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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 will find inspiration here.
Blessings,
Brian Kenneth Wilcox
MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Teacher, Author
You are invited to join Brian at his fellowship group on Facebook. The group is OneLife Ministries – A Contemplative Interspiritual Fellowship.
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In positive terms, right speech means speaking in ways that are trustworthy, harmonious, comforting, and worth taking to heart. When you make a practice of these positive forms of right speech, your words become a gift to others. In response, other people will start listening more to what you say, and will be more likely to respond in kind. This gives you a sense of the power of your actions: the way you act in the present moment does shape the world of your experience. You don't need to be a victim of past events.
*©1999 Thanissaro Bhikkhu. “Right Speech.”
So, someone has beat you down with harmful speech? Okay, build yourself back up with blessing speech.
*Brian Kenneth Wilcox
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Once upon a time, in a forest a hare was resting under a banyan tree. He had an intuition of doom; he thought, “What would happen to me, if the earth broke?” Suddenly, he heard a odd striking sound. He said, “It’s happened, the earth is breaking up!” He bolted up and ran madly without even noting his direction.
When he was running through the forest, a hare saw him. This hare inquired, “What happened? Where are you going in such a hurry?” The first hare lamented,” The earth is breaking up! You better run!” The second hare ran so fast he overtook the first hare. As they were running, they yelled out to other hares, “The earth is breaking up!” Soon, thousands of hares were running through the forest.
On seeing the hares running, the other animals got frightened. The news spread from mouth to mouth; soon, everyone came to know the impending doom. It did not take much time before all the animals joined the race. Fear created chaos all around.
A lion standing on a hill saw all the animals running and wondered, “What is the matter?” He ran down the hill and positioned himself in front of the crowd. He shouted, “Stop! Stop!” The powerful presence of the lion calmed the animals. A parrot yelled, “The earth is breaking up!,” alighting on a rock near him. The lion asked,” Who said that?” The parrot replied, “The monkeys told me.”
The lion spoke to the monkeys. They said they heard the report from the tigers. When the tigers were asked, they said the elephants told them. The elephants said the buffaloes informed them. Finally, when the hares asked, they pointed one to another until the one who started the chaos was noted. The lion asked him, “What made you think that the earth is breaking up?” The hare replied, “Your Majesty, I heard it cracking.”
The lion investigated the matter. Ultimately, he came to know that the sound had been caused by a large coconut falling from a tree. The coconut fell on a pile of rocks. This caused a minor landslide.
The lion informed the animals, “Go back to your homes. The earth is absolutely safe. Next time onwards, check a rumor before acting on it”. The animals, which were now feeling quite stupid, returned to their homes.
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In 1973 was born the words “rumor mill.” The rumor mill is that line of sharing gossip that goes from person to person. How many of us have escaped participating in the rumor mill? How many of us have been misrepresented by persons in a rumor mill?
When a pastor, I was often chewed up in a rumor mill. One of the oddest rumors was when I served a church in Central Florida. This was an ultra-conservative, small town evangelical church - the kind I came from, where persons often are resistant to any progress from outside. Many were offended by my appreciation of Buddhism. One meeting with the personnel team, a member verbally attacked me, accusing me of wearing a Buddhist symbol around my neck. Well, that was the rumor in the rumor meal. I did wear that object around my neck on Sunday mornings. Yet, I informed the man, “This is not a Buddhist object. This is a stone, given as a gift by a man before I left my last church, for he appreciated my helping him so much.” Indeed, the man cut and sold stones, and had given me this beautiful one in expression of gratitude.
Why do we enjoy rumoring? Take the gossip now about Tiger Woods. I refuse to get involved. Why do I need to know? I wish him the best, and I have no need to know of his personal life anymore than he needs to know about mine – or yours. Yet, the rumor meal, whether about a celebrity or the next door neighbor, fascinates many persons.
Usually, gossip is simply untrue, or it is distorted by the time the mill reaches your ears. Anyway, what good is a slice of rumor for you? Do you not have better things to give your attention to? I do. Let us beware of the rumor mill. Let us not go along with that person who comes to us, delighted to share a morsel of graceless gossip.
Let us give our mouth and ears, mind, and heart to graceful speech. You could say, “But, what if it is true?” So? Does that mean it is your business?
©Brian Wilcox, and OneLife Ministries. 03/12/2010
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*The story of the rumor is a tale from www.culturalindia.net . The opening quote is from www.esolibris.com .
*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. Brian is a member of United Communities of Spirit: A Global Interfaith Initiative, for advancing the cause of understanding and peace among persons of different faiths and beliefs. OneLife Ministries seek to share this spirit of unity among all peoples of faith and humanity as a whole.
*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.
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