CHILL OUT

Chillin' American Gothic, Chicago,IL

I always thought something was missing
from the soundtrack of my life...
as it turns out all I needed was
a little more cowbell...

THE TAPESTRY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Fluid Spirits, Greensboro, NC & Chicago, IL

Consciousness can be defined as being mindful or aware of oneself as a thinking, feeling being. We realize with awe the miracle of a body that is informed by this extraordinary thing we call life that we take for granted almost every day. The fateful day we realize this eternal truth is the beginning of a lifelong spiritual journey.

God is a conscious spiritual being and we are conscious earthly beings. We were created in his image, so we can expect parallels in our existence. His being occupies the universe like our consciousness occupies our body. By liberating the spaces in our lives and minds that are filled with clutter and chatter, we allow the presence of God to more easily occupy that space!

J. P. Moreland reasons that, “Consciousness cannot be reduced merely to the physical brain. Our consciousness came from a greater consciousness. You see, the Christian worldview begins with thought and feeling and desire and choice. That is, God is conscious. God has thoughts. He has beliefs, he has desires, he has awareness, he’s alive, he acts with a purpose. We start there and because we start with the mind of God, we don’t have a problem explaining the origin of our mind. …he’s invisible because that’s the way conscious beings are….I have no inclination to doubt that this very room is teeming with the very presence of God.”

The particles of atoms consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons that revolve in extremely vast regions of empty space. Man has now determined that there are no solid objects at the subatomic level. A subatomic particle is a set of relationships that reach out and interconnect, not with objects, but with other interconnections. Light travels in waves and as particles (photons) at the speed of light. The photons collide with the air, in a cosmic dance of continuous creation and destruction, a ceaseless flow of energy going through a multiplicity of patterns. The waves are abstract patterns of probabilities or relationships. At the subatomic level there is a continual exchange of matter and energy between us and everything around us. We're all part of one inseparable web of relationships.

Daniel J. Siegel writes in The Mindful Brain that “we have an additional sense of relationships and connections that enables us to feel a part of the larger whole… Our mind has been defined as a process that regulates the flow of energy and information. The embodied and relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information—the mind—is exactly what mindfulness shapes. This state of being, this particular form of being aware, is all about regulating the flow of energy and information—in our bodies, and in our relationships with others.”

Jill Bolte Taylor writing in My Stroke of Insight perceived life through the restricted lens of only her right brain after a stroke incapacitated her left hemisphere. She observed that her self-concept was no longer a solid with boundaries, but a fluid. Operating without the constant "brain chatter" from her left hemisphere left her feeling one with the universe. Mystics and serious practitioners can also reach that ultimate present moment state of nirvana. Could it be that we are all in fact continuously in that state, but we simply do not generally experience that awareness? Perhaps that is why God has informed us in the Psalms to be still and know that he is God. Then we can experience that sense of relationship with our creator who is omniscient and omnipresent in the interconnected fluid tapestry of all creation.

Taylor writes, “The innate differences we each experience...to stimulation contributes greatly to how we perceive the world…When I lost my left hemisphere and its language centers, I also lost the clock that would break my moments into consecutive brief instances. Instead of having my moments prematurely stunted, they became open-ended, and I felt no rush to do anything. Like walking along the beach, or just hanging out in the beauty of nature, I shifted from the doing-consciousness of my left brain to the being-consciousness of my right brain. I morphed from feeling small and isolated to feeling enormous and expansive. I stopped thinking in language and shifted to taking new pictures of what was going on in the present moment. I was not capable of deliberating about past and future-related ideas because those cells were incapacitated. All I could perceive was right here, right now, and it was beautiful.

My entire self-concept shifted as I no longer perceived myself as a single, a solid, an entity with boundaries that separated me from the entities around me. I understood that at the most elementary level, I am a fluid. Of course I am a fluid! Everything around us, about us, among us, within us, and between us is made up of atoms and molecules vibrating in space. Although the ego center of our language center prefers defining our self as individual and solid, most of us are aware that we are made up of trillions of cells, gallons of water, and ultimately everything about us exists in a constant and dynamic state of activity. My left hemisphere had been trained to perceive myself as a solid, separate from others. Now, released from that restrictive circuitry, my right hemisphere relished in its attachment to the eternal flow. I was no longer isolated and alone. My soul was as big as the universe and frolicked with glee in a boundless sea… Our right brain perceives the big picture and recognizes that everything around us, about us, among us, and within us is made up of energy particles that are woven together into a universal tapestry. Since everything is connected, there is an intimate relationship between the atomic space around and within me, and the atomic space around and within you—regardless of where we are.

Bernard Haisch has proposed a mind bending theory about consciousness in his book, “The God Theory”. He contends that “ultimately it is consciousness that is the origin of matter, energy, and the laws of nature in this universe and all others that may exist. And the purpose is for God to experience his potential. God’s ideas and abilities become God’s experience in the life of every sentient being…God experiences the richness of his potential through us because we are the incarnations of him in the physical realm.” Frankly, I’m not convinced that God needs us to experience his potential, certainly not nearly as much as we need him for our well being. But Haisch at least seemed to be motivated to present a more scientific-spiritual theory as opposed to the majority view of science today. Many scientists are proponents of the universe of reductionism in which “everything can be reduced to the behavior of particles of matter and energy”, completely apart from any spiritual connection. As a learned astrophysicist Ph.D., he contends that our consciousness is the ultimate connection to God, the spiritual creative force in the universe and the source of all consciousness. While we are in our every day state of consciousness, we remain aware of our surroundings through the filter of the physical world. But mystics who are conditioned to enter the unfiltered state of ultimate consciousness or nirvana experience a state of peace, love and bliss, something Haisch defines as “a concentration point within a single universal consciousness”. Consciousness exists apart from the body and survives death. The temporary physical world was created for the development and evolution of human beings with a spirit. Our natural timeless home lies in the wider supernatural realm of the creator.

Aldous Huxley in his book, The Doors of Perception” theorizes that our brain possibly acts as a mental filter to help us survive on this planet. We’re only capable of perceiving the material world around us versus the infinite sea of consciousness. Autistic savants that can multiply 377 times 795 while carrying on a conversation indicate amazing potential, however. He sees the numbers as shapes that change and evolve into another shape, the answer. Haisch writes that “My inner life of thought and awareness utterly denies that my consciousness is nothing more than an inanimate, chemical creation. I know better, and so do you.”

We are not only IN this universe, but we are OF this universe. In Paul's letter to the Ephesians he writes, "There is one body and one spirit...one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all(4:4-5)."

HAPPINESS AND JOY

My Spirit Has Wings, Jamestown, NC

If you pursue happiness, it will elude you.
But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your
work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can,
happiness will find you.

One of those seemingly eternal truths that I think I’ve finally discovered after living and struggling to the official age of social security retirement benefits is that there is a profound difference between happiness and joy in life. On the surface, they seem to be compatible synonyms. In fact, the Webster Thesaurus lists joyous as the first synonym of happy. Perhaps I'm just parsing words. So, what’s the big deal? Well, for one thing, I think you could also consider these two words as complete antonyms. Our culture considers the path to happiness strewn with all imaginable sorts of worldly stuff which the Mad Men of Madison Avenue subliminally and not so subliminally barrage us with over the course of almost every waking hour on the planet. Best Buy’s latest motto says it all; “I want it all and I want it now”! We’re definitely an “instant gratification” society.


We wish each other a "Happy Birthday" and a "Happy New Year". We close our writings with "Have a nice day", appended by a happy face icon. We expect to be happy and when life doesn't follow the script of a typical TV sitcom, we get depressed because it's not supposed to be like that--or is it? Our American culture has more wealth and stuff than any society that ever walked the planet and we’re not very happy. Maybe we need more joy in our lives.


One of the main purposes of our spiritual journey in this life is to develop our character. God did not create us for perpetual happiness. Happiness is temporary, lasting 30 seconds to an hour or two, because it is based on external circumstances, like buying stuff. But joy is a lasting, prolonged state of being because it is based on God’s presence within us which leads to contentment and an understanding of the future he has for us. Jesus taught Martha that Mary had found the one true secret of life—to remain in His presence. Jesus teaches us in John 15: 9-11 that “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow”! The assurance of God’s presence within us is validated in Luke’s writing in Acts 13:52, “And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”


We oftentimes reach a crossroads in life where our material demands and our spiritual growth are intersecting! We can maintain our momentum as long as we continue to align our time, talents and treasures (our will) with our best view of God’s will. A child of God has the assurance of eternal life and the faith to trust God to direct their lives to achieve that assurance. As Paul writes in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Our intention should be to seek the fulfillment of God’s purposes in all we do, not merely what we do with our resources. Jesus taught that we should be mindful of where we find ourselves spending our time. That reveals where our heart resides. And that reveals what gods we worship in life.


As the Spirit continues to work in our lives, we find more joy in doing more selfless things than we ever did in doing things for ourselves. As Jesus said, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:25). Life is a gift, and everything belongs to God. God owns it all. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it (Psalm 24:1).” We do not inherit the earth from our parents. Rather, we borrow it from our grandchildren and our creator. God freely blesses us and expects us to take care of our earthly home, our needs and our children. He wants us to enjoy life, but not only focus on ourselves. And when we become vessels dispensing God’s grace to help others by returning a portion of our blessings, we are blessed with joy.

NEGOTIATING THE FAIRWAYS OF LIFE

Vintage Tom & Larry, Kansas City, MO
Vintage Arnie, Kansas City, MO

I started playing golf while discovering I had absolutely no interest in pursuing a lifetime as a Mechanical Engineer. That left a lot of room for the time needed to develop a budding love for the game on the officers’ course at a nearby military reservation. The experience also taught me that if you walk into a situation acting as if you absolutely belong there beyond a shadow of a doubt, no one bothers to question or validate your presence or qualification! That worked for the two years it took to accumulate enough low grades and finally have a curious MP ask for our credentials. But by that time, I had hit enough golf shots to be hooked for life and also have a better understanding for the direction of my life. During the following years, golf has proved to be a great venue to develop many lifetime relationships, connect with business associates, meet lots of really talented professionals, throw off tons of life stress, enjoy many a walk on some of God’s most beautiful real estate, and realize that a good part of the attraction to the sport is the uncanny way golf imitates life. I took these priceless candid images of Arnold Palmer at Tom Watson's Children's Mercy Hospital Charity Classic where our company sponsored a winner's check. So, I jotted down some of my observations from my last fifty years of life and golf. I suspect I’m not alone in these musings either.
• Everyone enters the first tee with par.
• Everyone putts out on the eighteenth green and then must account for his round.
• Truth is more important than tradition.
• Be in control or be controlled
• Laying it up to play safe may sometimes be the rational move, but a faint heart will never soar.
• The euphoria of pulling off a low percentage shot is long remembered after all the miss hits.
• We must see the green over the sand and water, not the reverse.
• To achieve greatness, you must visualize it in advance.
• Focus on the positive results of a difficult shot. Do not entertain negative possibilities.
• To make a long breaking putt, you must hit it with conviction and visualize its path to the hole. Fail to plan and you’ll plan to fail. Our brain's Mission Control Center can take over once it has direction for the shot. Trust it.
• Practice with a purpose. Don’t just bang balls with a driver on the range. Take courses and volunteer for assignments that will help you achieve your long term goals--especially those which others consider too difficult.
• Never focus on a tree limb close to your desired path or you will hit it more often than not. Mission Control kicking in again.
• It absolutely helps to have a lot of different shots in your bag like a draw, a fade, a low stinger into the wind, etc. Most of us weekenders have those shots. We just don’t always know when they’ll come off the club face! Life can be just as full of surprises. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. That kind of luck takes a lot of the surprises out of life. No one likes surprises except at Christmas time.
• The probability of a perfect shot is inversely proportional to the number and importance of those observing it. That formula also works for business presentations.
• Golf isn’t fair and neither is life. Shots hit sprinkler heads, bounce the wrong way and roll off line from a spike mark. Many folks spend too many unhappy hours thinking they should be living a TV sitcom.
• Once you’ve put in the practice and gained experience, it then becomes most important to simply trust your swing. The same goes for life and placing our trust in our creator to get us through the hazards.
• A round of golf reveals more character than a lifetime of casual interaction.
• We can’t control all the bad breaks on the course, but we can control how we react to them.
• Blaming trees, rocks, clubs, and others instead of ourselves and our poor decisions will reveal a character that we and our playing partners do not like.
• A wise man seriously considers character flaws exposed on the course and works to fix them more than his swing flaws.
• Many times it is easier to tolerate someone’s slight swing flaw like a consistent fade than it is to try to change everything about their swing. We all have our little flaws in life.
• One of the challenging and satisfying things about golf is the wide variety of courses there are available to play all over this planet. We also need to celebrate all the differences in others.
• The significant interruptions in a round of golf, as well as those in life, are those that shape our character and define our life. No one plans to end up in a sand trap or deep in the rough and no one expects to fight cancer or deal with broken relationships, etc.
• If you do lose your cool, do not react to anything without first taking a dozen steps to cool down. If you are rapidly responding to an irritating e-mail, hit the “send later” key, not the “send” key.
• Just like going to bed after a particularly terrible bad day and committing to get up the next morning to try again, so it is to walk to the next tee with a new attitude of determination after carding a devastating score on the last hole.
• We shouldn’t pray to God to help us hit the perfect golf shot. Rather, we should pray for the kind of strong character that can handle the pressure.
• We can never master the game of golf and we can never achieve perfection in this life, even though we should always strive to that lofty goal.
• There’s no point in getting our club head covers all tangled up trying to shoot below par when we never take the time to practice purposely to be capable of it. The same goes for success in life.
• Dedicated commitment is needed to perform at the highest levels. And we generally have more important priorities in life than golf.
• Accepting our position of a weekend golfer makes for a much more enjoyable round. Accepting the odds of being president can make life more enjoyable also.
• We may not ever attain perfection, but we are capable of keeping the ball between the tall grasses on either side of the fairway. We generally get into trouble when we stray waaay off the fairways of life.
• Golf can tear your heart out when you find yourself beginning to take it waaaay too seriously. Especially if you consider it much more serious than life and death and treat it or anything else in life as your god. You can always find your heart where you spend a lot of your time. Be careful.
• Every now and then it’s good to take a risky shot like attempting to thread the needle between two pine trees. Just the anticipation and possibility of making this shot gets the heart jump started, starts the adrenalin flowing, and makes you more alive.
• Sometimes you just need to commit and “go for it”. You can lay up when you’re no longer on the green side of the fairway grass.
• When faced with a difficult shot, draw upon your learned knowledge and practiced skills to define the moment. Don’t let the moment define you.
• To successfully maneuver around the course, stay in the moment and take each shot as it comes. Don’t fret about missed shots and don’t worry about possible hazards ahead. Learn from the past, plan for the future and live in the moment, for that's where life unfolds.
• Sometimes when your ball is laying up against a tree that is directly between you and the green, you just have to mutter that golf spelled backwards is flog. Then take your medicine and pitch out to the fairway. We need to choose our battles in life well, grasshoppers.
• Cheating is bad Karma. Admit it, when you ever so slightly move your ball to a better lie, the lingering guilt creeps into the balance of your round to affect it in a negative way.
• We are constantly sending out positive and negative energy that is returned to us. Rising tides raise all ships, so it’s good to always encourage your golfing buddies on good shots, as it inspires you as well.
• A little random luck is always welcome and appreciated, both on the course and off. Just remember, the best kind of luck is when preparation meets opportunity. And the three keys to preparation are practice, practice and practice.
• To experience the very highs of a high risk shot well played, we also have to risk hitting the Death Valley lows of a shot hit into the hazard. That seems to be part of the balance of the universe.
• Hazards abound on the course and it is our challenge to navigate around them. Those hazards were placed there by the course creator to test our game and grow our character. They don’t have to be there, but it makes the game more interesting. See a parallel?
• Once we have enough experience at golf, we can then begin to trust our instincts and play with confidence.
• We may win some and lose some, but we suit up for all of them. Quitting is never an option to walk off the course because things aren’t going well.
• Patience will finally see a putt drop after sliding by the hole on the last six holes. Our “instant gratification” culture doesn’t teach patience very well.
• Sometimes a miss hit shot will miraculously bound back into the fairway, when perhaps it wasn’t a miracle at all.
• Sometimes the devil will guide an improbable shot to its unrealistic destination just to tempt us back again for more grief.
• Sometimes a very poorly struck shot will actually end up on the green through no good reason at all, certainly not due to our involvement. When that happens, say a short “thank you”, and move on down the fairway.
• Putting is as simple as knowing the correct speed and direction for the ball. A steady pace to the finish line while maintaining a healthy direction for our life also serves us well.
• Golf is the game for a lifetime that must be adjusted with each trip around the sun, as growing old gracefully and adjusting to the challenges of life. Learn the difference between happiness and joy.
• Long after all the players forget today’s scores, they’ll remember the beautiful surroundings, good company and handful of good shots. Don’t spoil the ride with negative thoughts and actions.
• If the game of golf were easy, we’d never find it challenging enough to come back again and again. A little drama in life keeps it interesting. We all find “easy” quickly boring and abandon it. Se la vie!
• When our round is finished, it’s great to move on to a comfortable club house at the nineteenth hole with good company. When we’ve breathed our last, it’s good to know that we have a heavenly home where all our loved ones reside, the fairways are pristine and no hazards exist.

UNSEEN PROTECTION

Hand of God, Branson, Mo

The Bible contains numerous accounts of how God and His angels interact with humankind. Many of these interactions involve the protection of people that are not even aware of it. Angels of the Lord are sometimes seen and many times not seen. There’s a story in Numbers 22 about a sorcerer that is traveling on his donkey to meet a ruler that wants to curse Israel before they conquer his land. An angel of the Lord with his sword drawn stood in his path three times and was seen by the donkey which turned off the path only to be beaten by his rider who could not see the angel. Then the Lord opened the sorcerer’s eyes and he finally saw the imposing angel who delivered God’s message to him. It just may be for the best that we're not wired to normally see these spiritual beings. There’s a reason that in almost all confrontations between human beings and these spiritual beings, the angel says, “fear not”. Their presence apparently scares the living daylights out of us mere mortals!

There’s another account in 2 Kings 6 regarding how the prophet Elisha continually told the king of Israel about the logistical tactics of the king of Aman. This enraged the Amanean king so much that he sent an army with horses and chariots to surround the city where Elisha resided. When Elisha’s servant rushed to Elisha and sounded the alarm, Elisha quieted him by observing that they had a larger army on their side for protection. Then Elisha prayed to the Lord to open the servant’s eyes and he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Then as the army attacked, Elisha prayed for the Lord to smite them with blindness. Their blindness was only removed after they were captured and then released to their king so that they would stop raiding Israel’s territory.

Some time later in 2 Kings 7, the king of Aman again raised a large army and laid siege to the Israeli city of Samaria where the king of Israel and Elisha were residing. The people were being starved out. Then the Lord caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they thought the king of Israel had hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack them. So they fled in the night and ran for their lives. Then the people went out to their camp and plundered it of all their food and livestock.

The Israelites settled into their promised land to the east of the Mediterranean Sea. But they did not follow God’s command to destroy all of the pagan influences and gods that could lead them away from God. Until that time, God had protected them by leading them out of slavery in Egypt and into battle to displace the indigenous peoples of the land. He sent an angel to guard and guide them (Exodus 23:20). Both the northern and southern tribes were invaded twice as a warning not to turn their backs on God. Finally, God withdrew his protection and turned his back on Israel and the Assyrian Empire conquered the north and Samaria (2 Kings 17) and later the evil Babylonian Empire to the south captured the remainder and Jerusalem (2 Kings 25). The nation had rejected its original purpose to honor God and be a light to the world.

Revelation tells us that there will be a detailed accounting of each of our lives at the final judgment. Who knows exactly what all might be revealed to us at that time? Quite possibly we may finally have our eyes opened to numerous instances where angels of the Lord had protected us from all manner of calamities that never happened. Have you read of all the accounts of those people who did not show up for work in the twin towers on September 11? Was it simply fate or were they being protected from harm for some reason? Was the actual attack a punishment as some say, or perhaps did God simply respond in kind from this nation turning our backs on Him? Many scoff at even the question, but we should reverently search our hearts and souls to try to find the answer if it was perhaps a first warning.

REVELATION

Volcanic Lightning, Internet Domain

In it's most basic form, the final chapter of the Bible, Revelation, speaks to our contemporary culture as a wake up call that the lives of all humanity will ultimately be judged by God. The book spoke to first century oppressed Christions of the hope for relief from the ruling Romans. The final end of human history will see evil eradicated with Satan, the false prophet, the beasts and all their evil worshipers destroyed. I'm not sure there are any absolute interpretations of John's symbolism. But it certainly cannot be taken literally. There are a lot of comparisons to the Roman rule over the persecuted Christians in John's time when he wrote the Apocalypse while exiled on the Aegean island of Patmos. It was meant to be read aloud for effect (1:3).

Prophets understand today and speak of tomorrow. Apocalyptic visions discern spiritual reality outside of time and space. Christian legend has it that John is the only one that actually died of old age versus the terrible executions the other apostles endured during this tumultuous time of early Christianity's development.

The dragon represents Satan who controls the first beast from the sea or Rome, the evil empire, the great whore or adulteress who worships false gods. Roman conquerors came to Asia Minor on ships from the sea. Babylon symbolizes Rome (with 7 hills), the beast (with 7 heads). Modern day Baghdad is in proximity to ancient Babylon. The second beast comes out of the earth, or the governors and political supporters of Rome who enforced the edicts. The self proclaimed Roman emperors decreed they were to be worshiped as a god. Jews had an exemption, but not Christians. Others note that every generation has it's own version of Revelation, including a beast such as Hitler, etc. and today's Bin Laden. The number 6 stands for imperfection, one less than 7(perfection), so 666 is really evil--the mark of the beast. And 666 also refers to Nero Caesar through Hebrew numerology which translates to 616 in some ancient manuscripts, just to keep things unclear.

Revelation is full of symbolism and 275 of the 404 verses have some kind of Old Testament allusion. Armageddon is the symbolic place of God's ultimate victory, the cross. The great confrontation will be won by Christ's blood (love) and his Word (truth). The old order will be replaced by a new earth and new heaven of God's Kingdom (21:4-5) flowing from the river of life to the tree of life.

WHAD'YA THINK?

American Gothic, Chicago Art Institute

It just might be a bit pretentious of us to think that we're the only occupants of this vast entire universe. It's possible that God may have created another similar planet with a human race that was created perfect right out of the starting blocks. And they're using us as their Thursday Night Reality Show!
Whad'ya think?

If we bought tickets to a highly acclaimed movie and it didn't deliver any drama, we'd probably get up and ask for our money back. Life's like that. If there wasn't any drama in our lives occasionally, we'd complain of boredom!
Whad'ya think?

As the old saying goes, you can pick your friends but not your relatives. And we all have that one person in each family that you can tolerate spending a holiday with, but would have a very difficult time going on vacation with for an entire week. In fact, I bet you can think of who that person is in your family right now. If not, you're it!
Whad'ya think?

--Thoughts from the Mark Lowry show