On Steadfastness

Lately I have been seeking to understand the meaning of steadfastness. N recently wrote about two stories illustrating steadfastness here.

In reading Baha'u'lla's The Seven Valleys this morning, I read about a quote from the Qur'an, "Guide Thou us on the straight path," which a Sufi leader named Khajih 'Abdu'-llah explained in a way that I think really helps illustrate what steadfastness means: "Show us the right way, that is honor us with the love of Thine Essence, that we may be freed from turning toward ourselves and toward all else save Thee, and may become wholly Thine, and know only Thee, and see only Thee, and think of none save Thee."

Amazing Peace

Here is a beautiful poem so well suited to the holiday season. As I reread it, it also seems so appropriate for this particular moment, with this new year on the horizon and the message of hope our new American president brings.
This poem also seems particularly well suited to this month of unity, for it seems there can be no unity without peace -- peace in our hearts, peace in our relationships, peace in the world.

AMAZING PEACE by Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.

Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
implore you to stay awhile with us
so we may learn by your shimmering light
how to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.
On this platform of peace, we can create a language
to translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.
At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ

Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues the coming of hope.
All the earth’s tribes loosen their voices to celebrate the promise of
Peace.

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace.

We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace.

We look at each other, then into ourselves,
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation:

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.

Arising to Serve through Religion

I am still distilling the multitude of things that I learned at the Southwest Regional Baha'i Conference in Los Angeles last weekend, one of 41 conferences being held around the world over 3 months (you can read a report on the event here). One lesson that came across quite clearly is important role each of us plays in service to humanity. We must all arise to serve. Each of us has unique talents and skills and all of these can integrate into a larger whole to build unity and harmony across this planet.

Many people (particularly here in Santa Cruz County) consider themselves spiritual but are aversive to organized religion. I can appreciate this perspective. Indeed, in the Baha'i Holy Writings Abdu'l-Baha writes: "An essential principle of Bahá’u’lláh’s teaching is that religion must be the cause of unity and love amongst men; that it is the supreme effulgence of Divinity, the stimulus of life, the source of honor and productive of eternal existence. Religion is not intended to arouse enmity and hatred nor to become the source of tyranny and injustice. Should it prove to be the cause of hostility, discord and the alienation of mankind, assuredly the absence of religion would be preferable.… In this sense the absence of religion would be at least some progress toward unity."

While it is so important to keep this perspective of religion, of not letting it become a source of discord, I also recognize that being part of a larger spiritual/religious community helps to further this purpose of building greater harmony and unity in this world. Abdu'l-Baha writes also about religion:

"Superstitions have obscured the fundamental reality, the world is darkened, and the light of religion is not apparent. This darkness is conducive to differences and dissensions; rites and dogmas are many and various; therefore, discord has arisen among the religious systems, whereas religion is for the unification of mankind. True religion is the source of love and agreement amongst men, the cause of the development of praiseworthy qualities, but the people are holding to the counterfeit and imitation, negligent of the reality which unifies, so they are bereft and deprived of the radiance of religion. They follow superstitions inherited from their fathers and ancestors. To such an extent has this prevailed that they have taken away the heavenly light of divine truth and sit in the darkness of imitations and imaginations. That which was meant to be conducive to life has become the cause of death; that which should have been an evidence of knowledge is now a proof of ignorance; that which was a factor in the sublimity of human nature has proved to be its degradation."

This is something I am going to be thinking more about, that of how being part of a religious organization helps us in better developing "praiseworthy qualities" and translate these into action so that we can have the most positive impact possible. With all this in mind, I was quite moved to read the following quote today:

"Join those who are serving so that you are united in changing this world to a paradise established by God, a paradise where there is prosperity and beauty for all and where all are honored in who they are." - John Morton

Welcoming the Day

"Let us have a vision now, an experience within that we take into this world, where we see our feet firmly upon the ground, that we welcome this day. We welcome the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We see the beauty, we know the harmony and the peace that is God's will being done. We see that each condition and every moment is a blessing."
- John Morton, Institute for Individual and World Peace (From: "The Blessings Already Are," p. 57-8)

Brain vs. Heart Speed

Over the last couple days I've been envisaging, in talking to N and N, how our brains can get ahead of our hearts. Things may sink in rationally before they do emotionally.

Intellectually, we may understand trust, detachment, acceptance, etc. We may even think that we've learned these lessons and managed to acquire these virtues in particular relationships. But fully learning--in the sense of internalizing--these lessons (i.e., letting go of jealousy, covetousness, distrust, attachment, other insecurities) may take longer, emotionally. I have personally experienced the self-judgment and frustration that results from this lag time. And, as far as I can tell, I'm not the only one. When I think I've gleaned a particular lesson, I become frustrated when I find myself still having emotional reactions that stem from the lower self (see examples in previous parentheses). I've blogged about this before -- I tend to judge myself harshly and get angry with myself for even having these very human reactions, particularly when I think I "should have" already moved beyond having them. How to find peace in this situation? I propose that it must start with removing the self-judgment that arises in such a situation; let's replace the judgment with love, patience, understanding, compassion, and forgiveness. Perhaps this emotional learning requires a lifetime of effort. Perhaps we learn it in phases (I'm envisioning those glass jars with different colors of sand, one layer on top of another, that I used to create as a child). I suspect that as we make progress in learning one virtue it will likely help reinforce others (e.g., learning trust may help us to more freely love, and vice versa). And, quite likely, our growth trajectories may be imperfect. We may learn in bits and spurts, and sporadically take dips and turns and have moments in which we find ourselves in valleys of doubt.

I am uncertain how often emotional and spiritual learnings start at the intellectual level -- most of the time? sometimes? all of the time? What's your opinion, dear reader? But beginning with the assumption that our brains and hearts move at different speeds requires that we be patient with, loving and forgiving of ourselves, and I trust that exhibiting these qualities to ourselves will help us to grow spiritually.

On Unity, a Poem

In honor of this month's virtue of the month, unity, I am posting this poem by one of my favorite poets.

Working Together
David Whyte (from The House of Belonging)

We shape our self
to fit this world

and by the world
are shaped again.

The visible
and the invisible

working together
in common cause,

to produce
the miraculous.

I am thinking of the way
the intangible air

passed at speed
round a shaped wing

easily
holds our weight.

So may we in this life
trust

to those elements
we have yet to see

or imagine,
and look for the true

shape of our own self,
by forming it well

to the great
intangibles about us.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a seemingly appropriate time to reflect on giving thanks... and I have so much for which I'm thankful. The list could surely go on to infinity, so I'll just touch the highlights for the last month. In particular, the intense experience of having recently undergone emergency surgery for internal bleeding, while temporarily removing capacities/abilities I normally have, provided a wide window for increasing my sense of gratitude.

This month I am so grateful for:

beautiful, vivid sunsets out my back window
rain and the green green grass it produces
autumn colors, especially in the vineyards in Napa
the sound of ocean waves crashing, heard from my street and kitchen window
live music
books and movies
delicious food and an enjoyment of cooking

for having enough to eat, and a renewed appetite for food
having a roof over my head, and my own bed in which to sleep
having a job that I enjoy, especially in the current state of the economy

for a competent surgeon
pain medication and the advances of Western medicine
and living to see another day!
bodily intuition
a high tolerance for pain, and the strength of knowing that only that which profiteth me shall befall me
for compassionate nurses
a hospital room with just one patient bed and a fold-out chair for my beloved to sleep in
for the power of pain to bring unity, compassion, patience, thanksgiving and love
for the miraculous power of the body to heal

for laughter, and the ability to laugh
the ability to cough
the ability to sit up
the ability to pee by myself (and many more like this)
the ability to walk
the increasing ability to stretch again

for prayer and positive healing energy (please keep it coming!)
for spiritual growth

the love and support of dear friends, new and old
instant communications technologies that put me in touch with loved ones around the world
having such a loving, kind, generous, supportive, accommodating, open-spirited, and accepting family

and, most of all,
for having found someone who feels like my soul mate
for his constancy and devotion
his strength of character and ability to help calm and ground me in the most difficult of times
his love, compassion, sweetness, goodness, reason, nurturing and support...
(this sub-list could go on for infinity)

I have so much for which to be thankful.

Love and Thanksgiving

In the past month I learned that an attitude of thankfulness increases the outpouring of love. I observed that I felt a greater spirit of love towards those people for whom I felt a sense of thankfulness; conversely, when judgments or other qualities of the lower self impeded my ability to be thankful for another person, loving also lacked. It goes the other way too: love seems conducive to thankfulness.

Are all virtues foundations for other virtues? Can one ever really be separated from another?