A Letter to Luther!

Dear Luther!

It is a joy to be your grandfather. I look forward to sharing your growing up years with you. The world you are now born into is a marvelous and challenging place. Your generation has great opportunities ahead. I pray to be a substantial help in your growth toward your potential. I'm trying to create this letter to you but also to the other new Pilgrims on a spiritual path in this world. Our spiritual path is so much more important than a particular religious path. Before diving into this important and simple but complexified(by us) subject I've just got to draw a comparison between the two pictures above. You have beautiful eyes and they are very busy right now taking in so much new information. No wonder there is such a pondering look on your young lips in that picture. On the other hand the picture on the right shows a very satisfied and restful soul. I just wonder what, if any, thought is going through your young mind in that countenance. I believe that you are reflecting on the mind of God where you have come from to share with us all. On the other hand that look could be tied to a basic male fixation with the breast :o) Maybe both :o)

So this is a letter to an inquiring or questioning mind. Such questions as "Where is my lever, and where do I stand?" "Where is the fulcrum for that lever?" "Am I a Christian?" More about these and others later. First a word, or several, about your name.

I did not know well your namesake, Luther Ray Truelove. I honored him and saw him as a strong silent type of man. I know he loved his kids and grandkids. These are very good things. Another "Luther" to consider is Martin Luther. He was a Spiritual man in the 1500's in the middle of a troubling religious system during the birth pangs of the reformation. I see us at a similar time in our spiritual history. We are again reforming but this time I pray with Gods help you will instead of throwing out the old you will just do it better. Honoring our past and transcending upward to a world of Peace and Love. As Bob Roskind says..."when the love of Power is replaced by the power of Love".

Another strong Luther is from a more recent period of history. Martin Luther King Jr did it better in some ways than even Abraham Lincoln. His social justice mission and non violent approach brought down racial barriers which had still been in place even after the legal abolition of slavery. I'm sure when you go to school you will hear his "I have a dream" speech. Listen well little grasshopper. Saying something is wrong is only truly valuable when it takes firm root in the soul of mankind. I see your generation as being one to carry forward this period of transcendence to its fruition.

I had questions about your name and at the outset would have preferred the shorter version of "Luke". I liked "Cool Hand Luke" and "Luke Skywalker" to "Lex Luther" :o) In reality Luther is a fine namesake as I've just related. Luke in the Christian bible is also a fine name. As I understand it the Luke of the Bible was a doctor and we sure could use a healer in this world of ours. And of course your middle name means "the Strong right arm of God"; Michael the Archangel. So you've got a whole lot going for you in your name. A strong arm (I choose "strong Loving arm") of God, a doctor, a reformer, and a social justice and peace activist. You Go Boy!!

So I hope to share most of these blog entries with you as you are older. If that doesn't happen for whatever reason then I pray you will glean some semblance of Truth, Love, Joy and Peace from their pages. In a nutshell here is what I have come to believe in the past 67 years.

The path which I've walked upon the past few years is well stated in this blog and especially the resource list posted a few entries ago. But it does take a while to get through and the the big question is what does it all mean in my heart and soul. In a word the answer is "Love"! Such a simple word has been so misused and misapplied in our history. But that fact doesn't detract from it's validity. Other tenets of my belief foundation would be briefly as follows. There is an afterlife or dimension. There is God and All is in God. God is mysterious and wondrous. God is more of a verb than a noun. Jesus is my Brother and my God in Christ (in Christo as Paul puts it). Christ is not Jesus' last name but His (and our) Beingness.

How does this translate to me and my life? If you Love All Creation (including your enemies) You are of God. We are just here to learn to Love Him (and all creation). In doing this we must stand up for the rights of All (together), But do No Harm. ??? This last statement is a big question and is one our world needs to answer real soon to avoid global meltdown. We (You) can do that if we can transcend above our selfish individual and societal egos. Good Luck and God Speed with that. I don't know about luck But God is able to do this. I Love You! Grampa Bob

The Journey of Man

To understand Jesus in a whole new way, you must first know that Christ is not his last name, but the pre-existent Christ Consciousness that existed from all eternity (Colossians 1:15-20) and his omnipresent identity after the Resurrection—which now includes humanity and all of creation along with it (Ephesians 1:9-11). Jesus became the Christ (Acts 2:36), by his own process of transformation, and now wonderfully includes us in this sweeping, historical, and victorious identity!That’s why Paul will then create a new shocking term “the body of Christ,” which clearly now includes all of us (1 Corinthians 12:12-30) and all of creation too (Romans 8:18-21). What hope this offers everything!So think of the good Jesus, who has to die to what seems like him—so that he can rise as the larger Christ. It is not a “bad” man who must die on the cross, but a good man (“false self”)—so that he can be a much larger man (“True Self”) or Christ. Jesus dies, Christ rises. The false self is not a bad self; it is just not the true self. It is inadequate and small, symbolized by Jesus’ human body, which he readily lets go of. Adapted from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality, p. 191

The past week and next week a group of volunteers are in Bascobel, Jamaica on a "literacy" mission. Most of the people here are very service and stewardship orientated which in a very real way is living out what Richard talks of regarding letting go of our past structure and moving forward in service to others, especially the poor, and Christ. In these schools we are serving they do have a "Christian" focus and devotion as part of the program. Very comforting to me and thought that I'd include one of Richard's reflections of the day I found fraught with quotations from the Bible. I am finding a melding in this country of the "natural" basis of society here, One Love, and the "Christian" structure of our colonial and more recent past. This "melding" is not so obvious at all times. There is very much a part of the culture who stand firmly on the "Christian" past and can have a tendency to be just as fundamental and judgemental as any other persuasion in any other part of the world. The same could be said for those who take the "Natural" position of a minimalist existence very much judging all they perceive as "Babylon". Those who have found a way to hold both concepts in balance are blessed indeed. Having taken a fair amount of time to study Jamaica prior to this visit I believe there are many blessed people on this island. One of the most well known would be Bob Marley. Although he did have a fair amount of human weakness when one listens to his work, compiled in a very short period of years, you feel you are not just listening to a talented musician but also a philosopher, peace and social justice activist, and an advocate for Love among All Gods creation. The movement which came out of Jamaica and spread throughout the world had a very interesting background and an even more interesting destination. The 1930's and as a reaction to a post colonial tension the world saw the birth of essentially a "Black Power" movement in Jamaica with links to Africa and specifically Ethiopia. Bob Roskind's "Rasta Heart" is worth the read to get a good overview of this movement. The ability of people like Robert Marley to morph this movement into a forgiving and loving "One Love" global concept is a testament to the power of positive change. Arguably Jamaica has been one of the most abused and exploited countries in the world. IF they can find a way to rise above bitterness and hate to truly become One Love that is quite an ideal. There national motto is "Out of many, One people". Probably a pretty good motto for the rest of us as well. Of course if you look at this motto in Latin then you have ours as well, "E Pluribus Unim". It seems to be easier to write a motto than to live one. Thanksgiving Blessings to all! Pax Christi! RV

The Labyrinth of it All!

"THE INDWELLING PRESENCE
The essential religious experience is that you are being “known through” more than knowing anything in particular yourself. Despite this difference, it will feel like a true kind of knowing. But it is also a freedom not to have to know!We call this new way of knowing contemplation, non-dualistic thinking, or “third-eye” seeing. Such prayer, such seeing, takes away your anxiety about figuring it all out fully for yourself, or needing to be right about your formulations.At this point, God becomes more a verb than a noun, more a process than a conclusion, more an experience than a dogma, more a personal relationship than an idea. There is Someone dancing with you now, and you are not afraid of making mistakes."Adapted from The Naked Now: Learning to See, Richard Rohr's Daily Meditations. I see the labyrinth form as being an artistic representation of what Richard is relating above.

As I enter this post out here in cyberspace I'm preparing to go for the second time to be an assistant teacher in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We'll be returning Thanksgiving week. I pray that I will be of some help to the teachers(indigenous) and the students down there. It is a very poor country and certainly has a troubled past. Over 98% are direct descendants of the slave trade of the 18th century. If they can truly live "One Love" and forgive the colonial powers then it certainly would be a good example for the rest of us to model. Here's to a month of Thanksgiving! One Love! RV

Welcome! Luther Michael Ward 10/06/11

This past week I have moved into my 67th year and my daughter Veronica presented me with a great gift to celebrate. At 0302 Thursday morning She and Adam gave birth to my new grandson. In the birth of my kids I was always in the delivery room so this was the first time I was limited to the "hallway, pacing mode". Alexandria gave me a birthday card which partly said that "wasn't it cool that I now had a "New Grasshopper" to share wisdom with". I appreciated the compliment and do look forward to being a great grandfather ..But.. I mean to share with her that isn't it also cool that Luther has a wise Aunt to share thoughts with her "Grasshopper" nephew! This has been a Great week! Surrounded with Wisdom and Love and New Life! All testaments to a great and transforming future. I don't know the outcome of 2012 but I do know that I'm ready for it. So what is the meaning of the picture on this post? I chose this huge cypress (I think) because it shows the link between all of creation. The roots are the nutrition for the rest of the organism and symbolizes the link between our past and the new birth (green foliage) which also is a necessary link in survival. The great circle of Life. Years ago I used to travel up to Mt Ashland several times a week during the winter. Sometimes with the window open I would reflect on how the evergreens gracing that mountain reminded me of "the Trinity". As a foundational precept of Christianity it is an important one to theologians trying to find examples of "three in one" in nature. One of the most common is envisioning water in its three stages of gas, solid, and liquid. An evergreen tree with its deep roots (The Father) and its above ground visible existence (The Son) and the scent of evergreen boughs in the gentle breeze (The Spirit) was another example of the precept to me. I suppose that a deciduous tree with its seemingly death and Resurrection would also be an appropriate symbol of our path through life (and beyond). Anyhow, Welcome to the world, Luther! Pax Christi! RV

Island Heart!

So in the recent past it seems that I've been enthralled with the seeming transcendence of the Island Peoples in the world, at least the ones to which I've been exposed. Maybe that has something to do with the microcosmic nature of living on an island and maybe the fact that the populace is primarily an indigenous culture, less commercialized or westernized, probably both. Anyhow this heightened awareness of the natural world seems to be in line with some of the writings of Richard, and others, regarding the need to reconnect with our roots and value the interconnectedness of all creation. We all started there and then went the path of "civilization" which had plenty of advances for homo sapiens but also had the egotistical downside of us "creating" God in our image.

Just finished a couple of books by Robert Roskind, a self proclaimed ex-hippie, a researcher of indigenous peoples and their messages of One Love. The two books deal mostly with the Rasta movement of Jamaica as well as the Hopi and other North American First Nations Peoples of the American Southwest and the Mayan civilization of Central America. The connections and common message speak very well of this movement toward transcendence, forgiveness, and universal Love. He also recognizes that the movement is slow but consistent, kind of like yeast.

Think I'll post a couple of the passages I found in the books which I found very impactful. One of the Rastas which Robert spent time with in Jamaica spoke of "Love AND Respect" as follows and I find this to be very important. "Respect is a thing that people should have in abundance so they can give it to other people because you can't run out. Respect is the foundation of holiness and is not a word to just speak easily. You have to have it confirmed in the heart because that is where the Love vibe starts from." (Rasta Heart, pg.221).

As part of his "reasoning's" with the Jamaicans Robert pointed out that being forgiving and practicing "One Love" is not so easy on a personal level. To which the thought occurred to me that "sometimes it's easier to "One Love" the world than it is to "One Love" your Brother".

Reggae and the Rasta movement certainly have their paradoxical elements and were not totally framed in the "One Love" model all the time and from the get go. However they seem to have taken that focus in recent years and are a consistent voice for Peace and Love in the world. Of course there are the adherents which are just into the movements for the sex, drugs, and music. One of the finest artists in the field, Luciano, has a line which bears sharing. "I look around in the world today, I see the children are going astray. I try to teach them how to kneel and pray and let your love be the only way." Beautiful!

As the end of this post I will enter a few paragraphs from Roberts book "2012-The Transformation" (pg 60-61). It is interesting how his thoughts are reflecting the "duality" comments from Richard Rohr. "It has been a journey into duality, into right/wrong, good/evil, win/lose thinking that has offered humanity much pain and little peace---emotionally, spiritually or physically. This age of duality is marked by delusion and deception, exploitation of the weaker, seeking happiness outside ourselves, and the two ever-present unconscious manifestations of the mistaken belief in separation---the ego and the desire for dominance over others in all their various and twisted forms.

This cycle ends on December 21,2012. It is the "end of life as we have known it for the last 5125 years" and good riddance to it! As it ends, the age of duality awakens to oneness and a new age of unity unfolds. In the past, so often peoples answer to their problems was power. Now it will be Love. This will be a planetary event and, like a rising tide rises all boats, it will touch everyone as the love of power is supplanted by the power of love. As always, every living being will be offered the opportunity to change.

As the new World Age of Unity dawns, we have the free will to choose. As Mayanist John Major Jenkins writes in "The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies & Possibilities:"

"...What we actually experience depends on our choices--- whether we cling in fear to familiar illusions or open to Love and trust to the great mystery that seeks to transform and elevate us...And here's the nub of the sacrifice doctrine: our goal is not the sacrifice of literal hearts. bodies, or even our egos (think 1st half of life here)(Richard's thought), but the sacrifice of our illusions. In that surrender, we loose nothing real but gain everything worth having: our true selves...the galactic alignment of the era-2012 [is] a great opportunity for spiritual seekers to reconnect with the source of perennial wisdom. But we shouldn't wait until 2012, for we are in the alignment zone now [1980-2016]. The time, as always, is now."

When duality started to express itself starting in 3113BC with the founding of the first city-states in Babylon, Sumer and Egypt, it spread across the globe. As it did, because of its exploitive and domination-driven worldview, as well as its advanced weaponry, it quickly conquered and then absorbed into itself all the unity-based indigenous cultures it encountered. It was the same in Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, and then finally in North and South America. Now it is time to re-invigorate this ancient holistic worldview (without throwing out the baby with the bathwater)(me).

Basically, for thousands of years visionaries and unity thinkers have been swimming against the prevailing current of duality. On December 21, 2012, the current changes direction. Unity will be going with the prevailing current. How exactly this shift will manifest on the planet is still unknown but what is clear is that the more our "sails of Love" are extended, the more wind we will catch as this age transforms from the love of power to the power of Love.'

Pax Christi! Roberto

One Love-One Heart!! - Respect!!

The last couple of weeks I've been immersed via a book and two "Gatherings" focused on the Rasta movement. This ties into the last post as this movement is very intimately connected to the One Love / Agape Love essence. This posting will again take a while as the book referred to has several quotes I wish to post and comment upon. I needed to put this "Sherita's Labyrinth" picture on here as this day is the third anniversary of her passing over into the next dimension. I choose to not drag this posting on right now as I want to put this picture out there. I will quote one reference and make two quick comments. It is interesting that two of the best examples of Love in a culture, in spite of poverty and isolation, are observed in island nations. Maybe because they are island cultures? In my experience that would be Hawaii and Jamaica. You have the Aloha Spirit of Hawaii and the "One Love""Rasta" Spirit of Jamaica. More on that later. In addition to Love there is another element absolutely essential to the effective practice of Love. That would be the responsibility to share Love and the need to respect anothers perspective within a spirit of understanding. Two elements I suppose but they are related and intertwined. Similar I suppose to "Namaste" in the Hindu tradition is the Rasta practice of crossing both arms across ones chest and saying "Love and Respect"! Without respecting one anothers position and rights then saying that you "Love" them seems to be pretty hollow.

"The power which you possess is but one side of the coin; the other side is responsibility. There is no power or authority without responsibility, and he who accepts the one cannot escape or evade the other." Emperor Haile Selassie I.

The greatest power one can possess in this life is to Love! Pax Christi! RV

A Circle of Love!

This posting may take a while to unpackage as it is felt to be a summary of where I've been coming from and going to during the past few years. I will attempt to make the picture clear. But as in the picture to the left one can see that all of creation is so connected but very hard to always understand the innerconnectedness. Yes, I know that the proper word here would be interconnectedness, but I'm attempting to recognize that the inter is actually very inner! In just viewing the "Passion" flower we can see different interpretations of its parts as a portion of the Christ mystery but the best interpretation is to just wonder at the beauty of the total picture.

Peace, Blessing, and Wholeness to you All! The Ol Man who is this Roberto Vincente sometimes can be pretty errant in his ways. I am very thankful for second chances, third, fourth..... It seems that in the final analysis the Beatles may have really had the answer when they sang that "Love is all you need". I believe that, but it gets a little messy when you start throwing semantics into the equation. We have the different forms of Love. If you define God as Love, as John the apostle did, and don't allow the ego to hijack the simplicity of unconditional Love, then the community of the world could do just fine. The problem is that when our human ego starts redefining Love then we have the same problem we've ended up with by redefining God, to fit Our image, not the other way round as was intended. It seems to me that as a species we do need to differentiate different forms of Love for social interaction but it is very important to subjugate any of them to the litmus test of the Love of God, focusing on peace and respect for all. In various approaches I feel that the posts contained herein touch on this underlying theme. So as the previous post, a resource list, may guide one to much love of wise teachers I am prayerful the end result of this post will be to outline some of these aspects of Love as represented in my somewhat scattered approach.

Most of connectedness can be seen as a relationship between the ego and love. Not really a battle between them but more of a realization and balance of and between the two, or two hundred. When I speak of love I would like to note a variable. I choose to use the upper case L to denote Agape Love and lower case l to denote the more rudimentary, evolving, human forms of love.

Writing about love is just about as silly an original concept as one can imagine. What thinker, songwriter, philosopher, or advertising mogul hasn't done so. Love, or one persons concept of it, is what gives our world texture and excitement. One can find all manner of definitions of Love in any given culture. Much of our life force is spent finding, defining, defending, hiding from or expressing it. Love can be found in the science of life as well as the mind, emotion, and soul of life. So why am I even delving into such an area which has been so heavily studied, sung about,analyzed and promulgated? I'm not writing anything new and I'm not sure I'm even writing this to anyone but myself. Primarily I am of the prayer this post will help me to better understand Love, and its relationship to this Emergent movement.

Richard writes of a transcendence, rebirth, transformation, from one phase of life to another as a result of "Great Sorrow" or "Great Love", when your ego loses control of your destiny. And many times the great sorrow is experienced as a result of the loss of the great love. So Love is not just a state to which we aspire, or sometimes run from, but also the verb or action by which our movement occurs.

God, is also defined by some as Love. The mystery of God is seen as more than a noun as well. That is part of the mystery or the paradox of God. God, Jehovah, Yahweh, Jah is the creator of all, within all, the goal of all, and as well the life of all. Some call this the life and breath of God. Some call the mystery the Trinity.

The best word or clarification of the word Love I've experienced is Agape Love. Agape is defined as unconditional Love. This form I would define as being the best description of the Love which is God. There are many other words or descriptions of love which we use. As I see it these would be partial expressions or practices of the total, unlimited, unconditional Love which is God. Rob Bells book "Love Wins" essentially describes just how expansive this concept of Love is, how inevitable it is, and how hard it is to practice as humans. Agape would be the apex to strive for in each of these other, more human forms. Hence "Transformation" .

One form of love which arguably would not be love at all but the antithesis of Love is something called "conditional" love. "I will love you if you do....". In many situations we, in our human weakness, will tend to practice this form of (un) love. Good effective parents in loving their children will practice "tough" love. They will attempt to teach by attaching conditions, rewards, or punishment, to behaviors. These are usually necessary for young people to learn a socially accepted path within a culture. Such socialization techniques are just that and should not be confused with whether or not a parent loves their child. It is in withholding love, to achieve a desired behavior or result, where most self esteem issues yield a very dysfunctional human adult.
So Love which overshadows any "necessary" social and cultural mores is a goal of God Like institutions, which is what our institutions should strive toward. The defense of a humans basic rights will be a sign of such an institution.
The degree to which more carbon based forms of love strive toward the Agape God Love apex is a measure of that forms validity and authentication. Just as Jesus is my model and mentor, so Agape Love is my model for other expressions of this driving force of life. To not belabor this topic, as one could read for years if desired I just wish to briefly list what seems to be some of these other expressions of love. The Greeks seem to have given us most of the descriptions in the western world but other languages would be as valid, maybe more so as being less complicated.
In addition to (unconditional) (Agape) Love and Parental (Storge) love we have no less than five other subclassifications. The most difficult to understand and navigate within would be Sexual (Eros) love. This would be the one leading from passion to conjugal relationship. This is also the one which most directly challenges another form, Self (Narcissistic) love. Since one definition of love is "a desire for another to do well" then it will be very hard for a Narcissist to really love another and hence to be in a couple relationship. Narcissistic love is to conjugal love as Conditional love is to Agape Love. I feel the need to state here that Self-Esteem (necessary and inevitable when you realize You are a creation of God) is not the same as Self-love (to the exclusion of others) (Narcissism).
A subset of Parental (Storge) love would be Brotherly or Familial (Philia) love. Brotherly love would be the cement binding together a community or culture. This can lead to the cultural ego set which could be very dualistic and tribal which tends to remove a culture from the path toward Agape. Realizing we are essentially All related in the same creation would amount to being the re bar necessary to the cement of the Kingdom of God.
The last two forms I want to note are "minor" or microcosims of Agape Love. In a way they are easier to accomplish as they usually don't require as much release of ego as the other forms. Friendship (Platonic) love and Hospitality (Xenia) love would be these "baby steps" type of love.
I've certainly not exhausted this subject, and I certainly have not practiced these forms to the Glory of God. Maybe writing this down will help me do better. Keeping my eye on the goal!
Pax Christi! Agape! Aloha! Roberto Vincente

The Container Resource List!

Aloha! World! Richard Rohr's latest book is called "Falling Upwards" and unless you are on the space lab that probably sounds like it's against natural laws. It is a fine book with great wisdom for the individual and in my opinion can be seen as a blueprint for cultures the world over. It does reflect the paradox of mystery. It has been suggested by a very intuitive new friend that in this blog it may be good to have a resource list available at the beginning as well as the current posting. I like that idea a lot as the sequence which a person reads or listens to these teachers could have a major influence on the cohesiveness of the teachings. This is not an exclusive list but highlights the books or resources which I have found most impactful.

The numbers on the left side of this list are the suggested sequence of reading.

Brian D McLaren

www.brianmclaren.net/

1. "The Secret Message of Jesus"

2. "A Generous Orthodoxy"

5. "Everything Must Change"

Fr Richard Rohr - The Center For Action and Contemplation

www.cacradicalgrace.org/

3. The Emerging Church (cd)

4. The Cosmic Christ (cd)

6. We are the Second Coming of Christ" (cd)

9. Falling Upward (cd and book)

Marianne Williamson

http://www.marianne.com/

7. "Saving The Soul of America"

Rob Bell

www.robbell.com/

8. "Love Wins"

I would like to hope that these resources could be of great help in a reader/student being able to form a better lens within which to see the world during the first half of life and facilitate the vision to transcend into the second half (upwards, as Richard presents) Happy reading! Pax Christi! Aloha! RV PS- I was looking for a good picture to represent "The Container" of learning like a great library building. Then I came across the Hammock on a Beach (in Hawai'i?) and thought one could hardly find a better library to relate to the beauty and connectedness of all creation :o)

The Wonder and Connectedness of It All!

Most every day there is available from Richard Rohr a daily thought, prayer, meditation. It comes from the Center For Action and Contemplation. It is sometimes more impactful than others but they are all good. The address is http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/ . Of late I've been riding my bike on the path along Bear Creek. It is a good form of exercise but is also very connected to the birds, butterflies and all in the wetlands. And yes the other bugs and pollen as well. Everytime I find a butterfly in my path I remember the 100 or so we released at Sherita's memorial. A great example of trancendance and connectedness of nature and spirit and our human nature. Several of Richard's tidbits are especially lush statements of this reality as well. I will quote a few of them here but I will suggest signing up for his insights on a regular basis.

"Nature itself is the primary Bible; the world "as is" is the primary locus of the sacred.
Notice that Paul is not saying that Revelation started when the Bible was written. No, revelation started at the moment of creation, what we now call the Big Bang; and the primary Bible is reality, what is! The written Bible has only existed in a nanosecond of geologic history, and a very small part of human history.
Do you really think God had nothing to say until the last nanosecond--that God was completely quiet until we wrote the Bible? And we did. I'm not saying that it isn't inspired, but we wrote it, so we are more at home with something we wrote than with what God wrote in creation.
We are given a natural way to reconnect with God every day in creation. And it doesn't depend on getting a degree in philosophy or theology. It depends on being present!" (The Soul, The Natural World, and What Is, R.Rohr).

Of course, as with most things, there is a need for balance. There is no question, in my opinion, that the cognative reflection inherant in the areas of Language, Symbology, Art and Music truely are the most obvious traits we possess as being created "in the image of God". In his latest book, Falling Upward, Richard relates the balance between the two "halves" of life as being the best goal of a transcending being. I am begining to see that on a larger scale that transcendance could be in the offering for the whole of the human race. Maybe with the grace of God one day soon may see that tipping point toward a more Loving relationship with all beings within creation!

In another "Daily Meditation" Richard speaks of another philosopher, Bill Plotkin..."speaks of the first half of life as doing our "survival dance". The second half of life can then become our "sacred dance". Most of us never get beyond our survival dance to ask the deep concerns of the soul (we are too busy "saving" our souls, whatever that means!"....Come Sacred Come! I attended the screening of a new movie called "The Journey of The Universe" this past weekend. Very good movie but stopped short of delving into the more spiritual implications of creation. Well worth the viewing however. One speaker at the showing mentioned what should have been obvious to me. He broke down the word Philosophy into its roots of Love and Wisdom. The Love of Wisdom. Way better than most of the reliances we seem to have to the various "ologies" out there. Butterflies are beautiful but wouldn't be here with out the Caterpiller and Pupa stages. :O) RV

The Mystical Nature of the Ego!

This is really a very important post for me to make. In a fashion this is really the crux of all that I've been trying to get to in this journal/blog. The nature of the ego is really at the center of the best and worst of our journey as human beings transcending to our divine nature within the image of God. We have started looking at the latest book by Fr Richard, Falling Upward. At the inception it seems that this is a book to support his talks and balance between the two halves of life. I am beginning to see that this communication actually goes far deeper into our human nature and how we must balance to move onward to transcendence. It may be applied to the Young and the Old, the Male and Female, our past Cultural and Religious History and Our Future. The picture attached to this post is that of a "Black Pearl". I try to find a picture for each of these inputs which will be "worth a thousand words". I found several in this computers archive including complex and beautiful flowers, butterflies, a French "Formal" Garden, and Gandhi. May not all seem to be related but I saw a message in each which points to the beauty and mystery of this pilgrims path we all find ourselves upon. A pearl is a very interesting gift of God. At first it is "merely" a mollusk in the sea. When it acquires an irritant within then it "transcends" into a prized jewel. Kind of a cool metaphor for the transcendence of a person into recognizing his or her divine nature within the kingdom of God. It follows after the failure or fall or irritation knocks us off our old ego driven mode of operation. Interesting that Sheritas middle name is Pearl.
The healthy balance of our necessary self image and confidence counterbalanced with a servants or stewards attitude of service to all of creation is really what we are all faced with on our path. We need both expressions of life but when one dominates to the exclusion of the other is when we spin out of balance, and miss the mark. Another name for sin.
The past few months have seen several momentous events in this ol life of mine. With Gods Grace I will learn from them. We have moved into some new books of the Emergent framework. I'm feeling an interesting correlation between Brians and Richards work relating to the connection of two, or more, phases of life. Richard has delved very nicely into the shared mystical nature of God espoused by many of the world spiritual leaders. And the degree to which we can appreciate that symbiosis is directly related to the level of spiritual atunement with which we have been blessed and awoken too. I choose to say atunement as opposed to the word achievement. I hope that the word atune hearkens toward recognizing an existence already there as opposed to the word achieve with hearkens toward something I'm doing. A big difference. One of Brians books ""A Generous Orthodoxy" approached, in my opinion, the same phenomenon, a mystical symbiosis, from the perspective of our "religious" history. Both of these gentlemen look at the past as being a necessary step of progress in our growth as humans. A past to be learned from, not condemned. I am feeling that Richards "Falling Upward" to be expressing such a growth in the personal life as compared to our cultural transcendence.
My eldest Daughter and her husband are expecting a boychild in October of this year, on my birthday as a matter of fact. Very cool. As a parent, I am of the opinion that having and raising a child is probably one of the most effective ways in which we as humans have the opportunity to learn stewardship, subjugation of the ego, and a firsthand appreciation of the "divine DNA" available in all of creation.
This month has also marked the graduation from SOU of my other daughter. A time of much joy and some stress as well. I am very proud of her accomplishment and movement onward. I started to say the next couple of sentences to her but chose not to as this was one of those necessary ego moments. A time of graduation is akin to a time of transcendence from ego to expansion. June 11th was all about you, but also marks your movement into a bigger Us. Even if transcendence is initiated usually by "Great Love or Great Suffering,(Fr Richard)" it can occur at a relatively young age and in increments. I recall with joy that this is the same daughter who made the reflection about the public demeanor after Osama Ben Laudens death. Happy Summer to All! Pax Christi! RV

Putting It All To Gather!

I composed most of these thoughts in this post while sitting poolside at the Treasure Island in Las Vegas. Sin City. An adult playground. Would this be a disconnect with a proclamation of Social Justice and the Cosmic all inclusiveness of Christ? I think not...maybe so, a little...but if so this would be one of the least of my sins of which I'm guilty of in this life of mine. And I know that Christ is present all ways and everywhere. I would like to close this message with a couple of long quotes from Rob's book. I'm playing a bit with the word Together in the title for a reason. I'm hoping to "gather" a bit of commonality I see and have tried to relate to the combined work of Bell, Rohr, and McLaren. To me it is much clearer to view a difference between Jesus and the Christ. We have the omnipresent Christ from the dawn of creation and the incarnation of the man/God Jesus into history. And then the Cosmic Christic Nature of the Resurrected Jesus leading us all onward and upward into the Kingdom of God. I really appreciate the message of Rob but it seems to be more clear to me when viewed with a difference between Jesus and Christ - Not that there really is a difference. Except when viewed with the hindsight of what We As A Species have done to creation in the name of Jesus. Subjugating the earth and her inhabitants in His name. We have the "Holy" Roman Empire, the "Holy" wars (talk about an oxymoron), "Purifying" inquisitions, witch hunts and the like. We created a Warrior King to the sorrow of the Prince of Peace. We can do so much better; In the Name and Spirit of Christ! Pax Christi! RV

"When people use the word "Jesus", then, it's important for us to ask who they're talking about...Are they referring to a token of tribal membership, a tamed, domesticated Jesus who waves the flag and promotes whatever values they have decided their nation needs to return to?....Are they referring to the supposed source of the imperial impulse of their group, which wants to conquer other groups "in the name of Jesus"? ...Are they referring to the logo or slogan of their political, economic, or military system through which they sanctify their greed for lust and power?

Or are they referring to to the very life source of the universe who has walked among us and continues to sustain everything with his love and power and grace and energy?

Jesus (I would say Christ) is both near and intimate and personal, and big and wide and transcendent."

"...a crown, much like a mansion or a car, is a possession. There's nothing wrong with possessions; it's just that they have value to us only when we use them, engage them, and enjoy them. They're nouns that mean something only in conjunction with verbs.....That's why wealth is so dangerous: if you're not careful you can easily end up with a garage full of nouns."

"When we baptize, we lower people into the water, and then bring them back up out of the water. The water signifies death; being raised up out of it signifies life." Interesting that the name Las Vegas means The Springs. It was an early watering stop for pioneers moving West and North. All things will be reconciled to Life..Love..Christ!

Real enemies are fear and intolerance | DailyTidings.com

Real enemies are fear and intolerance DailyTidings.com

Well this is disturbing. I thought I had finished this post the other day and published it to the blog. But come today I looked and it wasn't there. So I'll try to reconstruct the guts of what I said and get it out there this time. The link above was written by the son of my friends Earl and Charlotte Peterson. It kind of is in the same vein as what Alexandria was saying the other day so thought I would include it here. I appreciate what he says and he will soon have a whole bunch of degree letters after his name so he deserves my respect. The only place I would kind of differ with Eric is in the nature of the United States health. In my opinion we have been (and continue to been) very blessed. With that blessing does come great responsibility. We do have our ills but we have done great things. And we have the potential to do exponentially greater things in the future. One of the reasons I supported President Obama has been not so much to support a Democratic candidate but to support a man whom I believe has the potential to be one of the great statesmen of our history. How he deals with the Middle East and other international diplomatic opportunities in the next short while will have a huge impact on world peace and the mitigation of the threat of terror in the foreseeable future. I pray for that reality. As one of Eric's areas of study is that of "Native American Studies" I am reminded of a movie. In the latest remake of "The Last of the Mohican's" three Mohican's in the opening scene are pursuing a deer for food. After they mortally wound the deer the father says a prayer of thanks to the deer for nourishing their travels. I thought it was a great element of connection between human and other elements of creation. One of respect not dominance. Now replace the deer in the story with a cougar and the prayer to one for peace. And then instead of a cougar think Osama Bin Laudin. Pax Christi! RV

As The Bell Tolls!

Cute little title for this post, don't you think? I'll be referencing a few final quotes from Bells "Love Wins". First a couple of other quick notes. Couple of days ago the bell tolled for Osama Bin Lauden after almost ten years. If there was ever a good case for capital punishment, and I'm not sure there really is, Bin Lauden would be the one. It seemed to give a lot of people closure over 9/11. The most impactful part of this news event came from Alexandria, my daughter. The next morning she expressed remorse that so much was made of the death of a human being, even him. And of course, Justice was served. But it didn't reverse any of the consequences of that fateful September day or bring any of the lives back. She also commented that the energy of the people in the crowds seemed eerily like those one may see in a jihadist rally. Out of the mouths of babes. Even twenty something Babes. I really do hope and pray that we as a human race may be able to mitigate this cycle of violence in the future. In spite of all the steps backward we seem to take I do believe that in the grand scheme of creation we really are getting better and hearing this come from my child gives me much hope.

Both Richard and Rob speak of the need of a catalysis as a precursor of positive change. Richard tells of a need for either Great Love or Great Tragedy (pain, loss) to see a move toward positive transcendence. In Love Wins, Bell writes on page 35.."For there to be new wine, someone has to crush the grapes. For the city to be rebuilt, someone has to chop down the trees (sustainably of course, my insert :O)) to make the beams to construct the houses."

Many of us have experienced such events in our lives and can attest to that truth. Our world in recent decades certainly have such experiences as well. I pray for positive steps and hope for the future. Another quote from page 195 expresses our need to embrace our past and then move upward. "...the indestructible love of God is an unfolding, dynamic reality and that every single one of us is endlessly being invited to trust, accept, believe, embrace, and experience it....As we experience this love, there is a temptation at times to become hostile to our earlier understandings, feeling embarrassed that we were so "simple" or "naive," or "brainwashed"....These past understandings aren't to be denied or dismissed; they're to be embraced. Those experiences belong. Love demands that they belong.....Love frees us to embrace all of our history, the history in which all things are being made new."

Bells work deserves a good read and it is best understood when looked at from the lens enunciated by or polished by Richard and Brian. Pax Christi! RV

HELL!

Our discussion group at the Sunrise Cafe have been reading Rob Bells book "Love Wins". I found it to be a good supplemental book to the Emerging movement. Especially as he talks of the non religious and more so the non spiritual members of our human family. A lot of the Emerging literature focuses most heavily on the emerging members of the existing religious communities As I mentioned in the last post there has been a fair amount of criticism especially from his own Evangelical realm. I didn't realize how much so until a friend showed me a recent Time article regarding his book. The title says something like "What if there was no HELL", big red letters and all. As I read the book I found much to like and I had no major concerns about the perspective Bell takes. In the article, however, I do have a major issue with the sensational nature of the prose. Suppose I shouldn't be surprised as it seems to be the normal media perspective in the personal, political, social and even in daily news items. Media has to sell their wears and one of the most effective ways to do so is to tickle the senses. Basically we're dealing with the same reasoning as to why emergence, transcendence and non-dual or both-and thinking are not good hot buttons. When you remove judgmentalism, framing right and wrong from an ego centric perspective you remove the victory, and the spoils. With no Winning involved you loose excitement in the contest; It's boring. Unless, of course, you feel passionate about Love as the answer. The article is actually not bad except for the hype mode of the title. "Love Wins" in no place denies the existence of HELL(except for the pictures and red tights and all). Bell does reframe how we may view this dimension(Hell) and also just how personal that existence might be. Many years ago a friend of mine who spent several years in seminary was relating a perspective which I have always remembered. He said that one view of hell is that it is as simple as the lost of, or an absence from God. As simple as that thought is it is very impactful when one looks at the totality of the existence of God in all of creation, nature, music, art, beauty and love. Essentially one is referring to the turning of your back to God. Absolute isolation. Is that even possible for all eternity? "Love Wins!" most dramatic point is not so much where we end up but who wins in the end? Does God loose? "And so, beginning with the early church, there is a long tradition of Christians who believe that God will ultimately restore everything and everybody, because Jesus says in Matthew 19 that there will be a "renewal of all things," Peter says in Acts 3 that Jesus will "restore everything," and Paul says in Colossians 1 that through Christ "God was pleased to ...reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven.""(Love Wins, pg 107) . I believe that God Wins. I believe that Love Wins. So I rest for now, and forever, in the Peace of Christ! RV

He Is Risen!

In the liturgical community of Grace Lutheran Church, and I assume in many other Lutheran churches, it is a common statement and response at Easter to hear "He has risen" ... "He has risen indeed"! An interesting declaration. Almost like one could be saying this with so much emphasis as to make it more factual. The fact of the Resurrection is an area of some degree of scientific study and is accepted on faith by most Christians. For myself this is an historical fact accepted by faith and a fair degree of evidentury proof. The proof is not so important to me but the study is interesting. To myself the event of the Resurrection is the most important aspect of the Christic experience available to us as humans on an historical timeline. This is the point in the ventury or center of the hourglass presented by Richard Rohr in his study of the cosmic Christ. The point of transition from the eternal Godbeing of Christ, through the Godman being of Jesus, and into the GodManSpirit being of the resurrected Christ and later in conjunction with the Holy Spirit. This is the pattern for all of us to follow. Last time I spoke of the book by Rob Bell which has engendered much controversy especially within the more fundamental and conservative Christian churches. Most probably because this writer is coming out of that same background. I'll just call it Emerging. Anyhow I'd like to dwell on that debate a bit next time but for now to just focus on that Resurrected Jesus as Christ. As I see that event as being the transitional or transcending event of man in union with God and that event being the start of a new era. Then I'd just like to restate that previous declaration as follows: "He has Risen!"...."He has Risen In Deed"! Think about that for a moment. Instead of being a declarative statement of a past action at a point in time it is a descriptive statement of the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in our present day. Much better, In my opinion. Pax Christi! Happy Easter! Roberto Vincente

All You Need is Love! ??

I have been very neglectful of posting my thoughts in this forum lately. Mea culpa, Mea culpa, Mea maxima culpa! Somewhere around four months. I do have reasons but no valid excuses. In the past few months I've undergone a geographical move of a few miles due to financial needs and a bit pridefully, I believe that the posts of the past year have quite a depth of consideration in the realm of meaningful thought. Wondering what more I can say. Not all the answers but a very vibrant and yes Loving way of seeing this existence and our path within. This past weekend I had a great visit with my son, Michael, and he asked if I was going to continue this medium and it seems that at every corner I'm experiencing a new acquaintance, or book, or rainbow which interacts with and embellishes the path I've started in the past couple of years. So further comments should be posted for me to hold it together in some tangible form. The written word as well as other communicative and artistic forms seem to be a very expressive example of the "image of God" we seem to be blessed with and challenged by.

I chose the title of this post as It seems that the common element of all these writers whom I've gleaned much these past months have taken the concept of God to a declaration of Love. God is Love. I don't wish to be too simplistic about the subject but since I lived through the era of the 60's I feel that I have some valid perception. As Marianne Williamson noted in her book, Saving the Soul of America, we had a great idea but it was thwarted in its infancy for many reasons. The Love generation had some great drive but it seems to me that it got hijacked down several roads to the point of narcissism and ineffectiveness during its nascent moments. Recently read a book by Pastor Rob Bell titled Love Wins. At first it seemed that the book was not near as impactful as some earlier read but the substance of his points are very solid. He has a very open, accepting and loving approach to Heaven, Hell and the Gospel. So much so I can see why he has been branded as a heretic by many of the more conservative bent. I'm going to copy a portion of his jacket as kind of a synopsis of what he's saying. Before doing so thought I'd make note of the reason for the shell as a picture for this post. Many of the writers promoted here have commented on the innerconnectivity of all creation as being an example of the Christic presence in all of it. I don't pretend to understand it completely but it is obvious enough for little ol me to acknowledge the possibility and I feel the probability of such connectedness. Anyhow one of the ideas mentioned was the "Golden Mean" which is a ratio found in many places within nature. I'll have to look that number up again but I recall that it is represented in the rings of the shell on a snail, so that's why the picture.

The jacket quote: "Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Troubling questions-so troubling that many have lost their faith because of them. Others only whisper the questions to themselves, fearing or being taught that they might lose their faith and their church if they ask them out loud. But what if these questions trouble us for good reason? ....What if it is God who wants us to face these questions?" In light of the total picture. More later but there is an interesting question as a title to one of the chapters in the book; "Does God Get What God Wants?", i.e. renewal and reconciling of All things to Himself!

Pax Christi! RV