The DVD and Guidebook for Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction To Meditation is for sale on Ebay for 9.99. It is brand new and still in the shrink wrap.
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Right mindedness or wrong mindedness, that is the question.
I have already said that miracles are expressions of miracle-mindedness, and miracle-mindedness means right-mindedness. The right-minded neither exalt nor depreciate the mind of the miracle worker or the miracle receiver. However, as a correction, the miracle need not await the right-mindedness of the receiver. In fact, its purpose is to restore him to his right mind. It is essential, however, that the miracle worker be in his right mind, however briefly, or he will be unable to re-establish right-mindedness in someone else. T-2.V.3: 1-5
A Course in Miracles . Foundation for Inner Peace. Kindle Edition.
Right-mindedness is having accepted the Atonement for oneself. The Atonement is the healing of the separation of ourselves from God and the expression of unconditional love. This acknowledgement and acceptance of the Atonement scares the hell out of us because it means that we must give up our egos and become one with the All. It is this acceptance which is the manifestation of the miracle.
Stephen Gaskin said that ultimately the only thing we have to give another human being is our own state of being.So have we accepted unconditional love as our natural state?
In Alcoholics Anonymous it is suggested, in step eleven, that we improve our conscious contact with God. This conscious contact is the acceptance of the Atonement and unconditional love.
In Unitarian Universalism we join together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person. In order to do this we must accept this inherent worth and dignity of ourselves and then extend it to others. Our fear of love stands in our way.
Today, it is suggested that we consider what is right minded and what is wrong minded. Right minded is turning our willfulness over to the will of God. Wrong mindedness is clinging to the things of the ego. It is our choice.
Monday, January 17, 2022
Moral injuries and suicide by soldiers.
I mean that the Church might not be able to wait passively for penitents to come to the sacrament for healing. One reason the Church can’t stand by and wait is the deep cultural narrative about military service in the United States. According to that narrative, those who serve in uniform are heroes. We must support the troops. What the troops are up to usually isn’t part of the discussion. The thing to do—the only thing to do—is support them. P.17, War and Penance, Philip G. Porter, Commonweal, Jan. 2022
Supposing there is guilt for what has been seen and done by troops in our U.S. wars?
Demonizing the returning soldiers can drive them to despair, to conclude that Christ’s forgiveness is not available to them. Heroizing soldiers causes the opposite but equally damaging problem: presumption. Even if a returning soldier is aware of his or her guilt, being greeted as a hero is likely to cause some cognitive dissonance: Am I wrong to feel bad about what I’ve done if people are praising and thanking me for it? P.18
Since 9/11, four times as many U.S. service members and veterans have died by suicide than have been killed in combat, according to a new report.
The research, compiled by the Costs of War Project at Brown University, found an estimated 30,177 active duty personnel and veterans who have served in the military since 9/11 have died by suicide, compared with 7,057 killed in post 9/11 military operations. The figures include all service members, not just those who served in combat during that time.
The majority of the deaths are among veterans who account for an estimated 22,261 of the suicides during that period.
What is the role of the church in assuaging such anguish, especially Unitarian Universalism? UUs covenant together to affirm and promote the acceptance of one another and encourage spiritual development in our congregations. Sounds good in principle, but where is the action in ministering to our soldiers and the people who sent them to war?
There is lip service paid to the ideas of PTSD and moral injuries, but there is no effort on the part of Unitarian Universalists to minister to those suffering from these problems. Perhaps it is time that they did to heal the long standing, repressed spiritual wounds of our society.
For more click here.
This is the second article in a series on the sin of war.
Do you believe in magic or miracles?
As long as your sense of vulnerability persists, you should not attempt to perform miracles. T-2.V.2:6
Those who believe in scarcity feel vulnerable. A feeling of vulnerability is antithetical to working miracles. The miracle is possible only with the awareness of who and what we are. Without that level of awareness, what looks like a miracle is merely magic.
In Alcoholics Anonymous it is suggested in the first three steps that we give up our belief in magic and join our willfulness with what we believe is the will of God. This joining is a decision which we all have the power to make at any time we are ready. The action based on the decision is not a loss but a fulfillment.
In Unitarian Universalism we join together to accept one another and encourage each others’ spiritual growth. This acceptance and encouragement is based on confidence generated from faith in the unconditional love of our Transcendent Source.
Today, it is suggested that we exchange our belief in magic for the miracle which comes from giving up our belief in conditional love for unconditional love.
Sunday, January 16, 2022
The search for the truth and meaning of U.S. wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq
The violent collapse of our two-decade mission in Afghanistan has made it clear to me that the Church needs to recover a theology of sin and penitential practice capable of accounting for the trauma of war. P. 17, War and Penance by Philip G. Porter, Commonweal, Jan. 2022
In many parts of the world, President George W. Bush, and -President Richard Cheney are considered war criminals for the prosecution of the wars by the U.S. in Afghanistan and Iraq.
There were no weapons of mass destruction which was the pretext supposedly justifying U.S, promulgation of war in Iraq. The war in Afghanistan was to root out Al Qaeda terrorist training camps and does not meet the criteria of just war action: last resort, probability of success, and proportionality.
The U.S. has now withdrawn from Afghanistan as it did from Vietnam with the legacy of sin on its conscience. How has society and the Church dealt with these sins? Denial, minimization, rationalization, and repression.
Is it time for an examination of consciences both individually and collectively?
Unitarian Universalists join together to affirm and promote justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. Further, we affirm and promote supposedly the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.
And what has happened with our Unitarian Universalist covenant in acting on our principles when it comes to these wars? Nothing. The silence is deafening. Perhaps it is time to create a truth commission to examine what we, as Americans, have done in other countries, and generate ideas for changes in our society so that these kinds of wars never happen again.
How can we be forgiven if we cannot even name the sin?
Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Let us intentionally search for the truth and meaning of our collective war making.
This is the first article in a series on the sin of war.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Before miracle workers are ready to undertake their function in this world, it is essential that they fully understand the fear of release. Otherwise they may unwittingly foster the belief that release is imprisonment, a belief that is already very prevalent. T-2.V.1:1-2
The miracle worker gives up their willfulness so that the will of God can take over their lives. This turning it over is very frightening for the immature. They believe that turning their willfulness over to the will of God will capture them against their own will not recognizing that their will and God’s will can be One.
In Alcoholics Anonymous it is suggested, in step three, that we make a decision to turn our will over to God’s will for us.
In Unitarian Universalism we covenant together to affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning which may require us to give up our own prejudices, biases, and need to be right. This creates great insecurity, guilt, and shame sometimes. When we stubbornly cling to what we believe is right, the healing power of the miracle eludes us.
Today, it is suggested that we face up to and bravely admit our fears about losing control. If you want to hear God laugh, tell God your plans.
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