October 24, 2021

The universe is deathless,

Is deathless because, having no finite self,

It stays infinite.

A sound man by not advancing himself

Stays the further ahead of himself,

By not confining himself to himself

Sustains himself outside himself:

By never being an end in himself

He endlessly becomes himself. (#7, The Way of Life, tr. Witter Bynner)

Today I invite you to relax in moments that scramble your sense of order. We've had almost two years of life being scrambled by Covid-19 and information, breakthroughs, misinformation, things opening, things closing, receding, re-surging, and in the midst of it all, having to find solid ground here and now. It's time to consider your ability to let the "irrational" move through you and pass on. That ability is dependent on where and how you discover solid ground. What grounds you? The skill is to relax, not resist, and let your ground of being re-emerge. Faith means you let it find you; faith is a quiet confidence in yourself and in Life. Order does re-emerge, when you relax. Consider a bigger spiritual picture at work.

The "ground of being" of our life doesn't change, but our understanding of it does. This brings to mind the author Thomas Merton (1915-1986). Born in Prades, France, the child of an American mother and a New Zealander father, he spent his early years in America, France, Bermuda, and England. At the age of 26, he withdrew from the world to enter a Catholic ascetic order of Trappist monks in Kentucky, the Abbey of Gethsemani. During his lifetime, he wrote over sixty books and hundreds of poems and articles, probing the depths of monastic spirituality, his growing grasp and respect of Eastern religions, and the painful political issues of his times, including the nuclear arms race, the civil rights movement, and nonviolence. Throughout these works, he wrestled with a tremendous inward pull to disengage from the outer world and an emerging push to publicly express his own deepening understanding of social forces and their moral consequences to that larger world.

What seems like extreme contradictions in a brilliant mind, is a powerful picture of the kind of contradictions that sooner or later become evident in any spiritual path taken seriously. Creation itself is sustained on one level by apparent polarity or dualism. One the other hand, spiritual "awakening" brings awareness of the unity of all life. We are separate individuals, yet we can intuit or directly experience the shattering of all boundaries and separation. Spiritual awareness opens further contradictions in our own identities and sense of purpose. Life is no longer solely about our individual development, comforts, success, needs. We are larger than our personal lives. We are larger than the wants, stereotypes and "shoulds" of the marketplace. And yet, if we neglect ourselves as individuals, we give up our capacity to give our uniqueness to the whole, to contribute what we alone have to contribute in the unfolding of this mystery of life. What now feels as the pull to remain in Pandemic mode as we are pushed into rejoining the outer world of work, socializing and community participation, is a manifestation of this larger spiritual contradiction. This is the paradox of Lao Tzu's passage above, resolved in the mystical experience of sweet irrational worship in Merton's poem ink below. (Susan Nettleton)

http://artistsworkbench.blogspot.com/.../poetry-corner-o...

October 17, 2021

"Life" by Juan Ramón Jiménez

What I used to regard as a glory shut in my face,

was a door, opening

toward this clarity:

Country without a name:

Nothing can destroy it, this road

of doors, opening, one after another,

always toward reality:

Life without calculation!

While everyday carries within it the opportunity for inner realization, there is something to dedicating a time and space for deepening our spiritual reflection, a rhythm and routine. Humanity has discovered and developed countless and conflicting ways of connecting and maintaining a spiritual perspective over the long course of human history. You most likely have experienced a variety of religious/spiritual ideas, ceremonies, rituals, prayer, attitudes and ways of interacting in the course of your life, but sooner or later we settle in with that which nourishes and strengthens us personally. For me, the cornerstone remains meditation which at times melts into prayer and vice-verse.

When reflecting on my own spiritual journey, I can identify a handful of specific experiences that were turning points--points of no return with the spiritual life. By that I mean, they marked a shift where there was no possibility of turning back to an earlier understanding or way of living. I cannot say those were all ecstatic or joyous moments, but rather a cracking of a fixed viewpoint and an expansion, revelation...growth.

Each peak was followed by busy times of adjustment of my life to the new growth. Not that I always understood it in that way, nor that I "chose" all the adjustments, but such growth brings the excitement of both renewal and discovery. Realistically, in between such times there are plateaus and beyond plateaus, dry spells that stretch to the limit before cracking open another door of expansion. This is the way humans grow, beyond the physical growth of childhood.

When spiritual practice becomes a necessary part of your own daily life, the routine and rhythm sustain you. As British writer/mystic Paul Brunton (1898-1981)wrote: "...When we put the mind in repose and recollect who we are our effort needs no further reward. We have secured balm for the day and all life looks good." We don't look for the life changing but for the life sustaining, our daily spiritual bread. A practice of meditation, led by your own intuitive promptings, will not leave you where you started, but you may not truly appreciate that if you are looking for the life changing peak. Let the calculating mind rest today, the mind that strategizes, weighs and measures. Be fed and grow strong. Doors will open when it's time. (Susan Nettleton)

October 10, 2021

Today is good day to clear up hindrances. There are of course many varying levels to that call: obstacles to your physical movements, emotional stumbling blocks, the barriers to the fields of ideas and relationships. Intense attachments in all those arenas are likely to entangle our energy in ways that siphon our resolve to live from our highest values that fulfill our deepest needs. That is why spiritual teachings bring our attachments into focus, to be considered in spiritual practice and day to day living. Ultimately, the intent is to acquire the freedom to listen and respond to the promptings of our own inner guiding Intelligence and overseeing Love, accessible to each of us. We can call that God, Spirit, Higher Power, Transcendence--what we call it is not the point; the point is our receptivity and response, that which aligns us with the Good and the unfathomable Whole.

Earlier this week, I ran into what seemed like a critical obstacle in daily life--my internet shut down! All the standard procedures of rebooting and resetting failed. A phone call to the provider did give me the clarity that the modem was working fine, but offered no further help other than through email, which of course I could not access. A quick trip to the local library gave me public access (an essential service for any urban center!). There I was able to discern that my wifi was also fine, but while I could use the public access, my personal internet service was not connecting with my computer. I went home. None of the possible "fixes" I had found worked. My frustration level finally led me back to meditation.

In meditation I realized that there would be a solution, but now it was evening and all of this could wait another day. Contrary to the habitual power of daily routine and rhythm, life really does not depend on the internet, nor on completing my work as planned. I would start again tomorrow. At that moment, a friend texted and I told her of my day of obstacles. Though we do not have the same OS, she shared a similar recent experience, offering what had been her solution: clear the browser history, then restart. And it worked! I had to 'clear the field' of weeks and weeks and weeks of accumulated data. Somewhere, something in that pile had triggered the glitch. Are human minds and personal habits that different?

We have no choice but to trust the way our brains sort and file and connect accumulated bits of information and experiences, retrieving them as necessary. The quiet practice of meditation (as well as natural sleep) allows that process to work more efficiently. But meditation is also a process where we disentangle ourselves from emotional obstacles and false ideas. We see our accumulated history in a new light. We forgive. We let go. And the Light turns back on...(Susan Nettleton)

"You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" Galatians 5:7

October 3, 2021

A few days ago while idly flipping through a cookbook I hadn't opened in years, I discovered a quote by American poet, author and activist, Maya Angelou:

"Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or spates of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops."

There is a quiet calm to her words. The words are of course partially addressing the world of the writer and poet--or really, any creative spirit. The creative needs the space and time to expand and grow, to take form and reach some plateau of definition, even if it continues to reverberate with ongoing possibilities. Artists and thinkers of every type, even experimental cooks need room to tinker and taste, watch and wonder, without the world and it's demands closing in. But this quote expands that artistic need to all us, "each person". How else can we open to life's larger, immense possibilities that hold unrealized joys and unknown solutions?

As a child, Angelou remained mute for 5 years after a traumatic event. Like most children, she blamed herself. She became fearful of her own voice, refusing to speak. During this long period of traumatic silence, she read and absorbed literature, poetry and new ways of understanding life through quiet observation. A teacher eventually led her to recover her voice by convincing her that she could love poetry more by actually speaking it.

This story gives added depth to the quote above. We don't remain withdrawn; what we gather in, we eventually give expression to in one form or another. Paradoxically, those cares that will not withdraw from us potentially announce a gift, an expansion that we will never discover until we withdraw from them. If not today, choose a day, or even a few hours to be carefree. Go where your trouble and your striving cannot find you. Stop seeking solutions, simply wander aimlessly, sit...watching...listening... receiving. (Susan Nettleton)

September 27, 2021

I am posting two academic opportunities. The first is our call for applications for the 2022 Larry Morris Memorial Scholarship ($2,500 scholarship) for a UNM student with an academic project in the field of mystical/spiritual literature. University of New Mexico graduate students majoring in the field of English Literature or any Language/Literature Department or area relevant to contemporary spirituality/mysticism with a GPA of 3.2 or above may apply. Here's the link to more information and application: hillsidesource.com/scholarship

I am also posting a link to another opportunity for recent university graduates or undergraduates in New Mexico This is a call for applications to a funded 2022 summer residency seminar on "Works on Paper" (prints, drawings and photographs) , funded by the Getty Foundation and the Pomona Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College in Claremont, Ca. The 2 part program includes orientation January 13-14, 2022 and classes, lectures and student project June 6-June 12, 2022, at Pomona and institutions in the greater L.A. area. In addition to all expenses paid, there is $1500 student honorarium. For further info on the program and application follow this link: https://www.pomona.edu/museum/learn/the-allpaper-seminar

September 26, 2021

This Sunday, I am reflecting on a quote by Canadian songwriter and musician Leonard Cohen.(1934-2016):

If you don't become the ocean,

you'll be seasick every day.

Written years before the Pandemic, Cohen captures the essence of the ultimate spiritual solution to the upheaval and anxiety of life in 2021. Though he remained faithful to the practice of Judaism his entire life, he never saw his religion as a block to deep appreciation of other spiritual traditions. He studied Zen for many years, including 5 years in seclusion at Mount Baldy Zen Center, and was ordained as a Buddhist priest. This little proverb is testimony to his years in Zen; yet points to a universal principle.

These years of Pandemic have been as tumultuous as any ocean storm, demanding that we interpret and personally process new information daily--not just regarding our personal or family health but the changing ground that impacts different streams of community and global conditions. While we can override the mounting stressors that toss and turn us, using the vast coping techniques modern life offers us--including daily spiritual practices--we can get caught in a mind set that spirituality is about managing our emotions, managing our anxious/resentful/despairing or resistant thoughts, and/or keeping our physical bodies healthy, tension-free and strong. These are all potentially useful goals, but they fall short of a larger spiritual awakening. We are treating the sea-sickness; when the larger reality reveals we are the ocean.

This takes us to the root of spirituality, Oneness. This is not an abstract, vague idea or belief in the unity of life. This is personal identification with the wholeness of life. You are that ocean that is tossing the massive ships and the people and things within them, up and about. To "become that" is not an act of will or choice or reasoning. You ARE that. The "becoming" is in the recognition. That is why it is called Awakening. (Susan Nettleton)

for further insight, follow the link to "Oceans" by Juan Ramón Jiménez:

https://www.mountainrecord.org/creative-expression/oceans/

September 19, 2021

This Sunday, I am reflecting on the potential of our casual interactions with other people. Yesterday morning in a spontaneous text, I said, " I am headed out to adventure!" Actually, I was only planning a morning neighborhood walk and possibly coffee, but at that moment, I decided to walk to the local library to get a library card. I had considered this for weeks, but buried the ideal under a pile of other tasks. Within a few minutes, I had broken through inertia, printed out the form, grabbed my ID and mask and was out the door. These walks are often a revelation--after months and months of Pandemic isolation with only family, followed by vaccine excitement and "opening back up" in spring and early summer and then an abrupt return of surges and renewed mandates, neighborhood walks have become a reality check on community spirit.

The streets were lively, with both the masked and unmasked, parents with strollers, and bicyclists. As I wove in and out of social distancing, particularly around the youngest who have yet to have vaccines, I realized that my movements and those around me, were their own form of messaging. The mask I wore said: "I take the Pandemic and community health seriously", as the walk among the shops and outdoor restaurant tables said, "I am trusting we will get through this time and there is much to enjoy even now". I felt--not thought--similar messages from those out and about. Here, all businesses very clearly require masks so conflict is usually removed in advance. It's understood that outdoor masks are optional (although recommended for the unvaccinated). The library hadn't opened, so I walked to a struggling, independent coffee shop. There, my latte and tip were another message: "your work matters and contributes to the community." I walked outdoors: "staying inside for too long increases risk". I finished the coffee in the nearby park, where masked and unmasked children played, a discussion group for young girls met in a circle, and families wandered about: "outside with others is healthier and we really are in this together." The library staff were pleased to offer a new card and eagerly explained programs and services, while a musician played a piano, and more masked children checked out books: "life and learning go on...".

As the morning unfolded, I became more and more aware of my presence and that of others as a form of affirmative prayer. Prayer is not just something you do with thoughts and words. In illness, in loss or serious trouble, just sitting supportively with someone can be prayer. It is that much more so when done with spiritual awareness. Spiritually, we are participants in collective well-being. We can lift one another or pull downward to collective despair. The human being innately reads the tone of voice, words, feeling states, movements of others and responds. In time of collective trauma and conflict, small things may not seem to matter. But healing is not miraculously instantaneous; it arises from the affirmative movements, words and respect of everyday life. Today is the day to heal. (Susan Nettleton).

September 12, 2021

For this Sunday's message, I am posting a portion of my Zoom talk on the "Wonder and Trouble of Things." The complete Zoom recording will be available later in the month at hillsidesource.com along with various audio recordings of my previous talks and older talks by Dr. Larry Morris. Here I am addressing one of the areas of "Things" that cause confusion and conflict between the material world's agenda and spiritual teachings.

Spiritually we have centuries of traditions that have made and revered sacred objects, ceremonial objects, that represent, embody, invoke or at least remind us of God, and divine intervention. At the same time, religious teachings warn of the corrupting power of things and the desire for 'things' that undermine spiritual values. The concern is that Spiritual values are undermined when we place the highest value on what we own and our greatest attachments are to those 'things'. With the current climate crisis, 'things' have suddenly take on a serious material tone--the harm that the material does to the natural, the ecosystem. The spiritual trouble, isn't so much an issue of the object itself, but rather our relationship to it. The value of a thing is subjective; it depends on your point of view and the meaning you give to it. Values are shaped by more that our subjective experience, values are set in the marketplace and in the collective, in institutions that include religion. This sets up dualistic value conflicts. God is "All that is", and yet, "all that is" is not considered of value. If society has an underlying belief that all things belong to the Source, then the idea of personal ownership itself is called into question. In Society, the idea of ownership is extremely important. Being clear on laws and rules of ownership actually does decrease conflict. It doesn't help so much with envy or resentment but it can make ownership clear and goods more manageable; the owner has final control. Spiritually, when you can freely give of what society or your yourself think belongs to you exclusively, the act of giving itself, is a breaking through the separation between you and other, yes, but more importantly between you and God, or you and the continual flow of all that is necessary for your life. Instead of the concept of ownership, we have the idea of Stewardship. You are the human channel through which your piece of the world is managed, responsibly, inline with your spiritual principles and the laws of your society.

Follow the link below to a poem on Things by Jane Hirschfield

https://thrive.davidkanigan.com/.../only-when-i-am-quiet...

September 10, 2021

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September 5, 2021

For this Sunday post on Labor Day weekend, I am considering a teaching from Hinduism, "Work is Worship." Like many issues in a pluralistic society, the history of Labor Day and it's evolution is complex. It is meant to honor American workers for the contribution they have made in building and sustaining the country and has now become a way to culturally close the summer season with get-togethers and travel. The Pandemic brings a renewed recognition of our collective dependency on workers (from so many different roles) who have courageously kept life moving forward. Tomorrow's Labor Day is a time to reflect on the vast field of American workers. Today though, consider the practice of our own work as worship. This idea is presented in the spiritual classic, Bhagavad-Gita, described as the essence of the Upanishads, the Sanskrit philosophical texts which form the foundations of Hinduism.

There are layers and varying interpretations to "work as worship". Some teachings interpret this as meaning that in true devotion to God, you can have no expectation of any return or reward, personal gain or acknowledgement for your labor. This extreme can create inner conflict and an unrealistic servitude for those trying to live "selflessly". It also can impose a mis-interpreted religious concept that undermines fair, healthy work conditions and the basic human dignity that comes with working in and for society. Elevating work to a form of worship does not mean sacrificing basic human needs. In instructing his disciples on the work that they were to do in their world--healing, teaching and lifting others from their burdens, Jesus told them to receive what support they were offered: "... for the laborer is worthy of his hire".

The 15th century Telugu poet, Bammera Pothana, wrote, "Work is worship. But also worship will help us in doing our work properly." This means when work is understood as a form of worship, we lay the spiritual ground of daily life. We shift personal focus to our role in the wholeness of life, the mystery of life, while dedicating our activity to a spiritual recognition of, and devotion to, that which sustains us and life around us. It is a shifting of consciousness from personal, separate struggle to the larger transcendent reality, however we envision that. This opens a door to new meaning and from that meaning comes new understanding, strength and competency. That is our spiritual ground. That is worship.

Emmett Fox lends further meaning with his definition that worship is confidence. Work as worship has the added dimension of confidence in God and our Oneness with God so that we can let go of fear, doubt, and resentment in work and move through our day assured that things are working toward the greatest possible outcome. Work becomes spiritual practice and we are worthy of our hire. (Susan Nettleton)

for a poetic reflection of workers, follow the link: https://www.poetryoutloud.org/poem/to-be-of-use/

August 29, 2021

"As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it"

-Lao Tzu

This weekend I again felt an aura of regression to last summer as the Pandemic surges continue and many hospitals are at crisis points; there are heat waves, fires, a potentially extremely dangerous hurricane in the gulf headed toward New Orleans and the escalating crises in Afghanistan. After filling my head and heart with the news, I opened my front door and sat at the threshold listening to the bird songs mixed with the sound of "fire scouting" LA County drones...followed by stillness. There is peace here. Sometimes, all we need is to move outside our thoughts and let the day speak to us directly. If the day portends a storm, then it's time to seek shelter. But this is not the case here, instead I heard in the bird song, and in the drone (that watchful protector), and in the stillness, the call to prayer.

I decided this Sunday is a good day for a prayer exercise as an aspect of the larger spiritual practice of the Presence of God. This practice dates from a 17th century book written on the teachings of a Carmelite friar called Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence entered a Paris monastery after suffering a crippling injury as a soldier during the 30 Years War. In the monastery, he was assigned the role of cook and he remained that the rest of his life. There he developed a spiritual practice of continual prayer as he went about his pots and pans, fulfilling his duties. His friend, Father Joseph de Beaufort, kept letters and records of his conversations with Brother Lawrence and over time compiled them into the book: "The Practice of the Presence of God". It is now a spiritual classic, 500 years later.

Brother Lawrence's spiritual mastery developed over years of monastic life in the face of the hardships of the 17th century. In previous posts, I have written of practices that flow from his teachings, but the events surrounding today, this last Sunday in August, seem to call for a particular form-- a prayer vigil made of momentary, spontaneous prayers whenever you catch your thoughts headed in "the wrong direction". It's not about a strained vigilance of your thinking, but more of a reassuring practice, guided by emotions. Fear, frustration, sadness, anger, despair can all intrude on your day, arising from infinite, varying concerns--from the personal level to the larger issues of the community, country and world, ranging from minor glitches in your day to looming threats of the Pandemic and other disasters. Follow your feelings when they tug at you. Behind those feelings are thoughts. Thoughts in the moment can be changed to prayerful thoughts. Momentary prayerful thoughts, when captured with our attention and intention, accumulate to reaffirm our spiritual ground. The practice begins to open new possibilities and our own spiritual potential. The possibilities and potentials of one individual, includes the possibility and potential of all in the Wholeness of life. Leave room for that.

These are not long, involved, well-thought-out prayers or affirmations. This is meant as a simple, momentary practice in invoking the spiritual life as you drop your emotional shadows. And it is more. Prayer is a lifting of consciousness. Prayer is freshness of life. Prayer is healing. (Susan Nettleton)

August 26, 2021

Susan Nettleton is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

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August 22, 2021

I look behind and after

And find that all is right,

In my deepest sorrows

There is a soul of light

---Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

Here yesterday, the sky was overcast-- a cool but gray day, the morning with a slight mist. The dark clouds were followed by a portend of autumn, progressing to a foreboding Pandemic winter. This cloudiness, supported with a weary dose of morning news, spread sluggishness to my thoughts. The news was highlighting tragic stories, mainly of the Covid-19 surges and an array of conflicting opinions, with a tiny sprinkling of encouragement. Yet on a short walk, I found people out and about, friendly and commenting on the refreshing weather! Then it hit me what a blessing this weather was: the cool, humid, cloudy day offered protection where a year ago, fire had exploded and began to creep down the mountain. Elsewhere in the state, firefighters that had battled last year's fire and won, were now expending all their skill and resources to save other communities. I had missed the obvious gift of the weather, while tangled in the Pandemic mood.

I sat down for an hour of meditation to reconcile all this on the inner level. After 47 years of meditation practice, I know the key for me and the key is choice. It's not easy to describe and I think it is better to not describe, especially for those who are new to meditation practice. If you invest the time in practice--by whatever technique--meditation will begin to function and essentially teach you. Too little consistency and that process will dwindle. Too much adherence to technique will sap the natural movement of the process, forcing it along unnatural paths. For me now, meditation involves a shift from 'ordinary, in-the-world consciousness' to 'expansive conscious' (although to name either is misleading), and this shift, as a practice, is a choice. There are other circumstances where choice is not the right word, but for daily practice it is. Yesterday, I teetered between the gloomy morning and the morning of grace, until I was ready to let go of the world's struggle and accept the grace of the moment.

In the Buddhist Sutras, Buddha gives advice to the monk Sona, who is struggling with monastic spiritual practice. Buddha compares the effort as being like the musical strings of the Indian vina, which are sometimes too tight and sometimes too slack. Buddha: “Now what do you think, Sona. Before, when you were a house-dweller, were you skilled at playing the vina?” Sona: “Yes, lord.”

Buddha: “And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too taut, was your vina in tune & playable?” Sona: “No, lord.”Buddha: “And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were too loose, was your vina in tune & playable?” Sona: “No, lord.”“And what do you think: when the strings of your vina were neither too taut nor too loose, but tuned to be right on pitch, was your vina in tune & playable?” Sona: “Yes, lord.”

Buddha: “In the same way, Sona, over-aroused persistence leads to restlessness, overly slack persistence leads to laziness. Thus you should determine the right pitch for your persistence, attune the pitch of the faculties, and there take up the object [of meditation].”

When I finished the meditation, the day was lighter. I decided to write this post for Sunday. When I finished this, I looked out to a clear blue sky. (Susan Nettleton)

(gratitude to Bodhipaksa and "real Buddha Quotes")

August 15, 2021

Look upward! It's been a rough week for news: the surging Pandemic, vaccine and mask refusal, the devastating Dixie fire, the U.N. Climate report and international upheavals. I sought my own freedom from the collective burden by heading outside. While on an evening walk, I turned onto a neighborhood street with pines at least 4 stories high. Despite the recent heat, they were thriving. Most bore newly sprouted short branches up and around the lower trunks. The short new growth sprouted vibrant green needles, making the trees resemble gigantic bottle brushes. In a flash, I saw the unrelenting and reassuring resilience of nature. But my eyes only briefly hovered there; instead, the magnetic view pulled my vision upward. It was a moment of gratitude and peace for such beauty and power in these times of human struggle. I felt awe.

The ancient idea of God (or gods) above in Heaven and humanity below on Earth, remains a deeply rooted spiritual image despite our knowledge of a round globe, suspended in infinite space, spanning all directions. The image has it's usefulness, reminding humanity of what we do not yet know and more importantly, what we do not control. We understand the meaning of pointing upward to the spiritual level, or letting our eyes gaze upward in prayer, just as we may bow or lower our heads in times of reverence. The western Bible has many references to this upward turning and Jesus, despite his Oneness with God, would publicly pray with eyes turned upward (e.g. John 17:1, 11:41). Physically, the upward gaze can sometimes signal a medical condition, but spiritually, it is part of the human psyche--even if momentary--allowing our humanhood to acknowledge our dependency and faith in something greater than the solitary self. Even when we have assimilated the realization that the Allness of God or Transcendent Good is indeed an inner reality--the actual essence of the self--our upward gaze has its purpose.

In 2015 a research article: "Awe, the Small Self, and Prosocial Behavior" by Paul K. Piff , et. al. was published online by the American Psychological Association. The article describes 5 psychological experiments providing the first experimental evidence that awe creates a diminished sense of individual self and self concern and increases prosocial behavior. One of those experiments measured the effect of awe, generated as the participants stood gazing upward for 1 minute in a grove of towering trees. Unlike the control group which looked up at a building, the tree group reported both an increase in their own ethical behavior and a decrease in their sense of individual entitlement. The underlying dynamic suggests the towering impact of nature shrinks our inflated sense of self importance, pointing us to a broader social context and our place within our community. This shift includes taking action to help others in ways that benefit society as a whole. While further research on awe is now being done that tracks awe in other natural environments beyond "looking upward" (and even through video and virtual reality experiments), my point today brings us back to the immensity of nature, to those living trees.

Sunday is a time for spiritual renewal, which is also your part in the renewal of collective consciousness. We need to nourish our inner life and paradoxically we can find that nourishment outside. Begin with a tree. Look upward. (Susan Nettleton)

For a link to the cited research, click here then scroll to 'Articles and External' links: https://hillsidesource.com/philosophers

For poetic inspiration, follow the link: https://thewellnessalmanac.com/.../when-i-am-among-the...

August 8, 2021

This morning I am reflecting on our capacity to say "Yes". As the Pandemic turns from 'fading out' to resurgence, with the Delta variant rapidly spreading, those who have refused vaccination put not only themselves at great risk, but also contribute to greater risk for children and the immune compromised. And with rising cases, potentially even more threatening mutations can emerge. The right to say 'yes' or 'no' continues as a political debate with serious consequences.

This Sunday though, consider a larger spiritual perspective on yes and no. To say "yes" to something automatically brings with it a "no" to something else--an aspect of duality or the opposites inherent in the world. Developmentally, infants first individuate by learning to say no; refusal is the beginning of separation and autonomy. Some people struggle with autonomy their whole life, but over time, most of us mature and learn the joy inherent in "yes", while maintaining our ability to say "no". Yes and no are relevant spiritually when it comes to our choices in the world. As Lao Tzu says in The Tao te Ching (No. 38, Witter Bynner trans.)

..."False teachers of life use flowery words

And start nonsense.

The man of stamina stays with the root

Below the tapering,

Stays with the fruit

Beyond the flowering:

He has his no and he has his yes."

When we enter the spiritual life, we have our 'no' to distractions and conflicts that confuse or undermine our spiritual intent. We have our 'yes' to spiritual practice and guidance. Eventually though, the spiritual life is not about autonomy, it is about surrender. As the great statesman Dag Hammarskjöld put it: “I don't know Who — or what — put the question, I don't know when it was put. I don't even remember answering. But at some moment I did answer Yes to Someone — or Something — and from that hour I was certain that existence is meaningful and that, therefore, my life, in self-surrender, had a goal.”

I personally had such an experience after many early spiritual experiences -- choice points and turning points; some were times of clarity and some were times of struggle, but this one clearly stands out as the moment Hammarskjöld describes. It was an overwhelming energy entering my heart as a question. It was not a question I can articulate, but it was asking permission, and this time there was no doubt. My heart answered, "Yes."

Only after that "yes", can we move pass the autonomous "no", and say as Hammarskjöld said:

“For all that has been, Thanks. To all that shall be, Yes.”

August 1, 2021

This morning I am reflecting on a short message written by Emmett Fox, called "Raise the Shades". In it, he uses the classic New Thought analogy for finding the Good of Life and a path to spiritual healing: you do not fight with darkness. Whether "darkness" is the idea of evil, or some difficulty or illness that is a source of anxiety, or a dark view of your life and your relationships, deep faith places it's attention on the Good that underlies life. "When you switch on the light in a room you do not have to chase the shadows out through the door or window. The light floods the room, and all is well, for darkness is not an entity; it is only the absence of light". (Emmett Fox)

Over the course of the Pandemic, I have written many times on "feeding" the light. Emmett Fox moves us beyond any sense that we must put forth personal prayer effort to "create" light. That would be like sitting in a dark house with every window closed and shades pulled down, while we work to make the sun shine brighter, so the rooms too will be brighter. Rather, the teaching has always been that the Good that we are seeking is here. Our prayer and spiritual practice is to lift the shades and open the windows of our minds and hearts to the Light all around us. This doesn't deny our opportunities to participate in society and cultures' attempts to better the conditions of the world through scientific breakthroughs and medical advances, through social reform and avenues of justice, and through challenging our human destruction of nature and our environment; it means the source of our direction, creativity, and progress is spiritual Light in an ongoing process of God's unfolding Good.

This Sunday, pull up the shades and open the windows. Yes, today may be extraordinarily hot--all the more reason to grasp the metaphor of Light. (Susan Nettleton)

For poetic contemplation on opening your window follow the links:

https://dltk-kids.com/poems/sill/window/index.htm

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../today-56d21ebdad746

July 25, 2021

Friday night in the U.S. was Guru Purnima, seen here in the west as the Buck full moon. The Sanskrit word Guru is derived from the word Gu, meaning ignorance or darkness, and Ru meaning elimination or removal. A Guru is someone who removes ignorance, providing light and knowledge to the student. Purnima is a term for full moon. So Friday night's super moon was also the day to acknowledge, celebrate and offer gratitude for our teachers on various levels in India, Nepal, and Bhutan by Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.

I was reminded of this festival and it's relationship to the summer full moon by texts from two different friends that day. Later in the evening I remembered the moon, and took a peak out my window. The pull to the window was timed perfectly. I saw a huge full moon, absolutely glowing. It was a soft globe, hovering over the tops of pine trees lining the street. The sky had just a bit of ivory haze, further softening the face of the moon and highlighting a dramatic portrait: large mellow round eyes, a long slightly slanted, bent nose, and a mouth in a gentle smile. Heaven's beneficence was smiling at the earth in these times of great need. I thought of centuries of tribes, communities and lone travelers who had seen such moons and how natural it was to feel it as alive, as a watchful presence. That night the moon was powerfully magnetic and magnificent.

On Saturday, I started receiving texts from others sharing their moon stories--all with the same amazement and spiritual wonder. Even though living in different time zones, and looking from different angles and viewpoints, it was as though we had unknowingly met one another at that moon. And despite our collective struggles with the Pandemic, weather disasters, climate change, and political conflicts, the skies offered humanity support. I knew in other areas of the globe, the Guru Purnima festivals were being celebrated. Gratitude was the feeling of the day.

A Zen story, from Paul Reps' classic "Zen Flesh, Zen Bone" came to mind: Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing to steal. Ryokan returned and caught him. “You have come a long way to visit me,” he told the prowler, “and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.” The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away. Ryokan sat there, watching the moon. “Poor fellow,” he mused, “I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon.”

The moon, like the sun, is available to us all--expressions of the great mystery and beauty of life. They too are our teachers, our Gurus. Why not spend some time with them, drinking their light? (Susan Nettleton)

July 18, 2021

Today I want to pull you further into love from a spiritual perspective. Let's consider two quotes from two different spiritual traditions. From the 13th century Sufi poet and Islamic scholar Rumi: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

Then we have Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher, Martin Buber who wrote: "Every lock has it's key which fits into and opens it. But there are strong thieves who know how to open locks without keys. They break the lock. So every mystery in the world can be unriddled by the particular kind of meditation fitted to it. But God loves the thief who breaks the lock open: I mean, the man who breaks his heart for God." (Ten Rungs: Collected Hasidic Sayings)

Both of these spiritual writers point us in the same direction; Love already resides in the human heart, but it is hidden and buried behind layers of armor. Each of us have our individual stories of love that include our feelings (and thoughts) toward ourselves, other people (romance, family, deep friendships, strangers), other creatures, life itself, and the spiritual realm. Each disappointing experience, or painful loss or rejection, adds it's own layer of what we accept, consciously or unconsciously, as protection from accumulated pain. But in doing so, we actually have less and less access to Love. We are further and further removed from Love's life enhancing, healing power. We are further removed from the source of creativity and connection. We are less alive, blocked in our capacity to both give and receive.

This time of Pandemic has brought fear, pain, loss and grief. It has also brought new heights of discovery, compassion, and giving. As cases begin to rise again, the pull to withdraw, to return to or remain in a shell of protection, can be strong. Can we lay aside the barriers of our heart, unlocking the power of Love, even as we put on our masks again, follow through with vaccines, and listen for the next step? This time Love can lead. (Susan Nettleton)

July 11, 2021

Today I am posting a link to a poem I read at this Sunday's Zoom Service, "A God with Heart". This poem by American poet e.e. cummings sings of heart connection that cuts across the forms of life and weaves them together in the spirit of love and joy. This morning I spoke of Divine Intimacy, the experience of being in close companionship, a heart connection that allows for spiritual love, an exchange between our human identity and the source of our life, as we cultivate a deepening intimacy with God in prayer and meditation. To discover God as Love, especially in overwhelmingly difficult times, we may need to drawer nearer. "Draw near to God, and God will draw near to you." (Bible: James 4:8).

Although in New Thought, we affirm our oneness with God and all of life, Divine intimacy implies some degree of space between us with our human limitations and God as the powerful realm of spiritual possibilities. Theological scholar and writer Evelyn Underhill makes the point, that the space that creates separation is necessary for love. It hit me, reading this poem, that "the wonder that's keeping the stars apart" is that separation. All creation exists because of space, which is separation, and yet... the connection remains. Love binds Creation's parts in the paradox of Wholeness we name God. (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.poetryoutloud.org/.../i-carry-your-heart.../

July 9, 2021

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

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)

11:00 AM Mountain Time

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