Spiritual living
Get through it all
It's as if I hear from the above just live.....work, play, consider all things, but just somehow get through it all and the big picture will come.
For These Times |
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478. Past
Spiritual living Get through it all It's as if I hear from the above just live.....work, play, consider all things, but just somehow get through it all and the big picture will come.
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467.
Spiritual Living A very practical God I find when I’m inundated with too many abstract problems and lost in my head and thoughts, something practical happens that brings me down to earth. Recently my mind was being swirled and twisted and then my refrigerator stopped working and I had to research what to purchase and even discarding the old one which was a problem. When I tried to remove the ice maker coil attached to the unit it started to leak and then to flood and the attached valve underneath the sink was totally frozen. What to do? I ran it by some handy people and realized I had a plumbing problem and might have to replace all the valves underneath the sink. Can't wing that one. Need a licensed plumber so work is insured. Solving this was like a chess match. When I tried to force a solution it fell apart. For instance, one handyman said he would try to put a plug on the coil but later canceled out. He was probably afraid to get involved. Well I mentioned my woes to a neighbor and he said he was replacing his refrigerator soon and I could have his. Nice and with the flow. But what about maybe needing extensive plumbing work. Could it be in the thousands? Well, biking home I saw a contractors truck and left a note on it to stop by. Later he did. A big fellow with a pony tailed assistant knocked on the door, and he was very much a gentleman. He said the valves were very old and could be replaced cheaply but his company uses brass piping so a bit more. It would cost 100 dollars for the parts and $100 an hour for labor but should be just one hour. I said I did not want any surprises on that, and he assured me it would not be much more in a worse case scenario. Well its what I wanted to hear and I think he was sincere. However, this is Florida. Well, told him I'd sleep on it and would call soon. I probably will tomorrow and move this along. I've had to turn the water off to the condominium but I'm ok. I don't like making urgent decisions if it can be helped. The point here is, as with an electrical wire, my mind, my thinking, my thoughts were grounded with this practical problem that needed a solution. There was no room for wrestling with the future, or spiritual roads to be deciphered, or for carving out a destiny. My feet had to be on the ground. Our God can be a very practical God. 461.
Spirit living Just listening I have become one of those people who can just sit and listen. I don't have to contribute. Last night during Passover I did just that. Sharon, the hostess who did a lot of preparing, while relaxing after the meal voiced various opinions and strategies to deal different problems and situations she was concerned about. I responded occasionally but mostly just listened. Letting in opinions or nature and just observing whatever comes your way takes less energy. It also saves the effort of conjuring up your own opinions which you already know. Instead, the environment feeds you and nourishes you to some extent. Life is coming to you. Watching a fire, or viewing the stars, or just listening to someone talk and voice their views fills you up. This all contrasts to refining and honing your path to wherever it leads, even if it becomes too narrow and dangerous. Perhaps it even loses its health. If so you have to let in life and just be quiet while doing so. So you listen and observe. What is there to say? What is outside you is so much larger than what is inside you. It can expand you as it tempers you. It acts as oil on rusted gears, gradually releasing the tensions and in your case allowing a larger technology or dimension to replace your used up one. If possible we have to just relax a bit. 437. Past
,A moment of the sublime On a trip that lasted long time ideas were tested until their bare bones were exposed shown to be weak and brittle. Experience turned out not to be the best teacher becoming another collection instead of the answer. Hard work was just that, hard work yielding no redemption. People came and went, friendships formed that didn’t last. All was repeated until the repetition itself caused physical suffering becoming the only trustworthy sign that this period was coming to an end. All along there were these few moments upon staring at a field, or catching a certain light in the camper, or seeing a particular building looking timeless, or a rock formation providing solidity, or the completeness of a person’s movement, or a face I could look through, that hinted of the beyond, the intangible, the untouched. The only surprise was that this also took place before and after this journey, the sublime bearing itself at its appointed time, 435. Past
Spiritual Spiritual Principles Oneness, identity My notes were not fully clear, but the following is what I think I meant. The singer Paul Robeson Jr. made an effort to learn about black heritage. It seems you have to know your identity before you lose it. My ex-wife attended services at a universal church where “oneness” was taught. Oneness refers to what is universal and underlies all religions and beliefs. Later, raised half Protestant and half Catholic, she converted to Judaism. She felt this was her true identity and heritage. Again, she became rooted to her spiritual heritage. In a sense we have to delve into our heritage (adopted or not) before we lose it. Some of us find a universal truth before we have our past identity. Still, it seems afterward we still have to connect with our roots and know where we are from. In either order seeking the truth and realizing where we are from have to both be dealt with. 408. Past
Spiritual living Let the day begin Thursday morning I meditated and when in the bright light there was no pain. I also prayed what I recalled was a Jewish prayer, basically giving thanks for just existing, for having this life, for being as opposed to never being. With this as my beginning, I didn't know what to expect. Nothing was owed to me, but the day became an adventure. I felt lighthearted, not burdened. For the time there were no preconceptions, or prejudgments, or worries. Let the day begin! 346.
Spiritual God's system and mine My positions are hard. They are concepts and I need clarification on them. It's as if I'm driving to a certain destination and have to know what roads to take; I-95 or Military Trail? In art there is incompleteness, starts and stops, and I need unity, cohesion, one way to do it, one technique, one vision. But what I think I need and what I have are two different things. In reality I have conflicts and loose ends that are beyond my ability to unify. So I petition God to help me, to resolve the conflicts, to turn duplicity into one. Or, to help me understand an approach that will pull it all together. I petition God and want a contract drawn. Now God seems to be not fully concerned with my needs. Or rather they are not foremost. What seems to happen is he eases me out of whatever dilemma I have. It's like evaporating water. I'm attempting to direct the water routes to go here or there and he's evaporating the water itself. I'm threatened by this because if the water evaporates I'll have nothing to work with and resolve. The waterways and where they lead become irrelevant. I fear I'll be left in a permanent state of betwixt and between and never reach a conclusion or arrive at a destination. Perhaps like Sisyphus I'll forever be starting over rolling the rock up the hill. Not funny. Perhaps what God is leaning towards is meeting me half way with a workable solution. He helps me to see all the variable solutions and forms and approaches and combinations and accept them for what they are. This bigger view still doesn't have all the answers and remains hard to act upon, but it allows me to live with all the conflicts and inconsistencies. Plus the bigger vision might change into a still bigger vision, and bring a bigger understanding. So God meets me where I am at. I can't just give up my water routes and have them evaporate. I still will spend time arranging them while some of the water evaporates. The good thing is that evaporation doesn't mean the water is lost forever. Some is, some escapes, but some comes back as rain or snow. Perhaps even as a gentle moisture that that settles in and engulfs the whole process and keeps it in a womb like comfort. This way there are less jolts and pressures and pulls and jerks. At least they are modified. As such, what seems irreconcilable and opposite and at odds becomes loosely connected within this overall atmosphere. And so, it's how I think God meets me here amid my dead ends and incompleteness. My sanity is saved. It lets me work and continue and still be me, but helps me slowly evolve into a higher realm. 322.
Spiritual Living Illuminate For a while you think God is illuminating a special path for you. Errors and omissions and wrong turns will fade in the distance as one glorious path opens before you is what you believe. Not necessarily so. Rather the bumps and grinds and incompleteness will be revisited. Only this time they will be accepted for what they are, an integral part of you too. No matter how damaging, they also happened. They will be seen again, only this time along with the knowledge of a prime mover that is always in the background. 320.
Spiritual Living Separation Is this why the Jews stopped speaking to God as a people? As a people the more you live and survive the more you are distanced from the maker. As a person it seems so too. It appears at some point we are not here to join with the maker. We can for a time act as if we are together but at some point we have to settle in here on earth and absorb our separation. We are not able to stay too close for too long. Something must have gone wrong in the past to have created this distance but it is here. This leaves one having to accept their separateness and it is not always pleasant or easy. |
Steven B. Nussdorf records his lifelong search to find meaning outside of the normal channels. He uses writing, poetry, and drawing to document this effort.Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.
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