If only we knew what we wanted

Spiritual transformation and interspirituality

Threshold Society founder Shaikh Kabir Helminski on spiritual transformation and world peace:

The Threshold Society is focused on spiritual transformation, self-knowledge and applied spirituality. ... Inevitably, souls that are transformed and hearts that become purified have an influence – both seen and unseen, both in practical ways and in ways that are described as “spiritual influence.” Every human soul that frees itself from the toxicity of egoism is contributing vibrationally to the state of humanity, often much more than it is apparent.

And on interspirituality:

What I mean by “interspiritual” are people who are practicing contemplatives from various traditions. When they come together there are no arguments and no disagreements. There is only an extraordinary amount that we have in common. This realization is extremely rewarding.

Check out the whole article for much more.

Path to serenity, happiness

- From The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

Geneen Roth's eating guidelines

Here are Geneen Roth's seven guidelines to eating more mindfully:

1. Eat when you are hungry. 
2. Eat sitting down in a calm environment. This does not include the car. 
3. Eat without distractions. Distractions include radio, television, newspapers, books, intense or anxiety-producing conversations or music. 
4. Eat what your body wants. 
5. Eat until you are satisfied. 
6. Eat (with the intention of being) in full view of others. 
7. Eat with enjoyment, gusto and pleasure.

The need for 'right effort'

In the December 2017 issue of Meditatio (p 4) Fr Laurence Freeman (WCCM) points out that while contemplation is a gift of grace, that doesn't mean we get to wait for it while sitting on the couch eating bon-bons and watching crap TV:

In Christian wisdom, contemplation is felt to be gift or grace, not the result of will power, scholarship, imagination or spiritual technology. Yet, because contemplation involves an ever fuller participation in reality, not an observer’s distance, it does ask for ‘right effort’. We need to do something in order to learn what it is to be. Then being shows itself as pure action and we return to the mundane world of work with new motivation and insight.

The way I look at this is that we don't "earn" this gift by our actions, rather, our efforts are meant to remove the impediments to receiving it.

Rohr on trust

Some thoughts from Richard Rohr. First, on fear, grace, and trust:

Ask yourself regularly, “What am I afraid of? Does it matter? Will it matter at the end or in the great scheme of things? Is it worth holding on to?” Grace will lead you into such fears and emptiness, and grace alone can fill them up, if we are willing to stay in the void. ... To stay in God’s hands, to trust, means that we usually have to let go of our attachments to feelings—which are going to pass away anyway (which is the irony of it all). 

On trust and surrender (emphasis mine):

Surrender, yielding, trusting, and giving are never going to appeal to the ego. We have to be taught this deeper wisdom soon or civilization will continue its rapid downward spiral. The key, of course, is to Whom we are surrendering: a Trinitarian God. The life of faith is learning how to rest in an Ultimate Love and how to draw upon an Infinite Source. On a very practical level, you will then be able to trust that you are being held and guided. In fact, you can trust after a while that almost everything is a kind of guidance. ... [What] I am saying that what first comes to your heart and soul must be a yes instead of a no, trust instead of resistance.

Finally, a homily: Trust is a Rock You Can Build Upon (start ~7:30).

Word for the year: TRUST

"Provide love; trust will be born from it.

Demonstrate your trust, and it will awaken love." (link)