Hollys Place

SPIRITUALITY . . . A GOOD WORD?

fran — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:05:32 +0000

Why do persons turn away from this word? I do not think the hearts of people are very different today from centuries gone by. I do think that the meanings of words change. I have suggested that you think of sitting and meditating or thinking of different things in your life that you might wish to look at more closely. Usually there is a reason you pick a particular item. I talked about work, occupation, job, because that is where most of your life is spent if you are old enough to be employed. Even students who work can look at two kinds of occupations. It would be interesting to see which one is placed first: student or employment.
No matter who you are you probably would choose to be a better person. Why? What drives you to improve? Do I want to be more healthy? Do I want to be a better friend? Do I want to work for my town, city, country? Do I want more money? Better looks? a bigger job? These are definite things to think about.
All these thoughts are probably in your mind. They can be spoken but not felt, smelled, touched, or seen. They are non body ideas. Hence I want to call them spiritual. Humans have two parts: one is body and one is soul. When one talks about soul one is in the realm of spirituality. And at no time yet has the inference of God come up. Let’s think a little about spirituality and your life and your world and your works and meditate on the why of your life. I think you will be surprised at your findings.

Work–Worthy of Meditation?

fran — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:24:45 +0000

When I was meditating the other day I was thinking of my past days and my “JOB” popped into my head. I thought that my job certainly wasn’t worthy of meditation so maybe I was getting a distraction. But I decided that I spend a lot of time every day working and so maybe I ought to think about my work. I would like to share some of my thoughts with you so you might have a similar experience.
I have a very dear friend who runs a workshop on Work with Purpose and this came to my mind. The why I do my work is so much more than the work. Do I do my work in order to be recognised? Do I do my work in order to get ahead in my career?
Do I do my work in order to be a better, smarter, holier person? Maybe all of the above? Maybe some other reason?
Purpose is so important because I will do a better job if my purpose is better. Jesus Christ who was a special person in the life of the world learned at a young age to be a carpenter like his stepfather Joseph. He did not stay in that career but he treated it like a noble way of work until he felt that he had another calling. The word “calling” when spoken of in career terms is VOCATION.
To be called to a special work or even to find oneself in a special job is the first question I will ask myself. Why am I doing this work now, here in this place, and what is my purpose?
What does the word vocation mean and why is it so close to vacation? Some thoughts to pick up on in the future.

A Thought to Give Special Time To

fran — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:58:12 +0000

Presuming you found your special spot and have become used to going to it and sitting quietly I will share with you some further ideas on taking time to meditate. So many people today can see their private thinking time as equal to church time. Certainly one can find God in all the majestic purposes: mountains, seashore, blue skies, babies’ smiles, starry nights, butterflies and so on.
Sometimes good thoughts come when you are not in church–for some it always happens this way. Good thoughts are important for your well-being. No one ever said you had to find peace and happiness in church only.
Go to your special spot. Get comfortable. Breathe deeply in and out for a few times. Go over the good things that have happened today. Feel good about them by saying to yourself, “Oh I am so glad that happened” or something like that. Look at each one and see why it made you feel good, who you were with, and where it happened. If you feel like it you could even right it down.
Now do the same thing with anything that happened that you could have handled better. Perhaps you forgot to say “Thank you” for a kind word. Maybe you answered someone back with a sharp reply. Also look closely and see what happened, why and with whom.A pattern will begin to emerge. Do this for a few days and you will begin to figure out the next steps in this process. Remember what is past is gone, what is future hasn’t happened yet. We only have the now to make things better and meditating on our lives is the first step to making the world a better place for you and all you come in contact with.
So it is good to go to your special place and to think over your day or week or past time.

Steps to Finding Private Meditation Time

fran — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:08:02 +0000

In order to have some private time I must look for a special place. Most persons already have a spot where they feel completely at peace, away from their troubles and comfortable. For some people it is a church or chapel. For others it could be by the ocean or a garden. A rocking chair or a front porch or a sunny spot also qualifies as a special spot where I can be alone and thinking all kinds of thoughts about my life or day or moments. You must have a certain privacy. The spot is yours but you must be open to all around you. If you find this place just visit it quietly and openly. Don’t expect anything and in time, in space, in peace, as you remain there, something good, something most pleasant, something exciting will happen. It will not come immediately but in good time you will relax, breathe more easily and slip into a very good and personable spot–your spot. A famous poet, G.K. Chesterton wrote,”Step softly under snow or rain To find the place where[all] can pray. The place is all so very plain That we may lose the way.” Spend some time and find your special place.

Reflection Time

fran — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:28:33 +0000

So many people today are immediately turned off by the words meditation and spiritual. Why? What could possibly be the matter with these words–especially when they are used together. I am going to call this reflection time and, I imagine, you have already begun to think of why you are uneasy about spiritual meditation.
Perhaps you can begin to reflect on how you can spend a little more time in peace and alone in silence just “thinking” without anyone telling you what to do or how to say something or where to go.
I am going to give some thought to the importance of spiritual meditation as a force to live a better life and make a better world around yourself and those you love.

Meditation: What is it?

fran — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:50:56 +0000

The dictionary lists meditation as thinking contemplatively, reflecting, thinking, musing, planning. Today everyone needs to take time out of their overcrowded schedules and busy filled lives to spend some time just peacefully thinking about the really important things that are part of everyday living. I believe everyone has been given a unique “emotional heartbeat.” Our heart races when we think about the subjects, activities, or circumstances that really are important to us. Do I even know my emotional heartbeat? Have I ever consciously considered those things that intensely interest me? I know they are never far from my thoughts. In the private reflective spot and mood mentioned in my previous blog I need to ask myself about those subjects that make my heart beat.
As I pull them out for study I must ask myself these questions:
How do I use this interest –to enrich myself? to enrich others?
What are the reasons I love this particular interest?
As I ponder these thoughts and answer these questions honestly I begin to undertake the first stage of meditation.

What Is Important to Me?

fran — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 17:03:43 +0000

My relationship with God, with others, and myself has always been of utmost importance to me. In these modern times I can also add the universe as an important relationship. When I ask myself how I “handle” these relationships in my life I come up with some thoughts to share with anyone who has felt this important need to contemplate their philosophy of relationships. I would be happy if you replied with some thoughts of your own.
I will begin with my relationship with God. I try to place myself in a
state of meditation each day and sometimes more than once a day.
This state helps me to be peaceful and think calmly about some of the things in my life I would like to improve upon.
Basically, I find a very comfortable spot in a comfortable place and I begin with deep breaths to exhale all the noise and storms of my
current life. Then I try to make my mind as blank as possible and decide what is uppermost in my mind. This will take time and is not always the first thing I think of. I ask: Why am I thinking of this now? Where does it belong in my life? What do I want to do with it?
Why? How do I plan to ascend to the next level?
This is the very beginning of meditation. I will continue in my next blog to bring us closer to the life of the spirit which will elevate our mind, heart and soul.

What Now! One Whole Year Later!

fran — Mon, 10 May 2010 17:44:43 +0000

For those who have followed along you are probably wondering where can we possibly go now. If you have followed along there is something very important to realize about all this information. It is not just for reading and enjoying. No, there is work involved as well.
You see, this life is a journey. It requires a travel plan, heading for a destination, an end to where we started and a finish line. St. Paul tells us in his letters that he was running a race. I’m not a very good runner so I look at it a little differently.
I want to follow a path–a way, maybe slowly, maybe taking time to smell the roses as the saying goes. So I want to look at the end of each day and see what I have accomplished and where I went and what I did.
There are good things happening, possibly challenging things, definitely frightening things and, although I hope not, possibly even bad things.
Whom will I share the daily travails with? Who will help me as I go through each day? When will I share? Am I scared to?
One big help for me is that when Jesus’ best friends told him,”Lord
we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus replied, “I am the way: I am the truth and the life.”
John 14:6.
So how shall we discover the holy? Will we do it together or will it
be a journey of one? I suggest thinking over what you have done each day and whether you are sad or glad about the way things went and with whom you want to share your thoughts.

He is not Here! He is Risen!

fran — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 15:39:43 +0000

Those words ring clearly to those who are still huddled in shock about the occurrences happening over the past 48 hours. Jesus died on Friday; the Jews could do nothing on Saturday so he is rushed to burial. The good women who supported him and took care of him on his journeys through the countryside wanted nothing more on Sunday morning than to clean the signs of suffering from his body and wrap him in the customized linens that were the proper form of remembrance for the holy. They knew he was not a criminal in any sense of the word and did not deserve to be condemned and die so tragically.
They are the first to hear the words of gladness as they hasten to the tomb wondering how they will be able to get the huge stone pushed back. No need to worry–the cave is open! Someone sits in the cave and tells them, “He is not here; he is risen!”
They rush back to where all the friends are hiding and Peter and John don’t believe them and head out to see for themselves.
They find only the linens in which his body was wrapped. Mary
Magdalene seeks him next. She believes the body has been stolen by the leaders and desecrated. She is crying so does not see clearly. However she recognizes his voice when he calls her name.
He tells her he has not yet ascended to the father but he certainly is not dead.
That same evening Jesus breaks bread with two followers who have left Jerusalem heartbroken and is unrecognized until they supper together. The disciples are so happy that they head back to the secret hiding place of the disciples and their friends to tell everyone that the Lord has risen. The disciples in the room tell them that the Lord is indeed risen and appeared to Peter.
To be sure Jesus is indeed risen; he makes many appearances within the next 40 days to those who have mourned and suffered with him and makes his final presentations to those who follow him. What does this all mean to me as I read this?

The High Holy Days Are Coming Closer!

fran — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:34:15 +0000

Am I preparing to be better, more alert, to agree with Leo Tolstoy, “The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” ?
Sunday is Palm Sunday for many religious groups. The world was looking for a KING/RULER. They were unable to comprehend the fact that one doesn’t have to be a physical ruler, a bully, a gang leader, a loudmouth to take charge. They tried to treat Jesus as a King. They gave him a way to ride into Jerusalem; they cheered at their victory parade. But he paid no attention to the cheers, the excitement, the crowds. He knew what was coming and he prayed for those who believed in him and professed to love him.
Am I preparing to jouney with him on these sad days? To remember how much he must have loved me–a nobody, who few people know and will probably never be remembered for anything spectacular.
Now is the time to become more introspective, to look at my life, “what I have done, what I have failed to do,” and prepare to walk on this journey with the Lord. He says,”I am the way, the truth, and the light,” which makes the journey less lonely because he goes with us on the way. Maybe I can make the trip a little less burdensome for a fellow traveler whom I find accompanying me. Take a look around. You do not have to leave your home town or your neighborhood to make your way the way of the Lord. Blessings on your trip.