here is the increasing ability to say no to distortions and help invite deeper understanding of those distortions but without hatred.”
~ Deep Spring Center Thought for December 6, 2015
Following my lunch meeting with our mutual friend, during which she and I both shared some family stresses that had taken place over our Thanksgiving holiday, she sent email to Joel about our conversation. Joel made this comment:
Yes, Debra is relentlessly positive, and everything does present opportunities, doesn’t it…. “What, lost a leg? How fortunate! Now you get to learn how to use crutches….”
I replied, “Well, I’m not so sure that I would consider losing a leg or needing to learn to walk on crutches as positive, but if one had lost a leg and didn’t have crutches, things would definitely be much more difficult!”
A few days later, I had opportunity to ask Joel why specifically he had chosen that metaphor. He said he chose the metaphor as an extreme example of a relentless positive attitude. He said I am not that extreme. No, I am not relentlessly positive, but, I do agree with Albert Einstein that God does not play dice with the universe.
“I think the most important question facing humanity is, ‘Is the universe a friendly place?’ This is the first and most basic question all people must answer for themselves.
“For if we decide that the universe is an unfriendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to achieve safety and power by creating bigger walls to keep out the unfriendliness and bigger weapons to destroy all that which is unfriendly and I believe that we are getting to a place where technology is powerful enough that we may either completely isolate or destroy ourselves as well in this process.
“If we decide that the universe is neither friendly nor unfriendly and that God is essentially ‘playing dice with the universe’, then we are simply victims to the random toss of the dice and our lives have no real purpose or meaning.
“But if we decide that the universe is a friendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding that universe. Because power and safety will come through understanding its workings and its motives.”
“God does not play dice with the universe,”
My wondering about how one comes to recognize that the universe is a friendly place includes questions about our how our habits affect our conclusions. I gave up watching or reading news coverage over 20 years ago. I get enough bad news without the practice of looking for it. I read a handful of daily inspirations from writers I respect. You can do this to feed your mind positive thinking. I did not set out to meditate, but I had a disciplined prayer time each morning. I would sit on my sofa facing the rising sun and open my heart to the God of my understanding. As specific needs came to mind, I would bathe that person or circumstance with the love of God until I felt peace.
The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live,
in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
~ Howard Zinn, Gratefulness.org Word for the Day – December 6, 2015
What had begun as an asking with words, “Dear God, please let so-and-so live, or please bring such-and such, or if it is your will let this-or-that happen.” I did not think of God as an ATM machine, or a cosmic Santa, but I did think my asking had an influence on the situation. Over time, I came to understand the lyrics Garth Brooks sings, “I thank God for unanswered prayers.” My heart opened up to see the bigger picture more and more of the time. This prayer time might not be designed to change God’s mind, but it certainly changed my mind.
Interestingly, delving so deeply into the study of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) also changed my view of the universe and my approach to life, including my “prayer life.” It got much bigger as I learned to take into account more than just the surface of events. Think back to the example of Joel’s comment about the lost leg. In that situation, having the option to walk on crutches is a huge advantage. This truth is so tender in my heart right now because a very dear client/friend who had lost a leg to bone cancer was totally independent with crutches. This past year, following surgery to remove some cancerous ribs, she was unable to use crutches and her life was drastically limited. RIP, Lorri. I will forever appreciate your sense of humor.
Just this morning, my friend, David Bloyd, shared this post in this daily thought:
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”
—Bill Clinton, American politician, former Arkansas governor, 42nd U.S. President; 1946-
quotationspage.com (website)
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Let’s hope so, and soon.
djb
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Earlier, when I posted this photo on Facebook, a friend replied, “Once you do – how will you change what’s going on around you?” That is a really good question. I told her she will have to discover that for herself. I find inspired action comes from awareness of my old patterns being seen for what they are: conditioned responses.
Is my view of the universe as a friendly place affected by the near death experience I had when I was 12? Perhaps. For sure, Mark Matousek, author of The Optimist’s Manifesto, thinks so. He said, “There’s no better life lesson than a near-death experience.” I am not advocating going out and having an intentional NDE. The end of this life will come soon enough.
Meanwhile, you are deciding what you will make of things, and how you will feel about what happens, whether or not you agree with Mark that, “Optimists are people who know what matters. Optimism does not mean believing that only good things will happen. It means that, regardless of what happens, you will make the most of it.”
Let’s make a New Year’s resolution to make the most of whatever comes our way, because, as Einstein says, “… [I]f we decide that the universe is a friendly place, then we will use our technology, our scientific discoveries and our natural resources to create tools and models for understanding that universe. Because power and safety will come through understanding its workings and its motives.”
(After I had finished this article, and proofread the draft of Joel’s, I heard Tara Brach speaking on the exact topic. She even mentions Pinker’s book. The interesting part is that I heard this talk, and her wonderful meditation, coincidentally because of the auto-start on Youtube linked to this one after my listening to another talk. Take about 50 minutes to enjoy Trusting Ourselves, Trusting Life (10/07/2015) by Tara Brach: