|
Being edited, please return soon.
Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. I hope persons of varied wisdom paths find inspiration here. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to briankwilcox@yahoo.com .
Blessings,
Brian Kenneth WilcoxMDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Teacher, Chaplain, Writer
You are invited to join Brian at his fellowship group on Facebook. The group is called OneLife Ministries – A Contemplative Interspiritual Fellowship.
* * *
Like infants, long for pure spiritual milk, so that you will grow into a full experience of spiritual wholeness. Yearn for this nourishment, now that you have tasted the Divine kindness.
*Christianity. I Peter 2.2-3. The Holy Bible. New Testament.
Practicing step by step,
A person gradually fulfills all Buddha teachings.
Like first setting a foundation,
Then building the room.
Generosity and temperance, like this,
Are a basis for enlightened beings' practices.
*Buddhism. Garland Sutra: 10.
* * *
If wrinkles must be written upon our brow, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should not grow old.
*James A. Garfield (b. 1831). 20th President of the United States.
* * *
Today, we speak of spiritual practices. Let me clarify four vital premises, before proceeding:
1) Spitiual practice is not a formula, a set of spiritual does-and-don'ts, to guarantee salvation, enlightment, or liberation.
2) What I speak of cannot be fond in a book, or in anything I say here or elsewhere. No book has it, no person gives it.
3) What I note is not inconsistent with daily life. Spiritual practice does not lift us out of life; enlightenment is about seeing, being, and living differently, not being brain-dead.
4) I sense many persons like to talk about spiritual practice more than do it. Spiritual practice is about something we do. We can speak eloquently about practice, but the fruit comes in the cultivating; cultivating is doing.
* * *
The Russian space station Mir became noted for its malfunctions. June 25, 1997 it collided with a cargo ship. Mir afterward had one problem after another.
The glitch on July 3, 1997 was with the eleven gyroscopes keeping Mir oriented toward the Sun. NASA reported five gyroscopes in one module shut down apparently following connection problems with Mir's control computer. The crew closed down the other gyroscopes.
The gyroscopes kept Mir in the best posture for its solar panels to soak up the Sun's energy. Loss of the gyroscopes meant loss of the Sun's benefits.
* * *
The purpose of daily, intentional spiritual practices is not to give us anything, but to position us to receive. Like Mir being postured to receive the Sun's energy, we engage varied means of Grace to receive Grace's subtle, shaping influences and inspirations. Often, we do not sense how this is affecting us, for the results are often subtle, unseen.
In times like this, and times of spirituality aridity, we trust the Purpose of our practices. We remain faithful, assured the Sun is present and we are receiving what we need in the moment. Often seeds are being nourished that will spring forth to view and fruition later.
There is no one set of spiritual practices for everyone. What we need for sacral nourishment will differ from person to person. What we each need can change over time.
Still, there are universal practices that seem needed for us each, throughout the Way. Included are forms of devotion and meditation, as well as intentional acts of kindness.
Likewise, we need community for posturing us. Community provides fellowship, inspiration, challenge, and correction. If you feel the spiritual community you are in is not meeting your spiritual needs of nourishment, likely you need to find one that does. We each need a social setting turned toward the Light, to encourage us to keep postured to receive Divine graces that will enable us to grow and keep the mind-heart young.
* * *
Yes, things can go wrong with us and hinder our receptivity. For example, we can engage in thoughts or acts, or fail to engage others, that disable our gyroscopic tendencies. This is why major spiritual traditions provide moral and practice guidelines, such as the Buddhist, Noble Eightfold Path:
1)Right view
2)Right intention
3)Right speech
4)Right action
5)Right livelihood
6)Right effort
7)Right mindfulness
8)Right concentration
* * *
The Sun's location remains the same. If we do find ourselves cut off from It's energies, we can address the matter. In taking responsibility and engaging acts of purifying, we re-locate toward the Source and find ourselves righted. This is not in order to be holy, right, or better than anyone else. This is about being positioned to grow in God-Likeness, including compassion for all sentient beings.
© OneLife Ministries. Mar 5, 2010.
* * *
*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis. He is Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Jail, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings at briankwilcox@yahoo.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
|
