Archive for January, 2010

Changing Channels

Monday, January 25th, 2010

The heartbreaking images of suffering Haitians stranded in the wake of the massive earthquake came leaping off the TV screen and into our hearts this week.  Not knowing what else to do with the knot in my belly that formed as I watched the unfolding horror, I sat down to pray and write the following piece in order to make some sense of what I was seeing. 

 
Changing Channels
 
You stare at the silver screen
at scenes too horrible to comprehend,
torn, bleeding bodies, crushed and 
battered beyond recognition as
belonging to the same species as you
and your loved ones.
 
You, the distant viewer, are safe in your clean,
warm kitchen, where the aromas
of a healthy breakfast and a fresh pot
of hot, jasmine tea fills the air
while your eyeballs get snared by the
god-awful images of huge concrete buildings
crumpled and tossed in a heap
much like the many, colorful
Lego blocks in your young son’s bedroom, 
the one you keep bugging him to clean up
“because it looks like a disaster area in here,
that’s why.”
 
You, whose eyes can’t help but stare at
the very real catastrophe unfolding on TV
where the reporter is standing and
speaking about the staggering death toll
and damages caused by the savage
earthquaking
suicide bombing
volcano erupting
ethnic cleansing
tsunami flooding
hurricane blasting
disaster of the hour.
 
You, who are powerless to resist
the searing images on the blaring screen
because you must care,
as surely as you must eat and breathe; 
because compassion was genetically hardwired
into your mammalian brain eons ago,
when survival of the fittest required
that the naked apes care for anyone in their
small tribe who fell down or fell ill,
because all available hands were needed
to till the soil, hunt for food, and
secure the common good against
lions and tigers and bears, with
hunger lurking everywhere.
 
You, who now live in a globalized village
alongside seven billion members
of your ever-growing clan.
You,  who are carefully scrutinized and scanned by
countless, corporate hired hands
tasked with keeping your eyeballs glued to
The Screen, in all its many forms,
because it’s their job to remind you
of your need to care
in order to make you stare
and sell you a greater market share of
more soap, more cars, more beer,
more cheerfully advertised goods and
services guaranteed to fill your mouth,
your house, your garage with more than enough
of all the stuff you’ll ever need to succeed
in protecting yourself from the barrage
of very real seeming threats to your security
that come spilling out of the TV at regular intervals
heading straight for you, your home and family.
 
Yes, you, who watch, because
if it bleeds, it leads the newscast,
scrolls along the bottom of your screen,
invites you to download the podcast,
alerts you to stay tuned for further details of
this latest disaster in
Haiti
Bali
The Philippines
Palestine
New Orleans
South Africa
Rwanda
Peru.
 
And because you care
because these frightful sights and sounds seem
so very close by
because your heart rate soars and tears fill your eye
because you can’t close the door in your mind
you find yourself standing at the threshold,
feeling numb
again.
 
But then, a little voice reminds you it’s time to
fill your travel mug with a steaming hot beverage of choice
climb into your car, and head off into the very real war
which is urban rush hour traffic.
 
Crawling through this sprawling mess at
five miles per hour or less
you reach for the radio and tune into the news
then change channels to smooth jazz instead
so you can fill your head and heart with
upbeat affirmations of inner peace and prosperity.
 
You, who long to start your day on a positive note;
You, who believe you are free to see what you want to see,
and be who you choose to be;
You step on the brakes, take a deep, calming breath
or two, or three,
turn your face to see the rising sun
and pray that Thy Will be done on Earth, today,
through me,
not knowing what that could possibly be.
Amen.
  

Because it seems the airwaves have been filled with even more than the usual amount of suffering and sadness than usual recently, I particularly hope you can join us this Sunday morning in the Circle as we focus on some powerful, important Good News that also emerged from within and around the Earth this past week.  I’m pretty sure that you’ll feel as encouraged and uplifted as I was when I learned about these uplifting developments happening in Europe and Asia, as well as here.  I really look forward to sharing the news (as well as some cool new tunes that Sarah and I have been working on!) with you this weekend - or soon.
 
With blessings,

Rudolf

Posted in 2010 Rudolf's Reflections | 3 Comments »

Happy 18th Birthday, Celebration Circle!

Friday, January 15th, 2010
It happened fifteen years ago, but I can still remember how excited I was when a group of Celebration Circle friends traveled to Houston to hear the Dalai Lama speak.  A long drive in a crowded van was followed by a seemingly endless wait in line to get into a huge college gymnasium with terrible acoustics, which made it difficult to understand this revered Buddhist leader speaking in his heavy, Tibetan accent.  But none of that mattered.  Powerful vibrations of Love and Joy came shining through His Holiness, filling the hall as he urged us all to take heart.  To discover/recover our own capacity for love and compassion.  To focus not on him, but on his message of inner peace as the path to world peace.  It was very moving, and his eloquent lessons made the journey seem well worthwhile.
 
Afterwards, we found ourselves drawn into a cluster of people standing outside the stage door where the Dalai Lama’s limousine was parked, hoping for a closer look at him.   My wife, Zet, and several other people in our party, pressed in nearer, and motioned me to join them, but my observer-self chose to hang back.  Suddenly the door swung open and a small army of attendants, police and bodyguards began clearing a path, trying their best to move him from the building into the car as quickly as possible - but he would have none of it.  He was clearly enjoying the personal interactions, taking his time in shaking hands, bowing repeatedly, kneeling on the ground to play with a baby, smiling sweetly from ear to ear.
 
Eventually, the motorcade drove off, and a joyous afterglow descended on those of us left standing in the driveway.  My friends were excited to have gotten so close to him, especially Zet, who was wearing a huge smile and the white, silk scarf which the Dalai Lama had held and blessed for her.   Suddenly, my joyfulness evaporated, as I began beating myself up for not having pressed forward along with my friends for this rare opportunity to have physical contact with such a holy man.  If only…
 
And then, just as suddenly, I found myself chuckling at the irony of the situation.  We had driven 200 miles, stood patiently in long lines, endured terrible acoustics and long waits, just so we could hear, see and touch a sage whose main message was:  “Don’t look to me; look to your own heart and your own life.”  And now here I was, busy kicking myself for not having touched him.  What a good joke!  What a lesson!
 
Time and again in the years since then, I’ve seen how easy it is to make such errors.  To mistake the messenger for the message, to glorify the teacher instead of the teachings.  To engage in a meditation technique for the pleasurable sensations involved, rather than staying open to what it might reveal at a deeper, more subtle level.  To encounter perfectly viable metaphysical tools, such as crystals, Tarot cards, yoga poses or breathwork techniques intended to help us get focused on the inner movements of Spirit - and wind up focusing on the tools themselves instead.
 
As we prepare to celebrate the Circle’s 18th Birthday this weekend, it’s rewarding to look back at the wide variety of spiritual teachers, teachings and techniques that we’ve welcomed and learned from over the years.  Along the way, I’ve done what I could as Spiritual Director to remind us (myself included!) to take responsibility for our own inner growth.  To avoid the trap of looking to any one teacher or technique as having The Answer.  To remember that personal growth is an ongoing process of rediscovering our own Wholeness, something which each of us must engage by ourselves, AND we don’t have to do it alone.  Support is invaluable, and readily available in the context of a spiritual community like the Celebration Circle!
 
I sure hope you’ll be able to join us for our Birthday celebration, which is going to be Big Fun.  But more than just being an enjoyable day, we’ll be marking an important milestone in the Circle’s process of maturation. As we turn eighteen and emerge from our “teenage years” as a community, there’s a heightened sense of group identity, as well as a deepening of spirit, and the desire to be of service to others.  We’ll be addressing these areas of growth during our Annual Meeting on Sunday afternoon.  For now, let me just say how pleased I am to be walking this path of spiritual community alongside you.  It’s been an amazing adventure so far — with much more ahead — and I’m deeply grateful for your love and support which help make it all possible.
 
With blessings and hopes of seeing you around the Circle,
Rudolf

Posted in 2010 Rudolf's Reflections | 2 Comments »

Blessings to YOU this New Year!

Friday, January 8th, 2010
As we begin another New Year, the newspapers, TV and cyberspace are filled with experts giving us advice on how to better our lives, lose weight, gain confidence, exercise more, eat less, make money, get a better job/partner/credit rating - in short, how to be a new, improved person.  That’s all very well, and I send blessings to those who are hoping to change their lives following such guidance. 
 
But I’d like to offer another view, for I’ve found that such suggestions have somewhat limited usefulness, largely because they’re based on the illusion that The Past and The Future are two separate entities, neatly divided by a straight line running through The Present.  The assumption being that if you can just summon enough willpower and discipline, you’ll be able to dissect yourself into discrete parts, leaving the Undesirable You and Imperfect Past behind in order to leap into the New You existing in a Perfect Future.  But our lives are simultaneously much messier and more magnificent than that.  Messier, because there are no clear lines; magnificent, because there is so much more than just you at work.  Contemporary science is finding ever more evidence that all natural systems – from galaxies to termite colonies, from people to protozoa - grow through chaos.  While there does seem to be an underlying order to the process, we change in seemingly random leaps and lurches, with peaks and valleys that can’t be planned, predicted or manipulated.  On the other hand, than means our lives are also much more complex and wondrous than we can imagine.  It just tends to take some time for most of us to catch on, because we’re so busy struggling through life, trying to accomplish things under our own steam, using our willpower to create our desired outcomes. 
 
But there is another way that beckons you.  And it unfolds as you learn to accept and appreciate your Divinity as well as your humanity.  It invites you to embrace the unlimited resources and boundless creativity available when you make a conscious choice to align and allow your Higher Power to guide and ground you.  And that this choice is one you must make again and again.
 
I don’t pretend to know how that looks in your life, much less where you are in that process.  I do know that the first step, and a very vital step, is to love and accept yourself (and all of your circumstances), just the way you are.  It’s difficult to lose weight, quit smoking, find a new job, or make any other significant change without first making peace with the body, habits, and circumstances that have brought you to where you are currently.  The chances are that even if you get some short-term results, you are doomed to disappointment in the long run, because you are in competition with yourself, which is a game you can never win.
 
Why not start the New Year loving and blessing yourself and all your Magnificence — past, present and future.  Make room for all that is coming your way as you align with Spirit, knowing that while you have to do it by yourself, you don’t have to do it alone.  For you are surrounded by Divine Love, made manifest in many, many ways that you may not fully understand, but that you can always trust.  It certainly helps to be part of a spiritual community like the Celebration Circle and surround yourself with loving people and gatherings that support your consciousness.  That’s why I really look forward to seeing you around the Circle, for my sake, as well as yours!  But it’s also important to remember that you are surrounded by loving people and possibilities wherever you are, whatever you do.  Yesterday, today and tomorrow, there is but One Presence and One Power:  Love.  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
 
With blessings and best wishes for your health and happiness,
Rudolf

Posted in 2010 Rudolf's Reflections | 2 Comments »

Climb Up!

Sunday, January 3rd, 2010

I’ve been meaning to build a tree house ever since we moved into our home eight years ago.  After all, we’ve got lots of space and several large trees growing in the yard.  I’m not much of a handyman, but my next door neighbor is Tim Lapping, a longtime friend and top-notch professional carpenter, well known for creating high-quality outdoor decks and tree houses, including the one he built at our previous home many years ago.  Naturally, I kept imagining the great “cabin in the sky” we’d construct here at Casa SurPresa.  Ostensibly, it would be for the sake of our son, Mateo, and his buddies, but I’m the one who really enjoys being up in a tree.  So, from time to time, Tim and I would stand around at various locations on the property, discussing the multiple options that would be available once I had enough time, money, and decisiveness to proceed. 
 
But that’s as far as it got until a few weeks ago, when one of those Perfect Autumn Weather days pulled me away from my desk, pushed me outdoors and demanded action.  On impulse, I nabbed Mateo from out of the house, and together we grabbed some tools and a few old two-by-four’s, and managed to hammer enough wooden steps in place to clamber up into our biggest hackberry tree.  We had so much fun being perched up there that we got Tim to climb up the next day and nail a long, thick plank between two sturdy branches.  Ta-da!  Instant Tree house!  Okay, so it doesn’t have any walls or pulleys (yet).  But hey, it does the trick, providing an elevated spot to hang out comfortably and watch the world from a whole different angle.  Being up there is a great way to “change my space” instantly on several levels, helping me step away from the humdrum details of daily life for a while, and feel more connected to nature, to Spirit, to the moment at hand and the future as well.  To climb up onto this simple platform is literally an opportunity to step up into a Higher Place.
 
I’m telling you this by way of introducing the fact that we’ll be celebrating the New Year in the Celebration Circle by climbing up into a tree house together.  At least, metaphorically speaking, if not literally…  That’s because we’re holding two events specifically designed to help us “start the New Year with an elevated view of the year ahead.”  First, we’re hosting a wonderful party on January 1st (from 5-8pm at High Wire Arts; see details below) featuring great food, creative activities and the Circle Band performing in concert.  In addition to being a lot of fun, as well as a fundraiser for the Circle Band’s first recording project, you’ll have the option to spend some time in a guided visualization process and/or creating an inspirational collage or drawing that envisions your hopes for 2010.  It’s a perfect time and space for this creative venture, and we’re really grateful to Ray and Cindy Palmer for letting us meet in their amazing art gallery-studio-home-space!
 
Then, this Sunday, January 3rd, during our morning service, Zet and I will be leading an extended meditation focused on setting sacred intentions, then inviting you to write a Letter of Intention to yourself.  This letter will then be mailed back to you at the end of the year.  We’ve done this exercise on the first Sunday in January for the past seventeen years, and it has consistently been one of our most upbeat and popular gatherings each year.   That’s because there’s something very elevating and empowering about gathering with a group of people focused on envisioning possibilities side by side.
 
I really hope that you can join us for one or both of these exciting chances to “climb up in a tree house” together to take an elevated look at the promises and prospects for the year(s) ahead.  Come, co-create with us!
 
With blessings and best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year,

Rudolf

Posted in 2010 Rudolf's Reflections | 4 Comments »