"The Spirit That Heals" 2016

"The Spirit That Heals" 2016

“May The Force, of Forgiveness, Be With You”

“Love and Good Earth To You” (Claes Nobel)

Robert Michael Vlach

 I am a retired, widowed, gentleman from Southern Oregon.  Spiritually active and Transcending; A follower of St Francis.  I am a Chaplain at the local hospitals and a facilitator of Labyrinth construction with the focus of memorial and meditative uses.  Currently working with symbiotic souls toward the positive pursuit of Love and Peace.  I am a recent attendee at the Rotary International World Peace Congress in the Los Angeles area.  I also have strong ties to the Hawaiian Islands and Kauai in particular.

Looking at forms of meditation and correlating a path of Forgiveness (unilaterally as necessary) toward the goal of communal Peace, 2 up to 7 Billion . “Force” is used somewhat tongue in cheek in the title.  But not so in reality as we will see how Love and Forgiveness are very powerful forces.

I Prayerfully hope for guidance in making this presentation; which I feel woefully unworthy to present. This is a huge subject but Oh so necessary to grasp Today.  As it is huge in scope; But also a proper perspective of everyone taking the steps possible, and maybe some impossible ones, available to them in their Quest.

Nelson Mandela said

“It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us….We were born to manifest the Glory of God within us.”

St Teresa of Calcutta.."We Can Do No Great Things...Only Small Things With Great Love"

The Christophers motto states

“It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”

So I light a candle and invite you to light one as we go along this day.  This is an interactive presentation

I have attempted to link a discipline, Labyrinth construction and utilization, with which I have been involved for some years now, and in a way is my link to this Island.

I am linking this to Meditation.  There are many forms and practices of Meditation all of which have their good points.  In this case we are looking at a walking meditation, generally circular, and repetitive.  Predominately done in silence, listening to “The Spirit That Heals”. 

In most health care paradigms today it is recognized that the Mind, the Body, and The Spirit are linked in the healing of the whole person.  It seems that the mind and body can be looked at to a certain respect from a scientific viewpoint and follow certain predictable patterns.  How we treat these elements and patterns can have a very efficacious result on the whole.  However the Mystery factor of the Spirit seems to be the God element in the equation and for some reason seems to be most accessible in silence. As we release our mind, our ego
~we are more open to our heart~

Richard Rohr on Labyrinths - “These circular paths are a way of learning and praying through movement instead of through thinking”

“Labyrinths seem to have emerged from the collective unconscious, representing a clear path to the center, to the Divine.”  

“The turning circuits of a labyrinth remind us that life is change and transformation, and repentance.”

I want to look at several individual transformed Spiritual Masters among us over the Millennia . And how following their “Quiet time” They have reentered the world to their mission, calling, or destiny… and demonstrably leading to:

Forgiveness, sometimes others and sometimes themselves.

From this place of forgiveness they lead us to some period of Peace (or promise of peace) and a community or societal transformation.

A Disclosure

~I am speaking from my platform as a Christian.  Make no mistake here.  Jesus is my Lord and Savior.  My understanding of Christ is also hugely expanded to all time, since the dawn of Creation.  So I see the Consciousness of Christ in All of Creation.~

Let us listen to Maya Angelou speaking about Nelson Mandela

Mandela was a man in the trenches as the battle of Apartheid waged on.  Some would have called him a terrorist or at least a rebel.  Upon imprisonment for 27 years he certainly did have a period of reflection and meditation.  Following his release at the fall of Apartheid his exercise of forgiveness and inclusion has been an example to us all. You will notice this quote by Nelson in the video..."Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the World"

Please see the movie, Invictus.

~INPUT~

Meditation

Mandela is a great example  - We will look at several other significant spiritual guides or teachers over the millennia. You all probably have at least one in mind, or you wouldn’t be on this path.
  I invite and solicit your input. 
I believe we can relate all of them to a period of isolation/meditation prior to coming into their own, if you will.  The path varies widely as to how humankind has reacted to their message since. From the Christian perspective we certainly have a plethora of examples (bearing His name) from history, most of which Christ would not recognize. 

I will make some references to the recent Rotary International Peace Conference, held in Ontario, California this last January; as this has been a major influence on my desire to relate all of this together at this time.

One notable statement presented there regarding the “Other” was:

“That it is incumbent upon us at this time to understand the “Narrative” of the “Other”.  “The other is not a “Monster” - They are “you” - “me” - “humankind” -”one”.  Understanding doesn’t mean Agreeing, or Changing, or Judging - just Respecting - in a spirit of Loving Kindness.  One of my spiritual mentors of the past few years, Brian McLaren, (Brian and Richard Rohr among others are part of the "Emerging" Spiritual movement in the world today) wrote a book a couple of years ago titled “ Why Did Jesus, Moses, The Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road”  Refers to the title several times in the book but the best answer to the "question", in my opinion, is “To Get To The Other!”

In more or less historical order let’s look a few others….

Starting from the Judeo Christian linage we have the “Children of Israel” and their 40 year trek in the desert.  And of course, Moses himself, for the 40 days on Mt Sinai while communing with God. (I am aware Hindu spirituality predates the Jewish}

From the Hindu/ Vedic tradition we see the coming of Siddhartha Gautama “The Buddha” - Reacting to what he saw as the failure of excessive liturgical practice and it’s cultural counterpoint, asceticism.  He found an enlightened “Middle Way” while meditating under a Ficus Religiosa (Bodhi) tree.  He forgave himself and mankind for being human (disclaimer - I do not pretend to necessarily accurately expound on the tenets of Buddhist practice and history) Just trying to make a point about meditation and moving forward toward Spiritual growth and Love of Creation.

~Input~

Our Earth traditions very closely related to the elements of Creation, Earth, Wind, Fire and Water.  (unfortunately labeled Pagan or Primitive).  Maybe Original would be more accurate.  Nature Based traditions can also be seen in the teachings of the Buddha and especially my friend St Francis of Assisi.  Indigenous 1st Nations Peoples are very much practitioners of meditation and periods of quiet as witnessed in the use of Vision Quests and sweat lodges in their ceremonies.  They may, I pray, still lead the rest of us into honoring and seeking forgiveness from our Mother Earth.  A couple of recent quotes from the elders have been very timely, And the time is indeed short....

“We are the 1st generation that can really see the crisis we are in ~ And we are the last generation which can do something substantive about it.”(from SOCAN/ Prof Mary C Wood, U of O)

For millennia humankind has lived off of the interest of Mother Earth ~ We are now living off of her principle” (Chief Phil Lane)

I am not so well versed in Polynesian and specifically Hawaiian modalities of meditation.  I am aware of,however, and respect the practice of Ho’oPonoPono - which incorporates the use of reflection(meditation), Ho’omalu, leading to confession, Ha’Nay, and Forgiveness, Kalana. The full circle to healing, and Peace.  Beautiful. Another warning from this original indigenous culture: (Full film is available on Vimeo)

Of course...Jesus The Christ! 

His whole Gospel is full of forgiveness and new starts.  He has so many periods during His earthly sojourn of solitude and reflection.  Some of the most memorable to me are the 40 days following His baptism, the Garden of Gethsemane;  And the most notable from His words on the cross “Father, Forgive Them for They Know Not What They Do”  --I am So prayerful that we are starting to know.

In the Christian Era we have so many examples to value:  Mandela, Gandhi, Tutu, MLKjr,The UCC in 1993 (100th year since usurpation), Pope John Paul II in 1998 (inaction of Church in WWII)

And we should remember our  Muslim brothers and sisters;  Rumi said:

“You have spent your whole life with elegant speeches.  For some time you should walk alone in the garden of silence”.

Not wishing to demean Any of the above Masters but just looking briefly at the new Star Wars - I hope you see the strength of forgiveness when Hans Solo is pierced by a Light Saber wielded  by his estranged son.  - Just saying The media has quite often been seen as having been a Weapon of Mass Deception - Refreshing.

We may be taught and guided by our Master teachers however we learn much as well from those next to us as well.... Here is one short example from the video, "Human":

Input
MLK and Gandhi

Peace ~ Garden

A few passing words regarding this Rotary International Peace Conference. Any Rotarians in the group?

I found this gathering to be impactful on several levels, not the least of which was the ability to share the experience with my son, Michael.  Some of the most notable aspects of the adventure were in acknowledging the NGO nature of this organization.  It seems that this is a very efficacious form of working toward the goal of peace.  And the reason is that most governments are far too polarized and self referential to really look at the issues involved in a sustainable peace paradigm.

Rotary has been involved for at least the last 25 years sometimes directly striving toward peace and perhaps more importantly embarking on: people to people, organization to organization, community to community collaboration on issues which foster the removal of barriers to peace.  Three of the most auspicious goals embarked upon are local entrepreneurship, water availability and the eradication of Polio.  They really mean their slogan 
“Service above Self”. 
Desmond Tutu said;
"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together". 
As an aside I wonder why it is that if we can only be human together why is it that it seems so important for us to practice alone time in Meditation? I suspect the answer is related to balance.

At this particular gathering, one of four worldwide this year(the only one focused on Peace) and the only one in the United States, was impactful as to the very wide scope of breakout groups available.  This could be looked at in two ways - as a statement as to how huge the concept of World Peace is and so why bother, I’m just one person.   The other viewpoint is “Look at all the available areas threatening World Peace within which I could find a place to use my talents”  

There were at least thirteen areas which offered opportunities.  To keep this manageable I’m just going to list a few of them so you can get an idea of the scope.  They looked at Rotary specific projects, in history and in formulation.  We looked at the effects of Religious cooperation instead of competition.  We looked at Human Rights and Human Trafficking.  We looked at Social Justice and community rehabilitation.  We looked at education, lack of and the focus in practice, remember Mandela's Quote as to power of learning but also mode of indoctrination.  We looked at International cooperative exercises, specifically the ISS (Kauai and the Earth)(Aina) and Peace Zones in the world's oceans (specific to SW Pacific) which are shared and impacting everything from fisheries to coral reef survival.   And the world Media was looked at as to how it can foster awareness and inspire people to action.

Some other auspicious notes along the way:

Probably the most notable Plenary speaker, of many notable, was the elder gentleman I quoted at the beginning,  Claes Nobel.  He is instrumental in forming a group started on 8/5/08 called World Peace Now!  Just three of his statements are presented here, but they deeply reflect the need for us to seek Peace not only with each other but with Mother Earth.  (hearkening back to the 1st Nations elders)

“If Division, Violence, and War define our past; Let unity, non-violence and Peace define our future”

“Peace is more than the absence of war ~ It is the elimination of the Causes of War”

And relating to my point...,(Meditation)... of the path to this Peace : He is actively “Listening to God in my Silence”.

~ We began this Congress on the Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr

~ This event was held in San Bernardino, California where not so long ago a terrorist killed many people at  a Holiday party.

~Rotary has worked very close with the UN and Peace Corps which speaks volumes regarding the possibility of successful GO/NGO collaboration.

~ This collaboration has been in the notable areas of Education; Medical clinics (Middle East); Water Quality (Everywhere); and Entrepreneurial Seeding (relate to Fr Greg Boyle, G Dog, in the LA Barrios)(Tatoos On The Heart)

Just going to mention one more area of Passion of mine;  “My Dream”

And a final note on the Peace weekend….Do the right things!!!

Right Thoughts….Love!

Right Words…….. Kind Ones!

Right Goals……...Service above Self!

Right Attitudes….Happiness! (St Teresa, The first step is a smile)

Right Footprint….Lightly!

Right Here……....Kauai!

Right Now……….Esp Teaching our Children!

My Dream is to facilitate a reflective modality and venue with the purpose to aid individuals, groups, World leaders on a transformational path to wholeness.  It is to be a Botanical Peace Garden, honoring many of our elders and masters through the ages.  It is to be in the shape of a Labyrinth and will encompass two or more acres Here on Kauai.  I envision this to be a part of a retreat/resort center.  A possible name could be "The Queen's Garden of Peace and Reconciliation" Let It Be So!  Your Brother Bob/Roberto/Lopaka
A bit more detail regarding the dream can be found on the blogsite below, under the post titled "The Dream"
A Franciscan Blessing 

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. Amen.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace. Amen.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. Amen.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

http://praisegodviathespiritofthechrist.blogspot.com/

The Dream

PAX CHRISTI ~ RV