1 Dec
Drifting Reflections
Image by Richard Lamb Photography via Flickr
(The following was written in my personal journal on the 28th of November, while on retreat.)
It does my heart good to sit on familiar wooden frames while staring at an open sky framed by shapes, sounds and vibrations. As it just so happens, many more people have discovered my sacred place and now fill the surrounding spaces providing both a comforting background noise as well as a constant low level vibration which slowly sooths my arthritic bones.
Staring at the old familiar shapes on the raised platform allowed for simple visions and thoughs to come forth from the depths of hollow and empty voids; nothing overly fantastic, but simple personal discoveries.
One such thought which permeates everything I see is directed towards the use of personal affirmations. Have I been wrong in their use prior to these new thoughts? Now the overwhelming urge which arise are not to use them, but to no longer use them.
Affirmations are used readily in the healing world, but have become nothing more than tools for healers to charge more money from their clients. Few today actually use them as intended: for healing. The simplicity of the statement, “I am” should be strong enough to stand on its very own without clouding it with fluffy phrasing. Nothing can be more powerful than helping a client discover “I Am”, giving them individual personal empowerment through self discovery and realization. It’s so simple, yet so powerful. I can be nothing more than what I am at this moment, and in this moment, I am: letting go of all expected outcomes, just allowing the totality of being to permeate the core of personal existence.
Something crawling to the forefront of my mind is telling me it’s not so much about the actual affirmation, but the empowerment behind the transformation an affirmation can bring: universal acceptance of the self, through the self, and by the self.
Image by Will Hale via Flickr
But then my mind began drifting away from the subject of affirmations, and it suddenly hit me; not all at once, but slowly as my eyes moved from inspiration to inspiration. The subject matter changed from affirmations to true universalism, or catholicism. It is not about Christ, his passing, his resurrection, or even about his life. It is not about any of the traditions, whether Hebrew, Christian, Buddhist, or any of the other traditions. It is not about prophecy, epistemology, or even about eschatology. It is not about religion, or religiosity. It’s not even about the fact that men and women wrote something attributed to a deity thousands of years ago, its about the truth of the message contained within, behind, and in between the written words. It is about the pureness of the reasons behind the thoughts and written events: forgiveness, compassion and love; not just for a few people or for select groups, but universally for all people, even those once deemed unworthy, and even for the self.
Christ’s love was never withheld from anyone including those who were against him; those we would consider his enemies. He viewed them with pure love and truest compassion, and even proclaimed all should love their enemies as they do their friends. I don’t know that I’ve ever read a passage where the Christ withheld his love from any individual INCLUDING Judas his betrayer. He got mad at people, but never withdrew his love.
It matters not if the stories regarding the Savior are real or fallacy. What does matter is the truth behind the stories. What does matter is the investment of personal growth in the faith in which one subscribes.
Image by TitaniumDreads via Flickr
The story of Christ is not about the development of a new religion, it’s about embracing our own individual inner-beauty and finding peace within ourselves. It’s about us coming to terms with our own beings and how we connect with those around us. It’s about our connection to the great Divine of existence. Many of us celebrate that existence through the Divinity of the Christ; the Son of God, but in truth it could be celebrated through all of the varying stories of religions across the globe. It could be celebrated through the great stories of the Prophet Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh, or the attainment of enlightenment by Siddhartha, also known as a Buddha. It could be celebrated through the diversity of the Mayan culture, or Maori peoples. The truest test of Universal acceptance, love, compassion, or understanding is that it does not matter what the tradition, no one deserves to be condemned for their beliefs: no matter what anyone else says or the reasons others have for condemning other belief systems.
True catholicity depends on the Universal love and acceptance of all beings; regardless of origin, regardless of individual paths or the diverse celebrations established by each of the groups.
True love, true compassion, and true acceptance has no set boundary as to which group deserves acceptance, love, or compassion: they all do.
There should never be a case where anyone should ever condemn another for their beliefs; no matter the reason, and no matter the outcome. Those who condemn other beliefs or practices show only their boorishness, contemptible behavior, and infantile understanding of the true universal commonality all beings on this earth share.
The truest vision of perfection, is there exists no imperfection: all are equal.
Sit in your own silence and discover for yourselves your own truth.
Peace.
K
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