New Site Features

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Jeff

I have been working on the site recently and have made some major changes which I hope will be useful and appreciated by all. :)

What the changes basically amount to is the addition of social networking functionality, which I’m pretty excited about! This blog is titled, “Channels for the Light” after all, and it should include much more than just my thoughts. :)

Once you register for a free account on the site, you will be able to to create your own blog, use the new forums, create groups, etc.  Here’s the registration link:

http://channelsforthelight.com/register

This functionality is new, so please let me know if you have any problems. Thanks, and have fun! :)

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The Tejobindu Upanishad

Posted on August 23, 2010 by jeff

I have been spending some time reading the Upanishads lately and I absolutely love Eknath Easwaran’s translation. The weather was warm and sunny here in Anchorage today, and I decided to spend a couple of hours out at Taku Lake. What better way to pass some time than to take in beautiful scenery and beautiful scripture at the same time? :)

I have been uplifted and inspired by every upanishad I have read, but I particularly wanted to share what I read today. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did.

Namaste!

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The Will of God

Posted on August 21, 2010 by jeff

What is the will of God? This subject recently came up on a blog an online friend of mine named Matt runs at http://ragingrev.com. In his latest post, Matt attempts to explain the emotional agony that the loss of his fundamentalist Christian faith brought about. I can really relate since my experience was similar in many respects, and I too went through a period of Atheism that lasted about eight years. One of the folks who commented on Matt’s post brought up the subject of the will of God, saying that the will of God was for Matt to repent of his sins and trust Jesus. I disagree with that assertion, of course, and posted this in response:

The will of God has nothing to do with adhering to narrow interpretations of particular religions or to any sectarian viewpoints. God is to be found in all religions and is present in all of us. The will of God is for us to love each other and live a life of service to others. The will of God is for all of us to do our part to lift others up, help those in need, and do what we each can to make the world a better place for everybody — in the here and now and for future generations to come.

I would like to add to what I said above the reality that God is much more interested in how we live our lives and how we treat our fellow human beings and other living creatures than he is in which religion or spiritual path we follow or who we choose to love and spend our lives with. There is One Truth, but there are many paths to that Truth, and we all will ultimately be renunited with God. God’s Presence and Love are not confined to one religion or one narrow interpretation of one religion. His Presence and Love encompasses and transcends all religious and spiritual beliefs. He is everywhere and is present in all living beings. The will of God, I believe, is for us to realize that great spiritual truth and to not just give it intellectual assent, but to live it to the best of our ability. Can I get an “Amen”, Brothers and Sisters? :)

Namaste!

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We are All One!

Posted on August 20, 2010 by jeff

I found this wonderful video on YouTube the other day and thought it was worth sharing.

We are indeed All One! We appear to be separate in this world, but the deeper reality is Unity. There is no separation. Apart from the physical body (which is just a vessel for the soul) and beyond personality and ego there is only Pure Consciousness and Love.

Namaste!

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Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Posted on August 19, 2010 by jeff

I think this is a beautiful prayer and I ask God to help make it a reality in my life every day.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

This, in my opinion, is what religion and true spirituality should be about — helping and loving others and doing what we can to make the world a better and more peaceful place.

I created this image using the GIMP, and I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to download it, share it, and use it in whatever way you wish.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Namaste!

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Offenses Will Come…

Posted on June 25, 2010 by jeff

Offenses in life will come… the question is, how will you respond? I choose today to respond to life’s situations from a center of love, compassion, understanding, and forgiveness…

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In God We Trust?

Posted on June 12, 2010 by jeff

I originally wrote this as a Note on Facebook. It is somewhat different fare from what I usually post, but I thought it was worth sharing here.

I saw this video posted to Facebook recently, which I’m sure is making the rounds among fundamentalist Christians.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1291246961625

I don’t have a problem with the video itself or even really with the message it conveys. But… I do have some thoughts on it that I would like to share.

To begin with, I’d like to comment on the description of the video that was posted:

“The song you are about to listen to is from a Las Vegas Diamond Rio concert. They received an immediate resounding standing ovation, and continue to do so every time they perform it!”

I’m sure they do from the fundamentalist Christians in the audience. From the other folks, well, probably not so much…

“Sadly, major radio stations wouldn’t play it because it was considered ’politically incorrect’.”

It’s not so much politically incorrect as it is just plain incorrect… period. It is a Christian song and it belongs on Christian radio and nowhere else! The major radio stations, every one of which is secular and has a largely secular and non-religious audience, clearly made the correct choice in not airing the song, and I applaud them for it.

As much as Christians hate to hear it, the truth is that America is NOT a Christian nation. Our Founding Fathers, most of whom were Deists, established our nation as a secular democratic republic and with the First Amendment to our thoroughly secular constitution, established the separation of church and state that has served our nation so well ever since.

Most of my Facebook friends probably know where I stand concerning religious fundamentalism, which is an evil perversion of what true religion is supposed to be.

I am absolutely certain that God did not intend religion to be about hatred or bigotry or judgment or condemnation, though fundamentalists all too frequently use it that way. I’m also certain that God does not “hate fags” or “hate America”. God is not interested in bombing abortion clinics or in flying airplanes into buildings. The last time I checked, God was LOVE and religion was intended to inspire compassion toward others, motivate us to do good works and live selfless lives of service to others, and bring us closer to God. I’m pretty sure that reality hasn’t changed recently, but if so then I guess we need to re-write our holy books.

What is true religion? According to the Bible, true religion is this:

“If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:26-27)

And the Bhagavad Gita has this to say:

“He who sees Me in all things, and sees all things in Me, he never becomes separated from Me, nor do I become separated from him.

He who being established in unity, worships Me, who am dwelling in all beings, whatever his mode of life, that Yogi abides in Me.” (6:30-31)

Krishna sums up true religion quite well in the Gita. If we see God in all people and in all things and we act accordingly, then we are in union with God and we are living the purest and truest religion.

The Golden Rule – to do unto others as we would have them do unto us – is not exclusive to Christianity. It is an integral part of every religious tradition and it is vital to following and living on the path of true religion.

Are we one nation under God? I would say absolutely yes! But we are not, nor were we ever intended to be, one nation under the Christian God only. We have a proud history of being the melting pot of the world. Our nation thrives on diversity, and that most definitely includes religious diversity. We are indeed One Nation under God – Jehovah, Jesus, Allah, Krishna, or whatever name you choose to call Him by.

As Krishna affirms in the Gita, “All paths, Arjuna, lead to me.” (4:11)

One Truth, many paths! Our nation does – and it should – reflect this great religious truth.

Thoughts?

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OKAY TO JUDGE?

Posted on June 11, 2010 by jeff

By Dick Sutphen

From a karmic perspective, we know judgment is wrong. And yet our experiences put us in the position of making judgments. When these are expressed verbally, we preface our statements with, “I’m not judging him, but …” as if that will make the judgment okay.

But the truth of the matter is, not all judgments are undesirable.

THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF JUDGMENTS YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAKE:

1. Judgments based upon your expectations.

2. Judgments which result in trying to change someone else.

3. Judgments generated by fear-based emotions.

These judgments echo your ideas of right and wrong and your desire to control.

Rising above judgment doesn’t mean you stop deciding what does and doesn’t work for you. There are only so many hours in each day and if you’re intelligent, you’ll spend what time you have efficiently and pleasurably. If I said, “I don’t want to spend time with Ralph, because I don’t enjoy his company,” you probably wouldn’t have a problem with the statement.

But if I said, “Ralph is a braggart who dominates every conversation,” you’d accuse me of being judgmental.

But that’s why I don’t want to spend time with Ralph. I’m not judging him to be wrong for being a braggart, but I know it’s wrong for me to spend time with him. I don’t expect him to be anything other than what he is, and I have no desire to change him.

The metaphysical ideal is to accept other human beings as they are without judgments, expectations, blame, or attempting to control. With this understanding of judgment, the goal of unconditional acceptance is a little more realistic. Even Ralph can qualify.

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Live with Joy!

Posted on June 11, 2010 by jeff

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” -- Teilhard de Chardin

Many people go through life battling feelings of low self-worth, always beating themselves up over one or more of their perceived imperfections. This is part of the human condition, but ideally it really shouldn’t be. Life should be lived with joy. Life should be about sharing the best we have to offer with those we love and by extension with the world at large. Our daily lives on a practical level are focused on our families and our work and that is as it should be, but on a more universal level our lives should be focused on sharing our positive spiritual values with the world, raising consciousness and the quality of life wherever we are able to leave our mark.

Most of us don’t have the resources available to address the entire world, but we all have the resources available to address our little corner of it. We can each do our part to make this world a better place one person at a time. Offering a smile and a kind word to a business associate or a store clerk isn’t likely to make the evening news, but it will brighten that person’s day and there’s a good chance that the smile and kind words you offered that one person will be passed on to others as well. It is a fact that emotions are contagious. If I’m going to pass on what I’m feeling to others, I would rather pass on something positive than something negative! :)

We are not purely physical beings living in a meaningless universe here for no reason and no purpose. We are spiritual beings living here on this Earth to learn and grow and share the love of God as we have experienced it in our own lives.

So, SMILE! :) Go out and live with Joy! Be strong and courageous! Be a channel for the Light!

Have a great day and be blessed!

Namaste!

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Eknath Easwaran

Posted on June 10, 2010 by jeff

I discovered the work of Eknath Easwaran a few months ago, and I am really enjoying reading his “Classics of Indian Spirituality” translations of the Gita, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada.

You can learn more about the man here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eknath_Easwaran

And I love the picture of him from the above-linked Wikipedia page. You can really see the love of God shining through! :)

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