"The man who prays will accomplish more in a year than another in a lifetime." (Louis Lallemant)
If i have any effectiveness in my personal presence or in ministry it is anchored in prayer and Eucharist. Over the past two decades I have come to realize I am able to comfort and connect others only when I am comforted and connected to my inner self. This demands a certain disengagement from this world and giving of myself to the Lord. I am empowered to listen more attentively, love more selflessly, speak more passionately, play more enthusiastically, and laugh more sincerely.
Pray, which begins and ends with listening, silence is very precious in my life. It is silence that makes speech personal. I have come to recognize the value of mere being with God, as the Beloved, without doing anything. As Augustine said, "I am restless until I rest in thee."
My life is a love story. I know today that Christianity is an "affair" of the heart." The real treasures of my faith are those precious souvenirs of silence, those moments of loving encounters with the Bridegroom to whom I belong.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Fully Alive
Man is fully alive only when he has dedicated himself entirely to the real purpose of his own personal existence. Man is not alive just because he acts or feels or responds to the stimulus of the world in which he lives. The purpose of life in the fullest sense of the word--not mere individual, self-centered, egotistical life which is doomed, but a life that transcends the limitations and the needs of the individual self into the very Christ that is in us.
The Christ, the fullness of life is only realized in our communion not only with "Him" but in communion with each other. I've met very few Christians who would break communion with "HIM." However, there are very few Christians who understand that their communion with each other is "necessary" for the fullness of their life to be realized.
I heard someone say that they, "wanted to experience God outside of the community of faith." I wonder if my kidney can know life apart from the body?
Full life is actualized within the unity and the cohesive nature of the whole working as one. Thus, the real purpose of life is not merely an individual but rather a community purpose.
God united to man! Creator and creation united as one! The Incarnation, Jesus, the "body of Christ, the church" this family or community that is my purpose... ! This is life!
The Christ, the fullness of life is only realized in our communion not only with "Him" but in communion with each other. I've met very few Christians who would break communion with "HIM." However, there are very few Christians who understand that their communion with each other is "necessary" for the fullness of their life to be realized.
I heard someone say that they, "wanted to experience God outside of the community of faith." I wonder if my kidney can know life apart from the body?
Full life is actualized within the unity and the cohesive nature of the whole working as one. Thus, the real purpose of life is not merely an individual but rather a community purpose.
God united to man! Creator and creation united as one! The Incarnation, Jesus, the "body of Christ, the church" this family or community that is my purpose... ! This is life!
Monday, May 3, 2010
The Word
The Word….by whom all things were made, in the fullness of time, to recapitulate and contain all things became man in order to destroy death, to manifest life, and to restore the union between God and man. ( Irenaeus )
Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col. 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col. 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col. 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
Christ , The Word, existed before Adam, before creation, before the foundation of the world. Creation is then not a pre-established reality into which Christ did His best to fit into. He came to reveal to the world that all things were created by Him and are sustained by Him. He has and always will be the very center of life and the meaning of all things.
In his natural life every man is created in the image of God , thus every man is made by and sustained by the Word. In every human being there is the potentiality of the very “image of God.” In some way every human being is united too God by his very created order.
However, there exists the possibility for a supernatural union with God. Through the very work of the Grace and Love of Christ man is able to respond to His Love and become aware of the Presence of the One from whom he has come and to Whom he is being transformed to reveal.
All of the gifts and graces of this supernatural life are the ways and means by which the “new creation” is connected and “re-membered” to this resurrected “body of Christ.” Just as every natural human being is a part of the human race. Every “new creation,” those who are born from above are to be united with this new “race” of human beings who are filled with the fullness of Christ.
Having therefore received redemption, the divine Image not only dwells in us as our Creator, but He sends forth His Holy Spirit into our own spirit which becomes “one spirit” with Him. This supernatural and spiritual organism of men who are one in the love and faith of Jesus Christ is the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. (Merton – new man, p146.)
The whole life of the Kingdom of God consists then in the gradual extension of the spiritual effects of the death and resurrection of Jesus to one soul after another until Christ lives perfectly in all whom He has called to Himself.
This is the great work of uniting souls of the elect with their Head in one Mystical Body is the true task of the New Adam. (p 96).
We are in the world as those who are “Christ-bearers.” We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are being built into the house-hold of God.
And yet today the church remains divided by the rational, emotional, judgmental nuances of the first Adam. Unable to die, to self, the first Adam struggles against the Second Adam and resists the transformation of his soul. This individual struggle continues to be the greatest resistance to the revelation of the Christ.
Christians, those who know of the love and grace of God and yet resist “union,” actually become barriers to the fulfillment of the Father’s will.
Each one of us has his or her part in this plan for humanity. We cannot allow ourselves to forget this active and dynamic view of the Kingdom of Christ. For if we are all “one man in Him,” that does not mean that we float into heaven on the tide of His merits alone. On the contrary, we are called to join Him in His “agony” (struggle) to unite His members in one Body so that the New Adam, New Creation, might be realized. If Christ is the Head then there must be members of that body for it to be complete.
We are united to God in our natural life because we are created in His image. We are supernaturally united to God through the grace, mercy and love of the Christ who came into our humanity to redeem us and to re-orientated us Himself. And finally we are united mystically to God, to one another in and through the “Body of Christ, the Church.”
My heart longs for the very revealing of My Lord and My Christ!!!! I so long to see the first Adam give way to the Second. To see the manifestation of the Christ through His “body.”
To see every Christian not merely receive the love and grace of the Father in vain and wait for their individual entrance into heaven; but to join with one another in love. To use their gifts and graces to unite all those who are called into the Family. This is the work of Christ. It is the work of every Christian. It is your work, your meaning, your very life!
Col. 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col. 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col. 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col. 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
Christ , The Word, existed before Adam, before creation, before the foundation of the world. Creation is then not a pre-established reality into which Christ did His best to fit into. He came to reveal to the world that all things were created by Him and are sustained by Him. He has and always will be the very center of life and the meaning of all things.
In his natural life every man is created in the image of God , thus every man is made by and sustained by the Word. In every human being there is the potentiality of the very “image of God.” In some way every human being is united too God by his very created order.
However, there exists the possibility for a supernatural union with God. Through the very work of the Grace and Love of Christ man is able to respond to His Love and become aware of the Presence of the One from whom he has come and to Whom he is being transformed to reveal.
All of the gifts and graces of this supernatural life are the ways and means by which the “new creation” is connected and “re-membered” to this resurrected “body of Christ.” Just as every natural human being is a part of the human race. Every “new creation,” those who are born from above are to be united with this new “race” of human beings who are filled with the fullness of Christ.
Having therefore received redemption, the divine Image not only dwells in us as our Creator, but He sends forth His Holy Spirit into our own spirit which becomes “one spirit” with Him. This supernatural and spiritual organism of men who are one in the love and faith of Jesus Christ is the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. (Merton – new man, p146.)
The whole life of the Kingdom of God consists then in the gradual extension of the spiritual effects of the death and resurrection of Jesus to one soul after another until Christ lives perfectly in all whom He has called to Himself.
This is the great work of uniting souls of the elect with their Head in one Mystical Body is the true task of the New Adam. (p 96).
We are in the world as those who are “Christ-bearers.” We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are being built into the house-hold of God.
And yet today the church remains divided by the rational, emotional, judgmental nuances of the first Adam. Unable to die, to self, the first Adam struggles against the Second Adam and resists the transformation of his soul. This individual struggle continues to be the greatest resistance to the revelation of the Christ.
Christians, those who know of the love and grace of God and yet resist “union,” actually become barriers to the fulfillment of the Father’s will.
Each one of us has his or her part in this plan for humanity. We cannot allow ourselves to forget this active and dynamic view of the Kingdom of Christ. For if we are all “one man in Him,” that does not mean that we float into heaven on the tide of His merits alone. On the contrary, we are called to join Him in His “agony” (struggle) to unite His members in one Body so that the New Adam, New Creation, might be realized. If Christ is the Head then there must be members of that body for it to be complete.
We are united to God in our natural life because we are created in His image. We are supernaturally united to God through the grace, mercy and love of the Christ who came into our humanity to redeem us and to re-orientated us Himself. And finally we are united mystically to God, to one another in and through the “Body of Christ, the Church.”
My heart longs for the very revealing of My Lord and My Christ!!!! I so long to see the first Adam give way to the Second. To see the manifestation of the Christ through His “body.”
To see every Christian not merely receive the love and grace of the Father in vain and wait for their individual entrance into heaven; but to join with one another in love. To use their gifts and graces to unite all those who are called into the Family. This is the work of Christ. It is the work of every Christian. It is your work, your meaning, your very life!
Monday, March 22, 2010
LOVE THAT MOVES THE SUN AND STARS
Dante said that man has lost a vision of that "love which moves the sun and stars." He continues to say that due to that man as also lost the power to find meaning for his life. Man has found the ability to do nearly or almost anything and yet the very meaning of his existence continues to elude him. Humanity has plunged into a collective delusion which promises happiness in the future, if he can somehow learn to manipulate the world around him to give him the success (desires) that he has subjectively determined he needs. In short the world exists for his pleasure! Thus the meaning of life is the fulfillment of his own desires.
When the truth is that man's greatest meaning is found in his capacity to love. This ability that is unique to the human soul is the essence of God's image that is stamped into the very DNA of every human being. We were created and called to be the very sons of God. Therefore our vocations as sons of God means that our greatest meaning and highest fulfillment it to love as God Himself loves. He is Love, and it is as loving as He loves that we enter into the the ecstasy of our own existence and find the true meaning of our lives.
To understand and grasp the reality of our being will reorientate us towards our original calling to govern and to cultivate the world that God created and gave to us. Through loving, not using creation for our own means, we will discover that love is not merely our salvation, but also the very key to our existence. The truth is that our entire life is a part of the cosmic, divine process of "the love which moves the sun and stars."
When the truth is that man's greatest meaning is found in his capacity to love. This ability that is unique to the human soul is the essence of God's image that is stamped into the very DNA of every human being. We were created and called to be the very sons of God. Therefore our vocations as sons of God means that our greatest meaning and highest fulfillment it to love as God Himself loves. He is Love, and it is as loving as He loves that we enter into the the ecstasy of our own existence and find the true meaning of our lives.
To understand and grasp the reality of our being will reorientate us towards our original calling to govern and to cultivate the world that God created and gave to us. Through loving, not using creation for our own means, we will discover that love is not merely our salvation, but also the very key to our existence. The truth is that our entire life is a part of the cosmic, divine process of "the love which moves the sun and stars."
Friday, February 26, 2010
Intoxicated by His Life!
The most paradoxical and most unique characteristic of Christianity is that of the resurrection of Christ. In fact, Christianity without this claim is only a moral system without too much spiritual consistency. Unless ALL of Christianity is centered in the victorious, life, and ever present reality of Jesus Christ, the Man-God who conqueror of death, it loses it's distinction.
Thus, Christianity proclaims to us that in order to find life we must die to life as we know it. To discover the meaning of human existence we must find not the meaning that we expect but the meaning that is revealed to us by the Father through Christ. Meaning is not something that we can find within ourselves, for we are so insufficient. True life and it's meaning must be revealed or in other words received as a "gift." The very fact that life is a gift makes is valuable; for life itself is, in the end only valuable in so far as it is given.
Christian life, the God-kind of life, in the fullest sense of the word -- is not mere individual, self-centered, egotistical life which ends in death, but real life transcending individual limitations and needs, because it comes from beyond "the self," and exists due to the existence of "another."
In the resurrection we see that life was given through the death of self. That life is received into our lives. This life revealed in death brings about both our death and our birth into a life that is eternal, abundant and thus beyond our own individuality. A life that is because it is no longer concerned with self.
Real life, is not merely a subsistence in one's own self, nor self-assertion or self-gratification. Real life is freedom that transcends the self and exists in "the other" by love. A love that is the result of having receive "the gift" of life. This is "freedom," a freedom that comes only from "losing its life in order to find it." The perfection of this life is love. A Christian believes that this love has the power to overcome death.
As we move towards "Easter," my spirit is drawn once again into the vastness of this love. This love brings about a darkness that covers and hides all else but the "One" who loves me. In some ways I am intoxicated with the essence of His Presence. The world loses it's hold and the Holy Spirit lifts me out of the grip of this world into the embrace of the "other."
Lent, then is more about "receiving" that giving up. Rather than focus on what one might surrender I sense with every breath that I am receiving far more than I have ever given.
Thus, Christianity proclaims to us that in order to find life we must die to life as we know it. To discover the meaning of human existence we must find not the meaning that we expect but the meaning that is revealed to us by the Father through Christ. Meaning is not something that we can find within ourselves, for we are so insufficient. True life and it's meaning must be revealed or in other words received as a "gift." The very fact that life is a gift makes is valuable; for life itself is, in the end only valuable in so far as it is given.
Christian life, the God-kind of life, in the fullest sense of the word -- is not mere individual, self-centered, egotistical life which ends in death, but real life transcending individual limitations and needs, because it comes from beyond "the self," and exists due to the existence of "another."
In the resurrection we see that life was given through the death of self. That life is received into our lives. This life revealed in death brings about both our death and our birth into a life that is eternal, abundant and thus beyond our own individuality. A life that is because it is no longer concerned with self.
Real life, is not merely a subsistence in one's own self, nor self-assertion or self-gratification. Real life is freedom that transcends the self and exists in "the other" by love. A love that is the result of having receive "the gift" of life. This is "freedom," a freedom that comes only from "losing its life in order to find it." The perfection of this life is love. A Christian believes that this love has the power to overcome death.
As we move towards "Easter," my spirit is drawn once again into the vastness of this love. This love brings about a darkness that covers and hides all else but the "One" who loves me. In some ways I am intoxicated with the essence of His Presence. The world loses it's hold and the Holy Spirit lifts me out of the grip of this world into the embrace of the "other."
Lent, then is more about "receiving" that giving up. Rather than focus on what one might surrender I sense with every breath that I am receiving far more than I have ever given.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
God's Acceptance
One day I realized that I had been trying for a very long time to be the kind of person that I thought God wanted me to be, but I had failed, over and over, to be that person. I was sure that God was ashamed of me, of my faults and of my weaknesses. I knew that I was ashamed of myself.
The person that I saw in the reflection was flawed, imperfect, and had fallen short of God's expectation as well as my own. So I stayed away from prayer, silence and solitude, instead I kept myself busy, hoping to overcome my feelings of failure through doing good works.
How, did I get to this place? Well, it was the result of being exposed to messages of condemnation and guilt. It was that underlying sense that one had to become something in order to maintain God's relationship. No one had really ever fully explained the message, the story really of God's love for us, how He longs and searches after us and longs for us to be united with Him in His Love. I had heard little pieces but it was never enough to flood my heart.
Like many of you I lived within the belief that God really didn't like me! Somehow, he tolerated me, hoping that I would improve somehow. I developed this unhealthy idea of God. This idea that God was disappointed with me, even angry.
But that day, somewhere from deep within, something shattered.... I had come helplessly, and hopelessly to the end of all my attempts to please. I will never forget I was looking in the mirror that morning.... and He smiled. That's right, God smiled... at me! He was not frowning, but smiling!
Num. 6:25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
His face, is the face of Love! Unconditional, absolute, never ending, first love... I can live, I do live, in the face of that Love.
I still fall short of being all that I want to be for "Abba," but when I look in His face He is still my "Abba, Father." He still loves, accepts, forgives and cares for me, His child.
That day, changed and continues to change my life..... Look to Him!
The person that I saw in the reflection was flawed, imperfect, and had fallen short of God's expectation as well as my own. So I stayed away from prayer, silence and solitude, instead I kept myself busy, hoping to overcome my feelings of failure through doing good works.
How, did I get to this place? Well, it was the result of being exposed to messages of condemnation and guilt. It was that underlying sense that one had to become something in order to maintain God's relationship. No one had really ever fully explained the message, the story really of God's love for us, how He longs and searches after us and longs for us to be united with Him in His Love. I had heard little pieces but it was never enough to flood my heart.
Like many of you I lived within the belief that God really didn't like me! Somehow, he tolerated me, hoping that I would improve somehow. I developed this unhealthy idea of God. This idea that God was disappointed with me, even angry.
But that day, somewhere from deep within, something shattered.... I had come helplessly, and hopelessly to the end of all my attempts to please. I will never forget I was looking in the mirror that morning.... and He smiled. That's right, God smiled... at me! He was not frowning, but smiling!
Num. 6:25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
His face, is the face of Love! Unconditional, absolute, never ending, first love... I can live, I do live, in the face of that Love.
I still fall short of being all that I want to be for "Abba," but when I look in His face He is still my "Abba, Father." He still loves, accepts, forgives and cares for me, His child.
That day, changed and continues to change my life..... Look to Him!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
De-stress in a Stressed out world!
STRESS:
1 : constraining force or influence: as a : a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part; especially : the intensity of this mutual force commonly expressed in pounds per square inch b : the deformation caused in a body by such a force c : a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation d : a state resulting from a stress; especially : one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium e : strain, pressure
2 : emphasis, weight
3 archaic : intense effort or exertion
4 : intensity of utterance given to a speech sound, syllable, or word producing relative loudness
5 a : relative force or prominence of sound in verse b : a syllable having relative force or prominence
6 : accent 6a
Stress is what happens to you when the demands of daily challenges of the outside world are greater than our ability to cope with them.
However stress can also be related to internal factors as well – factors that include how healthy we are, our emotional well-being, what we eat, and how much sleep we are getting.
It’s also strongly dependent on how we interpret what comes our way – that is how we perceive what is happening to us.
People are becoming more and more frenzied! Symptoms of stress are being seen at younger and younger ages. Doctors are describing stress-induced illnesses more and more frequently.
I hear this more and more; “I’m not sleeping, I’m exhausted, I have no energy….” People are plagued with “anxiety, substance abuse, sleep disorders, and withdrawal from life.”
“I’m Stress Out.”
There seems to be a cultural condition that is emerging within our society.
It resembles “post traumatic stress disorder” or PTSD. This disorder usually stems from a catastrophic event – combat, rape, a deadly accident, or a major illness – that leaves its victim in a persistently highly anxious state that leads to disengagement from life, sleep disorders, and substance abuse habits.
Occasionally, PTSD sufferers re-experience the traumatic event or events.
I have come to realize that many people around me; “are living with extreme stress for so long that they do not realize they are stressed.” Layers and layers of stress have weighted on them in increments so small that they don’t eve feel them separately. Stress has become the new “normal.”
This is more than “chronic stress” this “over the top, maxed out, extreme-stress.” Just like “extreme sports” this stressed-out living has become a way of life for many people.
The difficulty is that we were not made to live under this type of stress. It will have devastating effects upon our health and our society.
In the last half of the 20th-century a large majority of our health issues were related to cigarette smoking. In the early years of the 21st-century a large number of our health issues are being connected to fat and obesity. In both cases we see and all-out blitz to get people to change their habits.
Both smoking and obesity can be easily diagnosed, when you see it you know it. However, stress has no face, and yet it is just as deadly as the other two.
Any doctor –will tell you the same thing, if you are continually stressed and you don’t deal with it: it can kill you.
Cell phones, hand-held computers, twittering… we are on call and open to intrusion 24/7. 40% of teens said they could not live without their cell phones, and yet the same study reported that after 3 days of being without the cell phone these teens were less stressed, had lower heart rates and blood pressure.
Today “noise pollution” is everywhere. The blasting music in the car next to you, trying to have a quiet lunch while the person next to you is arguing with her boyfriend on her cell phone, the whole world has become a “phone booth.”
We are being blitzed with sensory stimulation every where we turn, our nervous systems are continually aroused to sight and sound. Stepped-up commercial volume, MTV videos, are ever reaching for our attention.
TV’s are everywhere, the coffee shop, airport, taxicabs, dentist’s office waiting room, it goes on and on.
Then there are computers, facebook, twitter, etc….
Our food sources have changed.
Our sleep habits are being eroded.
Our job satisfaction is being erased.
I went to get a sandwich the other day the young lady took my order, made my sandwhich, put it in the bag, took my money, handed me the bag, gave me change and never looked up.
We are deluding ourselves; we can not indefinitely endure the MACRO STRESSES that accompany; impersonal encounters, less sleep, more work, less leisure, bad marriages’ less exercise, junk food, hyper-caffeinated sugar-saturated drinks, screen-junkies, traffic jams, flight delays and so much more and come away healthy…..
We as a species can handle short-term stress and to some degree some fairly long term stress, but all stress, all the time was not the way we were designed.
Stress has become the new “pandemic.” It is a deadly health crisis.
“Extreme – Macro – Stress”
Anything that triggers stress is called a “stressor.” There are several easily recognized stressors:
1) Environmental
a. Such as noise pollution, or living in a crime-ridden neighborhood where you never feel safe.
2) Occupational
a. Dissatifaction, overwork, disagreements, low pay, nasty co-workers.
3) Relational
a. Fight with a friend, problems with partners, children, loss of spouse
4) Social
a. Trying to keep up with joneses
5) Spiritual
a. Lost of purpose in life, loss of community, loss of control, loss of meaning…
However, FEAR, is one of the all time greatest stressors; fear of failure, not having enough, not being enough, losing what you have, fear of success. These fears are very real to those who are experiencing them.
There is a huge difference between “acute” and “chronic” stress.
Acute is what moves you out of the way of a moving car. When you climb a set of stairs the extra effort for your heart and legs produces stress what is called a “allostasis” release.
However, the journey from “allostasis” to “allostatic load” often destabilizes our lives.
1) When multiple stressors lead to elevated stress hormones that continue over a long period of time.
2) When you can’t seem to adapt to a stressor even though it repeats itself again and again. (public speaking)
3) When your body turns on the stress hormones and doesn’t turn them off after the stressor has gone. (keep replaying the event in your own mind over and over)
Our society has increased chronic stressors to assault proportions and we are left dealing with the fall out.
Rather than a gnat that is flying around our heads we have a bull horn going off in our ears.
This accumulated chronic stress is what I am referring to as: EXTREME-MACRO-STRESS!
Anxiety is the new normal!
Now what?
1) Choose to Change
a. You can change in an ACTIVE way by finding tools that work for you.
b. You can also change the way you PERCEIVE the challenges you are faced with.
2) Commit to doing what it takes to change.
a. Just as you became “EXTREMELY STRESSED” through a series of small hits, you can reverse the process by taking a series of small steps toward wellness.
b. Change one little thing—and in a week, you’ll notice a difference in the way you feel. You’ll have the courage then to take the next, bigger step.
3) Admit that you may encounter some unpleasant things along the way.
a. Not every decision we have made, (choices) were conscious rational ones. Sometimes there are underlying subconscious reasons that cause us to chose or make decisions.
b. Sometimes revisiting the choices we’ve made can be painful, but necessary.
4) Trust that you will get to a better place.
a. Faith!
HOW DOES CHANGE OCCUR?
First of all lots of people want to change, they have tried, and tried and tried. The issue is not whether or not we want to change or if we have tried or not. But the real issue is “training.”
TRANSFORMATION HAPPENS THROUGH TRAINING OF THE SOUL.
First of all there is a false narrative that change happens due to “willpower.”
Truthfully, change does not happen because we muster up the “willpower” but it happens by “changing our mind.”
I believe there is a reliable method to changing our hearts:
1) changing the stories we tell ourselves in our mind
2) engaging in new practices (disciplines)
3) by reflecting and dialoguing with other who are on the same journey (community)
4) all under the leadership under the Holy Spirit
TRANSFORMATION: THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Gal. 5:22 ¶ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal. 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
We will never become patient because we grit our teeth … Like the fruit on a tree it comes from the inside out…
When the Holy Spirit has changed or corrected our stories we will begin to think differently….
“What we think about God is the most important thing in our lives”
As a result we begin to believe in and trust a good and loving God who has adopted us.
The Journey to Joy!
This is the first secret to overcoming “extreme-stress”!
Neh. 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
John 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
John 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
JOY 1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety
DELIGHT 1 : a high degree of gratification : joy; also : extreme satisfaction 2 : something that gives great pleasure
Psa. 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Science of the West has lead us to believe in this split between mind and body. It is commonly known as the Cartesian split.
Joy is the very source of our strength and it must come into our Spirit.
Gal. 5:22 ¶ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal. 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Joy…. Is not based on “happenstance” but the knowing of ones “connectedness” to The Father.
John 15:9 ¶ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
John 15:11 ¶ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED…. PRODUCES JOY!
THIS IS A SPIRITUAL – INNER REALITY THAT HAS A PHYSCIAL EFFECT ON YOU….
“placebo effect” during WWII Dr. Beecher ran out of narcotics to give to his patients so he substituted, sugar and water, 35% got better.
The power of suggestion.
The Mind…. What you think has an effect on your body.
Change the state of your mind… your thinking and you will have different feelings!
Prov. 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
3John 2 ¶ Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
YOUR SOUL WILL PROSPER WHEN IT KNOWS IT IS LOVED.
However our ability to know and comprehend is diminished with the lost of sleep.The number one enemy of Christian spiritual formation or transformation is exhaustion. We are living beyond our own ability… or means!
More people are killed every year by drowsy drivers than drunk drivers.
We are “sleepy.”
We need more ‘REST’!
What does this have to do with Christian Spirituality? Or Extreme Stress?
The human person is not merely a soul who is housed in a body. Our bodies and our souls are unified. If our bodies suffer, so do our souls. We cannot neglect the body in pursuit of spiritual growth. In fact, neglecting our bodies will impede our spiritual health and growth. If our bodies are not sufficiently rested, our energies, will be diminished and our ability to pray, read, enter into solitude will be minimized.
Rom. 12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom. 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
SLEEP IS AN ACT OF SURRENDER! IT IS A DECLARATION OF TRUST. IT IS ADMITTING THAT WE ARE NOT GOD WHO NEVER SLEEPS NOR SLUMBERS.
THE DISCIPLINE OF SLEEP!!!!
1) Go to sleep at a consistent time every night
2) Don’t engage in activities that increase stress right before bedtime. (TV, or Computer)
3) Be careful with stimulants (caffeine, spicy foods) in the evening.
4) Do not force yourself to sleep… read, mediate, music, etc
5) If you awaken in the middle of the night, you do not have to get up immediately …. Give your body a chance to go back to sleep.
STRESS – RELAX:
Psa. 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
(read the entire psalm)
RELAXATION:
RELAX:
1 : to make less tense or rigid : slacken
2 : to make less severe or stringent : modify
3 : to deprive of energy, zeal, or strength of purpose
4 : to relieve from nervous tension
5 : to treat (hair) chemically in order to relax curls
intransitive verb
1 : to become lax, weak, or loose : rest 2 : to become less intense or severe
3 of a muscle or muscle fiber : to become inactive and lengthen
4 : to cast off social restraint, nervous tension, or anxiety
5 : to seek rest or recreation
Dr. Benson of Harvard; through the simple act of changing thought patterns heart and blood pressure rates dropped. “Relaxation Response”
Extreme-Macro-Stressed People ; state they never believe they’re good enough, always trying to reach a destination…. Thus they are exhausted.
USE SOME TOOLS….
Through the day… stress will arise! It will increase! So determine in advance how you might be able to manage stress.
1) Do you know how it feels to Relax? To Rest?
a. Your subconscious mind will remember
b. It will be triggered
2) 12 minutes of mediation a day for 8 weeks has proven to have great results.
Psa. 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
Psa. 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psa. 1:3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
Phil. 4:8 ¶ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
1Tim. 4:15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
intransitive verb
1 : to engage in contemplation or reflection 2 : to engage in mental exercise (as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness
transitive verb
1 : to focus one's thoughts on : reflect on or ponder over 2 : to plan or project in the mind : intend, purpose
TO CHOSE ONE’S THOUGHTS…. INTENTIONALLY FOCUS ON WHAT ONE THINKS….
THIS IS “SOUL TRAINING” = “MEDITATION”
Col. 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
1) It probably won’t be very deep the first few times
2) Don’t get hung up on having enough time
3) Don’t worry about getting it wrong
GET SOME GOOD AFFIRMATION TO SAY TO YOURSELF
FOCUS ON BREATHING
SOME HINTS:
1) A quiet place and sit comfortably.
2) Progressively relax your muscles
3) Think about one of God’s virtues, love, joy, etc.
4) Breathe
5) Let His Peace fill you on the inside
FINALLY:
PLAY…. Get outside your daily routine and see things from a different perspective.
a. go for a walk
b. give a friend a call
c. write a quick note
1 : constraining force or influence: as a : a force exerted when one body or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another body or body part; especially : the intensity of this mutual force commonly expressed in pounds per square inch b : the deformation caused in a body by such a force c : a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation d : a state resulting from a stress; especially : one of bodily or mental tension resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium
Stress is what happens to you when the demands of daily challenges of the outside world are greater than our ability to cope with them.
However stress can also be related to internal factors as well – factors that include how healthy we are, our emotional well-being, what we eat, and how much sleep we are getting.
It’s also strongly dependent on how we interpret what comes our way – that is how we perceive what is happening to us.
People are becoming more and more frenzied! Symptoms of stress are being seen at younger and younger ages. Doctors are describing stress-induced illnesses more and more frequently.
I hear this more and more; “I’m not sleeping, I’m exhausted, I have no energy….” People are plagued with “anxiety, substance abuse, sleep disorders, and withdrawal from life.”
“I’m Stress Out.”
There seems to be a cultural condition that is emerging within our society.
It resembles “post traumatic stress disorder” or PTSD. This disorder usually stems from a catastrophic event – combat, rape, a deadly accident, or a major illness – that leaves its victim in a persistently highly anxious state that leads to disengagement from life, sleep disorders, and substance abuse habits.
Occasionally, PTSD sufferers re-experience the traumatic event or events.
I have come to realize that many people around me; “are living with extreme stress for so long that they do not realize they are stressed.” Layers and layers of stress have weighted on them in increments so small that they don’t eve feel them separately. Stress has become the new “normal.”
This is more than “chronic stress” this “over the top, maxed out, extreme-stress.” Just like “extreme sports” this stressed-out living has become a way of life for many people.
The difficulty is that we were not made to live under this type of stress. It will have devastating effects upon our health and our society.
In the last half of the 20th-century a large majority of our health issues were related to cigarette smoking. In the early years of the 21st-century a large number of our health issues are being connected to fat and obesity. In both cases we see and all-out blitz to get people to change their habits.
Both smoking and obesity can be easily diagnosed, when you see it you know it. However, stress has no face, and yet it is just as deadly as the other two.
Any doctor –will tell you the same thing, if you are continually stressed and you don’t deal with it: it can kill you.
Cell phones, hand-held computers, twittering… we are on call and open to intrusion 24/7. 40% of teens said they could not live without their cell phones, and yet the same study reported that after 3 days of being without the cell phone these teens were less stressed, had lower heart rates and blood pressure.
Today “noise pollution” is everywhere. The blasting music in the car next to you, trying to have a quiet lunch while the person next to you is arguing with her boyfriend on her cell phone, the whole world has become a “phone booth.”
We are being blitzed with sensory stimulation every where we turn, our nervous systems are continually aroused to sight and sound. Stepped-up commercial volume, MTV videos, are ever reaching for our attention.
TV’s are everywhere, the coffee shop, airport, taxicabs, dentist’s office waiting room, it goes on and on.
Then there are computers, facebook, twitter, etc….
Our food sources have changed.
Our sleep habits are being eroded.
Our job satisfaction is being erased.
I went to get a sandwich the other day the young lady took my order, made my sandwhich, put it in the bag, took my money, handed me the bag, gave me change and never looked up.
We are deluding ourselves; we can not indefinitely endure the MACRO STRESSES that accompany; impersonal encounters, less sleep, more work, less leisure, bad marriages’ less exercise, junk food, hyper-caffeinated sugar-saturated drinks, screen-junkies, traffic jams, flight delays and so much more and come away healthy…..
We as a species can handle short-term stress and to some degree some fairly long term stress, but all stress, all the time was not the way we were designed.
Stress has become the new “pandemic.” It is a deadly health crisis.
“Extreme – Macro – Stress”
Anything that triggers stress is called a “stressor.” There are several easily recognized stressors:
1) Environmental
a. Such as noise pollution, or living in a crime-ridden neighborhood where you never feel safe.
2) Occupational
a. Dissatifaction, overwork, disagreements, low pay, nasty co-workers.
3) Relational
a. Fight with a friend, problems with partners, children, loss of spouse
4) Social
a. Trying to keep up with joneses
5) Spiritual
a. Lost of purpose in life, loss of community, loss of control, loss of meaning…
However, FEAR, is one of the all time greatest stressors; fear of failure, not having enough, not being enough, losing what you have, fear of success. These fears are very real to those who are experiencing them.
There is a huge difference between “acute” and “chronic” stress.
Acute is what moves you out of the way of a moving car. When you climb a set of stairs the extra effort for your heart and legs produces stress what is called a “allostasis” release.
However, the journey from “allostasis” to “allostatic load” often destabilizes our lives.
1) When multiple stressors lead to elevated stress hormones that continue over a long period of time.
2) When you can’t seem to adapt to a stressor even though it repeats itself again and again. (public speaking)
3) When your body turns on the stress hormones and doesn’t turn them off after the stressor has gone. (keep replaying the event in your own mind over and over)
Our society has increased chronic stressors to assault proportions and we are left dealing with the fall out.
Rather than a gnat that is flying around our heads we have a bull horn going off in our ears.
This accumulated chronic stress is what I am referring to as: EXTREME-MACRO-STRESS!
Anxiety is the new normal!
Now what?
1) Choose to Change
a. You can change in an ACTIVE way by finding tools that work for you.
b. You can also change the way you PERCEIVE the challenges you are faced with.
2) Commit to doing what it takes to change.
a. Just as you became “EXTREMELY STRESSED” through a series of small hits, you can reverse the process by taking a series of small steps toward wellness.
b. Change one little thing—and in a week, you’ll notice a difference in the way you feel. You’ll have the courage then to take the next, bigger step.
3) Admit that you may encounter some unpleasant things along the way.
a. Not every decision we have made, (choices) were conscious rational ones. Sometimes there are underlying subconscious reasons that cause us to chose or make decisions.
b. Sometimes revisiting the choices we’ve made can be painful, but necessary.
4) Trust that you will get to a better place.
a. Faith!
HOW DOES CHANGE OCCUR?
First of all lots of people want to change, they have tried, and tried and tried. The issue is not whether or not we want to change or if we have tried or not. But the real issue is “training.”
TRANSFORMATION HAPPENS THROUGH TRAINING OF THE SOUL.
First of all there is a false narrative that change happens due to “willpower.”
Truthfully, change does not happen because we muster up the “willpower” but it happens by “changing our mind.”
I believe there is a reliable method to changing our hearts:
1) changing the stories we tell ourselves in our mind
2) engaging in new practices (disciplines)
3) by reflecting and dialoguing with other who are on the same journey (community)
4) all under the leadership under the Holy Spirit
TRANSFORMATION: THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Gal. 5:22 ¶ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal. 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
We will never become patient because we grit our teeth … Like the fruit on a tree it comes from the inside out…
When the Holy Spirit has changed or corrected our stories we will begin to think differently….
“What we think about God is the most important thing in our lives”
As a result we begin to believe in and trust a good and loving God who has adopted us.
The Journey to Joy!
This is the first secret to overcoming “extreme-stress”!
Neh. 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
John 16:20 Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
John 16:22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
John 16:24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
John 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
JOY 1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : delight b : the expression or exhibition of such emotion : gaiety
DELIGHT 1 : a high degree of gratification : joy; also : extreme satisfaction 2 : something that gives great pleasure
Psa. 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Science of the West has lead us to believe in this split between mind and body. It is commonly known as the Cartesian split.
Joy is the very source of our strength and it must come into our Spirit.
Gal. 5:22 ¶ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal. 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Joy…. Is not based on “happenstance” but the knowing of ones “connectedness” to The Father.
John 15:9 ¶ “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
John 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
John 15:11 ¶ “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOVED…. PRODUCES JOY!
THIS IS A SPIRITUAL – INNER REALITY THAT HAS A PHYSCIAL EFFECT ON YOU….
“placebo effect” during WWII Dr. Beecher ran out of narcotics to give to his patients so he substituted, sugar and water, 35% got better.
The power of suggestion.
The Mind…. What you think has an effect on your body.
Change the state of your mind… your thinking and you will have different feelings!
Prov. 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
3John 2 ¶ Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
YOUR SOUL WILL PROSPER WHEN IT KNOWS IT IS LOVED.
However our ability to know and comprehend is diminished with the lost of sleep.The number one enemy of Christian spiritual formation or transformation is exhaustion. We are living beyond our own ability… or means!
More people are killed every year by drowsy drivers than drunk drivers.
We are “sleepy.”
We need more ‘REST’!
What does this have to do with Christian Spirituality? Or Extreme Stress?
The human person is not merely a soul who is housed in a body. Our bodies and our souls are unified. If our bodies suffer, so do our souls. We cannot neglect the body in pursuit of spiritual growth. In fact, neglecting our bodies will impede our spiritual health and growth. If our bodies are not sufficiently rested, our energies, will be diminished and our ability to pray, read, enter into solitude will be minimized.
Rom. 12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom. 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
SLEEP IS AN ACT OF SURRENDER! IT IS A DECLARATION OF TRUST. IT IS ADMITTING THAT WE ARE NOT GOD WHO NEVER SLEEPS NOR SLUMBERS.
THE DISCIPLINE OF SLEEP!!!!
1) Go to sleep at a consistent time every night
2) Don’t engage in activities that increase stress right before bedtime. (TV, or Computer)
3) Be careful with stimulants (caffeine, spicy foods) in the evening.
4) Do not force yourself to sleep… read, mediate, music, etc
5) If you awaken in the middle of the night, you do not have to get up immediately …. Give your body a chance to go back to sleep.
STRESS – RELAX:
Psa. 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
(read the entire psalm)
RELAXATION:
RELAX:
1 : to make less tense or rigid : slacken
intransitive verb
1 : to become lax, weak, or loose : rest 2 : to become less intense or severe
Dr. Benson of Harvard; through the simple act of changing thought patterns heart and blood pressure rates dropped. “Relaxation Response”
Extreme-Macro-Stressed People ; state they never believe they’re good enough, always trying to reach a destination…. Thus they are exhausted.
USE SOME TOOLS….
Through the day… stress will arise! It will increase! So determine in advance how you might be able to manage stress.
1) Do you know how it feels to Relax? To Rest?
a. Your subconscious mind will remember
b. It will be triggered
2) 12 minutes of mediation a day for 8 weeks has proven to have great results.
Psa. 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
Psa. 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
Psa. 1:3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
Phil. 4:8 ¶ Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
1Tim. 4:15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
intransitive verb
1 : to engage in contemplation or reflection 2 : to engage in mental exercise (as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness
transitive verb
1 : to focus one's thoughts on : reflect on or ponder over 2 : to plan or project in the mind : intend, purpose
TO CHOSE ONE’S THOUGHTS…. INTENTIONALLY FOCUS ON WHAT ONE THINKS….
THIS IS “SOUL TRAINING” = “MEDITATION”
Col. 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
1) It probably won’t be very deep the first few times
2) Don’t get hung up on having enough time
3) Don’t worry about getting it wrong
GET SOME GOOD AFFIRMATION TO SAY TO YOURSELF
FOCUS ON BREATHING
SOME HINTS:
1) A quiet place and sit comfortably.
2) Progressively relax your muscles
3) Think about one of God’s virtues, love, joy, etc.
4) Breathe
5) Let His Peace fill you on the inside
FINALLY:
PLAY…. Get outside your daily routine and see things from a different perspective.
a. go for a walk
b. give a friend a call
c. write a quick note
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