restore Our Earth" encourages the application of natural processes in restoring ecosystems, along with emerging green technology and innovating thinking. With over a billion people in 192 countries participating, this is a day of creative, affirmative energy and a call to personal as well as collective action. Take a little time today to reflect that you too have some part to play in this Restoration. Even small actions bring you into a new kind of communion with the earth and with those who work with global projects on a much larger scale. Spiritually though, a greater discovery awaits--as we are in the world, so too, the world lies within us. We are more than of the earth; the earth resides in us. Restoring our Earth requires action in the physical world, but the deeper spiritual mystery is restoring Earth's home in our hearts. (Susan Nettleton)

"I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."

-John Muir (Scottish-American environmentalist, 1838-1914)

April 18, 2021

For this Sunday I am posting a link to a portion of the poem "Vacillation" by 20th century Irish poet William Butler Yeats. This is a reminder that a spiritual door can open suddenly, wherever you are and often when least expected. Even though that awakened state may be brief, the impact is life changing. In such a moment, we realize the underlying reality that our lives are "blessed" and in turn, with this discovery the way opens for us to "bless" the world around us. We are an aspect of the ongoing creation of Good. As the Pandemic continues to bring devastation to large parts of the world, this is a time to consider your own capacity to bless and be blessed. That may seem to be unrealistic fantasy, but as another poet, Alfred Tennyson wrote in the 19th century:

"More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. Wherefore, let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day. For what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within the brain, If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those who call them friend? (Morte D' Arthur)

Why not share your blessings and prayers as much as you can this Sunday? Don't wait until an extraordinary moment. Sometimes it is the best way to find yourself lifted beyond preoccupation with your own situation and entering the door to a new awakening. (Susan Nettleton)

follow the link: https://www.poetryireland.ie/.../view/from-vacillation