Let's start with the important stuff! "Happy July 4th!" Or, more importantly, "Happy Independence Day!" And don't forget all that that means to you personally because handing over power to an external force didn't end with the Revolutionary War and British
hegemony. Independence and autonomy is a personal challenge as well as a national challenge. In Tarot we say that you hand over your "Emperorship " when you give your power to someone or something outside of yourself. The major arcana card of the Emperor is all about claiming authority over your own life. You get plenty of practice at that on a daily basis. But it's a good idea to think about it as a personal challenge and not just celebrate it as an historic event. However, July 4th is a day of celebration and on that note, there will be no class this week!
Then there is the "happy" theme. Jefferson spoke of "life, liberty and THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS", a pursuit that should not be ignored nor taken lightly.
A Course in Miracles says in
Lesson 24 "I do not know my own best interests", which also means that you do not always know what makes you happy. Happiness is not a euphoric drug, but a lifelong pursuit that requires focus, awareness and guidance. It also requires giving yourself the authority to explore what you feel drawn to. How else will you know whether it makes you happy or not? We learned an expression from our Buddhist friends in London many years ago that was "not this!" If you think something is going to make you happy, you need to explore it to find out if it lives up to your expectations. If it doesn't you move on. "Not this!". Happiness is a pursuit and not handed on a plate. And anyway, just because something is handed to you on a plate, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to like it!
Thirdly, my apologies for the confusion around the class last week. Let's just say, never write about "going with the flow" unless you plan on going with the flow. The on again/off agains that occurred around last week's class ALONE (i.e. there were plenty of other things going on too) changed six times and eventuated in four of us sitting around our dining room table a half hour or more late exploring life and the flow.
Back to holidays! I grew up in a country where "holidays" meant time off from school, as in "school holidays" and time away from work as in "where are you going on holiday this year?". You would probably call this "vacation" in both cases over here. But in all cases, the concept of "holiday" springs from the 5th commandment and the mandate to remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day. That would indeed mean time away from school or work, but not just to run around the woods and fields having fun, or going to the seaside or the
Lake District or to France or Spain. No, it would mean time for God or The Big Universe, time for contemplation and introspection, time to switch off the outside and switch on the inside. It is in fact " THE Holy Day", Sundays in Christian tradition, Saturdays in Jewish tradition, and, to some extent, Fridays in the Islamic tradition. Personally, I am not a fan of a (singular) Holy Day. We, Charque and I, don't go to church or synagogue or mosque, nor do we care too. We believe that "God time" or "inward time" or "contemplation" should be as regular as eating and drinking or any of the other basic necessities of life. In that sense, I am more drawn to the Muslim practice of praying five times a day, or to the eight daily prayer times of Christian monasticism. A Course in Miracles also advocates a "little and often" approach to meditation and mindfulness practices. I once did a calculation of what ACIM is advocating in terms of time devoted to its practice of meditation and I found that it was about 1/10 of your waking hours, extended out over the day. It is interesting to note that churches recommend you tithe (give 1/10 of ) your income to the church. Tithing time on a daily basis instead of money is a radical shift.
As you know, Charque and I both practice and promote what we call "Mirrors" as part of our daily practice, one of the four M's of our Living Mysticism class. Mirrors are your own personal Tarot cards acting out in your daily life right in front of you. Since all physical life has its origins in Mind (the Creator's mind, the collective mind, your own personal mind), then you need to look to Mind as the source or origin of your physical world. The images in your mind, wherever they lie, in the conscious, in the unconscious or in the collective, play out or act out literally and physically in your world. It would behoove you to recognise them and work with them. On that note, we are doing a workshop at Unity this next Sunday, July 7th on "Mirrors". The workshop is donation-based and begins at
1 PM at the Waldorf School Auditorium, 201 South Winebidddle Street, Pittsburgh 15224. It follows the
Sunday service at
10:30 AM, part of which will be our 15 minute talk on "What Is Life for?" ( For more information about Unity, check out their website.) In any case, whether you come or not, start learning to recognise mirrors. You are not a victim of your world. You are its author and creator. This shift in perception can make a significant difference in how you experience the world. As ACIM says: you don't have to change the world. You have to change your mind about the world. I say this often to myself and I quote it often to others because it represents a major shift in perception. The world can become a little less stressful, a little more consistently enjoyable and fulfilling. Just look at it this way. A littlle more "holy" time on a reglar, daily basis might mean a little more happy time and a little more real holiday time. Cause for celebration indeed!
