Category Archives: Spirituality

Links to Spirit. Tools to live and love by.

The Healing Pool of Light

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Rainbow
Help us to be ever faithful gardeners of the spirit, who know that without darkness nothing comes to birth, and without light nothing flowers.
May Sarton

Let the space between your thoughts expand. Notice the calm, open silence behind the words and emotions in your mind. Let those cloudy thoughts clear, leaving only open space. Breathe into that space. With each breath, take in the space around your body. It is part of you. You are part of it. Flow into it.

Prism colors of broken light roam the stillness of a quiet pool, a murmuring rainbow of forgiveness and compassion. Purple cradles your tears and opens your compassionate heart. Blue gives you confidence. Red fires your passions. Orange tickles joy. Green calms you. Yellow offers forgiveness. Drop your thoughts and fears into the pool and watch them disappear into its cool darkness.

Soft willow branches wait patiently in their free falling fountain as you let fears flow from you. You let your limbs go limp and droop down to rest in the soft, mossy grass surrounding the pool. You flow into you.

Now jump into the pool and splash everyone around you!

Humanist Spirituality, a Primer

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Humanism is the practice of taking a rational approach to improving the problems of the world and finding our place in it. Spirituality usually means adherence to a faith based belief, some explanation of the cosmos which fulfills a deep human need, but which is ultimately unprovable. So the idea of a Humanist Spirituality doesn’t make sense. Right?

The need for understanding the big picture is universal. Mystery and awe are spices which our psyches need to balance the crusty, pedantic reality we face daily. The purpose of religion and spirituality is to fill those needs. My question is, must spirituality imply belief in something non-empirical, non-observable?

Buddhism is a good example of a rational, empirical spiritual practice. There are no gods, no dogma, yet there is much description of valid and attainable truths, culminating with enlightenment. Yoga has a similar spiritual component, as does Taoism.

Paganism, though commonly debased and dismissed, has great validity, especially today. We busy ourselves with progress while our planet is being destroyed by corporate greed and consumer blindness. Teaching a humble respect for Mother Earth as a primary rule of a healthy spirit might help turn the tide.

All the above traditions have irrational components, remnants left over from cultural traditions long outdated and disproved. But each one has a valid sense of the human need for connection to something greater than ourselves and liberation from the suffering of life. Rationality fails to take us beyond a certain point. Humans need some kind of poetic and comforting practice through which to understand or at least fathom the mysteries beyond rational analysis.

Perhaps a hybrid of the two might fill both requirements. A set spiritual practices based on physiological knowledge of the need for mystery would be a beginning. The next might be to include a set of affirmations like the ones chosen by the Humanist Society. I explore some of these ideas in this article on Humanist Spirituality.

Gratitude

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Though I inevitably suffer from some depression during Winter, I have found ways to maintain an even keel during these shadowed times, to alleviate their unbalancing effects. I allow myself more time to get things done. I allow more “non-directed” time, such as watching TV or just staring out the window, basking in the sun. I forgive myself for not being able to keep up with the world.

Gratitude is another tool for maintaining a positive attitude. A friend of mine keeps a gratitude journal, where he daily notes whatever he can be thankful for. Giving thanks from the heart is healing. It helps us see the glass half full, or even a third full, rather than focusing on what’s missing. With conscious effort, one can reach beyond the natural waves of selfishness which lap at our awareness to a soft place in the heart for offering the gift of gratitude for all that you have.

Gratitude also takes practice! Since it’s given silently from the heart, there’s little discernible evidence that you’ve opened your heart, except to yourself. Those who don’t practice feeling gratitude in their hearts may quickly lose perspective and begin to think they aren’t getting their fair share of happiness, popularity, wealth or love from the world. They can become bitter and poisoned.

Another stumbling block to gratitude is guilt. You may remember your mother telling your to finish your food because children are starving in Africa. Well, it’s true. It’s easy to feel guilty for being selfish, for feeling unable to give gratitude. To that I say, keep it simple. Don’t feel guilty, feel blessed. Just feel blessed.

It’s no wonder gratitude is an integral part of any religious or spiritual practice. In yoga, one says “namaste” with palms together. In Buddhism, one bows with palms together. In Christianity, one prays in thanks with palms together.

So, don’t forget to practice giving thanks daily for what you have. Ask yourself if you are truly giving thanks this Thanksgiving week. Put your palms together to focus the energy of your heart and open the faucet of gratitude. It may squeak a bit at first.

Lessons from Artists

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May Sarton was a poet and writer. This soulful advice applies to any life, where we often wonder if our good deeds and intentions are received.
May Sarton quote
May Sarton’s quote sums up the ideal spirit of the artist, or creative blogger, who, though they may not be recognized for the level of depth they feel and intuit about humanity or spirit or life, the communion with others is a given. They must trust that somewhere, someone is soaking up the intended beauty, no matter how remote or unrefined or inaccessible. In other words, create for its own sake and let it go.
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The Place of Infinite Peace

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Green Infinite Inner PeaceWe all have the ability to know our natural state of inner-peace. It’s always there, always accessible…but not always our main state of being.

For the past few months, as Summer faded through Fall and into Winter, I have felt the pull of darkness in my spirit. This happens to me every year. I’ve written poems about it, fought it, tried to nurture it, but it always happens. Shorter days and colder temperatures dampen my spirits.
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