Thursday, January 23, 2020
LIGHTEN UP
Dear All of Us,
If I may,
how do you deal with the dark
the dark outside
the dark inside
duck, deny, defy
pull the covers over your head - or soul
turn on every light you can find
cry out for Mommy, somebody, God
try to pill it away
wait it out
attempt to outrun it
let it drain and deaden you
seek some, any, genuine enlightenment
let loose a psychic, soul scream
thrash about
drag others into it
long for light to dawn
embrace it
let it highlight the starry heavens
realize that the other side of the world, of reality, is bright
and will soon dawn where you are
light a candle and join others to spread the light?
These are dark days.
Where many of us live it is winter.
It gets dark early and light late.
Seasonal Affective Disorder darkens in more than in a few ways.
Our social, cultural, political, governmental, religious, planetary days are dark -
terribly, dangerously, destructively so, like never before in all human history.
Check the Doomsday Clock, just reset
to 100 seconds to midnight and oblivion.
Our response and reaction to all that darkness is itself deepest dark.
So many are scared witless - just don't know what to do,what will become of us.
So, yes
how do you deal with the dark
the dark outside
the dark inside?
In a way we are experiencing a shared Dark Night of the Soul.
It's also a personal darkness.
It's not comfortable.
It's not easy.
It's doesn't need to be our final fate, the end of the story either.
So, how then do we Lighten Up?
We start where we are and look to where we can go even if it isn't yet clear.
We admit the dark and look for the light.
We accept that both are personal and private as well as shared and social.
No pulling the covers over our heads - souls.
We do what we can where we are to comfort and care for others
suffering the dread of darkness however it is experienced.
We love and pray for the Doers of Darkness - the Captains of Empire
in governance, religion, commerce, media - so sick and sinister
and making it that way for this planet and us its people - dark and dreadful.
As we feel our way along in the nothingness of dark we are not blinded
to the terrain of light as we encounter it - oasis like -
all those million moments and motions of luminous goodness -
the dear and good people moving through the dark day
in brilliant, life giving ways and creation itself unfolding in radiant beauty.
We begin to see the need to simplify our life styles -
stuff weighs us down to dark earth -
we let go of our more than enough
so we are light enough to lift to light.
Darkness can scare the life out of us.
Yet, in the dark lovers open, thrust and merge into a divine luminosity.
It's intensely, wondrously bright and warm.
Lovers are in the flow of the Love that is God.
They are a magnificent reminder that no darkness can stop love
in whatever form people make love - newly weds, social justice advocates, grandma making raisin oatmeal cookies for her grandkids,
the parent putting up with a less than thrilling job to finance the family,
an old pastor writing a weekly blog to support your spiritual life...
There are endless ways of love making in the dark.
They are dark defying.
We're not all alone out here on the crust of the earth in the scary dark.
Light or dark, countless numbers of us are together.
We have taken Jesus up on his offer:
"Abide in me as I abide in you...
As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you;
abide in my love."
(John 15:4 & 9 )
Talk about making love, being into each other!!!
What a Love Community!
Jesus reflected upon himself as the Light of the World.
"I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me
will never walk in darkness
but will have the light of life"
(John 8:12)
That wasn't some sort of self sell.
It was and is Self Share.
Jesus the Christ is intensity itself,
the intensity of Divine Love,
Reality Incarnate,
higher voltage than anybody's calibration.
In company with him and each other,
no matter than darkness,
we together will have the light of life.
The paradox here reminds me of John of the Cross describing
The Dark Night Of The Soul as
"luminous darkness".
Jesus goes on to widen the wealth:
"You are the light of the world...
let your light shine before others,
so that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father in heaven."
(Matthew 14 and 16)
How about them apples?
Our light received and shared will brighten to glory giving.
From the get go of creation the Word (articulation) of God,
has spoken into being all that is and no darkness will blot it out.
"What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it."
( John 1: 3-5)
Yes, these are terrifyingly dark days.
Yet, as dark as it is these perilous days, we sure can
Lighten Up
"The light shines in the darkness
and the darkness(will) not overcome it.""
So good to be together sharing life and light,
John Frank
*****
FOR PRAYERFUL MEDITATION
"When the soul is plunged into the fire of divine love,
like iron, it first loses its (coldness and dullness),
and then growing to white heat, it becomes like unto fire itself.
And lastly it grows liquid, and, losing its nature,
it is transmuted into an utterly different quality of being...
As the difference between iron that is cold, and iron that is hot,
so is the difference between … the tepid soul
and the soul made incandescent by divine love."
Richard of St. Victor
*****
"Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of this world.
All things break. And all things can be mended.
Not with time, as they say, but with intention.
So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally.
The broken world waits in darkness for the light that you are."
L.R. Knost
Passed on by my friend,
Michael Byler
"No matter how deep the dark look to the stars."
John Frank
*****
A bright, warm welcome to those new to our weekly gathering here at
"frankly speaking"
spirituality for the street
-It is posted online each Thursday evening, east coast USA time
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
-It is available be automatic weekly delivery each Friday -
sign up above online
- It offers past postings at Blog Archive - right column online.
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!!!
____________________________________________________________
Thursday, January 16, 2020
LOCATION RELOCATION
Dear All of Us,
So, how is it with you?
Are you a stay put person,
or mostly mobile?
Do you prefer set and stable,
or lots of movement and vibe?
Where you conceived conservative
and plan to stay such right up to the pearly gates?
Or, from the get go has it been progression
to ever new points and persuasions?
Do you dance life in pretty much the same spot,
or all over town and countryside?
In other words, how do you deal with
location and relocation,
be it geographic, ideological, cultural, spiritual, social,
political, relational, occupational - all and every?
The verve and tenor of our spiritual journey
are muchly effected by both location and relocation.
They are the "where' of it.
They contextualize and condition it.
Things like:
- our tradition and upbringing -
embraced, rejected or modified
- our maturing, evolving consciousness,
or its regression
- our pain, pleasure, ennui
and where they "put" us -
locate/relocate us
- our current cultural context
( compare the "safe and set" 1950's
to current cultural convulsing )
- our health and wealth -
comfortable, compromised or ...
- where and how we live -
Boston, Belfast, Bucharest -
town, country, city -
our social and ecological environment
- with whom we live -
terrific, toxic, or...
- the kind and conditions of our work -
obsessive, creative or ...
- our spiritual community,
or the lack of it.
The list is seemingly endless and the effects as well.
Those effects of location and relocation
are both quite immediate and yet cumulative.
They have a significant impact on the condition and quality
of our spiritual living:
- is it best to hold on or move on?
- staying too long stultifies
- yet, often staying can stabilize
- a certain spiritual practice may be a mainstay,
or it could be a flame out if we stay with it too long
- relocating can free and expand - example:
the spiritual authors we read,
( I read Thomas Merton the first half of my life
to great benefit and still do,
but Gerald May and Richard Rohr have had the eyes of my soul
in this second half of life),
- do I adopt a more conservative/liberal stance -
religious practice, moral evaluation, theological position,
political/social posture
- be it moving on to a new religious community,
- be it living out contemplation more actively, or just the opposite
Many have little choice about where they're "at"
and if/when/where they are relocated.
That can be where they live, their health, relationships, work,
finances, cultural context.
It's a matter of adjusting, maximizing
where they are and/or are transported.
Many of us have some say about where we are "at"
and when we choose to transition to a new "at" (location/relocation).
We enter a new relationship, embrace a new spiritual experience,
change our political stance, we decide to move.
The latter is my current.
I just moved to Washington, D.C. to be closer to family.
It certainly has effected me spiritually -
and financially and worn the live'n heck out of me -
lost six pounds in a week!!
It meant letting go of the comfortable familiar
and trying to deal with so much that was uncomfortably unfamiliar.
It was a "relocation" in all sorts of ways - friends, church, bank, doctor,
letting go of a car and learning the Metro, unpacking hundreds of boxes
to find and relocate everything from toothbrush to legal papers.
Worthwhile and exhausting.
It was a rough go to get here and here is a wonderful place to now be.
The transition, moving from one location and all that it had meant,
to relocation and this promising place, put me nowhere for a while.
That was tough.
Living in liminal space
(liminus in Latin means doorway) -
being totally in-between - neither here nor there was a stress.
Former and familiar were gone.
New and accustomed had yet to develop.
Vulnerability and chaos resulted for a painful period.
It caused me to constantly refocus and recommit to simply being in "Being",
and that in the liminal nowhere of my here and now -
paradoxically a naked nothingness in All That Is.
Moving of any sort sure shakes up your soul.
That location to relocation makes it ever so clear that,
while we daily deal with the immediacies
of all our "locations" and "relocations"-
physical, social, intellectual, value system and all the endless rest -
they are all part of a flow, partials on the way to the Ultimate
and our growth into It,
but in no way are the The Ultimate.
That's a good "Soul Shake".
" Cast all you cares upon the Lord.
and He will sustain you..."
Psalm 55:22
"The Lord will keep your going out
and your coming in
from this time and for evermore."
Psalm 120:8
See you next week,
wherever we are located or relocated.
Holding us all in
The Love Who Is God,
John Frank
A warm welcome to those joining in here for the first time.
It's a blessing to have your company.
"frankly speaking'
spirituality for the street
- is posted online each Thursday evening,
east coast USA time at
johnfrankshare.blogspot.com
- is available by automatic email delivery each Friday,
sign up above
- past postings are available at
Blog Archive,,
right column online.
Have a great week!
___________________________________________________________
Thursday, January 9, 2020
UNDERSTAND
Dear All Of Us,
How do you understand
evil and pain?
The kind that happens when
a thirteen year old girl
trying to escape
the horrors and violence
in El Salvador
is gang raped into pregnancy.
The kind that happens
when tornados and earthquakes devastate.
The kind that happens when
a gentle old lady writhes in pain
on her death bed.
The kind that happens when
a teenage boy is told
he is not welcome in a church
because he is gay.
The kind that happens as
this planet is plundered and polluted into peril.
The kind that happens
when no matter how hard you work
you just can't support your family.
The kind that happens when
your spouse gives
body and preference
to another.
The kind that happens when
media and political people
spew hate talk and lies
that polarize and fracture.
The kind that happens when
anxiety and depression
force a person into
a hell hole of dark despair.
How do you understand
evil and pain?
That's what I puzzle,
what I try to understand,
but I just can't.
Paradoxically this
plays off against
what I do and
don't understand
about God.
Please stay tuned!!
I do understand
that none of us
can ever or even come close
to figuring out the fullness,
The Love Mystery,
Who is God.
But happily
I do realize that
what we can't intellectually understand
we can deeply experience.
It's like a baby
being greatly loved
by its mother.
Not much rational understanding involved,
but what an incorporation and experience it is.
By comparison, though we don't intellectually understand
all that much about God,
we sure can accept the experience
of immersion and enfoldment
in God and in God's beautiful,
cosmic, evolving creation.
I understand that God,
the Energy of All That Is,
is incarnate in creation,
Being Itself holding all in being :
people, place, spirit,
elements, occurrence
-embryonic life to an
Olympic gold medalist,
-a Spring sprout
to Shakespeare,
-specks of matter
to mighty mountains.
I don't understand how,
but I do understand so.
What I don't understand is this.
Given God's goodness,
how is it that
evil and pain
plague us
and all creation?
Yes indeed, and for sure,
that's a question as old as
the first mosquito bite and
Cain's murder
of his brother Abel.
I just can't figure out
the mix of good and evil,
the mix of God, creation,
chaos, delight and pain -
can't figure it out
but sure do experience it
as does all creation.
I don't understand how,
but I do understand so.
In no way am I alone
with this inability.
It's a universal puzzlement.
And that's important
to know as we try
to live our spiritual lives
in good times and bad times,
with things understandable
and not at all so,
out here on
the street of everyday
occurrence and experience.
There's more mystery than not.
To experience it is one thing,
to attempt to fathom
it is quite another.
All kinds of think sorts
over the span
of human experience
have had a try
at explaining
the mystery
of good and evil.
Sure, some have
come up with
helpful insights,
but no one nails it,
no one can figure it out.
Creation is evolving.
That's beautiful
and good.
But it still hurts
to birth a baby.
WHY?
In our spiritual lives
many of us are trying
to accept the life invite
of Jesus become The Christ.
That very Jesus experienced
all sorts of good and evil
in his day and way,
just as we do in ours.
Our spiritual lives
are a living out of this
Jesus become The Christ,
and of God's evolving creation,
and both in our way and place.
We experience
good and evil
as we grow,
groan and glow
with all into All.
I don't understand how,
but I do understand so.
In our meditation and prayer
as we ponder all this,
more in our heart than in our head,
we are steadied and assured by
The Spirit:
I consider that the sufferings
of this present time
are not worth comparing
with the glory about
to be revealed to us...
for creation was subjected
to futility...in hope that
the creation itself will be
set free from
the bondage to decay...
We know that
the whole creation
has been groaning
in labor pains until now...
We know that all things
work together for good
for those who love God,
and are called
according to his purpose.
Portions of Romans 8: 8, 20 ,21, 22
*****
Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth...
(God) will wipe away every tear
from their eyes.
Death will be no more,
mourning and crying and pain
will be no more,
for the first things
have passed away
"See, I am making all things new.
Portions of Revelation 21: 1, 4, 5
*****
We actually understand
just a bit
of the mystery of
good and evil
as we grow into ALL,
and yet into ALL
we do grow!
I don't understand how,
but I do understand so.
Right after I die, when God
and I have had our hugs
and settled into some
good wine and cheese,
I'm going to lead off with
"So, why mosquitos?"
Thanks for your good company.
God loves you and so do I !!
John Frank
*****
Each week new folks join us here
and it is great to have your company!!
Welcome!!
******
Please keep sharing "frankly speaking"
with friends and colleagues.
It's the main way we connect with
new folks as we gather here each week.
*****
"frankly speaking"
spirituality for the street
* is posted online each Thursday evening
east coast USA time
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
( bookmark for easy access )
* is available by automatic and free email
each Friday - sign up top right above
* past postings are available at
Blog Archive - bottom right column
See you all next week!!!!
***************************************************************
Thursday, January 2, 2020
"OH MY GOD!"
Dear All of Us,
"Oh My God!!"
Used to be we weren't allowed to say that.
Now it's common currency.
See a terrible automobile accident:
"Oh My God!"
Your kid gets a full ride to Harvard:
"Oh My God!"
Hear something surprising, shocking, delightful, dirty:
"Oh My God!"
The casual use of God's name is one thing.
But guess what - which really means I'm about to make a statement,
not ask a question -
"Oh My God!"
as an attitude of soul,
as a spiritual approach and way,
is totally wrong and wacky.
There's no "MY" to it.
We don't own, possess, or control God.
God is not mine.
I am God's.
Let's spend a month with that for starters
and then come back to it every day of our lives.!!!
Way too much religion, spirituality and theology
have got it dead and deadeningly wrong.
They set us up for idolatry - worshipping a false god -
"My God."
They fabricate and fashion a god of their persuasion and preference.
It's not a golden calf,
It's worse, way worse.
They design a divinity to their specs and thus control.
Cobble together a few self selected absolutes,
prescribe a few moral mandates and "Wala",
they are safe and set from here to eternity with their
"My God".
In the fundamentalist Christian sphere it looks something like this:
They've made their decision for Christ, are saved,
and just need to stay out of bed with another's spouse,
go to church some, feed a few charities and they're all set.
No need to fuss with all that social activism of those liberal churches.
For the more liberal sorts it presents something like this:
They do a little Lectio Divina, read progressive spiritual writers,
back homeless, gay rights and environmental causes
from the comfort of their head and home,
don't fret about enjoying expensive vacations
and middle/upper middle class amenities,
The Beatitudes not withstanding.
Something of a free wheeling Cadillac Christianity.
That pretty much outlines the fault lines, spiritual illusion and idolatry of
"MY God".
Well, God is way too big to fit in any "my's" pocket,
head, articulation, experience, ritual or religion.
Head for the hills when someone says
"I found God."
Any god that can be found isn't God -
God's way too vast for discovery and capture.
And "capture" is what's attempted and what fails with
"My God"
religion, spirituality, theology.
They are fashions of control.
Be it Hindu, Moslem, New Age, Buddhist,
be it Methodist, Lutheran, Roman, Southern Baptist,
when there is a claim or practice that attempts
to determine, define or dogmatize about God it's basically demonic!!
They're playing god handlers and they just can't handle it!!!.
Adam and Eve were doing really well
until they decided to play god handlers.
Christianity was doing pretty good
until it started playing god handler, using Greek philosophy,
in an ill conceived effort to define too much about God.
Bet by now you're wondering what the heck I had for breakfast!!
Honestly, all this is so critical to our spiritual journey.
Set out in the wrong direction and you'll eventually fall off the cliff of "My".
Get it right from the get go and you do just that -
you go and you go good, good as in God.
Way too often, though, we are like little children
who feel they are the center of everything -
my toys, my clothes, my everything -
for those with delayed infant spirituality, it's
"My God".
In all truth we're not the center of things.
Actually it's infinitely better than that.
We are centered in The Center.
We are God's.
We just need to wake up to that,
grow up to that so we can blossom outward and upward
to limitless fullness "en Christo" as Paul puts it so often.
God Centered religion, spirituality, theology
delights and describes
rather than defines and dogmatizes.
It lives the reality that
God is not mine.
I am God's.
It delights in the wonder of being God's,
of being centered in God.
It describes that as it grows in its experience of it.
It ritualizes it.
It shares it.
It does so happily aware that all of it is but a beginning,
is so partial,
that we're just getting started
and there will never be an end.
It accepts that God isn't a mystery to be solved, possessed or controlled.
It joyfully embraces the truth that God is a mystery to be lived,
the mystery that
"God is love".
I John 4:8
It rejoies that we don't have to, we can't, hold things together.
We are held together.
So much of the soul crisis today is a cry for righted religion,
simple, straight spirituality, descriptive not prescriptive theology.
A clue: the real masters of the spiritual life almost always use metaphor,
are poetic, employ free form in their sharings, and don't much dogmatize.
They are free and open, freed from trying to possess or control God.
They are ecstatic at being centered, enwrapped in God.
Check out Rumi and Hafiz, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross,
Kierkegaard, Francis of Assisi, Chief Seattle, Buddha, John the Evangelist,
Paul, Meister Eckhart, Rabia, Kabir, and most of all, Jesus of Nazareth.
Instead of finding God we find ourselves in God.
The heck with "Oh My God".
"Oh God, the wonder of being yours!"
Thanks for this chance to do a bit of Soul Share together.
Centered in The Center With You,
John Frank
*****
A ton of new folk have joined in with us in the past few week.
Welcome to all! It's wonderful to be together and share here.
"frankly speaking"
spirituality for the street
is posted online each Thursday evening,
east coast USA time
johnfrankshares.blogspot.com
and is available by automatic email delivery each Friday
sign up top of this posting
past postings are available from Blog Archive
right column online posting.
Have a great week.
Looking forward to all of us being together here again next week.
________________________________________________________________