A lot of people use the Memorial Day weekend as break from work to party, swim, cook out, and have fun. And this is OK for they are enjoying the freedoms and privileges that many have sacrificed themselves to give them. Memorial Day is a day set aside to honor and remember those who fought and died upon the fields of battle. It is a day when we honor our friends and loved ones who have gone before. It is a difficult to over estimate the debt we owe to the proceeding generations who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have what we have today. We are the heirs of all of the past ages. The blessings we now enjoy are due to the hard work, vision and sacrifice of all who have blazed the trail for us.
Many families today especially feel the pain of the loss of a loved one who has laid down his or her life in service to their country. Many who served and survived feel the pain of the loss of friends and buddies who died beside them. There are those who have sacrificed a great deal. Some with physical wounds that are easily seen, burns, missing limbs and scars. But there are also those whose wounds are not easily apparent. They suffer in silence, with emotional and spiritual wounds.
The experience and result of war is tragic for everyone involved. The very horrors of war, create an abhorrence of war for those who have experienced those horrors. Those who have not, expound upon the glory of war. But there is no glory in war. There is fear, death, survival and boredom. Yet there is an exhilaration and closeness to life found only in the mist of death and destruction that is not found anywhere else. And there is internal strife and conflict, but there is no glory in war.
Remember the fallen and be grateful for their sacrifice. But also remember those who survived and be thankful to them as well. For they too have sacrificed a great part of themselves because it was simply what they had to do. Grant them love, compassion, and understanding for what they have given but pity them not, for what they have given, they gave willingly. Help them to find the answers they seek through their faith. For they have looked into the very face of death to discover, even for a fleeting moment, the secret of life. Through terrible experiences they have touched creation and became one with the divine. Help them find their way back to making that connection so they will complete the transformation and find peace.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
They are every where, everywhere!
In my life I have seen both the best and worst of humanity. I have witnessed the results of man's inhumanity towards mankind. I have worked around and with the worst of the bad apples you can imagine that our society has to offer, and even in the worst individuals, if you allow yourself to see it, there is still some good. And even though most of the people you will ever meet are really good and decent folks, there is another type out there. These are a certain type of people that were probably the inspiration for the phrase "Some people are alive simply because it is against the law to kill them." We have all met them, and often times we have met them several times throughout the progression of our lives. These individuals rarely actually break the law, and when they do, they always seem to get by with it. They seem to exist to only make our lives miserable. This is something they certainty do quite well. They are found in every walk of life and in every stripe, creed and color. Sometimes they plague us for a few days or weeks, though there are times they will plague us for years. There is a reason why they enter our lives. That reason is of course different for everyone, but over-all their purpose on a higher plateau is to actually help us to become better human beings. They are definitely unpleasant, and a huge source of stress. They seem to delight in making us miserable simply to make themselves feel better. But this is because their own lives are so miserable. But in each case where they enter our lives, it is because there is something that we need to learn from the experience and they will continue to have an effect upon us and our lives until we can learn the lesson the cosmos demands that we learn.
I recall the words of Sybill Leek where she addressed this phenomenon. Sybil said that people like this are at a low level in their reincarnation cycle, still greatly influenced by their past animalistic natures, and that we may have at one time been just like they are. And although most of us would love to see a utopian society, Sybil claimed that a Utopian Society was an impossibility because we are here in this incarnation to learn and grow. Something that would not be possible in a utopian society.
Well I would like to see a utopian society, where people would help each other out, where everyone had time for meditation, pursuits of the arts, reflection in nature, plenty of everything to meet their needs and on and on, but I too feel this is an impossibility simply because the way people are. Hopefully at some point in our evolution we as a species will finally evolve to the point where it becomes a possibility. But that will not happen in our lifetimes. So we are stuck with those who will exploit us, nature and everything else that they can exploit in any and every way they can for their own reasons and amusement. Those who will always get ahead at our expense. So how do we deal with these people? Well I myself pity them. They are miserable individuals living miserable lives. They do not have any real friends and will never know or understand the true meaning of Love. I also try to learn why they are in my life at that particular time. I intentionally examine my own life and and the part they are playing in it as well as the steps I myself took to bring them into my life. Then I try to work through the lesson they have for me to learn. Once I can accomplish this, I can put them behind me and enjoy much more pleasant things. It is all a part of realizing that we are in control of our own lives and taking personal responsibility for our lives rather than passing the buck. As we learn the lessons these people have for us to learn, our need to have them in our lives lessens, and the frequency of these types crossing our life paths becomes less and less frequent. Eventually, and hopefully we will ourselves grow to the point where we no longer need to learn and re-learn the life lessons that those types are in our lives to teach us.
I recall the words of Sybill Leek where she addressed this phenomenon. Sybil said that people like this are at a low level in their reincarnation cycle, still greatly influenced by their past animalistic natures, and that we may have at one time been just like they are. And although most of us would love to see a utopian society, Sybil claimed that a Utopian Society was an impossibility because we are here in this incarnation to learn and grow. Something that would not be possible in a utopian society.
Well I would like to see a utopian society, where people would help each other out, where everyone had time for meditation, pursuits of the arts, reflection in nature, plenty of everything to meet their needs and on and on, but I too feel this is an impossibility simply because the way people are. Hopefully at some point in our evolution we as a species will finally evolve to the point where it becomes a possibility. But that will not happen in our lifetimes. So we are stuck with those who will exploit us, nature and everything else that they can exploit in any and every way they can for their own reasons and amusement. Those who will always get ahead at our expense. So how do we deal with these people? Well I myself pity them. They are miserable individuals living miserable lives. They do not have any real friends and will never know or understand the true meaning of Love. I also try to learn why they are in my life at that particular time. I intentionally examine my own life and and the part they are playing in it as well as the steps I myself took to bring them into my life. Then I try to work through the lesson they have for me to learn. Once I can accomplish this, I can put them behind me and enjoy much more pleasant things. It is all a part of realizing that we are in control of our own lives and taking personal responsibility for our lives rather than passing the buck. As we learn the lessons these people have for us to learn, our need to have them in our lives lessens, and the frequency of these types crossing our life paths becomes less and less frequent. Eventually, and hopefully we will ourselves grow to the point where we no longer need to learn and re-learn the life lessons that those types are in our lives to teach us.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Death as a friend
Our society has an ingrained fear of death. We are all taught this from a very early age. So we grow up fearing death, and when someone in our family dies, we are almost apologetic when we have to ask for time off to attend the funeral. Society has made us materialistic and possessive. So when someone close to us dies, we have difficulty letting go, and their passing leaves a big hole in our lives. The greater the role the deceased played in our lives the greater the sense of loss. The resulting trauma we feel is real pain, as intense as any physical pain can be. People around us are very supporting for the first few days or even few weeks, but then they just want us "to get over it." But this stems from their own fears concerning death. But the reality is that we never are able to "just get over it." Grief over the loss of a valued person in our lives is a process we must work through in order to heal in a healthy manner. When we experience a loss, we all must do our "grief work" and in some cases as in the death of a spouse or significant other this process may take a year or more for us to complete that "grief work." Our society fears death. But this was not always the case.
Our ancestors had a different perspective on death and dying. Life was hard and death was a release from the struggle that life offered. Death was a celebration of the continuance of life, and an acknowledgement that the deceased had completed all of the tasks s/he was required to in that particular incarnation.
In my own religious philosophy, which is based upon the beliefs our ancestors held, life and death are merely two different aspects of the learning progression of the soul. A person is born into this life to learn and grow spiritually. During the process, we learn pain, and sickness and hardship as well as the joys and pleasures and feelings of triumph in overcoming some of the many difficulties that the process of life demands of us. Our ancestors did not fear death, they embraced death as the blessing of peace and opportunity of rest and reward for the completion of a phase of the continuing process of life and evolution of spirit.
Death is the great unknown, and though many have traveled that path of transition, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is not something we can see through while we are in corporeal form. Our fear of death causes us to flee death, adding to our ignorance of death. Our ancestors understood death much better, because they embraced death as a friend. Yes, like us I am certain they felt the pain of the loss of a loved one, but they also knew they would meet again when they themselves crossed behind the veil. They did not have the concept of the Christian hell, but they did have the belief that the soul of someone who was basically a rotten apple in life would undergo the pain of purification in death, until the soul was ready to return to experience another phase of life and learning and spiritual growth.
During my work with hospice patients, I have often witnessed the dying comforting the ones they would be leaving behind when the transition from life to death occurred. Many of them actually look forward to death, because once faced with the reality that they are going to die, they have come to understand death and view death as a friend rather than an enemy to be feared. Yet our society continues to view death as a disease and act as if it may be contagious.
Death can happen to anyone at any time. Some of us will die suddenly, other will die slowly. But the fact is we will all eventually die, and when that time comes, we will meet death alone, one on one.
Many my age and older may recall the movie entitled "Death Takes a Holiday", where death fell in love with a mortal woman who was supposed to die and he suddenly stopped gathering souls. For a time there was no death. Burned victims screamed in agony, tortured by the pain of raw nerves exposed to the air, people in car crashes with half their bodies mangled lived on to the bafflement of the medical professionals. Without death, people suffered horribly all over the world. Finally Death saw what was happening and allowed the compassion he felt for the many suffering souls to overcome his love of the woman and he again began gathering his work in releasing people from their pain and suffering.
Death is a necessary process of life. Life feeds upon death. This is apparent in nature, but for those isolated from close contact with nature this is something that is not quite understood. As it is, something must die so that something else may live. We all consume the life energy of something else, whether that be the life of the lettuce and tomato in your salad or the beef that was killed to make your cheese burger. Every time you eat, you are consuming life no matter what you eat, it has given it's life so that you may live.
So death is the key to life. My father feared death all of his life. He was in fact terrified of death and he suffered terribly. Then one day, he lost that fear and passed into the afterlife peacefully. His suffering had come to an end, his pain had gone.
I myself served a hitch in the service of Uncle Sam and was often in the place where death was close at hand. Death had become my constant companion and he could have touched me on the shoulder at any moment. Because death was so close and constantly there, like the hospice patients I worked with i learned that Death was not my enemy. I began to understand something about death and in the process Death became my friend. I no longer fear death, for I have gotten a glimpse of that which lies beyond the veil and I know that it is not so bad. But I am in no rush to get there either. I did not survive the experiences of my past for naught, there is some purpose I need to fulfill yet. My tasks are not yet at an end, yet my experiences may have been gathered to help someone else understand the answer or at least enough of the answer to feel a measure of comfort when death touches them or someone close to them on the shoulder.
May you all live long and happy lives. I know my own life has become much more peaceful when I allowed Death to become my friend.
Our ancestors had a different perspective on death and dying. Life was hard and death was a release from the struggle that life offered. Death was a celebration of the continuance of life, and an acknowledgement that the deceased had completed all of the tasks s/he was required to in that particular incarnation.
In my own religious philosophy, which is based upon the beliefs our ancestors held, life and death are merely two different aspects of the learning progression of the soul. A person is born into this life to learn and grow spiritually. During the process, we learn pain, and sickness and hardship as well as the joys and pleasures and feelings of triumph in overcoming some of the many difficulties that the process of life demands of us. Our ancestors did not fear death, they embraced death as the blessing of peace and opportunity of rest and reward for the completion of a phase of the continuing process of life and evolution of spirit.
Death is the great unknown, and though many have traveled that path of transition, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is not something we can see through while we are in corporeal form. Our fear of death causes us to flee death, adding to our ignorance of death. Our ancestors understood death much better, because they embraced death as a friend. Yes, like us I am certain they felt the pain of the loss of a loved one, but they also knew they would meet again when they themselves crossed behind the veil. They did not have the concept of the Christian hell, but they did have the belief that the soul of someone who was basically a rotten apple in life would undergo the pain of purification in death, until the soul was ready to return to experience another phase of life and learning and spiritual growth.
During my work with hospice patients, I have often witnessed the dying comforting the ones they would be leaving behind when the transition from life to death occurred. Many of them actually look forward to death, because once faced with the reality that they are going to die, they have come to understand death and view death as a friend rather than an enemy to be feared. Yet our society continues to view death as a disease and act as if it may be contagious.
Death can happen to anyone at any time. Some of us will die suddenly, other will die slowly. But the fact is we will all eventually die, and when that time comes, we will meet death alone, one on one.
Many my age and older may recall the movie entitled "Death Takes a Holiday", where death fell in love with a mortal woman who was supposed to die and he suddenly stopped gathering souls. For a time there was no death. Burned victims screamed in agony, tortured by the pain of raw nerves exposed to the air, people in car crashes with half their bodies mangled lived on to the bafflement of the medical professionals. Without death, people suffered horribly all over the world. Finally Death saw what was happening and allowed the compassion he felt for the many suffering souls to overcome his love of the woman and he again began gathering his work in releasing people from their pain and suffering.
Death is a necessary process of life. Life feeds upon death. This is apparent in nature, but for those isolated from close contact with nature this is something that is not quite understood. As it is, something must die so that something else may live. We all consume the life energy of something else, whether that be the life of the lettuce and tomato in your salad or the beef that was killed to make your cheese burger. Every time you eat, you are consuming life no matter what you eat, it has given it's life so that you may live.
So death is the key to life. My father feared death all of his life. He was in fact terrified of death and he suffered terribly. Then one day, he lost that fear and passed into the afterlife peacefully. His suffering had come to an end, his pain had gone.
I myself served a hitch in the service of Uncle Sam and was often in the place where death was close at hand. Death had become my constant companion and he could have touched me on the shoulder at any moment. Because death was so close and constantly there, like the hospice patients I worked with i learned that Death was not my enemy. I began to understand something about death and in the process Death became my friend. I no longer fear death, for I have gotten a glimpse of that which lies beyond the veil and I know that it is not so bad. But I am in no rush to get there either. I did not survive the experiences of my past for naught, there is some purpose I need to fulfill yet. My tasks are not yet at an end, yet my experiences may have been gathered to help someone else understand the answer or at least enough of the answer to feel a measure of comfort when death touches them or someone close to them on the shoulder.
May you all live long and happy lives. I know my own life has become much more peaceful when I allowed Death to become my friend.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Sacred marrage and Regicide
One could not help but observe the Pagan undercurrents at work around Beltane this year. We of course had the Royal Wedding on the 29th of April with the Prince wearing the God colors and the bride wearing the colors of the maiden aspect of the Goddess. I did not watch the wedding, as I really was not interested in it at all, but heard that they did a Handfasting ceremony within the marital service. Then since by the old Celtic custom of "Beltain" or "May Eve " beginning at Sunset of the 29th which actually would be about the time one would expect the royal consummation to take place.
May 1rst is also the traditional time of regicide, and it just happened that Osama ben Laden was killed (executed) on that very day. With news of his death people around the world celebrated. I myself could never celebrate the death of another, no matter how bad the individual was in life, there was still some sort of purpose to him or her being here at this time and place. We may never understand the purpose in our lifetime, but the purpose is or was there and someday historians will point that purpose out. But the King was killed and his blood was spilled upon the ground, for the furtherance of new life. Then he was given to the sea, the watery womb of the Great Mother just as have many divine or Sacred Kings (King Arther for one).
May 1rst is also the traditional time of regicide, and it just happened that Osama ben Laden was killed (executed) on that very day. With news of his death people around the world celebrated. I myself could never celebrate the death of another, no matter how bad the individual was in life, there was still some sort of purpose to him or her being here at this time and place. We may never understand the purpose in our lifetime, but the purpose is or was there and someday historians will point that purpose out. But the King was killed and his blood was spilled upon the ground, for the furtherance of new life. Then he was given to the sea, the watery womb of the Great Mother just as have many divine or Sacred Kings (King Arther for one).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)