"Intuition Is Your Superpower" by Diana Lang
Your intuition is like a superpower. We use it every day in a thousand ways. We use is it in every transaction, negotiation and relationship we engage in.
Intuition is a deep inner listening.
And we all have this ability.
Intuition is a faculty of higher mind. It is a kind of extra sensory perception, as it were. Intuition allows us to discern between the billions of information bits that we are thinking, to discover by filtering through all of this sensory data, the common denominator, which is: the truth of something.
BE A SUPPORTER OF DIANE LANG’S WORK
"Freedom from a Punishing God" by Sam Alexander
When you’re a Christian preacher sometimes you get a real earful concerning the nature of the Christian God. Things like this, “I despise the Christian God with his arbitrary judgments. This God who makes people feel ashamed of who they are and doles out punishments to the guilty. Guilty of what, being human? I want nothing to do with the Christian God. All he does is rip families apart, cause hatred, condone prejudice, send us to war, and let unspeakable acts of violence be perpetrated on the guiltless.”
BE A SUPPORTER OF PATHEOS AND RE. ALEXANDER’S MINISTRY
“ENTERING INTO THE KINGDOM — excerpt from THE KINGDOM WITHIN” by John A. Sanford
We have already seen that the kingdom is within all of us. But paradoxically only a few among the multitude will find their way to the kingdom. The many will pass by and not notice its reality, and even some who have been expressly invited to enter will not accept God’s invitation. So Jesus declares
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:14)
Those who do enter the kingdom are those who have come to recognize the reality of the inner world and to respond to its demands upon them for consciousness. This must always be an individual act of recognition; it cannot be accomplished so long as we are identified with a group. Yet most of us find our sense of identity only in our membership in the Church, the nation, the political party, or the gang on the street corner…
BUY JOHN A. STANFORD’S BOOKS
"What is Vedanta?" by Randall Friend
Vedanta is a "non-dual" tradition of Hinduism. It is similar in many ways to other non-dual traditions such as Zen or Dzogchen Buddhism, Taoism, Christian Mysticism (Gnosticism) and Sufism of Islam. The Advaita is a "section" or branch of the Vedanta which says that there is a singularity of reality, a "Unity" or an essence that underlies everything that appears to be.
Advaita means no-dos. This is not a path, nor a practice. The Advaita is a direct description of reality as it is.
Vedanta means the end of the Vedas, the end of all knowledge, unlearning, non-knowing. Through research on the nature of reality, called "knowledge of Being," the seeker comes to the realization of the non-dual nature of Reality.
BE A SUPPORTER OF MR. FRIEND’S BLOG
"A Revolution of Authority" by David Steindl-Rast
The editorial staff at What Is Enlightenment? magazine ask: These days there is a wary climate regarding people who hold themselves out as spiritual authorities. There is a tendency to be very skeptical about the possibility that someone could be a genuine authority. Yet traditionally it’s been fairly common for people to seek out a spiritual teacher for guidance, and to commit themselves to that teacher. What are your thoughts on this?
Brother David replies: Some twenty years ago, there was a much greater openness to making anybody who came along and seemed to have some great credentials for teaching your guru. Nowadays many people have been burnt and they will look twice. That is skepticism, and it can easily become cynicism
BE A SUPPORTER OF BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST, OSB and A NETWORK FOR GRACEFUL LIVING
"A Friendship, A Love, A Rescue" by Parker Palmer
“…I stand among you as one who offers a small message of hope, that first, there are always people who dare to seek on the margin of society, who are not dependent on social acceptance, not dependent on social routine, and prefer a kind of free-floating existence under a state of risk. And among these people, if they are faithful to their own calling, to their own vocation, and to their own message from God, communication on the deepest level is possible. And the deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless. It is beyond words, and it is beyond speech and beyond concept.” ~Thomas Merton
— The Asian Journal of Thomas Merton
I met Thomas Merton a year after he died. I met him through his writing and through the communion that lies “beyond words,” met him in the seamless way good friends meet again after a long time apart. Without Merton’s friendship and the hope it has given me over the past forty-five years, I’m not sure I could have kept faith with my vocation, even as imperfectly as I have.
THANKS SO MUCH TO MR. PALMER FOR GIVING US GREAT INSIGHT INTO SUCH A SPECIAL MAN
“The Negative way” by Ryan Phipps
In the study of theology, if one studies long enough, it’s likely that they will come across a method of study called, “Via Negativa.”
Via Negativa is the Latin for, “The Negative Way.” It’s a type of theological thinking that attempts to describe God by negation— to speak only in terms of what may not be said about God.
The Irish theologian and philosopher, John Scotus Erigena defined Via Negativa as such:
“We do not know what God is. God does not know what God is because God is not any created thing. Literally God is not, because God transcends being.” ~ John Scotus Erigena
BE A SUPPORTER OF THE CHURCH IN BETHESDA
"The Self-Hatred Within Us" by Sharon Salzberg
I often think about a memorable conversation I had with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1990 while we were at a small conference in India sponsored by the Mind & Life Institute. At one point during the event, I had an opportunity to ask the Dalai Lama a question, so I ventured,
“Your Holiness, what do you think about self-hatred?”
He looked at me seeming somewhat confused and asked in response: “What’s that?”
BE A SUPPORTER OF HIS HOLINESS AND THE WORK OF MS. SALZBERG
"A Toxic Image of God" by Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM
Your image of God creates you. This is why it is so important that we see God as loving and benevolent and why good theology is still important.
One mistaken image of God that keeps us from receiving grace is the idea that God is a cruel tyrant. People who have been raised in an atmosphere of threats of punishment and promises of reward are programmed to operate with this cheap image of God. They need deep healing, because they are actually attached to a punitive notion of God. Many experienced this foundational frame for reality as children, and it is hard to let go. It gives a kind of sick coherence to their world.
BE A SUPPORTER OF FR. ROHR AND CAC
Are Humans Special? by David Loy
Obviously we are a unique species. Just look around: humans have transformed much of the surface of the earth, remolding it for our own convenience. We have fulfilled God’s injunction in the first chapter of the Bible: “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26) A few chapters later our dominion is reiterated: “And fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air . . . into your hands they are delivered.” (9:2) We may wonder what it means to be made in God’s image (more on that later), but our superiority to all other creatures is thereby divinely sanctioned, with the apparent implication that they exist for us to use.
BE A SUPPORTER OF TIKKUN AND DAVID LOY
“To Become Aware of Our Egoic Mind (excerpt) Radical Happiness: A Guide to Awakening” by Gina Lake
To begin to live in the moment more fully, we have to become aware of our egoic mind, what it is thinking, and how true those thoughts are. The good news is we don’t have to do anything to develop that awareness. We have always been aware of our mind or we wouldn’t be able to recount what is in it or think about our thoughts. Something else is present besides the mind that has always been aware of it and everything else that is occurring in the sensory mechanism we call our body. This awareness, this Noticer, this observer, is you, the real you.
BE A SUPPORTER OF MS. LAKE’S WORK
"What is Wisdom?" by Peter Russell
Humanity is too clever to survive without wisdom.
~ E.F Schumacher
What is wisdom? We hear the word a lot these days—the need for wisdom, the wisdom traditions, wisdom schools. We each would like to have more wisdom. And for others to have it as well. Too much human hurt and suffering comes from lack of wisdom. But what is this quality that we hold in such high regard?
Most of us are familiar with the progression from data to information to knowledge:
• Data are the raw facts; the letters on a page, for example…
BE A SUPPORTER OF MR. RUSSELL’S WORK
“Philosophy of the Tao” by Alan Watts
The subject of this seminar is going to be Taoism as contained in the teachings of Lao-Tzu and Juang-Tzu who lived approximately 400 years or more before Christ, separated probably by 100 years from each other. And as is often repeated, Lao-Tzu started out by explaining that "The Tao which can be explained is not the eternal Tao," and then went on to write a book about it, also saying "Those who say do not know; those who know do not say." Because there's nothing to be explained. You must remember that the word "explain" means to lay out in a plane. That is, to put it on a flat sheet of paper.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE ALAN WATTS PROJECT
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and the World’s Religions by Laura E. Shulman
The human pursuit of religion serves a function in our lives. There is a purpose or goal to being religious. Be it the goal of salvation or enlightenment, comfort and guidance for living a moral life, or any of a number of other “higher” purposes in life, religions clearly encourage us to move beyond a life motivated by self-centeredness and pure animal instincts for mere survival. This observation about the ultimate goals, purpose or function of religion can be related to the classic theory of a hierarchy of human needs proposed by Abraham Maslow (1908-1970). 1,2
Religion tends to fulfill the higher needs. Starting with a need for the comfort and camaraderie of community, religion also addresses our need to respect and be respected by others [the “Golden Rule”] and, ultimately, to be all that we can be as “God” created us to be or, in the case of many Eastern religions, to become “enlightened” – thus “self-actualized”.
PLEASE SUPPORT RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE.ORG
"Living and Dying with Dignity: A Buddhist View" by Dr. Yoichi Kawada
In supporting people as they make difficult ethical decisions, Buddhism does not offer a set of fixed rules. In the case of medical-related decisions, such rules could be rendered outmoded or meaningless by further technological advances. Rather, it seeks to enable people to develop a deeper and clearer understanding of the nature of their own lives and the lives of others as a basis for such decisions. Specifically, it seeks to help people develop the wisdom and compassion that will enable them to experience a lasting sense of satisfaction and happiness. In this sense, Buddhist “precepts” are best understood as an internalized ethic of compassion that guides us toward becoming active, contributing participants in the creative evolution of the universe.
PLEASE SUPPORT DR. KAWADA’S WORK
"Letter to a Christian Teacher on Biblical Inerrancy" by Keith Basar
Dear Friend,
Often I think that our inescapable cultural baggage, meaning our fragile egos and the influence of all who've crossed our way, "make being certain a necessity." Clearly, this is a reality that can never be — thus an exclusive product of our own heads!
What I have questioned for decades is that the scriptures, beautiful and inspiring as they may be, are simply the product of a theologically divided church (367AD), and a power hungry Emperor Constantine (which Luther and those who followed him viewed with anathema) who sought to bring political stability and power to the western Roman world.
"Names of God" by Matthew Fox
Fourteenth-century mystic and activist Meister Eckhart says “all the names we give to God come from an understanding of ourselves.” If he is correct, then as humanity’s self-understanding and understanding of the cosmos evolve, then clearly our God-names will evolve in response.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow reminds us that the Book of Exodus is also known as the Book of Names because God goes through two name changes within its pages. Why is this? In his article “When the World Turns Upside-Down, Do We Need to Rename God,” Waskow suggests it is because “the old Name cannot inspire a new sense of reality … God is different when the world is different.”
PLEASE DONATE TO MAKE POSSIBLE THE CONTINUATION OF TIKKUN AND ITS WEBSITE.
"If There is No Self, Then Who’s Sitting Here?" by Sunada Takagi
Does the Buddhist idea of “no self” strike you as bizarre or outrageous? Sunada has been reflecting on this difficult concept, and shares her thoughts on it so far. It isn’t just an obscure philosophical point for mental gymnasts, she says. Paradoxically, she thinks the ideas can help us in a very real way toward finding and becoming more of who we really are.
If I asked you who you are, what would you say? Many people might begin by telling me what they do for work – teacher, software engineer, accountant. But no, I’d say. That’s the work you do, not who you are. If you changed or lost your job, that identity would disappear. So who are you really?
SUPPORT MS. TAKAGI’S EXCELLENT WORK
“A Sacred Marriage” by Amoda Maa
There is a tendency on the spiritual path to focus on the mind-qualities of illumination—such as clarity, insight, and wisdom—and to perpetuate the idea of an all-seeing, all-knowing God-like state as the pinnacle of self-realization. This emphasis on mind-illumination is prevalent in both old and new spiritual teachings of enlightenment. But a great error is made when supreme wisdom is upheld as the most precious prize. Not only does it keep the carrot of awakening just up ahead and never quite reached, but it also ignores the vital importance of the heart. It is only through the tenderness of the heart that an illuminated mind can flow into our humanity.
The heart is what feels, and feelings must be felt in a direct way—otherwise all sorts of imbalances arise. I’m not talking about the drama of emotions—I’m talking about the tenderest of feelings, those subtle whispers of doubt and confusion and failure and rejection and loss that are inevitable parts of the human experience. Even enlightened beings have a human experience.
BE A SUPPORTER OF AMODA MAA’S WORK