just folks
Even if and though much so-called spiritual writing moves me to screaming tears, impatience and sleep-inducing boredom, I usually appreciate and enjoy Father Richard Rohr's daily meditation. Maybe it's because he is not closed-minded, often brings in thinking from other disciplines, RC, other Christian and non-Christian, and I relate to his open Franciscan perspective, which to me is real, and reasonable religion instead of woo-woo-woo drift off into the ozone Share a Little Tea with Goldie.
Like others in this week's series, his piece today, about experiencing "some form of death—psychological, spiritual, relational, or physical" is personal and relatable for us who are still spaced-out in the war zone left behind by Hurricane Michael. The outside world, and we see that it is truly "outside" to us now, goes on, moves on no longer mindful of us; while our streets and roads are still cluttered with storm debris, our houses still trashed and ruined, unlivable, uninhabitable. For many, our means of livelihood is gone because where we worked is in shambles. Many of us are not "refugees" at all but still living in the nightmare because we have no where else to go, to take refuge. It's death as Father Richard's column calls it, physical, psychological and also relational for those who have had to move away permanently, not to return. It's an experience of death as he writes of it, death before death.
In some ways - - and still mindful of Father John Claypool's "for every loss there's a gain," even if you have to stop and think about it, look for it, perceive it - - I think it's good for us, good for our souls to experience what so many others, maybe most others, encounter in life. We may think we are, but as Americans, we are not used to hardship, especially the hardships that probably most folks in the world know, some, many, again maybe most, as the way life just is for them. There's an expression, "Why can't you act like folks?" I think it's being laid on us now, to live like folks, act like folks. I'm going to think about it today, Thanksgiving Day.
This (scroll down) is a good meditation.
Dying Before We Die
Like others in this week's series, his piece today, about experiencing "some form of death—psychological, spiritual, relational, or physical" is personal and relatable for us who are still spaced-out in the war zone left behind by Hurricane Michael. The outside world, and we see that it is truly "outside" to us now, goes on, moves on no longer mindful of us; while our streets and roads are still cluttered with storm debris, our houses still trashed and ruined, unlivable, uninhabitable. For many, our means of livelihood is gone because where we worked is in shambles. Many of us are not "refugees" at all but still living in the nightmare because we have no where else to go, to take refuge. It's death as Father Richard's column calls it, physical, psychological and also relational for those who have had to move away permanently, not to return. It's an experience of death as he writes of it, death before death.
In some ways - - and still mindful of Father John Claypool's "for every loss there's a gain," even if you have to stop and think about it, look for it, perceive it - - I think it's good for us, good for our souls to experience what so many others, maybe most others, encounter in life. We may think we are, but as Americans, we are not used to hardship, especially the hardships that probably most folks in the world know, some, many, again maybe most, as the way life just is for them. There's an expression, "Why can't you act like folks?" I think it's being laid on us now, to live like folks, act like folks. I'm going to think about it today, Thanksgiving Day.
This (scroll down) is a good meditation.
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
From the Center for Action and Contemplation
Death and Resurrection
Dying Before We Die
Thursday, November 22, 2018
Thanksgiving in the United States
In one way or another, almost all religions say that you must die before you die, and then you will know what dying means—and what it does not mean! Your usual viewing platform is utterly inadequate to see what is real. It is largely useless to talk about the very ground of your being, your True Self, or your deepest soul until you have made real contact with these at least once. That demands dying to the old viewing platform of the mental ego and the false self. There is just no way around that. If you do make contact, you forever know that something is there that can be talked about, relied upon, and deeply trusted. You move from religion as mere belief to religion as a new kind of knowing.
Kathleen Dowling Singh explains why we must die before we die: “The ordinary mind and its delusions die in the Nearing Death Experience. As death carries us off, it is impossible to any longer pretend that who we are is our ego. The ego is transformed in the very carrying off.” [1]
Some form of death—psychological, spiritual, relational, or physical—is the only way we will loosen our ties to our small and separate false self. Only then does it return in a new shape which we might call the Risen Christ, the soul, or the True Self.
What dies? Your false self—and it is just a matter of when, not if.
Who lives? The God Self that has always lived, but now includes you.
Note that it’s a what that dies, and a who that lives!
Note that it’s a what that dies, and a who that lives!
Once you know that life and death are not two but are part of a whole, you will begin to view reality in a holistic, undivided way, and that will be the change that changes everything. This is nondual consciousness. No one can teach you this. Even Jesus had to walk it on his own, which is the only meaning of God “requiring” his death of him. Jesus calls this goal the “destiny” of the “Human One” (Mark 8:31), and he seems to know that he is a stand-in for all of us (Mark 10:39)—much more than he ever walks around saying, “I am God”! The only person Jesus ever calls a “devil” is Peter when he, the so-called “infallible” first pope, tries to oppose Jesus’ central message of death and resurrection (Matthew 16:23).
Gateway to Presence:
If you want to go deeper with today’s meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and invitation.
If you want to go deeper with today’s meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and invitation.
[1] Kathleen Dowling Singh, The Grace in Dying: A Message of Hope, Comfort, and Spiritual Transformation (HarperOne: 2000), 219.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self (Jossey-Bass: 2013), 59-60, 62, 66, 81.
Image credit: Autumn Leaves (detail), Koan, 2018