It’s still raining. So intoxicating!

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I don’t  which one is more intoxicating. To take a close up photo of an African Queen Basil whose sweet aroma fills my nose or the smell of a wetness that permeates the earth to quench our thirst. “What would spirituality … Continue reading →

Product of Enlightenment

“What kind of a person does Enlightenment produce?”

Said the Master:

“To be public-spirited and belong to no party,
to move without being bound to any given course,
to take things as they come,
have no remorse for the past,
no anxiety for the future,
to move when pushed,
to come when dragged,
to be like a mighty gale,
like a feather in the wind,
like weeds floating on a river,
like a mill stone meekly grinding,
to love all creation equally
as heaven and earth are equal to all
—such is the product of Enlightenment.”

 

On hearing these words, one of the younger disciples cried, “This sort of teaching is not for the living but for the dead,” and walked away, never to return.  ~ Anthony de Mello, SJ

MORSEL: All Spiritual being is in man. A wise old proverb says, “God comes to see us without bell,” that is, as there is no screen or ceiling between our heads and the infinite heavens, so is there no bar or wall in the soul where man, the effect, ceases, and God, the cause, begins.  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays “The Over-Soul”

Silence and/or Less – Neuroscience of Peace

Question: What one thought will you focus on this year to bring more peace?

Silence and less are good thoughts.

Think about this.

“How would spirituality help a man of the world like me?” said the businessman.
“It will help you have more,” said the Master.
“How?” “By teaching you to desire less.” — Anthony de Mello, SJ

MORSEL: After the game, the king and pawn go into the same box. –Italian Proverb

January Peace Challenge: Neuroscience of Peace

Did you enjoy your last hour?

There is this one Jesuit priest that I followed for an annual retreat.  The places he offered the retreat was as close as Portland and as far as Ireland.  It’s not so much about him why I followed his retreat; it was the teaching of a Jesuit, the humour and the awareness of living the faith.  It was very realistic. 

My dearly departed friend, Jancis, was the one who introduced me to Awareness.  She’s not even Catholic.  Somehow, I discovered that there is a priest who actually runs the program on Awareness. 

Jim Dolan.  He studied under the tutelage of the writer Anthony de Mello, Awareness. 

Awareness by Anthony de Mello

In short,  I went to attend his week-long retreat and became hooked.  From then on, I joined the annual spiritual discernment.  Much to my surprise, the retreat was mostly for Nuns, Brothers and Priests.  I was the only one “out-of-order”.  I belong as far as I am concerned even though I am not part of the religious institution whether they like it or not. 

I encouraged my friend and the “YaYa Sisterhood” to attend his retreat in Ireland.  It was victory for me when I can persuade a person let alone my sisters!  Jancis and I went one year; YaYa Sisterhood went. all four of them, on another  year.  As much as I love my sisters, I beat a different drum from them.  Needless to say, I did not join their travels. 

The favourite meditation that I treasure the most is “did I enjoy my last hour?”  

This statement is actually an examination of conscience at the end of the day before I go to sleep.  It is a discernment of moral values and ethics.  Anybody can do it.  Try it.  If you do not believe in God, then leave God behind.  Just think about it, mediate on the question. 

Did you enjoy your last hour?

 

Daily Affirmation

On a lighter side of life, I found this in FaceBook.  Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. 

 

One Minute Meditation
“What shall I do to love my neighbor?”
“Stop hating yourself.”
The disciple pondered those words long and seriously and came back to say, “But I love myself too much, for I am selfish and self-centered. How do I get rid of that?”
“Be friendly to yourself and your self will be contented and it will set you free to love your neighbor.”
                                                     Anthony de Mello, S.J.

 

MORSEL:
The more faithfully you listen to the voice within you, the better you will hear what is sounding outside. And only she who listens can speak. — Dag Hammarskjold

Friday Meditation (38)

The Master held that no words were bad if they were used in an right context. When he was told that one of his disciples was given to swearing, he remarked, “Profanity has been known to offer spiritual relief denied to prayer.” — Anthony de Mello, SJ 

MORSEL:   If you judge people, you have no time to love them.  —  Mother Teresa 

BONUS MORSEL:  Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.     — Frank Outlaw 

Desert Wisdom Nouwen/Nomura