LAW OF PURE POTENTIALITY (JC)

RIDING THE CREST
The Law of Pure Potentiality

 

Deepak Chopra is someone I am fond of.  He has a theory called the “Law of Pure Potentiality.”  The idea behind this is that everything that exists is pure energy.  We are all “star stuff”.  We are the universe and the universe is us.  We are kin to all living things on earth and in the cosmos.  Within this realm there is life, birth, death and constant expansion and change.  The more we understand WHAT we are---that we were meant to change and be changed throughout life, the faster our consciousness expands giving us more stability and peace.

When you release the “Law of Pure Potentiality” you are tapped into the core of the cosmos.  This allows you to manifest whatever you need in your life.  You need a job?  You need a new relationship?  You need help for your kids, marriage, family?  You want help dealing with stress or stressful situations?  Are you worried about a transition in your life?  Release the “Law of Pure Potentiality”.

Now it comes with a price.  The cost is you must be willing to change.  If you are not willing to change then this law will not work for you.  If you are willing to change here’s what else Chopra says you must do:

1.  Practice non-judgment -  There may be others who have what you want or desire but you must not give in to envy, jealousy or gossip.  Judge only your life and not others’.  Let go of any enmity or strife you carry.

2.  Commune with nature -  Daily meditate and spend time with Mother Earth.  Listen quietly to her, release your intentions to her and she will respond in due time.

3.   Practice forgiveness -  In order to get tapped in to that universal hum which is beyond time and space, right and wrong you have to let go.  Forgive so that you can be released from the temporal illusion of permanence.

When you do these three things that align you with YOU then get ready for your desires to be manifest.   Try it and let me know what you think. 

Until next time,

Rev. John

Running as a Spiritual Practice (AZ)

In eighth grade, I started running X-Country.   I think I initially joined because, like many 13-year olds, several older classmen that I most admired ran X-Country.  They exuded joy, pride, and enthusiasm; I wanted those things.  I imagined that I too would have boastful tales of how many miles I ran that week, and would be able to commiserate over how many hills or flights of stairs I tackled that day.  In short, I was young, and wanted to have my own experiences and stories.

So from late August through early December, I ran roughly 20 - 30 miles a week, skipping Sundays.  Here are a few things that I learned through this practice:

1)      It always helps to have a “restart” button to any day.  I loved that no matter how badly my day was going – no matter the grade in Math or French – I was able to start again with X-Country in the afternoon, and there, try to accomplish something.  I discovered that a day’s fate is never sealed.

2)      It isn’t about beating the competition; it is about doing your best.  Because people have different bodies and differing levels of running experience, it quickly seems impractical to simply compare runner to runner.  But every runner knows what it means to chase their PB or BT – their “personal best” or “best time.”  That is the kind of challenge I want to face every day.

3)      Only rarely do we reach our maximum potential.  Sometimes, I would find myself making excuses, or holding back.  It is easy to think that “Well, I will push it on the straight away,” or “I am so tired today.”  During my final race in eighth grade, I really wanted to do my best, so I decided to set my pace to another runner – Elaine – who was a stronger runner than I was.  I stayed with her for the first third of the race, until her contact fell out and she had to stop.  She encouraged me on, into the hills, but I felt demoralized.  How could I do my best without Elaine?  I ended up walking off and on through those hills until I recognized that I was the one running, that I had been keeping up with Elaine, and that I still felt strong.  I pushed it in for my season’s PB.  When I hear such thoughts now, and at other times of the day, I am better able to recognize that I likely have capabilities that I am not allowing myself to tap into. 

4)      It helps to have a place where everyone knows your name.  During X-Country practice, I got to share of myself and hear others’ stories in return.  We would talk – even sing – as we ran, which helped build up our lung capacity, but which also built a spirit of community.  Because we were runners, we knew what it meant to feel empowered and to respect our bodies.  I would turn to these wise young women for advice, support and commiseration.  With them, I always knew I would be welcome.

5)      I don’t run; I am a runner.  Many people can run, but not all of them will love it.  For not all of them will it become part of their identity.  I run because it is who I am.  I run because when I run I feel incredibly myself – honest and aware of where I am, and how I am living my life.  I am forced to acknowledge any anxiety I bring, or anger, or fear, or hurt.  I run to discover, and to know myself more deeply.  I run to meditate and reach that state where I am simply being and not processing.  Through running I discover a sense of easy companionship with myself.

I identify running as a spiritual practice for me, because it helps me become more grounded, more aware, and less self-focused.  I am grateful for all the places I have run, for the people I have run with, and for my ability to return to this life-affirming practice.   I hope that your practice – whatever it may be – also provides valuable life lessons and that it becomes a meaningful part of your identity. 

- Anastassia

Tell me about this god you don't believe in (CL)

In my third year of graduate school to become a clinical psychologist, I finally had a true calling to the ministry. In seminary they make you tell your "call" story a lot, and I had never thought about calling before that moment in graduate school, but that's what it was. I was learning to do a form of emotion-focused psychotherapy in which the client considers a question or decision in their life. The technique is to have the client "split" the two sides of the decision into two chairs, and to take turns speaking fully from each side, so the two sides can communicate and hear one another. I was playing the role of client, so I chose an easy question... "Should I leave graduate school and go to seminary?"
First I spoke from the chair representing the stronger side: "No, I should stay in graduate school." The voice from that side was rational, methodical, and convincing. There were many reasons to stay in graduate school.
But when I was asked to switch chairs and speak from the side representing the part of me which wanted to leave and go to seminary, I hesitated. Then a voice from within me, a voice I had never heard or acknowledged, spoke loudly and clearly: "You. Never. Listen. To me!"

Whoa! I was floored by this voice that needed to be heard (and my poor classmate had a harder case on her hands than she was prepared for).
I don't know if that voice was my subconscious, my heart, or God.
I choose to call it God.

Now let's just get something straight. I don't believe in God. 
Well... this story might better explain it...
There's a story of a minister-- some say it's an Episcopal Minister, others attribute it to a Harvard chaplain, or to Marcus Borg (a liberal Christian theologian), Forrest Church (a UU minister),or to John Buehrens (past President of the UUA)-- the minister tells someone on a plane or train that he is a minister and the person replies, "Oh, I don't believe in God," to which the minister responds, "Tell me about this god you don't believe in. Chances are, I don't believe in that god either."  That's me. I don't believe in THAT God.

The truth is, there are myriad religions in the world, all of whom have slightly, or largely, different viewpoints on who or what God is or isn't. Even the Christian community has widely varying viewpoints on the characteristics of God, and the Bible contains a wide range of perspectives about God.

When I say I don't believe in THAT God, I mean the general idea of God as an entity, a force with a will, a being that I can talk to. But I do believe in a force beyond myself, an energy-source greater than the sum of the parts I can observe in the universe.
Maybe it's quantum physics.
Maybe it's the interdependent web of all existence.
Maybe I just want a simple word to sum up the beauty, grandeur, power, and energy in the cosmos.
Maybe that's why I use the word God.

I know that can be confusing to people. But I'm okay with being a little confusing. I'm okay with asking folks to think outside of a little box that contains that god that some people believe in, and for which most people have different definitions. I'm okay with stretching the definition of words a bit to use them in a new and powerful way (isn't that what the gay community did with the word "gay"? And what a beautiful thing that was! Why can't we do it?).

That voice that spoke to me... or from me... That day in graduate school forced me to reconsider the path I was on. It called me beyond my reasons and my calculations to something that could only be based on faith... Faith that if I followed that calling, it would work out alright. I followed that calling, and I am grateful to the God of Many Names for speaking loudly that day.