Hat Tip: Trying to Follow
God Image of the Day / Re-image-ing
God Image for the Day: “You open your apartment door and walk inside carrying five bags of groceries. Arms full, you just manage to bump the light switch on with a free elbow as you wrestle to take back control from all of those large brown paper bags. Suddenly, just as the light goes on, God jumps out from behind the sofa and yells “Surprise!” Scared shitless, you drop three of your paper bags and all of your groceries spill out onto the floor. God slaps his knee and is bent over in laughter. You are not humored, at first, but then your hands come off your jutted hip just long enough to shake a clenched but playful fist at God and say, “Oh, you crazy God, you! I should have known!”
Five Life Lessons for Consideration
Life lessons are learned by actually living life. There is no other way to learn except to live. Sure we can pick up books or messages along the way that will help us on our way but the the only real way to really learn anything is by actually doing it. Advice from our friends, loved ones, and leaders is really helpful too, but again, the only way we will really learn all the lessons this life has to teach us is by actually living life. These kinds of lessons are learned by experience. Sometimes we learn the easy way, sometimes we learn the hard way. It really doesn’t matter how we learn so long as we become aware of life’s teaching experiences and actually take something important from them. Regardless of what you’ve been told or sold, you will have to dive headlong into life and living to really learn anything.
So, I’ve learned more than a few lessons in my life too. Yes, I’ve read a lot of books and I’ve listened to a lot of friends, teachers and leaders. My personal reflections, however, tell me that the most important lessons I have learned in life were learned on the fly. So, while I offer you a few of the life lessons I have learned please remember that you will have to learn these for yourself all on your own, in your own time, and at your own pace. Said differently, you will have to toss all that I am about to say out the window and find your own way. If you do so, you will find what you are searching for, all on your own. Continue reading
E. Tolle’s Watching the Thinker?
One of the most fascinating statements in Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now: A guide to Spiritual Enlightenment can be found in his concept of “Watching the Thinker.”
What does Tolle mean by “watching the thinker?” He offers an explanation in the following excerpt from The Power of Now.
When someone goes to the doctor and says, “I hear a voice in my head,” he or she will most likely be sent to a psychiatrist. The fact is that, in a very similar way, virtually everyone hears a voice, or several voices, in their head all the time: the involuntary thought processes that you don’t realize you have the power to stop. Continuous monologues or dialogues. Continue reading
Our Old Novelties
Believe it or not, the old stuffed bear in the above photo is over three-and-a-half decades old. More impressive than that is the fact that this tattered stuffed bear is still with me to this day. Yes. It’s still with me. You see, that stuffed bear was purchased and placed in my crib with me on the day that I was born by my father. It is the same age as me. It’s the oldest thing I personally own. Somehow our strange connection has survived my teenage years of complete disregard, my journey to Hollywood, CA (I didn’t take it with me! I’m not even sure how I was reunited with it when I returned home!), my numerous and destructive pets, and countless personal relocation projects. I have absolutely no idea how this bear wasn’t ruined, misplaced, or totally lost after all these years. It’s not as if I was intentional about keeping it, at all! Nope. It is still with me though, somehow. It’s the oldest item that I personally own. Continue reading
Are you a CEO, Catalyst, or Champion?
Are you a CEO, Catalyst, or Champion? Each of these terms represents a specific leadership style or organizational approach and each are important, but different. Which one are you? Do you know?
Are you a CEO, Catalyst, or Champion? “Is there a difference between the three?” you ask. Yes, of course there is! Each one of these terms represents a specific leadership style or organizational approach. You may in fact be one of them. You may not be any of them! Knowing is vital to your success AND your organization’s success.
So, let’s dive in and explore some specific characteristics inherent to each one of these three leadership styles. Continue reading
Art By Amy Casey
Inspired by natural and unnatural disasters, personal fiascos and the never-ending stream of bad news coming in from the media, the world inside my paintings has been turned (sometimes literally) upside down. The ground has crumbled underneath them and the sky is falling. In the wake of this, my created world bands together to come up with coping plans. This lets me explore ideas of anxiety and vulnerability, community, and the illusions of safety. I’m fascinated by the resilience of life. Every disaster is followed by rebirth, where we try to cobble together a plan b. out of what remains. My paintings celebrate this fascination and my love of the urban landscape and its creatures.
“Keeping It Together” (2010) painted in acrylic by Cleveland, Ohio based artist Amy Casey.
Why Is Religion So Prone To Violence?
It’s a simple, straight-forward question. Why is religion so prone to violence? None are immune, as a quick glance at history will attest. So, what is it about religion that makes people go bat-shit crazy? Is it the personal investment individuals sink into their belief system? Is it the security inherent to promises of eternal rewards? Is it because we have hung onto violent images of God for far too long (If you don’t think this is a real danger, see the above art I included with this post. Yes, it is strong expression, but it makes the point extremely well.)? Is it mere entertainment taken far too seriously? What is the problem? Continue reading
Growing up America
American life is an experience in cultural diversity, for those who would recognize and engage it. Our world is increasingly diverse and within that diversity exists the opportunity to grow and mature as spiritual human beings. There is more to differences than separation; difference invites us to experience the fullness of Divinity in a way that is not offered to us anywhere else in this life.
Everyday American life is an experience in cultural diversity. A rich cross cultural experience can be realized by anyone by simply traveling from one end of any state to the other. Consider Pennsylvania, for example. I was born and raised in the rural woods and hills of Western Pennsylvania; I now live in Lancaster City, which is all the way over on the Eastern side of PA, of course. The experiences I logged on both sides are a virtual lesson in cross cultural living. The differences between Eastern and Western Pennsylvania – and the people living there – are sharp! Western Pennsylvania is beyond rural, for example. Whatever images come to mind when you ponder the “country” concept or idea, be assured that the part of Western PA in which I grew up is as far to the left of whatever your mind conjures up when you think “country.” Life, when I was growing up there, was all about off road vehicles, farming, garages, duct tape, tobacco, beer, gas station coffee, and hunting. We had three days off from school every year for buck season! That’s an event if there ever was one! My life experiences in Eastern PA could not be more culturally removed. I’m living in an urban setting where life revolves around art, community, environmentalism, activism, government and good cafe specialty coffee. These are admittedly surface level examples of the differences between Eastern and Western Pennsylvania, but rest assured the differences between the two cultures are wide and very, very real. Experiencing both of these places has made me a much broader and deeper and more spiritual thinker. Continue reading
Relax and Enjoy the Ride
So much of life is lived in the future or past tense. In other words, the vast majority of us spend nearly all of our time regretting past decisions or thinking about what we hope to accomplish at some point in our distant futures. Few of us live long enough in the present – in our here and now – to actually appreciate and enjoy all that is developing within us and unfolding all around us. We miss so much of life because we are either looking back longingly or nervously looking too far ahead. It’s tough – if not impossible – to actually relax and enjoy real life when we are so preoccupied with rubbernecking the swinging pendulum that is yesterday and tomorrow. There is much to be said about the present. Continue reading