It's The End Of The World As We Know It (and I feel fine)

The culture has had a lot of interest in the Mayan prophecies about December 21, 2012. The talks have ranged from the total destruction of the planet to simply a spiritual transformation taking place in human consciousness. All throughout human history our ancestors have attempted to see into the future and to especially predict the end of an era and the beginning of another.

The prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures would foretell the coming of calamities as well as predict the coming of new seasons of blessing, prosperity and justice. Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. He intuitively sensed that the religious and political structures of his day were not sustainable. He stood in front of the Temple and said that not one stone would be left unturned and that some of the people standing there would not taste death before that destruction took place. We know from the historian Josephus that in 70 A.D. Jesus’ prediction came to pass. The Bible also predicts a time in the future when we will beat our swords into plowshares. A time when we will grow food rather than build weapons. A time when everything will become new and we will see new heavens and a new earth. A time when justice will prevail.

The Physiologist Carl Jung predicted the coming of the Age of Aquarius. This next age in the astrological cycle when we move out of the age of Pisces and into a new era - the Age of Aquarius. Jung believed we would experience a major shift in human consciousness associated with the dawning of Aquarius which would effect all of our institutions and structures: religion, government, industry, science, technology, education, and so on.

Currently, Environmental Scientists are predicting that unless we as a species move into a “Sustainable” way of living - and make this shift soon - the damage to mother nature will be irreversible. Progressive Economists are predicting that, unless we turn away from the “Industrial Growth Society” model which is based on continued growth in order for the system to be effective, we will see eventual economic collapse. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that a economic structure that is based on continued growth will eventually break down when applied in a world with finite and limited resources.

The Mayans were amazing scientists and astronomers. To have lived thousands of years ago their accomplishments are mind blowing. Today we can not be totally sure what events led to the end of the Mayan culture and civilization. Many believe that it was the combination of natural and cultural events that combined to change their world as they knew it. The Mayans studied the solar solar system and pin pointed its position during the sift in their culture and predicted that in the year 2012 the universe would aline its self in the same way again.

A person’s dreams were a very important tool in Dr. Jung’s Psychology. He taught that dreams would help a person get a glimpse into the deepest part of their Psyche. Human beings often dream about death and destruction - these are common recurring dreams for most people. Dr. Jung held that death dreams were not bad dreams at all. He actually taught that they were about growth, transformation, and were signs of moving from an old era into a new one.

With all the talk about December 21, 2012 and the possible end of the world - Just maybe we should consider this something to be excited about. Maybe it is time for the human species to evolve and for us to move together into a new era. What might a new era look like if we really did see a major shift and the transformation of human understanding?


- A shift away from fundamentalist religion - to spirituality

- A shift away from the destruction of the planet - to a sustainable way of sharing our Island home

- A shift away from the “Industrial Growth Society” - to a “Sustainable” economic system that is equitable to all

- A shift away from the barrenness of heart and emotion - to a revival of heart and emotion in all areas of life (work, education. cities, government, medicine, religion, art)

- A shirt away from racism, classism, partisanism, and denominationalism - to a post racial, post class, post partisan, and post denominational era

- A shift away from building weapons and prisons - to building school, hospitals, homes, and growing healthy food

- A shift away from hate - to love

- A shift from division - to unity

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.

__________________________

Imagine
by John Lennon

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
living for today...

Imagine there's no countries,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say Im a dreamer,
but Im not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.

The Archetype of The Mother Mary

The holiday season turns our attention to the birth of Jesus - a historical event that occurred in the middle east approximately 2000 years ago. The story of Christ’s birth evolved to be quite mythological - the stable, a manger, the animals, shepherds, the great star, singing angles, and the wise men. All the necessary ingredients of a typical Christmas pageant or nativity.

Miester Eckhart, the German priest that lived in the middle ages said, “what good is it if Christ was born a long time ago unless we continue to give birth to him in our own day and in our own culture.” I resonate with what Eckhart said. Christmas should be a celebration of the sacred that is being born among us NOW - not just a memorial to a past historical event. While remembering and honoring the ancient birth narratives might have value - let us follow Eckhart’s lead and use the Christmas story as a prototype of giving birth to the sacred in our own day and culture.

First, the Christ was born (not built). We are surrounded by technology, capitalism, and industry. We build our “Towers of Babel” which are proud monuments to ourselves. While it is truly amazing what we have accomplished as a species - the Mother Mary Archetype reminds us that the sacred comes to us in simple and organic ways - it is birthed.

Secondly, if the sacred has to be born - then it requires a womb. A womb is a dark place. This speaks of the darkness that we wrestle with in our own souls. The darkness holds the space for the growth of the scared within ourselves. The darkness of pain and suffering - of doubt and despair - of quiet, stillness, and loneness which all becomes the rich place for the sacred to be conceived and to grow within us. Wombs are also wet. Hildegard, the Christian mystic who lived in the middle ages, said that our important spiritual work is the process of keeping our heart’s moist. The Christ cannot be born without a dark, moist womb.

Thirdly, if it takes a womb, then the presence of the feminine is required. Our society has become overly patriarchal - aggression, a survival of the fittest attitude, all the pushing and shoving of one’s way up the ladder of success. The patriarchy of big government, big business, big religion is all around us. The sacred cannot be born in the midst of all the masculine energy that permeates the culture. The sacred is born out of the softness, the nurture, the kindness, the gentleness, the love, the care, the touch, and the simplicity of the sacred feminine.

I submit that the world is in desperate need of a revival of the sacred feminine. We would do ourselves well to shift some of our religious focus from the Holy Father to the Holy Mother. She has been ignored much too long. I assure you, there is nothing weak about the Holy Mother (giving birth is not a day on the golf course). 2000 years ago there was no room for the Holy Mother at the Inn. Today, we crowd her out of the planet with patriarchy, war, hunger, greed, division, destruction of the world’s natural resources, religious and political haughtiness - God help us! Together let us hold the space - a dark and moist womb to give birth to the Christ in own day and culture.

I Just Said My Prayers to the Sacred Feminine and Apparently She's Pissed

Western culture has been controlled by men far too long. All areas of life including politics, business, and the church have been mostly controlled by men. The destruction that masculine control has caused is vast: -- climate change and the daily dying off of species as a result of our lack of care for the planet, -- billions and billions of dollars spent on weapons and war, a national debt that is over whelming to think about, -- healthcare viewed by many as something that should not be available to all, -- a growing disparity between the rich and the poor, --a Congress unwilling to compromise and so about to go over a fiscal cliff, --churches that have become more about the institution, rules, and doctrine than the care and love of people, --education that has become more about test scores than teachers organically teaching, --a lack of care for the homeless and the poor --judgement dominating rather than compassion, --division and segregation the norm rather than unity and inclusion.

I just talked to the Holy Mother and I really do think she is pissed. She has barely gotten over being upset about the Crusades. Not to mention the burning of women at the stake in medieval Europe or the Holocaust. If I'm discerning her mood correctly, we need to be aware that we have about pushed Mamma too far.

Before we make Her even more angry, can we please learn to live in a way that's more relational and organic rather than institutional? Can we be nurturing and mothering and care about each other more than we do about our structures and labels? Can we beat our swords and weapons into plowshares? Can the largest Church in the world please allow women at the Altar? Can we realize the Kingdom of God is not built, that it has to be birthed? Can we understand that the repression of the Scared Feminine has left us all wounded and that we all need healing?

Regardless if you're black, white, gay, straight, rich, poor, Christian, atheists, liberal, conservative, saint, sinner, male, or female --we are all children of the Holy Mother and she says we had better start taking care of one another and our planet or we are gonna be in lots of trouble when she gets home.

Task List

I've been very intentional over the last three years to slow down, prioritize, and to take care of my soul. I've slowed down the merry-go-round a lot. However, the last two days I have not stopped; meetings, appointments, Bishop, budgets, and responsibilities. Now it's Saturday and I confess that I do not feel ready for tomorrow. I still have a lot to do. My task list the last couple of days has been impossible and has left me very tired and drained. On top of that, I have my children this weekend and I feel both the kids and I have been robbed of precious time. Add to that the weight of two big projects with time restraints which make me feel like I may "shrug".

What's does your task list look like? I hope yours has been more manageable.

When modern life becomes over taxing I look to the pre-moderns for help. I found Lady Julian of Norwich's task list from the Middle Ages.  She says the soul has three duties or tasks and her list looks like this:

___ To reverently wonder

___ To be surprised

___ To gently let go and let be

I think I want to trade in my task list for hers. I might could handle her list.  I wish all of us, including the church and all our institutions, could learn from her.

Stop The Presses

One of the most significant accomplishments in human history might be the invention of the printing press. The result was an explosion of information and knowledge that carried most of the world into the enlightenment. However, there is a shadow side and a cost to our advancement. It seems to me that we have become overly attached to our  "words" and to "text" - rather than direct experience. Words are symbols - not the real thing. We often project onto the "text" and live in confusion believing the "text" is the real thing.

The Cosmic Christ has now been reduced to a book. The Bible has become an idol.  The eternal "Word of God" has been reduced to squiggly lines on a page. Addictions to the "text" fuel fundamentalism. Christians are addicted to the Bible, to doctrine, to "text". Muslims are addicted to the Kuran. Political ideologues are addicted to the US Constitution. Atheists are addicted to the "word" of Christopher Hitchens and Michael Shermer. The result is a reduction to us as people; a reduction to life itself. I am very concerned how much of our lives are now lived virtually. The "text message" and the "email" and the "inter-web" continue our flight away from the direct experience of the real thing. We need the will to "Stop the Presses".  Put the book down, put the computer down, put the tablet and the smartphone down; interact with something and/or someone that is "real" and "present".

For my Episcopalian friends. I love the liturgy of our church. It is one of the major reasons that I'm an Episcopalian. However, and with that said, I feel our liturgy is way too wordy. Three lessons, the psalm, the sermon, the creed, the prayers of the people, long Eucharistic prayers - words, words, and more words.  I dream of a post modern liturgy that would provide less talk and more time for silence, for mystery, to breathe, to reflect, to interact, to move - for direct experience.

Hamlet, Act II, Scene II
     LORD POLONIUS:  What do you read, my lord?
     HAMLET:  Words, words, words.

If "God Talk" Was Gonna Save The World Then We Should Already Be In Paradise

I estimate that I've heard about 10,000 sermons in my lifetime; some good and some really bad. I estimate that I've preached about 5,000 sermons myself; some good and some really really bad. Multiply those numbers many fold because there is practically a church on every corner of every community. Don't forget about Christian radio. There are also more Christian channels on cable than I can even keep up with.  Add to that the babbling of the hyper-religious, "Jesus this and Jesus that", "praise God this and praise God that". And don't forget to throw in a few "hallelujahs" here and there. If "God Talk" was gonna save the world then we should already be in paradise.

Meister Eckhart said, "The most beautiful thing which a person can say about God would be for that person to remain silent from the wisdom of an inner wealth. So, be silent and quit flapping your gums about God.”

If I ever get the opportunity to hang out with you, I really hope that you will not waste our time by regurgitating a bunch of religious clichés. Look me in the eyes. Tell me about you. Tell me about your life. Talk to me about your own thoughts and feelings. Be present to me and let me be present to you. Maybe we could even drink a beer together and share paradise.

I make my living as a full time religious practitioner. So what I'm about to say is not very good for my job security. I actually believe the world would be a better place if we closed a lot of churches and opened more pubs where we could hang out and share a beer. Cheers!

Will Someone Please Turn Out The Lights: Reclaiming The Darkness

The down side of the enlightenment is the loss of darkness. Electricity and the light bulb provide us with light 24/7. The bright lights of Walmart burn all the time. Walmart looks the same at 2AM as it does at 2PM. As products of the enlightenment we are drawn and addicted to the light. We stare at the flashing lights of our TVs and computer screens like zombies. The flashing lights of Vegas draw millions of visitors willing to lay down the big bucks.

The metaphysical result of our loss of darkness is a loss of balance and rhythm. We've lost touch with mystery and the wild. We have become shallow, because without darkness we become superficial and lack depth; we have become sterile. We are now afraid of the dark, and as a result, we demonize darkness. The phrase "darkness" is now synonymous with "evil".

I love the dark. I crave the dark. I love a cave. The dark is rich, romantic, and sensual. The darkness is magical and potent. Meister Eckhart said, "the ground of the soul is dark". He went on to say that, "for the will to be free it needs to return to its prime origin". I think what Eckhart is speaking about is a returning to that place before the original flaring forth; a returning to the place before light. Returning to the place before God; returning to the Godhead; returning to the darkness and to the place of total freedom. Will someone please turn the lights off?

Psalm 139:11-12

If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
  and the light around me become night’,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
  the night is as bright as the day,
  for darkness is as light to you.

The Un-Purpose Driven Life: Key to Youthfulness and Vitality

The culture applauds effectiveness.  The culture praises those that can "get things done". We look up to winners and the successful. We as a species are now wired to always keep score. We are required to get results.  I understand the importance of one having to be effective and the importance of "getting results" in order to be responsible and successful. I also understand the importance of "purpose" and "drive". Aside from that, it is important to also realize that the things that feed us and give energy to us spiritually and physiologically speaking are the things that are done without a "why" or "purpose"; the things done with no desired "result" or need to "keep score".

When I was in seventh grade, one day after school, me and two of my friends snuck to a pond that had a big rope swing hanging from a limb of a beautiful Live Oak tree. We did not have swim trunks with us so we just took off our shirts and shoes and jumped in wearing our blue jeans. We would climb the bank, swing out into the pond dropping into the cool water, over and over again. Three boys laughing, swimming, diving, climbing, and splashing. We were alive, energized, happy - all was perfect. We had no "purpose" or "goal"; there was no desired "result" we needed to achieve - we were playing and we played for quite a while. All of a sudden one of my friends realized he had lost something in the water and he was very worried about having to tell his parents about it. So we started to look for it.  Now we were inserting a "why" into our afternoon. We now had a "purpose". We were doing the exact same things; swinging, diving, swimming, splashing. However, now that we had a "why" we started to get tired and just a few minutes into the search we were exhausted. The exact same activities went from giving energy to taking energy just by inserting a "why". I'm sure we can all think of stories where someone tried to turn a hobby into a business. Most of the time it does not become profitable and usually the person loses the joy of the hobby in the process.

Meister Eckhart said, "This I know, that the only way to live is like the rose which lives without a why". Eckhart believed the activities we do without a "why" are the ones that keep us youthful and that give us vitality. I'm fully aware that we all have to be effective and get things done. But a key to staying energized and alive is to make sure you carve out some time to live like the rose and live without a "why".

Time Travel, Constants, Psychological Structure

When I was four years old my father was an itinerant evangelist.  My parents and I traveled all around the country holding revivals in Pentecostal and Evangelical churches.  My Dad would preach and all of us would sing.  City to city, church to church, state to state, bed to bed - we were always on the move. One night after a church service a nice lady asked me about my home.  I answered her that I did not have a home.  As a result of my parents over hearing this conversation, my Dad very quickly decided to get off the road and once again serve as a full time pastor. While my parents' intentions were to plant themselves so that I would have a sense of home - circumstances still dictated that between kindergarten and seventh grade I changed schools seven times.  I am not complaining about any this.  As a matter of fact, I am grateful.  The fluid life of my childhood created a psychological structure that would anchor itself with internal things rather than externals. My sense of home was not a literal place, or building, or location - not a physical thing or object. My sense of home was metaphysical.  The physical things changed often in my young life.  Yet my psychological structure was held together by unchanging "constants" that were not tangible.

There are minds, much more intelligent than mine, that claim time travel is, in theory, plausible; it's just that we have not developed the technology to pull it off.  The folk that think about these kinds of things suggest that if a person was going to travel back and forth between different time continuums it would be necessary for them to keep a "constant" (something or someone that would be a constant reference point or anchor regardless of which particular time continuum the person might be in at any particular time).  Without a "constant" present in all time continuums it would be impossible for the time traveler to maintain their psychological structure.  Without a "constant" the time traveler would psychologically break down.  By the way, this idea was the subject of an awarding winning episode of the TV series "Lost".  While none of us (that we know of) are time travelers, life, however, is filled with many changes.  My life has been recreated many times over. The objects that surround me have changed over and over again.  If it had not been for my "constants" I'm sure my psychological structure might have gotten rickety.  Even at a very young age I had developed a sense of my "constants".  Even when I did not know a physical home, I had an awareness of things internally that anchored me psychologically and were my home.  Seven schools could not shake me away from my "constants".  Being fired, defrocked, and excommunicated from the religious tradition of my youth could not shake my "constants".  My "constants" are friends that have always been there regardless of changing objects and circumstances.  Relationships, houses, people, and settings have changed.  My psychological ability to survive through the varied changes was possible, I think, because my "constants" provided continuity in spite of the many changes.

My "constants" are more internal as a result of my childhood (and what they are is personal to me). Your "constants" may be more physical or a mixture of the two - a house, a school, a church, a person, a song, a book, The Beatles, it could be anything.  My point is, regardless of what your "constants" are, it is crucial to be aware of, to honor, to befriend, to even romance the "constants" that keep you who you are even in the midst of a very changing world. Your sanity depends on it.

Some of life's greatest moments are the moments we uncover a new "constant".  However, they are not actually "new" - they have always been there holding us together - we had just not recognized them yet.