| |
| |
|
Spirituality Information |
|
|
|
Meditations From a Spiritual Journey
For me, the best poetry stirs my soul; it awakens my spirit through its clarity and simplicity. Its purpose is clean, pointing me towards greater understanding of who I am in this world, or, even better, towards comprehension of the divine that indwells both this world and me. It is this comprehension, this movement towards the divine, that enables each of us to make this world better as we work for justice and an "acting-out" of the divine's attributes. Much poetry that is published does not fall into this category for me. I find it bland; I struggle with the lines, struggle to make sense of it, and eventually give up. But every once in awhile I am rewarded with a rich vein of spirituality comes to me. William Simpson, spiritual master of the Conscious Living Foundation (www.consciouslivingfoundation.org) has provided this vein for me, in his recent book, From the Path: Verses on the Mystic Journey. The poems in this book are food for the soul, providing both inlet and outlet for contemporary journeying with the divine. Mr. Simpson is well aware that spirituality is a journey, that one never arrives. Through his long years of meditation, Simpson has discerned that each of us is here for a purpose. For him, part of that purpose was to record these sixty-six poems "found" during the course of his summer meditations in 2004. (He also includes a helpful primer on "first steps," described on the back cover as "practical techniques for growth and transformation.") While he wrote, he struggled with his self-with whether the poems made sense, or how it would end. This struggle demonstrates the reality of the spiritual life as we move between the two poles of doubt and faith, darkness and illumination. This struggle is clearly scene, and enhanced for each of us, in several of his poems. For example, in "And So I Sit," Mr. Simpson details the difficulty in maintaining a spiritual practice: "Distracted and enticed by / Flaws and indiscretions / I am pulled away from / Your presence." The joy of knowing the divine is attested in "To Rest In You," even with the awareness that a glimpse of truth now is not the end of the journey: "What a relief to rest in You! / To let go of pain. / To let go of tension. / To just let go?. / And what of the world? / Terror and war." Finally, we learn in "Another Kind Of Love" that the path to the divine is learned and lived by love: "There is another kind of love. / One without an unfulfilled desire. / One that seeks no selfish end?. / When the best way / To get it- / Is to give it- / Purely. / There is another kind of love." We can thank Mr. Simpson for showing us how to dance. It is up to each of us to follow his lead and enter into this mystic dance. Jeremy M. Hoover is a freelance reviewer and proofreader. For a quote on proofreading, or to request a review, email Jeremy at jeremyhoover@gmail.com or visit his website, http://hooverreviews.blogspot.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Spirituality - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
True Health Some may ask, is there any truth to have a healthy life. I say yes it is. Dear Lord As I sit here and ponder my existence my heart is burdened by much. See I seek you but feel so unworthy of you, unworthy to be looked on by you. De-materialization #1 Come on now!? Really? This is going too far, you might say. Eastern philosophy tells us there are seven layers of manifest physicality and spirituality. A Mothers Battle The tongue is such a tiny little organ. Yet, it can be one of the most powerful weapons. GOD 1.0: The Universal OS Welcome to the GOD 1.0 Tech Support Page. Grace - The Divine Influence of God The greatest frustration in a Christian's life is not being able to get what they believe to work in their lives.You've got people who have studied and believed that it's God's will to heal them. Creating A Tithe Account Almost every spiritual and religious teaching exhorts its followers to donate a portion of their income to the support of the community and the common good, both as a way of ensuring (and insuring) the community's ability to care for its own and as a way to allow the tither to realize the extent of and to express gratitude for their own success. Although each religion and sect has its own idea of what constitutes a proper tithe (usually around 10% of the participant's earnings), the concept of tithing is a wise and long-standing tradition - one that each of us should be encouraged to add to our lives. Stepping Into the Darkness One of the "loopholes" in my philosophical belief system when I was younger (and at this point in my life, that means "almost middle-aged"! ) was whether or not there was an evil force in the universe equal to God who served as man's adversary. He was the original "bad guy," and the human race seemed to be caught between these two invisible forces - one of good and one of evil. 7 Wake-Up Calls-Avoid Self Sabotage to Discover Wealth and Prosperity with the Angels of Abundance It's an almost unbelievable thought, but could you be getting intangible value from having less money than you'd like? Is there something holding you back from attracting all the money you deserve but you can't figure out what it is? Is there some way your deepest beliefs and secret thoughts are sabotaging your best efforts to make money? Try these wake-up calls on for size and see if any of them fit.1. Honoring the Sacred in Everyday Life How many of us rush blindly through our days, fall into bed exhausted, and wake up the next morning to do it all over again? For many of us, our lives are composed of millions of meaningless moments, all strung together -- perhaps with a sprinkling of sacred moments mixed in. I'm sure you can think of a few sacred moments in your own life. What The Bleep is All This Quantum Physics Stuff About? "Quantum Physics is the science of gods? Newtonian Physics is the science of the small minds of men."CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA: Now don't get me wrong. The Psychical Research Foundation Karen was the name of the reception person, who sat behind the desk one Saturday morning around noon when I dropped in. I had never heard about them and was actually planning to find the J. Conquer Your Fears I cringed lower into the seat of my grey metal desk, yearning for the faded yellow floor to swallow me into oblivion. A crimson heat spread from my forehead to my neck; my legs trembled uncontrollably. Satan... Im Not Impressed! One important factor in how we go through life is our attitudes. The way we think, whether positively or negatively will have a very big affect upon what happens to us during this course of a lifetime. The Star of Bethlehem It was said that Caesar Augustus one night consulted his personal sibyl (fortuneteller) and asked her if a prince greater than he would ever be born. As she searched for an answer in her sacred books, the place was lit up by a meteor that flared in the dark sky. The Pizza Parable Behold, a certain young maiden did often times and at strange hours greatly desire a pizza. This would often happen in the second or the third watch, when home delivery was not available. Mystic Vision Opens Mind Body Connection Worldwide extensive research is being published related to the mind-body connection, and many investigators have come to the conclusion that the mind is simply not confined within the brain, that the brain is a vehicle for the mind, and not the source of the mind.So phenomena like out-of-body experiences and near-death experiences and so on can only be explained if we expand our understanding of the mind. Enlightenment Takes You to Selfishness An act of selflessness is the highest expression of selfishness and unconditional love because it considers the soul first.Selfishness does not preclude consideration of others, but selfishness is necessary before consideration of others is acted upon. Kindness There is an inherent generosity in the human spirit to be of help, to be of service to others. What is it that makes us decide to be of service. Bringing Heaven to Earth: Looking for the Good Everyday I am challenged to find the good in things: world events; newspaper headlines; hometown issues; even my marriage. Of all of the Spiritual Scientist characteristics this one seems to go in and out of focus the most.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
