The Lords Prayer (from the Aramaic)

I found this on another blog...

I like this version. How about you?
 

O Birther! Father- Mother of the Cosmos
Focus your light within us - make it useful.
Create your reign of unity now-
through our fiery hearts and willing hands
Help us love beyond our ideals
and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures.
Animate the earth within us: we then
feel the Wisdom underneath supporting all.
Untangle the knots within
so that we can mend our hearts' simple ties to each other.
Don't let surface things delude us,
But free us from what holds us back from our true purpose.
Out of you, the astonishing fire,
Returning light and sound to the cosmos.

Shalom,

Stephen

A More Perfect Union

I have been blessed to become acquainted with the community of Congregation B'nai Israel here is Sacramento. In particular, with Rabbi Mona Alfi. I see in Rabbi Alfi something that seems to be rare in spiritual leaders: a keen sense of oneness along with a commitment to inclusion, restoration and united effort.

Rabbi Alfi was invited to speak on Thursday night at the Salaam Center of Sacramento on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of 9-11. 

Rabbi Alfi's remarks follow.

[Just as a note, Judaism and Islaam have the common root of being the tradition and lineage descended from Abraham, Israel (Judaism) from Abraham's son Isaac; and Islaam from Abraham's son Ishmael.]

A More Perfect Union

(Presented at Salaam Center of Sacramento, Sept 8, 2011)

 

Hinei mah tov u'mah nayim, shevat achim gam yachad - How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell together (Psalm 133).  Tonight we come together, as brothers and sisters, children of a shared dream, a single family that has also suffered loss together, all of us the children of this great nation of the United States.

In the Bible we are taught that when our father Abraham died, his sons Ishmael and Isaac came together to bury him (Gen. 25:9).  

The Jewish tradition teaches us that with Abraham's passing, Isaac and Ishmael lived in harmony with each another.  They came together not only to mourn their shared loss, as brothers should, but they also found healing from their pain, by living side by side in peace.  

I can easily imagine these two brothers standing at their father's grave, weeping and embracing each other, and asking themselves what is the purpose of fighting?  What greater way is there for two brothers to honor their father's memory than by living in harmony with each other?

Today we come together, also as brothers and sisters, to mourn our shared losses of all those who perished on September 11, ten years ago.  This is a time for us to remember that we are all part of the same American family.

By coming together tonight we are given the opportunity to not only look back at the terrible events that haunt us still, but it also reminds us of the necessity for us to look toward the future and our shared obligation to create a society that lives by our country's greatest teachings.

In the preamble of our Constitution, our founding fathers wrote that "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..."

We are the lucky inheritors of these great ideals.  And what greater way is there for us to honor our founding fathers than to live by these beliefs?  This is not an inheritance for us to put on a shelf or to simply read about or study.  This is an inheritance that provides for us a blueprint of a great and just society.  

The Blessings of Liberty that the founding fathers spoke of are blessings that need to be secured and nurtured by each and every generation.  And it is our shared responsibility to create opportunities to come together for the common good, so that we can ensure that our children, and our children's children, will enjoy these blessings as well.

We must never forget that our nation is a Union - a collection of people with different backgrounds and religions, different regional interests, different political beliefs, and yet we can come together with not only common purpose, but also a shared feeling of responsibility for each other's welfare.

We are a family, and like every family, we do not need to be the same, but we must listen to each other, accept each other, know and understand where each other's concerns are coming from.  We must find ways to honor our differences and protect each other's rights.  And we must never forget that our destinies are intertwined.

When my brother grieves, my heart is saddened.  When my sister has success, I am joyful.   And when I weep, or when I celebrate, it gives me comfort to know that it matters to them.  In the shadow of 9-11, we must never forget that all Americans are brothers and sisters, and we must never fail to act as such.

Ours was a shared horror as we watched the Towers collapse and the Pentagon attacked.  We all mourned the deaths of those who were killed.  We were all inspired by the first responders and those on United Flight 93 who showed tremendous courage on that fateful day.  We all felt lost and scared in the days, weeks and months following the attacks.  And we went through all of these experiences as an American family.

But just as we are able to come together in times of mourning and remembrance, and in times of great celebration, we must remember what makes a family strong is how they interact on a daily basis.

Let us study together so that we can understand how to put our shared beliefs into practice.  Let us repair the world together by helping the most vulnerable in our society.  Let us break bread together, and share our stories, and remind ourselves over and over again - how good it can be when brothers and sisters dwell together - hinei mah tov u'mah nayim, shevat achim gam yachad.

May the Holy One, the Creator of all humanity bless our nation with shalom, with salaam, with peace.  Amen.  

Rabbi Mona Alfi

 

The Way

"The way to God can only be found in your willingness to embrace and live fully the very life that is within you and that unfolds through you with each moment."

Quoted from The Way Of Mastery, Lesson 3, The Power of Forgiveness

I refuse any longer to judge my life so harshly. I choose to live freely without regret.

I now assume responsibility in this very moment for all I see, all I think, all I feel and all that I remember. I am the one that gives these perceptions form, substance and energy. I embrace my creations, and therefore transform them.

Of myself, I can do nothing. But the Father, through me, does all things.

Father bring each moment to me that I might learn anew to love, and to allow that love to transform this temporary illusion into that which extends the good, the holy and the beautiful.

Prayer given for California State Senate, August 27, 2010

California State Senate, August 27, 2010
Guest Chaplain Rev. Stephen Gilbert

Prayer

The well-known Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu said this:

“In this world, there is nothing softer or thinner than water. But to compel the hard and unyielding, it has no equal. That the weak overcomes the strong, that the hard gives way to the gentle -- this everyone knows. Yet no one asks accordingly.”

I sense the truth in this, that the “hard gives way to the gentle.” But what is it that I ask for? Do I pray that the ends that I strive for and believe in be accomplished? Of course, but I am pretty sure that this is done on a regular basis.

So I assert that the question Lao Tzu alludes to must go to the how of it. The question is:

How might I find the gentleness, the softness, the humility in me needed to accomplish the task at hand?

How might these qualities be expressed through me that we might move forward to the fulfillment of our responsibilities?

So let’s ask now:

Our Father, God, The Presence in whom we live and move and have our being, I ask you to reveal to each in this chamber this morning that place in them to which no harm has ever come. For it is in that place that each may find their gentleness, softness and humility. I ask you to work in them to bring forth these qualities of character in their work together. For it is these qualities that have no equal.

May You bless this day, this legislative body, and the State of California.

Amen.

http://senweb03.senate.ca.gov/chaplain/scprayerarchive.asp

Reality and Experience

There is a phrase that is used quite a bit in new thought circles: "I create my reality." I understand what meaning is intended, but the word “reality” is not the right word to use. The more precise statement would be: "I create my experience." I was making this point at a workshop a few months ago. One of the participants said to me "Reality... Experience... What's the difference?" Let's explore this distinction, which is fundamental and huge.

Reality is what is true always about me, about you, about all events, and about the nature of the universe. I do not create my reality. That is already done. The truth that is true always - reality -  is established.

 

Experience - my experience - is how I perceive reality. I do create my experience, and I do it moment-to-moment. My experience is neither reality nor truth. It just is. It is what it is because of how I choose to perceive the world.

A really good question to ask right now is, “What is reality?” That is, what is the truth that is true always? Famously, Pontius Pilate asked this very question of Jesus before handing him over to the crowd to be crucified. He asked it in a sarcastic way, which is unfortunate, because he was asking a person that could have answered the question. So let’s ask it now, sincerely.

What is the truth that is true always?

• The truth that is true always is that God is love.
• The truth that is true always is that all of creation is birthed out of this source: God, Love... including you and me.
• The truth that is true always is that all events are neutral, not good or bad, positive or negative, right or wrong. These are judgments we place upon the events.
• The truth that is true always is that I am always at choice to perceive reality as I desire. So are you.
• (There are other truths that are true always, but these tasty little nuggets are enough to munch on right now.)

These are aspects of what is true always. Truth does not depend upon anything for it to be true, not even my belief in it. How I experience truth, is, well...my experience. My experience does not alter the truth, but I can choose to alter my experience.

My experience happens in me, not “out there.” This is something I was never taught, so mostly I give my experience over to my circumstances. I experienced being “under the circumstances.” I have thought my circumstances determined my experience.

This is not true. What is true is that all events (circumstances) are neutral. I give them valence by deciding how I will perceive them. So my experience happens inside me, not “out there.” As a matter of fact, my experience has nothing to do with what is “out there,” and everything to do with what is in me: my beliefs, morals, judgments, assessments, etc.

So what?

One of the very wonderful aspects of consciousness is the ability to witness our lives. We have an ability to be self-aware. We can use this to become observant of how we are perceiving our circumstances. To the degree that we notice the “charge” we give to any situation in life, we are able then to be responsible for our experience, rather than blame the world for it. Since our experience is what we have chosen to make it, out of that responsibility, we can choose again.

We don’t create our reality. We do create our experience.

Experience the joy of this truth!

More about beliefs, morals, judgments and assessments  in subsequent posts. Check back!

For more: The Way Of Mastery

Freedom

I am realizing that the greatest gift I can ever receive comes to me only when I decide to release you, my brother or my sister, from the perceptions I have been projecting upon you.

There is a truth that is true always about you. There is a truth that is unchanged and unchanging about who you are. It is this truth, this gift above any gift, that is revealed to me as I release you from the perceptions I have held about you.

Of course, this is so regarding anything that I see. I am beginning to understand that I have not known the world. I have only known my perceptions of it. And I have learned to insist, and guard vehemently, that my chosen perceptions are right:

• My perceptions of you, what you do and say.
• My perceptions of my parents, the choices they made, the way they were toward me.
• My perception of my job, my behavior, my choices.
• My perceptions of myself.
• My perception of the world.
• My perception of God.

As I relinquish my insistence to be right about my world, I find that there is something deeper, something glimmering, something holy just beyond my perception. As I allow the world - you, others, myself, God - to be as it is, to be innocent, I am free. Free from the idea that circumstances control me. Free to see and therefore create my experience as I desire. Not by making what is out there different in itself, but by allowing myself to be changed, deeply, gently, by the choice to see only the good, the holy and the beautiful.

Have A Light Touch With Yourself

I have spent many years fighting with "my demons," that on-going conversation within my mind that was able to convince me of my own ineptness, my own guilt, my own weaknesses, my own undeserving-of-anything-good nature. It seemed like other people's on-going inner conversation was convincing them of just the opposite: their worthiness, their ability, their strengths. And so, I got into comparing. Comparing myself against an impossible standard that I had constructed within my own mind, and also against what others seemed to be able to accomplish in their lives, while I struggled to even get off the ground. Some people refer to this on-going conversation as "monkey-mind," or "the committee."

Sound familiar?

Well, I have come to understand some things that have really helped me. Here is one:

I have come to understand that I am responsible for my experience of life. At first this can be a hard one to swallow, but once swallowed and assimilated, it leads to tremendous relief and awakening. One of the hurdles I had with this concept is the word "responsibility." There is a lot of "baggage" that comes with that word. I finally understood that responsibility in this statement does not mean "burden" or "blame," (unless we make it so). Responsibility here means that we choose the experience. We choose the experience by placing meaning or value upon the circumstances we perceive. I discovered that if I am able to witness my circumstances in a way that allowed me to question how I was perceiving them, I could make a different choice. And once a different choice is made, the thoughts that correspond to that choice make sense.

As an example, I used to have a "bad temper." So much so that it got in the way of relationships with my children, work and friends. I even used to fly off the handle at circumstances that didn't go the way I wanted them to, like my car breaking down, a stop light being red, or an appliance not working properly. Slowly, I began to bring some quality of "witness" to these time of anger. Before bashing the toaster with my fist, I began to see that  the toaster was just a toaster. It didn't have an agenda of malice towards me. I saw that whatever I was thinking about the toaster, was creating this experience of rage toward it.

One of the keys to this process is having a light touch with yourself. I found it easy to fall into the thought that I am such a dope for thinking this way. That is a vicious circle of thought that is just another aspect of the on-going chatter of "the committee." So having a light touch with the toaster meant for me that I found the humor in wanting to beat up the f&#%@+g toaster for not cooperating. Not laughing at myself, but laughing with myself for what I had just made up about this situation. I just didn't take it so seriously. Instead of identifying with my anger, I was able to step out of it, and find a lightness and humor in my creation of this experience, through my thoughts about it. The seriousness and the identification began to evaporate with practice. I discovered that it was this great seriousness with in the mind that held these triggers of rage in place. Once I could dis-identify myself from the anger, it left. Having anger is not the problem. The problem was identifying with it. If I am not identified with my anger, I can make a different choice, I can see things differently, I can think differently, and therefore have a different experience.

I've had my toaster for several years now, too.

"All my experience is the effect of where I choose to focus the attention of my consciousness." - The Way of Mastery