My brothers and sisters of Light. It is ten past four in the morning. I do hope that this is a good day for us all. Of course I pray this also. Faith, hope and charity. The greatest of these is charity. Is charity just giving with out any thoughts of receiving thanks or acknowledgement of ones giving. Isn't it also being able to accept from others, or the universe without false modesty and yet always being thankful. I am thankful that my eleven year old, Joshua is asleep on a mattress on the floor of the bedroom with Buster our German Shepard beside him. I pray for Gods angels to protect my sons from the evil that can come via other people. Those of you who read this and are also followers of the loving God of all creation, know that I pray for the angels to watch over you and your loved ones.
Be still and know, I Am God.
A Buddhist monk once told a Christian Abbot. `The silence will teach you everything`. and this parallels a story of the desert fathers: `A certain brother came to the abbot Moses seeking word from him. And the old man said to him: "Go and sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything." This ability to sit still, in silence, with nothing else except the silence really does frighten many people, and rightly so. Anthony of Egypt explains why: The one who sits in solitude and quiet has escaped from three wars: hearing, speaking and seeing; yet against one thing shall he continually battle: that is, his own heart.`
When they spent time in solitude and in silence people inevitably have to wrestle with their own demons. Indeed, that very phrase to `wrestle with their own demons` is derived from the fathers and mothers of the desert tradition. They speak quite literally of the forces of evil that will tempt the solitary monk or nun away from their solitude, away from the silence and away from their prayers. It is easy to mock the personification of those forces as `devils`, but anybody who has seriously pursued a life of silence and prayer know that those forces are powerfully real, whether personified or not. Throughout our journey to become enlightened beings we should constantly be aware and on guard against the dark realities that can surface once silence and prayer are pursued wholeheartedly. The notion that this silence leads to tranquility is a very modern assumption. The monastic tradition sees any such tranquillity as a short-lived consolation to encourage beginners, which will dissipate once the search for God is pursued with real determination and the demons get to work to prevent and further progress.
This is to jump ahead, however and we must rely not on our own abilities to win the battle. To deny ourselves and say `I know longer live, yet Christ lives in me` and to say `God my heavenly Father, come to my aid and be with me through any and all trials, even to death.` Then we will, with prayer come to the point where these tempory bodies will no longer be of great importance to us. Only loving God constantly and doing his will be in our hearts and minds.
There is no need to reach high for the stars. They are already within you. We are made from star dust. Just reach deep into yourself.
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