The world is moving in a dangerous direction because our collective thought patterns are infused with irreverence.
*Marianne Williamson. The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love.
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After vowing to live a contemplative life, some 30 years ago, one of my teachers, Steve, taught me an important lesson about reverence. I was sitting alone on the porch of the Prayer House. Steve was entering. He opened the door, walked inside, and quietly shut the door. This is respect. For whom? What? The door.
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I offered a reading that mentioned "reverence." A person spoke of how the word had not appealed to her before, but the reading had challenged that. I sense the word had communicated to her as "pious" or "virtuous" to many. Some once central words in religious cultures have been lost to common vocabulary and widespread understanding. The words are unknown, ignored, or rejected as outdated and irrational.
One such word is "reverence." Yet, the word being largely unused indicates the loss of what the word points to - reverence. As Williamson writes, the prevalent thought patterns are devoid of reverence. We think, even if not in a clearly evil manner, with irreverence. When our thoughts are infused with irreverence, our lives will be, and our heart will be, also.
What is reverence? The word "reverence" comes into English from the Old French. The Old French is from the Latin reverentia, "respect, awe." Today, I will address the idea of "respect," in a later writing "awe."
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When a clergyperson, I entered a Christian group that used "Reverend" for the pastors. I did not use the term for myself and did not want others to of me. It sounded, when spoken, as though I deserved some respect others did not warrant. Jesus almost always referred to himself as "Son of Man," a human among humans, not deserving of being esteemed better than or above anyone. I am not saying clergypersons or other spiritual guides and teachers do not warrant reverence. What calls for reverence is that-of-God in everyone.
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The media, including social media, is imbued with careless, thoughtless, and mean-spirited words. That one misbehaves does not mean irreverent thoughts of them will help you or us. The desacralization of life and community is evidenced in this widespread irreverence.
When we speak irreverence, we are intimate with irreverence. When we speak kindly and respectfully, we are intimate with kindness and respect. Why pollute your environment?
We need to learn to live reverently. This is part of spiritual practice. And it takes time and work. Essential to this is learning to think reverently. When we think with respect - loving thoughts - we think reverently. This is part of the meaning of "Right speech" in Buddhism.
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Jesus addressed this reverence even toward those who bring harm upon us. He says, in the Sermon on the Mount, Gospel of Matthew 5.43-45 -
You have heard that it was said, "Love your neighbors [i.e., fellow Jews] and hate your enemies." But now I tell you: love your foes and pray for those who maltreat you, so that you may be the offspring of your Father in heaven. For he brings sunshine upon bad and good people alike and gives rain to those who do good and those who act harmfully.
The version of the Sermon in the Gospel of Luke is a little different. That Gospel reads "hate" for "maltreat" or "persecute. So, he says we are to love those who hate us - not just tolerate them. The Luke version adds, also, "bless those who curse you."
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Sometimes, we need to act lovingly before we can think that way. We can bless a person before feeling like blessing them. We notice our harmful thoughts and words and decide to convert them immediately. We recognize our harmfulness - "cursing" - is arising from our hurt.
Loving thoughts lead to thinking habitually with love. With thoughts of love, we heal ourselves by grace. With a single thought of love, we enter loving, healing energy in the collective suffering.
Beyond relationships with other humans, we need to express reverence to other sentient beings, Earth, and what we call things. We can practice this in small ways. One way I do this is by bowing to the seat I meditate in before sitting down and when getting up. In the bowing, I recognize the sacredness of this act and seat and pay reverence to all those prior and now who have sat or sit in meditation. I honor those who have prepared the way, long ago and through the centuries, for me to sit in the Quiet. I sit with them. Hence, I, in this small way, can respect my spiritual ancestors and other practitioners worldwide now.
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Last, we need places of refuge from the mean-spiritedness and malicious talk so common, a safe space of shared-respect. Such a refuge is a community with others, one other person, or a group. Respectful words and presence is essential for this kind of space. As wrote the late Thich Nhat Hanh, "Loving speech is an essential tool when we want to build a community that’s a healing and loving refuge for people" (The Mindfulness Survival Kit). We need relationships where we guard what we say, sharing positive thoughts and healing energies. We need space providing healing and relief, of light and love.
