25 December 2010

Christmas Day at Starbucks

There's something so comforting about a mocha latte on Christmas Day.

I worked at a Starbucks, briefly, a few years ago, and, at the time, endured my brother's screed about the "corporate coffee shop" and the evil monotony and far-reaching greed that lies therein. But, my experience as an employee, as well as the many years I have spent as a patron of Starbucks, has engendered within me a true a appreciation for the loud espresso machines, jovial college students, low playing music (CDs on sale at the front!) and overpriced but uniquely delicious drinks and treats. It's a great hangout for me on a off-kilter Christmas . . . and my Christmas cheer has finally returned. Free wi-fi, comfortable arm chair, cool jazzy Christmas music, yummy stuff to eat & Derek reading quietly while everyone else is very LOUD . . . just like home!!!

In this moment, I want to send all my love to Mashe and my new friends worldwide . . . wishing you a wonderful day and a prosperous and beautiful new year. I'll drink a cup to Elorm Beenie, a wonderful poet and storyteller from Ghana, on the publication of his first book . . . out very soon. Boomshot to Mr. Cross!!! Much love to Ras Chuma, Rosanna Silvestro, and Rasta Reuben . . . my new friends in Jah's love & reggae one-ness. Facebook has been such a great way to meet some wonderful people and continue the work of sharing our love for God in whatever ways we find uplifting. A season of happiness is at hand, and I am hopeful that our world will know peace at last.

My loneliness of yesterday has finally blossomed into an awareness of how I always feel this time of year . . . when I remember the lessons of childhood and smile as every year rings them more and more true. Jesus truly does "love the little children, all the children of the world." Once again, I sing along to the 70's coca-cola advertising jingle, and renew my wish "to see the world at once, all standing hand in hand." I await the "Peace Train" and the "Mother and Child Reunion" promised to us so convincingly by the folk & soul singers. I was too young for Woodstock & the "summer of love" . . . but I joined the revolutionary peace activists in my heart at a very young age & will never let that hope die.

Thank you, Baba, that I found my holiday spirit finally and can remember the truth of what this day really means to me. Forgive me, friends, if I have felt sorry for myself while so many others suffer. Let's keep love, hope, forgiveness, and peace, first and foremost in our hearts . . . now and forever more. And, remember, when you are feeling down, there's nothing better sometimes than a good cup of coffee.

24 December 2010

in the beauty of the season of Christ

For so many years, I lived for this time of year as if it were the only thing that mattered in life. Every year, I started Christmas shopping in July . . . saved and scrimped to put as much under the tree as possible . . . plotted and planned surprises for my daughter and other members of my family . . . baked all kinds of cookies and had volumes of food for visitors on Christmas Day. I would exhaust myself in my efforts to make this holiday special and to create memories for my daughter that would last a lifetime.

Today, in the wake of family troubles that have left everyone that I ever loved estranged from me, I am alone on Christmas . . . for the first time that I can remember.

I am using this opportunity to remember Baba and His exhortation to make our spiritual lives more meaningful and less ritualistic. I have been celebrating this holiday in a traditional way for a long time, but it never lost meaning for me. In fact, my favorite part of Christmas has always been that moment on Christmas Eve, when all of the packages are wrapped, and all the food is ready to be reheated in the morning, and everyone but me is in bed, and it's just me and the beautifully lit tree . . . sitting quietly together in prayer. It's the best part of Christmas. Just me and Baba, talking together as usual, and admiring our efforts in the name of people we love . . . needing nothing for ourselves but each other.

The sadness of my isolation this year cannot be denied. I'm troubled that my family rejects me, I am lonely for my daughter, and I am missing the usual hustle and bustle. But, as always, Baba is with me, smiling and patting my head. "Silly them," He says. "We know better, don't we dear?" And, today, I am putting my heart down at His altar . . . right next to my beautifully lit tree . . . and refusing to feel alone on my special day with Baba.

I'm reminded that Jesus was really born in April sometime, and that our Christmas traditions have grown out of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon solstice celebrations, and that holidays everywhere are a mishmash of cultures and traditions. There's nothing so inherently special about December 25th that it can't be looked at, reasonably, as just another day in life. Baba used this kind of thing to break down the egos of so many die-hard "religious types" among his followers . . . keeping most celebrations simple and avoiding any outward show for the sake of an audience. Funny to be an American, among all the Christmas lights and crowds, and to give up my usual display and expense of effort . . . but something I feel called to do this year, as painful as it feels.

Tonight, I will pray for peace in the world and light my candles. In Baba's name, I will rededicate myself to honest living and hope for a good future for all of us. As I gaze into my tree, which has always reminded me of the vast Universe full of twinkling stars, I will remember the beauty of simplicity and grace . . . that a Christmas cookie is really only a sweet, and not the only way to show love. In a time of world change and hardship, it's far more important to deal with life's honest lessons, and to let a hurting family spend some time alone to think about how they should really treat each other, every day.

God bless us, every one. Enjoy the holiday and be blessed. Amen.

03 December 2010

Working Hard for the Money in 1965

A WITHDRAWAL INTO WORK

Tom and Dorothy Hopkinson

Sahavas were projected for the Westerners, but before December [1965] came they were postponed, and continued to be put off year after year as Baba's seclusion was extended. This seclusion was the opposite of retirement. It was not a withdrawal from work but a withdrawal into work.

What the true nature of this work might be, even those whose lives were spent in Baba's company knew little. All they gleaned from a rare comment was, first, that it went on unceasingly. "you see me doing all this," Baba told them once during an interlude at Guruprasad in June 1963, "but simultaneously my work continues. It is as breathing is to you — you talk, work, play, eat, sleep etc., but you never stop breathing. It is the same with my work, which continues without a stop whatever else I may appear to be doing."

Secondly, they understood that it was directly related to the world situation at any given moment and carried out 'on the inner planes', invisibly and imperceptibly, in the way that Baba worked on the minds of audiences absorbed in some entertainment.

Thirdly, they could see for themselves that it involved intense suffering both bodily and mental.

MUCH SILENCE, pp. 128-129
1974 © Meher Baba Spiritual League Ltd.

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02 December 2010

Always Awake

ALWAYS AWAKE

Bhau Kalchuri

After the second accident, Baba used his upstairs bedroom at Meherazad and was carried there each day in an armchair. The night watchman always sat inside Baba's room. This was necessary because Baba would often get leg spasms while he rested, and whenever this occurred, whoever was on duty would sit on the bed in order to massage Baba's feet.

One night I was sitting on Baba's bed with one leg dangling over the side while I held and pressed Baba's feet. Baba was snoring loudly. Even though I had experienced Baba's omniscience in Satara in this regard, still the thought pestered me: "Baba is snoring like an ordinary man. How can it be that the Avatar has conscious sleep?"

Suddenly Baba restlessly began snapping his fingers. I stood up, and as soon as both feet touched the floor, I saw a poisonous snake — a krait — just inches from my feet! I would surely have been bitten had Baba not drawn my attention there. Baba told me to kill the snake which I managed to do with great difficulty as I had never killed a snake in my life.

Baba then asked me, "What type of sleep do I have?" I laughed, and Baba gestured, "Just remember that I can never sleep like an ordinary man. I am always awake. I am always conscious doing my Universal work."

WHILE THE WORLD SLEPT, p. 38
1984 © Bhau Kalchuri

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Decreasing Lust

THE EGO BECOMES VERY THIN AND WEAK

Meher Baba

The body will survive for ninety-five days if one remains only on water. Just as the body feeds on food, so the mind feeds on desires, and indulgence in these desires feeds the mind and the ego. So, by starving the mind of these desires, the ego becomes very thin and weak.

In a physical fast, taking only water ... lust is lessened, but anger and hope are increased. During the first three days of a fast, hunger is marked, depression is strong, anger is strengthened and lust is diminished. From the third to the seventh day, there is a fluctuation in feelings: hunger, depression, anger and lust are all lessened, while hope — for everything — is still strong. On the tenth day, the feelings then swing back, and there is increased hunger and anger. This lasts until the fourteenth day.

Thus, after the fourteenth day, a fast has no spiritual value.