Living The Integral Heart

The time of the singular prophet is giving way to a collective call to rise up in response to suffering. The word “prophet” means “mouthpiece of God.” We are all worthy of receiving and transmitting the divine voice. And we can no longer justify turning away. The world is in dire need of our wisdom, our love, our willingness to set aside our opinions and our desires to be comfortable and acceptable. What is the voice of Truth speaking through you?

• Identify the burning issues in your heart, with regard to the needs of the planet and all who dwell here
• Develop the ability to access and contain the suffering in the world
• Cultivate the mindfulness skills to help you sit with what is and not be overwhelmed
• Build your courage to speak truth
• Learn techniques to energize your body and soften your heart, so that you can be of service joyfully – without burning out
• Recognize that you have enough and are enough, exactly as you are

At the heart of the spiritual journey is a yearning for union with the Divine. This is often (but not always) experienced as a burning longing for the Beloved. When we access that soul-desire, it can feel like heartbreak. Life’s losses – both small and profound – strip us of extraneous concerns and bring us into a sacred field that resembles grief. What is the connection between your losses and your urge to merge with the Divine?

• Read the poetry of the mystics of multiple traditions who express the soul’s yearning for God
• Explore the connection between missing your loved ones who have died and spiritual longing
• Affirm the validity of an entire spectrum of losses you carry – from loss of innocence to the death of a loved one
• Study the classic spiritual teaching of The Dark Night of the Soul, for guidance on navigating spiritual emptiness and resting in not knowing
• Become familiar and comfortable with desert spirituality by drawing on the teachings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers

Every spiritual tradition borrows the language of romantic love to evoke the experience of spiritual awakening. These wisdom teachings usually involve the mystical paradox of annihilation. That is, lover dissolves into Beloved, and only love remains. Separation from our divine source turns out to be an illusion, and we discover that not only were we connected to the Beloved all along, but we are that which we have been desiring.

• Explore classic mystical texts on the lover/Beloved story from Jewish, Christian, Hindu and Sufi wisdom literature
• Practice meditation techniques for loosening self-identification
• Express your soul’s passion for union with the Beloved, through writing, chanting, art and deep dialog
• Learn to integrate your spiritual passion with your life, allowing that sublime love to permeate every aspect of what you do and who you are
• Understand the difference between “becoming nothing” and “being unworthy”
• Embrace the fire and allow it to transfigure you

Creative self-expression is an overflowing of the sacred into the world. What are the ways in which you may have suppressed the divine voice that wants to be shared through you? There are, as Rumi says, “a hundred ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” Become a conduit for spirit by creating space in your life for visual arts, music, writing, dance – or simply recognizing and creating beauty wherever you go. Saying “YES” to beauty is saying “YES” to the indwelling presence of the Divine.

• Identify the way (or ways) that your own soul craves beauty
• (Re)commit to at least one form of creative self-expression
• Discover the power of mystical poetry for evoking spiritual realities
• Become comfortable with the wild, untamed, unplanned and not-always-practical experience of creativity
• Generate a work of art to share with others

The Abrahamic teaching of humanity being given power over the rest of creation is a fundamental misunderstanding of the sacred trust. Instead of dominion, we are called to stewardship of the earth and all her creatures – plant, animal, water, air. Both Buddhism and indigenous wisdom teachings affirm that everything is connected, and that our highest task is to recognize our interdependence with all of creation and do our best to support the web of life.

• Make connections between the world’s spiritual texts on the wisdom of the natural world: Taoism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and Hopi
• Identify a particular issue of personal concern regarding the plight of the planet, and make a commitment to action on behalf of the earth
• Develop a personal relationship with Earth as Mother, and address her as a cherished relative
• Recommit to spending regular time connecting with nature as part of your regular spiritual practice
• Practice voluntary simplicity and lightening your footprint, and be an example to others for walking lightly on this earth

The mystics are the beings of every spiritual tradition who have experienced a direct encounter with the Divine. This often takes the form of lover merging into Beloved. Most mystics proclaim that the true value of such a divine gift lies in offering the fruits of that love to the world. How do we balance our commitment to cultivating a personal inner life with the desire to alleviate suffering in the world? Our love for God (says every single religion on the planet) is most truly expressed by the way we treat one another. We encounter the face of the Holy One in the faces of those in greatest need.

• Expand our conception of what it means to be of service
• Discern between charity dispensed to those we perceive as having (or being) less, and compassion based on the realization of our essential unity with those who suffer
• Find a healthy balance between personal spiritual practice and loving service
• Explore classic wisdom teachings, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the Bhagavad Gita, as resources for engaging service as an act of prayer
• Develop the courage necessary to speak for the voiceless, even when it is neither convenient nor socially acceptable

Certain spiritual teachings suggest that the mind is an impediment on the journey home to Truth. This can be misleading. We may be throwing out the baby of wisdom with the bathwater of concepts. How do we engage the paradox of harnessing the power of the mind to transcend the mind? The sacred texts of every tradition are repositories of transformational wisdom that are designed to knock on the doors of the heart and activate radical opening.

• Practice Lectio Divina (sacred reading) and discover the heart-truths within sacred writings
• Explore the path of Jnana Yoga in Hinduism as a means for attaining divine union
• Learn to understand a particular wisdom text and be able to express it with clarity and power in your own words
• Discover the relevance of ancient spiritual teachings to your own life, and to the lives of those you touch
• Notice where you may be imbalanced between heart and mind, and find a healthy integration of intellectual rigor and dwelling in the mystery of love

We carry the wounds of our lives in the cells of our bodies, and this can be a heavy burden. We may become paralyzed by our self-identification as victim. Anger about what has happened to us in the past can become an impediment to finding joy in the present. We can also feel overwhelmed by shame for the harm we have caused (or mistakenly believe we have inflicted on others). How do we take an honest look at the events of our lives that cause us pain and allow these stories to find their rightful place in the vast tapestry of the human condition? Can we enable our particular version of suffering to reconnect us with the human family and serve as fuel for our journey to wholeness?

• Disengage from the syndrome of shame and blame
• Cultivate mindfulness practice as a means for being present with what is, rather than regretting the past and feeling anxious about the future
• Explore the teachings of unconditional love found at the heart of all traditions
• Create a relationship with the Divine Mother as a resource for mercy, forgiveness and reckless adoration
• Develop a healing ritual that enables you to release a particular burden of pain, and invite at least one trusted person to bear witness

“God spoke one primordial word and he spoke it in silence,” says Fr. Thomas Keating (quoting St. John of the Cross), “and it is only in the silence that we can hear it.” It is easy to get so swept up in the demands of daily life that we cannot even imagine taking time for meditation. We convince ourselves that if we can just check off the next three items on our to-do list we will be able to abide in stillness for a few minutes. But doing almost always seems to take precedence over being. What if we reframe this equation: Instead of thinking we can’t afford to cultivate a contemplative practice, we realize that we cannot afford not to. There is too much at stake. Our ability to make peace in this world is predicated on our placing priority on creating peace within.

• Recognize that meditation is not about not thinking – it’s about being present to what is, allowing a spaciousness to open around our thoughts and feelings, an ability to bear witness to our own experience, and “not believe everything we think”
• Make a commitment to sit in silence and stillness on a regular basis, whether half an hour every morning or ten minutes three times a week
• Consider joining a meditation group to support your practice and investigate the possibilities for attending a meditation retreat
• Learn what it means to be a contemplative, and apply those values to your daily life, not limited to formal meditation practice
• Experience the infusion of the sacred into the ordinary when you commit to a contemplative path