How about those hands…

 “It’s in the little things that life is made…

the smile, the touch, the kindness.

From the little become the great, and

greatness lies in these small acts.”

- Anonymous

Have you noticed it is the small things that so often make a difference?  A knowing glance, a quiet nod of affirmation, a kind word, a polite gesture or a gentle touch – the little things that shape our life experience.  It’s said when people know each other well; “…a smile is better than a word, a wink than a smile, and a nod than a wink,”

But the touch…ah the touch…now there is something…little is more powerful than the human touch!  Maybe that’s why we have so many delicate sensory receptors in our fingers.  Touch protects us from too much heat, cold, things that are too sharp, and permits us to sense the correct pressure to firmly shake a person’s hand or gently pick up a fragile egg.

Of the primary senses of the fingers, pressure has the most receptors.  Take a moment to brush your thumb gently across your fingertips noticing the pressure and sensation.  Then run the fingers of one hand lightly down the palm side fingers of the other hand – note the difference between the two activities.  Now close your eyes and softly touch your face – forehead, cheeks, eyebrows, lips and nose – sense the differences in texture.

Touch…what a gift!

While touch does have a ‘reporting function’ – heath, cold, pressure and pain – it is NOT just the colliding of electrons from skin to skin, or skin to object, that brings the real magic to this sensory phenomenon.  There is much more than meets ‘the touch’ as it were.

Touching another person, for example, can be a wondrous sensory experience.  There is little doubt the one touching and the one receiving, both feel a sense of heightened connection.  It’s hard to find something more satisfying and sometimes more intimate, than the loving caress from the hand one person to another.

More than a physical phenomenon

In the scriptures Christ finds himself amongst a large crowd of people.  He says to his disciples, “Who touched me?”  One of them, with a ‘…you have got to be kidding me…’ expression replies,  “…there is a crowd of people around you – bumping, pushing – and you are asking who touched you!”  Jesus responds, “…somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me…” (Luke 8:46)

A lot of people were touching Christ physically, but someone had touched him spiritually AND taken something from him – a transfer of spirit from Christ’s spiritual body to a woman and she was healed.

It is a spiritual thing

It could be argued that fingers and touch are a metaphor for something deeper – a channel of communication – a conduit whereby spirit is transferred from one person to another.  It slips through the skin, muscle, bone, and reaches the soul.  Touch transcends the physical – it really is spiritual in every way.

Sometimes when we hear Biblical and other miraculous reports that happen to people and we think of it as strange; it even makes some people a little uncomfortable.  In a real sense, it is about the laying on of hands.  This isn’t something limited to the realm of spirit filled Pentecostal or Evangelical people….we all do it every day in the most common of ways – a shake of the hand, a pat on the back, or a ‘high-five.’

Everybody ‘…lays on hands…’

Most all parents tell stories of how a distraught child was calmed when taken in their arms.  This was simply transferring peace or assurance from parent to child through the laying on of hands.  A soothing word of course helps, but it is the touch that counts. 

As adults, we all identify with times when we were fortified by a pat on the arm or a brief hug in a moment of need.  It doesn’t even have to be a moment of need.  Maybe it’s just the greeting to a friend or family member.  It is just nice to receive an affirmation by human contact that comes in this way.

Athletes understand how important a thoughtful slap on the shoulder, from a teammate or coach,  returns the spirit of confidence for their game. 

It is instinctive that we reach out to touch those who find themselves in need – even more so toward those with whom we have a bond – those we love and care about.

A pair of docs!

The paradox of modern society is that we have been provided so many things intended to make the quality our lives better.  Computers do a lot of work previously done by hand, cell phones allow us to talk from practically anywhere, and texting messages can keep us in instantaneous contact with short bursts of information.   In an unfortunate way, these labor saving devices have allowed us to better communicate information, but do not provide the kind of spiritual exchange we get from that profoundly subtle and sometimes not so subtle gesture of physical/spiritual human contact.

Sometimes less is more; being physically present with others is much more helpful than a call or text.  In spite of this kind of communication being fairly recent, it is instructive to note that even the ancients appreciated the importance of the bond of the universal human family.

Consider often the connection of all things in the Cosmos and their relationship with each other.  For in a way all things are actually intertwined, and thus according to this there is a natural inclination, or love that links everything together… - Aurelius M Meditations

For all the ways we communicate, without being present with one another, there is nothing like touch to engage our senses when we are together.  It is our nature to work together.  Withholding sensory communication from one another is against the nature we have been given.

Remember the touch…it’s the little things – they are huge!

- ted

Who are we (am I) - Part 2

"For all that has been,

Thank you.
For all that is to come,
Yes!"

- Hammarskjöld, D

We ended last week…

“…Just as we knew nothing whatsoever about the world into which

we were thrust as a newborn child, we know little to nothing about

the world into which we are being drawn…

More to come…”

This idea emerges from the minds and pens of many writers, because it is such a common observation of the human condition.   We identify with it because it is our experience.  One of my favorite thoughts is expressed in this way:

"It is not we who seek the Way, but the Way which seeks us. That is why

you are faithful to it, even while you stand waiting, so long as you are

prepared, and act the moment you are confronted by its demands."

- Hammarskjöld, D Markings

It is common to hear musicians, writers, artists, artisans and athletes, tell stories of how they were driven – or drawn as a moth to the flame – to their particular gift.  Hours upon hours of time spent exploring the instrument, storyline, canvas, clay or field of play with nothing in mind, other than the compelling sense of focus and need to keep at it.  Some of these gifts emerge to a broader world, when preparation meets circumstance.  They provide a ‘voice’ that both inspires and enlightens others who are privileged to experience it.  Others never emerge in this way, but bring the greatest of satisfaction to themselves for the focus and time spent exercising their gift – discipline of the act brings a freedom to the result!

What about the ‘who?’

The biblical scripture says, “No man has seen God at any time.”  Okay.  How about this – no one has seen ‘us,’ at any time – including us! Hence the question of the ‘who.’  Like magnetism, electricity and gravity, all we see is the result of change in the state of energy…an action!

The only insights we get are the things that impress us and manifest out of us – our personality, words we speak, or activities we perform.  Whatever we are is an invisible intelligence that lives inside our bodies.  This is because we are not physical creatures.  We are spiritual creatures housed inside a container that carries us about accumulating information and experiences like a vacuum cleaner.  It is the insatiable curiosity of the human condition that drives all of us.  We are curious about everything, some of which is profitable; some not so much – this has to do with the internals (e.g. opinions, goal seeking, things we choose to think about) over which we have some control, and the external things over which we have little control…just about everything else.

Speculation abounds as to where ‘we’ reside, but the ‘street address’ has never been found.  The ‘we’ is an essence, a soul, an entity or intellect capable of accumulating and acting upon vast amounts of experiences both temporal and mental – the capacity for which is completely unknown.  Whatever boundaries we conceive…our capacities are greater – the facility for learning as vast as the nation in which we live – the “imagination” of which we are citizens.  Our only limitation in this dimension of life is our time-based ability to absorb the things around us.  All of this, if we continue to follow the leading, is part of the process of calling us to what ‘we’ are truly intended to be.

We are spiritual creatures – I get it – So What?

Many writers both from Western and Eastern sources say that to understand spiritual matters, attention should be paid to the way the physical world operates – for it is a template…a parable, if you will, that allows one to step off the physical stage that is known, to the spiritual stage where things seem absolutely unknown.

“The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,

being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power

and godhead.” - Romans 1:20 Bible – KJV

Once the conscious journey for the ‘who’ begins, there is a sense of destination – you know, an end game.  Life experience teaches this.  A challenge or opportunity presents itself; the work performed until the task is completed…in preparation for the next task – the next question looking for an answer.  This structure works well within the confines of the physical world, because time-based activities have time-based end points.

The journey for the ‘who,’ however, turns out to be a little more open-ended than this.  The frustrating and difficult part of understanding the ‘who’ is our past life experience.  If we see this journey with an end-game mind set, it will not satisfy – like the carrot hanging in front of the donkey.  It is an “…ever learning, never coming to the knowledge of the truth…” kind of dissatisfaction…a wall that appears to have no door.  At this point, perception must change in order to step through the looking glass and expand our awareness from the worldly to the eternal.

Religious leaders, spiritual gurus and mystics don’t help much other than offering mystery.  Their language is often filled with proprietary words such as, “Heaven,” “immortality,” “eternal life,” “Nirvana,” “cosmic consciousness,” – vague terms…vague meanings.  These ideas can also be misleading because they suggest some end-point – a place or condition where everything is friction free, without challenge…no more pain, no more sorrow, no more work, no longer the burden and suffering of the flesh – a future world or condition where all of our needs are met…a reward for some unclear idea or teaching we have embraced, but not understood in our earthly lives – a reward for having accepted the “…riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma...”

This is the critical juncture where one must be open to a different approach; a different point of view; a shift in the paradigm…for the ‘who’ is not a discovery with an end.  The ‘who’ is the revelation of a ‘never end.’ 

We actually have experience with part of the ‘never end.’ It lies in our curiosity.  The curiosity to want to know more – the inherent belief in all of us that there is more to know…much more.  Curiosity by definition has no end.  Each question of the unknown, is the basis for and leading to the next question, and the one after that in an insatiable and never ending series of non-thematic questions.  We want to know about everything!  Finding the theme in the forest of questions is where the greatest of hungers lies.  The process of paying attention to answers that satisfy, rather than answers for the sake of information, is the compass that leads us to the specific and unique ‘who’ that we are.

Preparation developed in our physical and mental life experience is a key element for the persistence necessary to keep going when it seems there is precious little progress – the essential element to keep going when there is no end, when the asking and doing is enough... when an ever expanding consciousness is gratifying in and of itself.  Accomplishment in the temporal world provides the template, a conscious work ethic for the endlessness of eternity’s growth.

Who am I?

This brings us back to the question that began this very brief discussion.  “Who am I?” (“Who are we?”) Of course, there is no definite answer to this question, because there is no end point.  We are hard wired to be askers of questions, seekers – ones who believe in the infinite magnetism of truth – whatever that might mean – that there are no endpoints to knowing, only doorways to greater understanding.

It is my sense, this life is truly a place of preparation for the next step – the practice arena where the preparation is done so we can “…act the moment you [we] are confronted by its demands…" Once free of this temporal world, the next stage of the dance begins in earnest – a freedom, released from the constraints time and circumstance, to draw us even further into the limitlessness of a never-ending curiosity.  For we are not just creatures full of questions, WE ARE QUESTIONS in search of our part in a fuller truth and eternal-limitless life experience.

- ted

Who Are We?

 “And so Javert, you see it's true.
That man bears no more guilt than you!
Who am I?  2-4-6-0-1! “

Jean Val Jean “Who am I?”

Les Miserables  - the Musical

In the beginning, we don’t know.  Then we know.  Then we aren’t sure.  Then we really don’t know – you know?

This question of “Who are we?” ranks right up there with “What is the meaning of life?” Maybe, the subject is a little too big to chew here…maybe we’ll settle for a subset of the question – ‘Who am I?’ You know, something more manageable.

Setting the Stage – We don’t know…

Early in the game there is a consistent sound that seemed to be associated with us.  For me, it was “Ted.”  Amongst all the confusing new sounds, in this new journey, one seemed to emerge with consistent regularity – “Ted!” My Mum and others would look in my direction and say “Ted.”  It took a while, but soon it seemed I was...'a Ted.'  The totality of what I understood about the ‘who’ – was Ted.

A little later I understood ‘Ted’ was only part of the story – I was more than that. I was actually a Thomas Edward – and the strangest of things – a Dreisinger.  Turns out the initials T.E.D. defined the broader picture of who I was.  That was a lot for a little fellow to grasp. 

The first lesson in the need for repetition comes with our names.  The “Ted,” so frequently repeated, seemed clear – the “Thomas Edward” okay, but the Dreisinger, now there was a problem.  It was ‘dry-something,’ no, it was ‘Drei-something’…well, since it was so infrequently spoken or heard, it took some doing to finally get it.

The early years – We know…

As the years went by, the ‘who I was’ grew and gained clarity through the associations of places I lived, and my family.  Identification of the ‘who’ progressively became things such as:

Student                                    Disc Jockey                 Janitor

Athlete                                    Factory worker            Husband

Social security number           Soldier                         Youth counselor

...Like all of us, a number of different things.

“HEY! Wait just a minute here!” 

There comes a time in life, when things begin to slow down just a little.  A time when there are a few moments of reflection.  A time when realization begins to dawn that the defining labels don’t quite seem to fit any more.

These were the things I had done.  They were NOT ME!

The game is on – We aren’t sure…

This realization did not come until my mid twenties, and because not much thought had been given to the ‘who’ question. Then the question became: where to start?

So much time had been spent padding the resume of life; there had been little question or reflection.  There were few knowledgeably meaningful choices...just challenges presented and overcome – learning whatever the skill set required to perform the activity at hand.

More is required…

Change and growth only come when there is friction in the system.  With no challenge, there is no growth.  Some changes don’t require much thought.  Feet get bigger, shoes seem smaller; one changes their shoes – right? 

You might not notice the foot growth, but you will surely notice the tightness of the shoe.  The natural and unrelenting tension of growth provides the opportunity for change.  ‘Opportunity for change’ the operative words, because opportunity implies choice. ‘...to do or not to do?...’ – the fundamental question.

Choice can be made to refuse change, but ‘no change’ does not mean nothing happens – in the living universe, things do not remains static.  Either way there are consequences.  Change the shoes to accommodate the increase in size or bind the feet so they cannot grow.  The tension for growth, while painful in the short run, creates more opportunity.  Bind the feet, and soon it is remarkably more painful and the number of opportunities, diminish to the extreme.

Can we cross the river? – We really don’t know!

This is the most critical juncture in life – a rebirth really. 

When the journey began, we knew nothing – only that NOT taking that first gasp for air was not an option…Even that must have been oppressively difficult.  Swimming upward…hoping to break the surface and capturing that first refreshing intake of air.  While we may not remember the reflex as we entered the planet, we had singular unspoken focus - GET THAT BREATH!  There was no option -  breathing was (is) key to our survival.

When the question ‘Who am I?” arrives, it does so with similar feelings of discomfort, a sense of '...needing to breathe...' - an underlying drive that says, “This birth is equally as important in the process of life as birth from the watery darkness of the womb."

What to do next is as totally unknown as our physical birth, for in this birth the gasp is not just for air, but for life itself.  This is a most painful transition, because it requires more than just a built in reflex to breathe, it now requires deliberate choice to take the next step into a world that is unfamiliar.  Just as we knew nothing whatsoever about the world into which we were thrust as a newborn child, we know little to nothing about the world into which we are being drawn…

More to come…

 

- ted

More questions...fewer answers...

 “… the race [is] not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,…but time

 and chance happeneth to them all…” Ecclesiastes 9:11

Who are we?  What are we? What are we supposed to do? How do we find our way in life? What does it mean?

In the shallow water, these questions are answered in casual conversation.

 

We are a  <fill in the label>

We work for <fill in the job>

We have done <fill in the activity>

We have traveled to <fill in the place>

We have received <fill in the recognition>

The 'externals'

They are the markers we use to suggest our credibility and self-worth - the external and fleeting images reflected in the mirror of our lives.  These externals include:

- Property                  - Employment            - Status

- Reputation               - Environment           - Our very bodies

Importantly, we have little power or control over them. We cannot prevent the loss of any of them through unforeseen circumstance or unexpected events.

It’s odd how the externals drive us.  If we are successful, it is because of some action, skill or training: if we fail, we look for an explanation, obstacle, or weakness that blocked the path.  All of this is just background noise. 

While we may do our best to understand our life and move in certain directions, there is no way to predict what truly will or will not happen.  Machiavelli said, “…Fortune is the arbiter of half our actions, but… she still leaves the other half of them, more or less, to be governed by us.”  We may contribute then, but success or failure is not always the result of a clear-cut pathway.  

If we doubt this truth, look to failed predictions made by scholars or so called prophets of many eras and see the folly of thinking we understand the formula for the externals of life. 

The 'internals'

There are things, however, over which we do have control.  They are the internal things, and surprisingly few.

The Stoics say they include:

·      Our opinions,

·      Movement toward some goal in life or way from another

·      Thoughts we entertain, and

·      The body of information we grow in our minds

In short, we have control over the direction ‘of’ and conversation ‘in’ our minds – the internals.  They can be life promoting or life draining.  How they are planted and cultivated has everything to do with the quality and real success of our experience on the planet regardless of the externals!

There is the Biblical story of the farmer who hired men to plant his fields.  The workers planted good seeds, but weeds found their way in amongst the crop.  As the plants grew, the workers noticed the weeds.  They asked the farmer if they should pull them out.  He said, “no…wait until the plants grow more fully to discern the good crop from the weeds.”  He was saying, give the harvest time to mature so that choosing the right plants would be clearer.

Plant and grow productive thoughts

The internals shape and guide us, but must be cultivated to produce a good crop.  This was the task of our teachers, and this is our task for those we teach – helping them see the good and not so good in their (our) lives.  This is done by word and example: Two of my favorites are: 

“Upon the common theaters, indeed, the applause of the audience is of more importance to the actors than their own approbation (approval).  But on the stage of life, while conscience claps, let the world hiss!  On the contrary if conscience disapproves, the loudest applauses of the world are of little value.” – McCullough D, John Adam’s letter to Charles Cushing, John Adams

"The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."
- Lee H, Atticus Finch to his daughter Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird

Our mind is an isolated space, the quiet place, and the sacred room into which no other can peer – Machiavelli again, “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few feel what you are.”  This is where we find comfort or distress…as it has been our entire lives, what we have chosen to build in our minds IS the world in which we live.  It IS the lens through which we see everything, and its perceptions ARE our reality.

This suggests we should focus our energies on the things over which we do have control – where our lives truly exist…because other than our thoughts and the drive that comes from within, little is truly under our control. 

What’s next?

These few words don’t answer the questions that began this week’s entry.  Considering the sheer volume of material that has been written about these subjects, it would be folly bordering on ignorant arrogance to think this writer might have any new insights.  Having said that, subsequent postings will address a sense of what they mean to me.  

Why bother?

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out." 

The clock is ticking…

- ted