Making Peace with Self and Nature

HOPE FOR OUR FUTURE

The future well being of humanity and the earth is dependent on a new world view in which the care of the planet, nourishment of the soul and the nurturing of the human community are integrated and seen as a continuum. In the following You Tube talk, +Satish Kumar, an Earth Pilgrim , outlines some aspects of his personal Journey of discovery and life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EQ1HtzXxQU&feature=related

The Virtue of Reflective Practice

REFLECTION  & CRITICAL THINKING

( finding a better balance)

We live in a fast moving and dynamic world where new discoveries are occurring almost daily and where all professions , branches of society and sciences are challenged to remain rooted in truth and yet open to new  ideas. Most of the other main professions recognise our tendency towards thinking and the inherent imbalance between reflection and thinking . Therefore , they exhort followers to develop the attitudes and skills of Reflective Practice, combine this with genuine Critical Thinking and live a more balanced life.

The Table below outlines some important issues that contrast  Reflection and Thinking and are then followed by some important points about DEEP REFLECTION  or Meditation

REFLECTION  (PRACTICE)	(CRITICAL)THINKING
Emphasises the instinctive or intuitive	Emphasises explicit reasoning and debate  or discussion
Is expressive and inquisitive and explores  spirituality and religion as  a way of life and a journey into relationship	Is analytical and strategic, linking  knowledge bases , such as Scripture and other books etc to practice and worship

Emphasises learning through practice and personal experience of the Mystery

Emphasises deconstructing Religion by  examining processes, worship and

written Scripture

Appreciates that  the world and creation have meaning that can both inform and give deeper understanding to the Spiritual Pilgrim

Understands the difference between empirical information ( facts) , and attributed  meanings from  written tradition and personal perceptions

The Classic Challenge for Reflective Practice : -  Being sensitive to others  while at the same time being true to one’s personal experience of  the Indwelling Mystery . Remaining open , awake and aware  that each unique being has a personal journey back to the Source of Life we  refer to as God

The Classic Challenge for

( Critical) Thinking : defending current religious thinking and practice in a dynamically changing world. Remaining mindful that theology is constantly shifting in response to new knowledge and new understanding of the contextual issues that inform our Scriptures, Religions and cultural influences.

DEEP REFLECTION – Spiritual Wisdom

Spirituality is much older than the main Religions. Spirituality has been around since the dawn of humanity and we have over 70, 000 years of recorded evidence. Religion is a more recent expression of our human spiritual experience, it is ,at most, only 5000 years old.  

The Spiritual Wisdom has much to teach us about Reflection and provides many useful Spiritual Practices to aid our reflection. . Ultimately Deep Reflection  ( meditation) is a state of profound inner silence  and peace , a state of not thinking, of just being aware. And in this state of awareness, deep truths rise up within. Therefore, Spiritual Pilgrims can learn much from our past, from other professions and their own experience and thus develop a Spiritual Practice that places a greater emphasis on the value and virtue of finding moments of stillness and silence to aid Reflection.   Like salt or yeast, moments of reflection  add a great deal to life’s balance.

Peter Creagh

ECOLOGY & SPIRITUALITY

As part of our regular Satsang Meetings we look at a variety of Spiritual Practices and issues.At our recent Day of Reflection we looked at Ecology and Spirituality. One of our areas was the contribution of Native American Spirituality. The following two prayers were used to aid our time for personal reflection

Native American Prayers for the Earth



UTE FAMILY & DWELLING

The Native American Ute peoples are part of the Uto-Aztec peoples  of the Americas .No-one knows there exact origin. However, from about 1500 they were known to occupy the South Western Part of the United States, in present day UTAH, Colorado and New Mexico.

Like many of the Indigenous  peoples of North America, and  in common with the many Aboriginal peoples of the world, the Ute people had a spirituality that was rooted in Nature and in their understanding of the land, the environment, their inter-connectedness with all  creation and  their sense of the  In- Dwelling Presence of the Spirit.

The following is a typical prayer from their Spiritual Tradition.

Earth, Teach Me

Earth teach me quiet - as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering - as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility - as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring - as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage - as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation - as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom - as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance - as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal - as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself - as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness - as dry fields weep with rain.                                                    

An Ute Prayer

 The following is a prayer from the Iroquois Native American Tradition. These were a peoples who occupied the North Eastern Part of North America, in Modern day New York and up the Quebec.  Like all of the Native American peoples, the Iroquois have a profound and deep reverence for Creation and its wonderful diversity of nature, creatures and peoples.

Thanksgiving

We return thanks to our mother, the earth, which sustains us.

We return thanks to the rivers and streams, which supply us with water.

We return thanks to all herbs, which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.

We return thanks to the moon and stars, which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.

We return thanks to the sun, that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.

Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit, in Whom is embodied all goodness,
and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.

Iroquois

The Wisdom of Reflection -Swadhyaya

Three Circumstances for Making Wise Choices

+Sr Ishpriya recently released a video clip on both You Tube and the ISA Website 
Its subject was Free Will. Now this got me thinking about the responsibility free will 'imposes' and its various choices.  I was also aware of our upcoming Day of Reflection and their place in my rhythm of special times set aside for deeper reflection. This led to the following brief reflections:

If we accept that we possess Free Will then this requires us to be responsible for our choices   and their consequences. However, it can help to be aware that there are three main mental, emotional and spiritual states we face when making choices.


First of all there are times when feelings are unsettled and our thoughts are in turmoil.

Sometimes our emotions are in turmoil when we ponder and struggle with the alternatives. We may experience many strong feelings as we face the prospect of choosing—anger, fear, confidence, confusion, hope, sadness and many others. Wise Spiritual Teachers warn us about making decisions at these times because these situations require us to more carefully observe, understand and interpret these feelings. We could all benefit by taking time out to discern the spiritual meaning of our feelings and thoughts and discover how they point us to the right choice, a choice based on deeper wisdom.

Secondly there are times when seemingly there is no doubt.  

Sometimes the right decision seems unmistakably clear. We know what the right choice is. All we need do is act on what we know. However, we often put off acting on what we know and this can be both puzzling and frustrating. However, the reality may be we don’t know enough either about the situation or our real self. Once again we could benefit from taking time out discern the spiritual meaning and discover how this could  point us  to the right choice.

Finally there are times when our emotions, thoughts and spirits  are calm.

These are the times when we can we approach a decision in a tranquil and settled frame of mind. This is probably the wisest and easiest time for decision-making  because we can bring to bear our wholeness, our oneness and all the power of our emotional, thoughtful and spiritual self to shine a light on our choices. These are times of real spiritual discernment and wisdom. All the great Spiritual Traditions have examples of how great Teachers took ‘time out’ to discern and make wise decisions and statements.

Reflection or more correctly self-reflection is a spiritual necessity. In the Hindu Tradition it is one of the 5 Niyamas – It is known as Swadhyaya. – Study of Self by the self. One focus of this niyama is learning from our own lives. We are our own teachers. Lessons abound for us. There is a reason that we are here in this life now and part of that is to learn.  Swadhyaya lasts a lifetime .

So , perhaps our task and responsibility as Spiritual Seekers,  could be to set aside times for Reflection that  help us reach  moments of calm – because in those moments we can more readily enter periods of Inner Silence and Tranquility  and thus both Listen to and  ‘hear’ the inner voice  that enables us  find our Inner Moral Compass, to more fully understand and be aware of our choices  and thus discern the right choice.