Readings

Excerpts from Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore

Care of the soul requires ongoing attention to every aspect of life. Essentially it is a cultivation of ordinary things in such a way that soul is nurtured and fostered… In many religious traditions, work is not set off from the precincts of the sacred…I learned this when I was a novice in a religious order. A novice is a fledgling monk, learning the ins and outs of the spiritual life of prayer, meditation, study, and . . . work. I recall one day in particular, when I was given the job of pruning apple trees. It was a cold day in Wisconsin, and I was out on a limb sawing away at shoots sticking up on limbs all around me like minarets. I took a minute to rest, hoping the limb wouldn't suddenly break, and asked myself, "Why am I doing this? I'm supposed to be learning prayer, meditation, Latin, and Gregorian chant. But here I am, my hands frostbitten, feeling not terribly secure in the top of a tree, my fingers bloody for an erratic saw blade, doing something I know nothing about." The answer, I already knew, was that work is an important component of the spiritual life[1].

Excerpt from Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

We have many compartments in our lives. When we practice sitting meditation and when we do not practice sitting, these two periods of time are so different from each other. While sitting, we practice intensively and while we are not sitting, we do not practice intensively. In fact, we practice non-practice intensively. There is a wall which separates the two, practicing and non-practicing. Practicing is only for the practice period and non-practicing is only for the non-practicing period. How can we mix the two together? How can we bring meditation out of the meditation hall and into the kitchen and the office? How can the sitting influence the non-sitting time? If a doctor gives you an injection, not only your arm but your whole body benefits from it. If you practice one hour of sitting a day, that hour should be all 24 hours, and not just for that hour. One smile, one breath should be for the benefit of the whole day, not just for that moment. We must practice in a way that removes the barrier between practice and non-practice.[2]

SERMON

Be Here Now! was the title of a book by Dr. Alpert, a Harvard professor who turned on and tuned out in the 60's, went to India, and returned a guru named Ram Dass. The injunction to "Be Here Now!" is a wonderful summary of how to get the most out of life and find greater satisfaction and peace. Living in the past is dissatisfying because we can't go home again and when we do it isn't quite the same. Living in the future can be distracting, especially when we are in pain or unhappy, but it is ultimately dissatisfying because we cannot be in the future we imagine right now. Quite often the most satisfying moments in our lives have been when we are fully present in them; so engaged by rounding the top of the Ferris Wheel and looking out over the trees, streets and homes, watching the sun set on the horizon that for a moment time is lost, the past is forgotten, the future disappears and we are fully in the moment. This is one of the great attractions of walking to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with the winning run at third; standing on top of a mountain feeling the cool brisk breeze flowing through one's hair, swimming in a mountain lake so cold it takes the breath away, watching a glorious Florida sunset sitting in the lanai with a cool drink and a good friend, the delightful moment when greeting beloved family walking off the jetway at the airport full of smiles and hugs. To miss these moments because of the intrusion of angers and fears from the past or desires and concerns about the future is a great loss.

Be Here Now! is the secret of liberation from suffering in the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha defined suffering as recoiling from the unpleasant of the present moment, grasping after the pleasant not in the present moment, and mental confusion which clouds the mind and separates us from the present moment. All we truly have is now. The past only exists imperfectly in memory and the future only exists in our imagination. To be fully engaged by each moment as it arises and to release it without regret as it passes away is to live well.

Be Here Now! is not how many of us conceive of creating a happy, satisfying life. Most of us carry an image of a better life we would rather be living and strive to shape our daily event schedule to make that image real. Typically, we focus on getting the right content rather than the right awareness.

When I was younger and intoxicated with the realm of ideal images, I thought if I could just figure out the best way to live, I could mold a perfect life. I would need a good job to make enough money so I could buy the things I wanted. I would need a good wife to satisfy my needs for relationship and intimacy. I would need to live in a community that was full of intellectuals to share ideas and artists to share feelings in a beautiful setting abundant with trees, fields of flowers, wild and domestic animals. I would need enough time to not feel rushed in my work and give free reign to my creativity and enough time off to play, enjoy, and restore myself. And most important of all would be a sound religious philosophy which could keep my life perfect and restore its perfection if anything disturbed my serenity.

Actually, I think I've done pretty well at creating my ideal life, but I'm acutely aware of how far I am from the dream on a day-by-day basis. The place it is most clear to me is in the realm of relationships. I have a deep commitment and faith in treating everyone with love and respect, yet at times I fall short of those goals. I may utter a harsh critical word in an moment of emotional pique - only in the next to regret it. It seems at times impossible to bring my ideal image of who I wish to be in line with my conditioned habitual behavior.

Brain research is revealing just how compartmentalized our thoughts often are from the areas of the brain that control our actions. Much is being made of the evolutionary layering of brain components. The cerebral cortex, the crown of our brain development which permits sophisticated symbolic thought, literally sits on top of a part of our brain that has a great deal in common with the brain of an alligator known as the limbic system. What scientists are learning is that these different parts of the brain often operate independently of the others. The more trivial dimensions of this are obvious. Our heart beats without any need to calculate the correct rate in our conscious mind every second or so. Many of our normal bodily processes such as red blood cell production, digestion, perspiration all go on by themselves. This extends to much higher levels. More complex functions of our brain also operate outside our conscious control. A loud sound can make us wince and squint our eyes. The softness of a dog or cat's fur to the touch brings pleasant sensations. And if a dog barks or bares its teeth, it can cause us to reflexively withdraw our hand.

These actions and reactions occur without any conscious thinking. Usually this is okay, but at times such reactivity can be a problem. I have hit Andy only once during his three years of life. One night Andy was crawling behind me on the sofa and he bit me in the middle of my back. Before I knew what I was doing, I hit him on his back in anger. A moment later I regretted the act but it was too late. Much as I uphold and cherish non-violence especially with children, in an unthinking moment of anger, I struck out. My reptilian brain stepped in and did what it does so well, it reacted.

Right here is the nub of the problem of practicing our beliefs in our lives. We may have a clear idea about how we would like to lead our lives, but our practice falls far short of our best intentions. The best example of the difficulty of bringing lofty ideas down to earth and living them, for me, is marriage. My head is full of relationship philosophy instructing me in ways to relate to my wife Philomena which will create harmony in our marriage. Still, there are times when self-interest, inattentiveness, irritation or impatience causes me to say or do something I later know falls far short of building marital bliss. It is almost as if I lose my rationality and retreat into my reptilian brain.

The more closely we examine our lives, the more we see the separation of belief and action. If this were not so, situation comedies wouldn't be funny as the characters posture to cover their lapses in consistency of thought and deed. The more idealistic the character, the larger the gap.

One important reason for this gap of thought and action is the continuing momentum of habitual behaviors learned over the course of a lifetime. These habitual behaviors are deeply ingrained in us, often hidden in the recesses of our minds. Like the reflexive response to Andy's bite, much of our lives can be a series of automatic responses in which we become lost and feel out of control of our lives.

So the question I'd like to address today is, how do we begin to move closer to living the ideals we hold dear, loving more fully those who we care about, expanding our compassion, generosity, and deepening our wisdom? If this task engages you, you are sitting in the right place this morning because this is one of our Unitarian Universalist purposes and principles: acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. To grow into a more whole integrated spiritual being, we must bring together our ideals and our actions.

How do we do it? When I asked that question in my twenties, I had trouble finding good answers in the UU congregations I was associated with at the time; so I ventured out to explore the array of spiritual practices available in the San Francisco Bay Area which promised to bridge the gap and make me whole. I chanted with Hindu gurus, I listened to Tibetian Buddhist prayer wheels, I participated in a number of different psychological programs such as co-counseling and psychodrama, I stretched with the yogis, sang with the Sufis, meditated with the Buddhists and prayed with the Christians. Each of these experiences enriched my life and helped close some of the gap between my ideals and my actions. But each also frustrated me, because each required me to add something or remove something from my daily life to become more spiritual. To do all that I wanted to become more spiritual, I would need to spend three to four hours a day in different yoga postures, prayers, meditations and devotional songs to make me feel whole. I would greatly enjoy having the time to do this and I wager I would be a better minister to boot, but with a three- year-old and wife, a growing congregation, community obligations and an electronic ministry, I don't have the time and I suspect neither do you.

This has been weighing heavily on my mind for at least the last four or five years: How do we grow spiritually when we don't have time to add the spiritual practices which would help us? And: How can I share the joys and benefits of spiritual practices with my congregation who don't know what they are missing? Unless you have meditated for ten days, chanted the name of Jesus, Ram, Shiva, or Allah for an evening, spend an hour in yogic poses, and repeatedly used a favorite poem as a daily prayer and experienced some of the benefit, it is hard to understand why anyone would want to do these things. These are all fine ways to develop spiritually, and I recommend them - but what about the busy or minimally motivated person who doesn't have the time? Is there any solution for them?

Out of the silence of my meditation retreat this last summer came the answer: Practice Living.

One answer is to take pieces of our daily lives and transform them into a spiritual practice, using the ordinary as the vehicle to the holy. This approach is grounded in the idea that there is no separation of the sacred and the profane - all moments of life are part of the web of existence and none are separated from the creative living force which flows through it all. This approach is grounded in the belief in the non-separation of what we essentially are and the greater totality of life. In theistic language, God exists in you as you. We must deeply examine ourselves to discover that which is deathless and eternal, the creative living force, the divine, within us to be liberated from the crushing, constantly turning wheel of impermanence which continuously destroys all that arises. That which is deathless and eternal is always present in every moment of our lives, be it changing a baby's diaper, be it sitting by a still forest pool, be it trading options at the Chicago Board of Trade, or waiting in a traffic jam.

Of course being in touch with the deathless and eternal, say, in the dentist's chair isn't very easy for most of us. Give me a shot of Novocain and some nitrous oxide and let me check out for a while! Most of us need a little practice being present in each moment to develop our willingness and ability to stay with what is happening now.

What is required to transform the events in our daily lives into spiritual practice is a change of attitude about the mundane in our existence. Rather than seeing washing the dishes as a thankless chore, begin to see it as a moment to deepen one's awareness of being in the present.

Doing the dishes is really a wonderful religious experience. It begins with destruction and disorder - crusty pans, messy plates, cups with rings dried into the bottom - and runs them through soap and water with a little elbow grease, changing them into beautifully sparkling clean cookware, dishware and utensils. Once the counters are wiped and the floor is swept, the reign of order is reestablished in the kitchen and chaos is defeated. As the dishes are being done, the mind can relax and become quiet and focused on the task. Washing dishes can also become a laboratory to examine the contents of our mind in relationship to the movements of our hands, the speed at which we wash, the care we use to be sure all particles of food are removed, the parts of our body that may become tense or sore during the process. There are many pleasant sensations associated with dishwashing, such as the feeling of our hands in warm soapy water and the satisfaction of scrubbing off the last bit of crud on a very dirty dish.

The change of attitude required is the willingness to pay close attention to not only what we are doing but the activity in our mind and body coincident with what we are doing and witnessing the processes and relationships. The simple mundane tasks of our lives can, if rightly viewed and used, become great teachers. No need to climb to the top of Mount Everest to feel alive, just walk into the garage mindfully, gas up the lawnmower and pull the starter cord with a deep reverence for every moment of existence knowing each one is precious.

Now I realize hurtling down Space Mountain at Disney World, or bungee jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge, or meeting an extremely attractive man or woman is not the same as cleaning the cat box. Certainly the hormonal content of our bloodstream is vastly different. But for the development of awareness and wisdom, the mundane repetitive parts of our life are tremendously valuable. Most traditional spiritual practices require daily repetition such as repeating a prayer or phrase, noting the process of breathing in and out again and again, singing the same mantra over and over, etc. It is the simplification and repetition that allow us to develop our power of concentration and discrimination. The power of concentration keeps us in the moment and prevents distraction and the power of discrimination allows us to witness more clearly the individual mind events in relation to what is going on around us. The two together support our ability to be here now over a wide range of experiences - even something as ordinary as brushing the teeth before going to bed.

Transforming the mundane in our lives into fruitful spiritual practice will be part of the agenda of the class I will be offering starting next Sunday morning at 9:00am titled "Build Your Own Spiritual Practice." We will also cover some other basic ways to cultivate concentration, discrimination, compassion, wisdom and insight drawn from the world's spiritual traditions. The class will recognize that we are all unique in our strengths and weaknesses, attractions and interests. Meditation may work well for me but not engage someone else. Devotional prayer may make one person uncomfortable and another may find it very helpful. Some may prefer using an activity like biking or running as their practice, others may prefer to use gardening or cooking as a way to deepen their spirit. There is an endless array of choices from which one may select paths to greater wholeness. This is the beauty of Unitarian Universalism. You begin where you are, follow what is already engaging you and you grow in a free and responsible search.

And paradoxically, if you truly follow your own path and enter into religious community with those who are also following their own path, you begin appreciating the width and diversity of ways we can grow into whole people spiritually. The progress they make spills over and enrichs ours, affecting our direction. We become spiritual friends walking together for the greater good of all.

The secret as to why this works is the truth that the creative life force which energizes evolution is formless yet informs everything at every level of existence. Thus no matter where one looks, there it is in one of its endless disguises. When we come to the realization that we cannot be separated from the creative life force, and understand that at the core of who we are is that creative life force, and that that is all there is in this universe, you will know true peace, true acceptance, true harmony. In theistic language, you will find union with God.

So when you face yourself in the mirror tonight, ready to pull out some dental floss from the container, make a vow to yourself to pay attention to the treasure to be found in the mundane of your life. Slow down just enough to be here now and be present for every precious moment. Allow yourself to risk that the ordinary and mundane is sufficient. Be Here Now, and be one in thought and action.

Closing Words

Every moment of life can be precious and fruitful.

Intentional attentiveness to the content of our daily lives and our mental interaction with it
can open the door to greater wholeness.

May we all be supportive companions in this journey.

Go In Peace.
Make Peace.
Be at Peace.

Copyright (c) 1995 by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore. All Rights Reserved.