Coming Home to the True Self

HOMECOMING - Return to the SOURCE

Over the past weeks of the Christian Lenten Season, I have been reflecting on the True Self. To help, I have undertaken a study of Richard Rohr's book  ' Immortal Diamond' Our life long journey or pilgrimage ( in the Celtic Tradition) is to both recognise the False Self  or ego and to embrace its 'Shadow' and thus find our True Self.

I find ( and have found) the following quote from Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh very helpful, affirming and challenging.  In essence, the True Self is always there. However, our ego self can fail to either recognise or acknowledge this. Nhat Hanh's words of wisdom provide a pointer towards realising  and welcoming home the True Self.

    HAPPY EASTER 

to all Travellers and Pilgrims on their Journey Home

SILENCE is GOLDEN - The Wonder of Creation

OUR NEED FOR SILENCE AND STILLNESS

Both modern Neuroscience and Ancient Wisdom stress both the benefits of and the urgent need for times of Silence and Stillness.

We live in a world saturated with noise and busyness. We know that this, exacerbated by the over-use of modern technology, is the cause of much stress and thus  distress.

We enter the Christian Season of Easter - a time devoted to many special Services and Rituals. Many of these are full of vocal prayer. While this can be useful it can also be another 'distraction' . We can be in danger of creating a God both in our 'image' and one we can grasp with our minds. Thus we can often end up 'talking TO and ABOUT God ( A mystery beyond the ability of our minds to understand.) . In short, we so often fail to LISTEN. 

The ancient sages and mystics of all the Spiritual Traditions stress the importance of Silence. In silence we can meet together, regardless of culture, religion or any other diversity. There we can reach a point where the Mystery can touch us  and refresh our Body/Psyche and Spirit. There , in Silence and Stillness we can be open to the experiential 'knowing' of the Mystery.

The Indian  Poet Rabindranath Tagore - a Hindu Mystic  speaks of how Silence can be experienced through the wonders of Creation , which is the  1st Book of Revelation for all humanity. The Ancient Celts, the Native Americam Peoples, the aboriginals peoples of the world, all recognised the beauty of Nature and its inherent ability to 'teach' us about Creation and its Source.

Perhaps, in the coming weeks it could help to sit or stand silently in front of a tree in blossom and reflect on its 'power' to teach us all.

 Take a moment of silence to listen to  and watch this short rendition of Tagore's Poem  , which speaks of our ready access to the Mystery through Silence ( see below) 

HAPPY SILENCE ! 

 

LOVE not TERROR

A GOD in OUR IMAGE ?

Our world seems transfixed by terror - well if you focus on the Media this is how it appears. Perhaps this is because we not only seem to have created a '  Punitive God ' ( by whatever name we call it the Source of Creation ) but also  recent advances in neuroscience tells us that our brains  are configured to focus on the negative.

Put simply 'we cling to negatives like Velcro and positives slide of us like Teflon'  In these times of over-focusing on violence & terror  I  have found this wonderful poem helpful. It is by the African Poet Ben Okri and it speaks for itself.

 

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE - Trinity

Reflection on Love

We have entered the Christian Season of Lent and are nearing the celebration of St Patrick - the Patron Saint olf Ireland . In Celtic Spirituality  there is a great emphasis of the Law of Three and thus a great reverence and reference to the Christian 'model' or 'image' of God which we cal TRINITY. . The Celrtic Symbol for Trinity is shown oppoosite

Trinity is basically LOVE in ACTION  and  therefore Lent is a time to reflect on the great dynamic power of LOVE.

Before going any further , let us share and reflect on a great quote from Thomas Merton about LOVE

 

For me,this clearly states the true nature of Love and reflects the outpouring of Trinitarian love throughout all creation. This concept of Unconditional love IS NOT unique to Christianity. It is reflected in many of the Spiritual Traditions. The Celtic 'mandala of the Trinity ( shown above) is, to make one example,  reflected in the Hindu Trimurti.

The vital importance of Love is that we are all created out of love, are made for love and return to LOVE.

 

 

Reflecting on the TRUE SELF

OUR JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF THE TRUE SELF

Our Journey in search of the True or Real Self  paradoxically results in us returning to the place where we first started. It is a journey back 'home'. I find the following quote from  Thomas Merton, a  great Christian Spiritual Master so telling and true .

 

Encounter with Mystery

ENCOUNTERING THE MYSTERY

( a short 'reflection' ) 

In our quietest moments and at our deepest centre, human beings have always been aware of, and attracted to, their  inherent sense of mystery that lies both at their heart and the  heart of creation. 

This awareness and attraction to mystery is all around and within us. We are each faced, at our deepest depth, with the essential questions ‘Who am I’ ? , What is my ‘true’ self ? and How am I connected to the Ultimate Source, the Self that is the Mystery at the heart of creation?  These are existential questions and, although we often deny or suppress them, they bubble beneath the surface of our awareness and if ignored can lie at the heart of our inner restlessness and angst.

All the Spiritual and Faith Traditions have struggled with these questions and the mystics, sages and teachers of the past have provided some pointers and possible answers. There is a wonderful story from the Zen Buddhist traditions that attempts to provide an answer or, response, to the questions

The Candle & the Mirror

A Chinese Empress once asked a Buddhist Master about the relationship between the ONE ( Mystery) and the Many. The Master sat for a moment and then has a series of mirrors placed all around the room – to form a complete circle.

He then placed a candle in the middle and lit it. The Empress was both moved and delighted by the wonder and splendour of the reflected light.

The Master explained that the light from the candle was the ONE and the reflections were the Many

This story provides us with a useful metaphor that is a typical of the many attempts that can be found in all the Traditions. They can provide us with a view of the Mystery at the heart of our being. This Mystery reaches out to all and invites us to enter into a deeper on inner relationship of Self to self. This is an invitation to an encounter with the Mystery . 

 This is an example of the I : Thou relationship outlined by the famous  philosopher Martin Buber. Encounter is a central concept for Buber and for his theory of relating. For Buber, this encounter   occurs with ‘God’  or Mystery  ( by whatever name you call It) who is the eternal Thou and who sustains the I/Thou relationship. 

 

This spiritual I/Thou relationship is one of total encounter and  many examples can be found in the Jewish Scriptures and the Hindu Upanishads.  It also has echoes from Celtic Spirituality, where ‘presence’ is such an important part of encounter (See the Resources page of the Satsang Website www.satsang-companionship.org.uk ‘Echoes of Creation )    

 In this ‘encounter, this ‘Presence’, this I/Thou relationship between the person, others , the environment  and Mystery, there is a unity of being, a sense of ‘indwelling presence’ one to the other. Thus there is no barrier of other relationships which separate the individual from Mystery , and thus there is direct communication. All is seen as ‘Presence’, be it Mystery, nature, the environment or people.

Discovering True Joy

Discovering True Joy

We live in a world that can easily get fixated of the search for pleasure and not Joy.  The following quote is offered as a short reflection on true Joy

 

Day of Reflection with Sister Ishpriya

               

“There is a Crack in Everything, that’s how the Light gets in”

L Cohen song

A Day of Contemplative Encounter
Led by Ishpriya Mataji

Saturday 18th March 2017 9.30am– 4.30pm

At The Kairos Centre, Roehampton, London SW15 4JA

About Ishpriya Mataji

Ishpriya is a spiritual teacher and guide. Although English by birth, she has lived in India among Hindu holy men and women for many years. Along with Vandana she founded three Christian ashrams for dialogue with Hindus and for meditation and spiritual practice, drawing on the wisdom of east and west. Ishpriya is the last remaining of the Christians who led the Christian Ashram movement in India, alongside Abhishiktananda and Bede Griffiths.

As well as an in depth experiential knowledge of eastern spiritual traditions, Ishpriya has a doctorate in western psychology. She has taught and led retreats world- wide and has a gift for integrating our Christian heritage with the wisdom of the east.

About the Day

This will be a time for us to explore ways of relating to our world, in which darkness appears to be gaining ground at all levels. This world needs light and love more than ever, so finding ways to live and radiate peace and joy to those around us is vital for ourselves and the world. To do this we need to be in touch with our own inner resources and the Source of all life. This requires a deep faith/certainty that there is more to life than the material, and that true happiness comes from within not from without.

Ishpriya Mataji, will take us on a journey to explore how we can unveil our inner resources, and bring them to our world, to become the cracks through which light can come in. This day will show that there is a clear, simple and radically practical way to live this fullness of life, while journeying through the demands of contemporary daily living.

During the day there will be teaching, with time for reflection, stillness and questions.

Cost: £25 for the day with concession of £15 for those on low income.
Schedule: 9.30am -10.00am for tea and coffee. Lunch break: 1pm – 2pm, bring your own lunch. Tea and coffee provided. End of day: 4.30pm.

To book: click here

New Year - A Time to Reflect

EXAMINE THE GROUND WHERE YOU STAND

New Year is a time for reflection. It is an opportunity to look back , to pause and to look forward to the coming year ( our future). 

We can often err when we make 'rash' resolutions as these are often rooted either id 'wishful thinking' or in external pressures from our culture, religion etc.  Both Neuroscience and personal experience demonstrate that we are 'creatures of habit' and thus very rarely either keep or manage to achieve our new year resolutions.

To ensure ANY lasting change we need first to both recognise and understand exactly who and where we are at this moment in time. In truth  the 'lure of the distance' , often a wishful and imagined future, is truly deceptive. I find that it  is better by far to focus honestly on the present, to recognise who and what I am . In short, to examine the ground where I currently stand.

The ancient mystics of all Traditions have always encouraged us to stay in the present moment and , once there, then decide the next step forward. This is a more certain path and one where many have successfully travelled before.

I wish all who read this a Happy, Peaceful and Love-Filled Year

Advent- A Time for Reflection

An Advent Reflection

Regardless of our Faith Tradition ( or none) it is important to remember that we are human BEINGS not human DOINGS. The Christian Season is a time to pause and to reflect on our True Nature and Source.  The following Reflection from Sister Ishpriya is respectfully offered to all