Paula, you knew I wouldn't be able to resist. So I'll ramble a few thoughts for all to think ramblingly about.

There's a saying that if you want to have great faith, act as if you had great faith, and you will. Last I heard it takes about 30 years minimum.

A younger friend once suggested that if I didn't feel as if I had faith, I could be thankful I had other gifts of the Spirit, such as love and hospitality.

Proverbs 3:5-6 promotes a continuous awareness of the divine in everything a person does. The Hebrew word for "awareness" is also translated in different versions as "acknowledge" or "know", with a sense of familiarity. I have observed that this is one way to get into spirituality--to learn to still the Self and permit the Presence to make itself known. It can take 15 minutes or 15 years of practice to get to the point of occasional bubbling joy in the wake of one of these experiences. PD speeds up the process, maybe.

What some Christians call Contemplative or Centering Prayer or The Practice of the Presence of God, and the experience of Buddhist Meditation as taught to me by a Theravada monk seem to be related to each other. Silence is important, but it means silence of the mind. Thomas Keating is a good author for centering prayer.

The people writing on this thread know it, but I have to say that "Ask, and it will be given to you" generally refers to spiritual things more than to Mercedes Benzesl

Spiritual disciplines like the use of prayer beads or regular prayers read at certain hours from a book can be useful also in leaving the Self/Ego behind and attending to the Divine. I have books and books of this sort of thing, and have read also that many Evangelicals are turning to some of the ancient practices as a way, for one thing, of leaving the world behind for a while. If asked I would recommend the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, written by a Methodist, I believe, with Biblical citations to back up each practice. (PM me if I can look up something for you.)

Looking at my life in a spiritual way and trying to live it from that point of view is the only thing that keeps me sane. It’s not a constant high by any stretch of the imagination, but it has lifted me out of a few ditches.

The trouble with church is that people use it for other things, such as a tax-free country club, or a place to get validated for perfectionism. For about the last three decades I’ve been able to find a balance inside of religion, especially when I think about the people who are there for the best reasons. Since I can’t really judge the inner workings of their hearts, I gotta love’em This can be very hard to remember to do. I think the inaccessibility is because of budget priorities.

I’ve rambled enough. So there is my two crumbs' worth for tonight.

Jaye

stevem53 wrote: ...That there is a supreme power that presides over my life that has a divine plan that I need not have to understand...

One day several years ago my Pastor was at my house and I asked him...'why me'? "why do I have Parkinsons, why did God allow this to happen'?

He told me to read Job, and if I didnt get anything then read it again...and keep reading it until I did. After reading it about 7 times I finally got something....God didnt have to tell me why and even if he did I probably wouldnt understand it. At first I thought...thats it...thats the expalnation I get...after thinking about it for a couple of days, I accepted it...His Grace is sufficient....

Untying the Gag Order

Can I slide away, ride away, hide, un-decide away
Leaving no clue of my new existence
Undoing, ungluing, excluding the protruding
zit that has become my bane and resistance
My surly, whirly, whacked out behavior
is not hue nor shadow of a once flattering silhouette
Beguiled, betrayed, taken out, my bed unmade
creates thoughts never known to throw out the sheets wet.
The unseen, unclean, scared un-repaired
joke of a body is as foreign as desert
I try to absorb, reward, retard, then discard
This displacement of creation I have to inherit
To fantasize, visualize, scrutinize and penalize
Gives the ball in motion too much room to roll
When it comes down, it hits ground and rebounds
and freshens its mark with a much stronger toll
I freeze, gaze, do a 360 and hurl
To be masochistic is not my cup of tea
My eyes have found skies that He sanctifies
His glory is all I need to find me.

©Laura J Dean




In His light, where do you stand?
in the dark, where do you go?
days are going by and i have many plans
I have a seed to plant and watch grow.

Time is rare to capture and hold
we are given a choice, we must chose to be bold
second winds seem far in-between
the moving trains trying to make off with our dreams

but look at me, see who i am
look at me and His light in my eyes
humility is a precious diamond
and i have earned it, and i wear no disguise

i know where i am going
my feet really do know this road
it is my destiny
and all i need to see

the road runs to the sky
i dont know how high the climb
but i look to you to see
are you ready to accompany me?


laura j dean

this posting, and this group of individuals on neurotalk reminds me of the last lines of Tennyson's Poem "Ulysses":

"...Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho' We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

http://www.metalvortex.com/poems/ulysses-.htm

For those inclined, there is an excellent and in-depth discussion of the Book of Job in the book "Why Bad Things Happen to Good People". This book is for anyone who has suffered, or has/had a loved one suffer, regardless of religion preference or affiliation. I first read it when a beloved friend, probably one of the best people to ever inhabit this planet, died after a lengthy and painful battle with cancer. A complete tragedy which left me stunned and no longer able to see the world as I used to.

The rabbi who wrote this book lost his son to the disease where you age incredibly rapidly. His son was diagnosed at the age of two and lived until he was 11 or 12. The book is about the father's coming to terms with his son's pending death, and making peace after the fact. It is very well written, and was very helpful to me in finding my way after my friend's death. In fact, I think of this book every time I get knocked back another peg, which seems to be happening more frequently the older I get!

Dear Paula-
As life becomes more difficult, I find I have to dig deeper into my inner resources to find those grains of hope. The other morning I realized that my cat Sunny was sharing his way with me: rest, breathe deeply, unclench my fists, let my heart sing, and allow myself to feel the beauty in every moment.
I have a long way to go to get it, but I'm working on it. Aren't we all.
Cyndy

when I read Dave's post about reading the book of Job, I too imediatley thought of the book "When Bad things Happen to Good People" I believe the author is Harold Kusher..or close to that. It was written several years ago. Someone is sure to have it. or it will be at your library. I too reccommend it.

I have never asked "why me"...It just seemed to me that if you live on this planet you are fair game. Somewhere in my reading I came across this quote

"dearly beloved:
God will tear at your very heartstrings ...and if you cannot bear it you will not be fit for the kingdom of heaven."

pretty harsh words, but.... I'm sure that quote will set off a few lightening strikes. But consider the word "fit". Think more in terms of "fitness".
Fitness is a state of wellbeing that makes us able to run the race, or climb a mountain or whatever physical challange we meet. Wouldn't it make sense that we need to be spiritually fit as well. I consider my PD an exercise in spiritual fitness. Maybe we are the elite. For those of you who are "christian" I have another quote I like: "Jesus' brief stumbling while carrying the cross is a reminder as to how close to the very edge of our strength God stretches us at times." N.A. Maxwell

We all view the world through the prism of our own experience, that I know for sure. But the question of fitness for the kingdom of heaven does not bother me, or offend me in any way because I believe we do have to be strengthened/challanged etc, and that comes from rising to met our challenges or trials or whatever you want to call them. The laws that govern the physical world also have their counterparts in the spiritual. Gold is purified by burning off the dross, diamonds are chunks of coal put under extreme pressure, steel is forged in a very hot fire. All of the most precious and strong things of this earth speak out to us that we too are being refined.

The book of Job is an allegory I believe. In the end you'll note that all is restored to him and more. So run the race that is set before us, and be grateful we have each other to hold our hands.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Gotta go face my challenges... Love ya all. You keep me strong!

One of the amazing things about this thread, and i emphasize only one of them, is the ability of the posters to weed out the 'do nots' that so many take for spirituality and focus on its directives for living to the fullest no matter what the condition of our lives. As my friend April recently shared with me ....she said she repaired a relationship by looking at what she needed to change about herself. In doing so through group support with a spiritual background, she quickly learned that there are others out there - always - who have it much worse.

I attended Shake Rattle and Roll this weekend and for the second time [maybe more?] they released butterflies as a symbolic act of hope. A friend who lost her husband recently attended to give him a memorial. Before the butterfly release, she spoke, and a song was sung about wind beneath my wings. An adult butterfly, not one to be released , flew to the stage and landed right beside the singer. It gently flapped it's wings throughout the entire song. It was incredible, a sight I will never forget. As I sat beside my friend, both of us in tears, she shared a revelation that someone had told her her husband would come back with wings.

You can't make this kind of stuff up. Too many witnesses. You can see the butterfly at the end of this video and see it a little as the girl sings. But chronologically, it's modified - she sang before any were released and this was a free butterfly that landed there. Amazing.

http://www.pjstar.com/multimedia?vid_id=xmY3cEgrtRA

life was precious at that moment,
paula

Paula
You will have to chuckle at this, but I read your post because I thought it was about stem cells (knowing that you had been with Joan Snyder’s event this past weekend). But I am so glad that I did read this thread. I already knew that Paula, Tena, Charlie, and Rosebud were “believers” (speaking in Christian terminology), and your responses were profound. Steve, Bandido, and Lindylanka – your replies tell me where you stand in thinking, also. But ol’cs surprised me - your writing blew me away! (BTW – Rosebud – you look great in that photo!)

I also know that this forum doesn’t look favorably on rather heated debates concerning politics or religion, but here we are sort of talking about both. My point for responding is twofold (maybe three):
1) there is a difference between religion and spirituality
2) if our spirituality helps us in coping with this malady we have been handed, then it shoud definitely be allowed to be discussed – not debated, but discussed.
3) (I knew there would be three!) Nobody – even the dingiest blonde (and I say that totally in jest since I am one) should have to take the shots that have been fired at Palin – that’s what some religions preach – treat others the way you want to be treated.

Responding briefly on each item above, I offer my words in the hope that someone else will gain help and hope from them.
1) Religion is your set of “rules” – your church’s beliefs and practices – and what you are expected to do in or with your life. Spirituality, on the other hand, is your own personal journey in finding your purpose in life. I thought the analogy from Helium ( www.helium.com ) was a good one:
The search for spiritual understanding is like drinking from a vast lake. Sat on the lakeside the searcher is quenching his thirst for knowledge and understanding by drinking from the clear cool waters. Although the drinker may seem alone in his quest, they are not, its just that the lake is so vast that he may not be able to see the other people following the same path but they are there known the less. This personal act of drinking at the waters is akin to spirituality.
Religion is a different matter. Religion in this analogy is merely the cup we chose to drink from the lake. The cups come in many shapes, colours and designs, all down to personal taste, some cups are handed out job lot and have names such as Christianity, Hinduism or Islam others are more personal but it has to be remembered that these cups are only a tool to a higher purpose. One could also argue that you don't need a cup at all and how much more refreshing it would be just to dive head first into the lake and immerse yourself in its healing waters.
2) What I say that can add to what I already said. If we interact with what we believe is a Supreme Being, and it helps us cope, then by all means share what it has done for you. Paula, I, too, have suffered with less than fulfilling spirituality (gained by being in the Word daily). Advocacy has pushed its way to my front burner when I know that isn’t right for me. Maybe that’s what drew me to your post.

3) Finally, I am not a happy camper about the many ugly, things being thrown Palin’s way . Yes, she may be “inexperienced” in the ways of Washington, but not in life. It is feedback to me when I read some of the hurtful, purely unfounded jabs being made at her for being a conservative woman. It tells me that much of our population not practicing any religion.

I have said more than I intended, but would be glad to further discuss how my search for purpose has been my sustainer and will continue to be. Thanks for posting this, Paula; it made me refocus

I’m not good with words so please bear with me. The following is my own personal beliefs and not meant to offend anyone. I’ve never cared much for any types of structured religion. I’ve always believed that religion was created by man to control man and to make up answer for the unknown. Spirituality can be very individualistic and has no restrictions or boundaries. Having pd sure challenges your beliefs. We quickly realize how fragile we are and how precious the remaining time left we have. We can no longer continue our old way of life. The once opened door to our future has been slammed on our face. Suddenly our whole life changed. We start searching for answers, take better care of our selves, helping others, bury ourselves in grief (why me), get angry at the world, get involved, etc. etc. The one thing, I believe, is that sooner or later we all face our spirituality / religion much more seriously. We’ll look reasons why, pray, comfort, options, etc. One thing for sure, we’ll definitely have a lot more free time to think about it.
For whatever reason, I personally believe situations arise in our lives (including pd) for us to learn from. It’s how we respond that seems to matter. Time slips away so quickly, every day is precious. I have the following phrases taped on my computer and I read them every day (sources unknown, I might of gotten some of them here). Its not much but it helps me start the day:

Let go of things I cannot control.
I am not judgmental.
I forgive and release the past.
Every day in every way I am getting stronger.
I’ am healthy, vital and strong.
Love is everywhere, I am loving and lovable.
The JOY I experience this day flows forth from my outlook on life and will not be hampered by what is happening around me: by what has happened in the past or by what might happen in the future. I choose to see the beauty of my life and the promise of my good to come. For I am a chid of the living spirit and my potential for joy cannot be bound.
Any moment in time my heart connects with the Creator’s infinite love.
And my favorite from Louise L. Hay says it all: “In the infinity of life where I am, all is perfect, whole, and complete. I believe in a power far greater than I am that flows through me every moment of every day. I open myself to the wisdom within, knowing that there is only One Intelligence in this Universe. Out of this One Intelligence comes all the answers, all the solution, all the healing, all the new creations. I trust this Power and Intelligence, knowing that whatever I need to know is revealed to me in the right time, space, and sequence. All is well in my world.”

Enjoy Life.
Max