Back to Basics (Again)

Thank goodness Lent is a time for simplifying because I haven’t had the energy to do anything complicated for the last couple weeks!  I’ve been feeling kind of lousy physically – I think because of digestive issues related to celiac disease.  And when I feel lousy physically, it’s hard for me to stay centered and motivated to keep growing spiritually.

This is another one of those times when it helps me to go back to basics.   

For me, going back to basics means letting go of my need to do it all and do it all perfectly and do it all right now.  I could easily spend 24 hours a day rushing around making sure that everything in my world is “just so.”  And, trust me, there are many weeks when this is my modus operandi.  When I’m in back-to-basics mode, my goal is to eliminate all that is unnecessary and turn my focus only to essential tasks so that I leave plenty of time for rest and healing and introspection.

I’ve noticed that when I’m not feeling well physically, it takes a toll on my mental and emotional health, as well.  I tend to worry A LOT more.  I tend to feel less optimistic and less connected to God and to my Divine self.   When I’ve been feeling ill, it takes extra effort to remember my spiritual Truth.  

So I’m in the process of re-committing to the essentials (again):

• ·         Sleep
• ·         Hydration
• ·         Nutrition
• ·         Meditation/prayer
• ·         Affirmations

And I’m trying to balance those essentials with my somewhat important household tasks:  laundry, dishes, meal-planning, cleaning, paperwork/bills, family time. 

Life is a juggling act.  Or at least mine is.  Or at least mine is right now.  I don’t know.  All I know is that there are going to be ups and downs.  Sometimes I’ll feel like I’m making progress, and sometimes I’ll need to go back to basics.  And – let’s be honest – back to basics isn’t a terrible place to be.  

I was prepared to simplify during this Lenten season, but maybe I was simplifying in my old, complicated way.   My body has decided to take control of the situation and force me to REALLY simplify.   Maybe from now on, I should establish permanent residence in Back-to-Basics-Land and only vacation in Complicated-Chaos-World, rather than the other way around. That’s a novel idea.

This is where I am in my Lenten practice.

~REBECCA

 

The Power of Strength

February's Power (or ability) is Strength. I know it's actually March but I don't want to leave Strength before I share a recent realization.

A loved one going through some health issues told me a month or so ago that she was worried about me so she didn't want to confide in me. I protested that I am calm and supportive and please, please, please do not try to protect me.

Strength is about perseverance, persistence and staying the course. My persistence story begins last fall when my back started to hurt all the time. My regular stretches and exercises didn't relieve it. I've had back pain in the past but it didn't last like this was. What in the world was going on? I was going to figure it out without drama or panic.

I looked at my habits:

I began crocheting again so I was sitting a lot at one time in one place - in my favorite, big overstuffed easy chair I've had for over 20 years. It was not surprising, then, to realize that the seat cushion had lost it's shape. It needed to be refilled. Anyone know an upholsterer?

I traveled three weeks out of six in October and November so I stopped going to my exercise class for almost two months. The traveling also limited how much walking I did. I missed walking - walking is good for my back - but I just didn't seem to have the time.

Then I noticed that our mattress was sagging in the two spots we slept. Waking up with back pain meant the mattress wasn't giving me the support I needed.

My prescription orthotics were stashed in a drawer in my bedroom. I hadn't had foot pain for a long time so I thought I didn't need them any more. I retrieved those orthotics and began to use them again, switching them from pair to pair. After all, the feet are connected to the legs which are connected to the hips which are connected to the back.

I began walking again, watching my posture, no matter how cold it was outside. As soon as my travels ended, I returned to exercise class. Our new mattress was delivered in December. The upholsterer I found did a fantastic job - I picked up my "like new" seat cushion in January. I continued crocheting, creating my own patterns and ended up this winter finishing three prayer shawls.

And so it went - I persisted in looking at every aspect of my behavior regarding my back and tackled each area, step by step, no panic and no drama. It took several months ... but I kept my focus on my intention to be pain free and then I was pain free. I am pain free.

I love my strength. And just recently I realized that when I love someone I am stronger, not weaker. My love for them makes me stronger. So my loved ones need not worry about protecting me. I can stay the course with them for as long as necessary with all the strength I need (thank you, God!). I am there for them.

~ JEAN

Simplifying Space

How is your Lenten practice going?  I think mine is going okay.  I’ve been faithfully completing the daily readings in Charles Fillmore’s Keep a True Lent and Unity’s 2015 Lenten booklet, and I’ve really been focusing on simplifying – simplifying my space, simplifying my schedule, simplifying my “to do” list,  simplifying my thoughts – making room, as much as possible, for silence, prayer, and an experience of the Divine.

With regard to my adopting the Lenten practices in Simplifying the Soul, I’m finding myself really drawn to the idea of simplifying my physical space, almost so much so that I’m not even interested in looking at the chapters or the suggestions that follow.  In fact, I think that it would be a good idea for me to make this year’s experiment (from March 1 to March 1) about simplifying my space – reducing clutter, getting clear about what possessions I really need, taking good care of what I have, and adopting a more minimalistic approach to life.

I was beginning to fall into a thought pattern that would have led me to believe that I should work more hours, make more money, buy more things, go more places – you know, claim my stake in the American Dream.  This Lenten season couldn’t have come at a better time!  Thankfully, I also recently stumbled across a documentary called "I Am," and it somehow brought me back to myself and gave me some clarity about what I really want from life.  The past few weeks, I’ve been seeking out information about green living, voluntary simplicity, minimalism, etc.   I’m almost finished thoroughly cleaning out one room in my house, and after that I’ll go on to the other rooms of the house and take a look at what should stay and what should go.  I think that will be this year’s project.

When it comes to spirituality, I’m aware that I need to surround myself constantly with people, books, music, movies, etc, that support what I’m trying to become.  I am energized by always having something new to study, learn, and practice.  This helps me to stay engaged in what I’m trying to accomplish.  I realize that it’s the same way for me with my material life.  The mainstream culture pushes me to strive for more, more, more – money, status, beauty, fame – and every once in a while, I start to get caught up in that current.   This year, I want to be sure to surround myself with information that supports what I think is important and allows me to make my own choices about what I buy, what I wear, where I go, etc.  

So that’s where I am with my Lenten practice.

~REBECCA

Praying for Others

Recently I’ve had a personal revelation around the idea of praying for others.   In the past, my prayers for others generally revolved around the challenges, illnesses or weaknesses that others were experiencing.  Focusing on the problem, I would try to center myself in an awareness of God and envision the challenge being eliminated, or the weakness being strengthened, or the illness being healed.  In other words, the goal of my prayers was to bring about a change in another’s experience.

As my understanding of prayer grows and evolves, I have come to believe that prayer is less about asking for a change in circumstances and more about connecting with and cultivating a greater awareness of God.   When I am experiencing a challenge or illness or sense of lack in my life, rather than going into prayer to ask God to make a change for me, I let go of my concerns, get centered, and focus on connecting with that Divine source within myself that either has a solution to the problem or knows clearly that all is well despite the problem.   Still, when praying for others, even though I knew better, I found myself wanting to effect a change in their outer circumstances.

My reading of Sharon Salzberg’s  Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience has really solidified my ability to use prayer effectively in my own life.  It has also allowed me to make a leap in my ability to pray for others.  On a heart level, I understand now what I only understood on an intellectual level before – that praying for others is exactly the same as praying for myself.  While I may be inspired to pray for another because of a challenge or illness or problem he or she is facing, when I go into prayer for another, my only goal is to become aware of that Divine source within and to connect, on behalf of that individual, with that all-knowing Presence that either has a solution to the problem or knows clearly that all is well despite the problem. 

    

This way of praying for others brings me great joy.  It is a JOY to know the truth for another despite outward appearances.  I actually LOOK FORWARD to opportunities to go into prayer for others now.  I get EXCITED about praying for my church, my family, my friends, the world.   What a shift it is for me - to be grateful for what IS rather than to try to change what seems to be!  Thank you, God, for these ongoing opportunities to learn and grow. 

~REBECCA

Keeping House

In the spirit of spring-cleaning, both physical and mental/emotional, for Lent, I downloaded a book called “Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit” by Paula Huston.  This book recommends one small, measurable task to complete each day as a way of practicing the simplicity and humility that characterize the Lenten season.  Huston is an oblate, or lay associate of a monastic community, so the book is filled with references to Catholicism.  This doesn’t necessarily scare me away, but I do notice myself wanting to question the rationale behind the guidance being offered.   Plus, it’s only a few days into Lent and I’ve already encountered at least one task that has completely stopped me in my tracks. 

To give you an idea of the tasks being recommended in this book, on Day 1 the assignment is to clean out a junk drawer or closet.   The rationale behind this project has to do with breaking our strong emotional ties to material things, especially those things we that we are meant to leave behind, the things we have trouble letting go of – often things associated with our past.  

The task for Day 2 is the one that has me stymied.  It’s one of the tasks that I have found myself wanting to question, but also one that I find deeply moving and relevant for me personally.  Simply put, the instruction for Day 2 is to “scrub a dirty corner.”  On the surface, this seems straightforward enough.   The goal of my Lenten practice is a sort of spring-cleaning, after all, so scrubbing a dirty corner makes sense.  But the rationale offered for this task is much deeper than that.  According to the author, the purpose of scrubbing a dirty corner is to bring attention to those areas of our lives where we attempt to maintain an outward appearance of order while neglecting the hidden “grime” that lies underneath.  

  

Whoa.

“The act of physically scrubbing out a dirty corner,” says Huston, “especially one that is hidden, can be a reminder to us of our preference for life on the shining surface.  And the humility required to get down in the muck this way, taking on an onerous job the results of which few will ever notice, helps point us in a new direction, toward life in the light of Spirit.” 

  

I’m giving a lot of thought to this task.  On the one hand, I’m wondering if it’s really necessary to put energy into cleaning a surface that is hidden from view.  I think this might be a Catholic mind-trick of some sort.  On the other hand, I can think of a hundred little “dirty corners” in my home that I’ve been allowing to fester because, after all, nobody will ever see them – and, like the author, I’m wondering how this interest in keeping up appearances translates to other areas of my life. 

I hope, ultimately, that I can find the courage and the focus and the tenacity to face and tackle even the ugly chores of life.  And I hope that I can eventually move beyond my need to keep up appearances.  I’m not convinced that scrubbing the dirty corners of my physical home is necessary, but I do believe that this simple practice may help me to bring some awareness to the motivation behind my actions and  discover a new level of strength within myself.

~REBECCA

Lent

Today is the beginning of the 2015 Lenten season.  For the past five years, I have used Charles Fillmore’s “Keep a True Lent” as my guidebook for this sacred time of cleansing and renewal.  Fillmore’s book offers readings, Bible passages, and an affirmation for each of the 46 days of Lent.   As a supplement to “Keep a True Lent,” I also use the Lenten booklet published each year by Unity Worldwide Ministries.  In the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, I’m always looking forward eagerly to beginning my Lenten practice.  I’m excited to revisit the concepts in the Fillmore book, and I’m excited to see what new ideas are posed by the contributors of the Unity booklet.  Each year, I discover something new that I didn’t notice about the readings in the years before.  Each year, I discover something new about myself, as well.

Unity minister Rev. Ed Townley describes the Lenten season as a time for spiritual and emotional spring-cleaning.  This is the first time I’ve ever looked at Lent in this way.  As Rev. Townley says, just as we accumulate physical clutter in our homes over the course of the year, we also accumulate mental and emotional clutter in our minds.  And so just as we take the time to spring-clean our homes, we must also take the time to spring-clean our minds.  Lent is the perfect time to begin this cleansing process, as it opens us up to the power of Easter and the resurrection of the Spirit.

To go along with the theme of spring-cleaning, Kathie, one of our Unity members and the head of our Beautification Team, brought to us the idea of “de-decorating” our Unity sanctuary to symbolize a kind of simplifying, which is the basic theme of the Lenten season.  I love the idea of marrying a physical de-cluttering with a mental and emotional de-cluttering, as a way of preparing one’s mind and heart for the glorious Eastertide.

I have a lot of different ideas and goals running through my mind at this time of year. My 365-day experiment is coming to an end.  My study of the Twelve Powers is just beginning.   The part of me that is anxious for Spring feels obligated to be busy, busy, busy with creative activity.  But the cold, dark winter has me feeling so sluggish that I can hardly keep up with my regular daily obligations. Something tells me that this Lenten practice- a practice of simplifying and de-cluttering and becoming still - is exactly what I need right now.   I wonder if I can set aside all of my do-do-do-ing and just be-be-be for the next 46 days.   It's soooooo not my style, but I’m going to try - because I think there might be something for me to learn here.

~REBECCA

On Vacation

I'm taking a vacation. Yea!

My two sisters and I are meeting in Florida, near the Kennedy Space Center, renting a house with three bedrooms (one for each of us) and spending a week together.

Going away is such a great thing. To follow up on my previous post, I have to let go of everything here in New Jersey in order to be away.

While away I will continue to meditate on the Daily Word and to study February's power/ability of strength. And I trust that when I return I will have something to share here.

In the meantime, take good care.

~ JEAN