There is Only God.

"There is only God."

I was reflecting on a theme from our faculty Ignatian Evening last week: "Finding and Serving God in others."  I remembered a 3 stage process that Father Thomas Keating talks about in our spiritual journey.  In my own words, paraphrasing him from memory, it goes something like this:

1. We discover that there is God in the world and in us.
2. We discover that there is God in everything we consider "other".
3. We discover that there is only God and no "other".

Rumi, the great Muslim poet wrote:

"Sometimes afraid of reunion, sometimes of separation:  You and I, so fond of the notion of  a You and an I, should live as though we'd never heard those pronouns."

 You can see how both Keating and Rumi are saying the same thing.  Sometimes I think this is mystic mumbo jumbo and it does not really apply to my life as husband, father of a 2 year old and teacher of adolescents.  Then, I pause....  This is how the world is really wired according to 21st century Trappist Father Keating and 13th century Muslim Jalal ad-Din Rumi.  In other words, if we had eyes to see and ears to hear the world in this way, we would act according to the Golden Rule - "love others as yourself," because you really see others as yourself.  What would this mean for me as a husband, father, teacher, son...what would it mean for you?  If you don't see the world this way and you can be honest about that, how can you act in such a way that brings this awareness from the periphery to the forefront.

How would I respond to my wife or friend when I am frustrated?

How do I respond to my tennis partner or opponent?  Do I really see my opponent as not an "other"?

I often think of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and their deep respect for each other.  I wonder if they do not see each other in themselves, if they sense the reality that they really are God playing God on that tennis court and what is displayed is the brilliance of the game.  I know this may be a stretch, or not, but I do think we sense the presence of God in each other when there is a real respect exchanged.  We are being present to Presence and that Presence senses that in the exchange.

What would our daily life look like if we lived from this awareness that there is nothing but God and there is no other.  My sense is the mystics are trying to tell us something...the big secret we keep missing.  Is it really a secret anymore?  We can buy any book from any great teacher in history from Amazon.com or any bookstore (give your local bookstore support).  The secret is out, it's just up to us to have the courage to carry it out and see what world we can create.  As Jesus says in his famous prayer:

"Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven."  

I will try to go to bed tonight, seeing my wife and son as God reflecting back to me. 

There is Only God, There is no Other.

The Contemplative Experience of Parenthood

Reflections on Liam - March 5th, 2009 - 6 months - His first 1/2 Birthday

Mary and I are up late.  It’s 1:47 am and Liam is sick with a cold and cough.  I walk him in the Ergo (baby carrier) back and forth through our condo until he falls asleep on my chest and in my arms.  He makes loud grunting sounds to soothe himself to sleep, until the grunts fade out and he rests completely on my chest and lets go into a  sleep we hope will last.  I am beginning to realize what all parents must do with their children, put their own rest, desires, and conveniences aside to be present to their child.  I cannot heal him or make the cold run its course quicker.  I can help be there as he goes through it and allow him the trust to fall asleep in my arms.  I am keenly aware of the deep and profound interconnectedness we are all caught in through this experience of walking my son to sleep.  My presence meets his presence and something magical takes shape.  I feel his head in my hand, his lungs and chest on my chest, while I massage his little feet.  

On retreat last summer, I was asked to recite John 10:30 during Mass, the passage states: “The Father and I are one.”  I know this is a reference to Jesus and his relationship to G-d, and yet I am drawn to this passage again with my son.  We are one, in so many ways, flesh of my flesh, made in love and this reality keeps penetrating my consciousness more each day.  We forget that our Christian tradition claims that this oneness with G-d through Jesus is for all of us to see, realize and embody.  We can overcomplicate this theology in so many ways, but I keep coming back to the oneness of things.  These first 6 months in Liam’s life, or rather 16 months if you count the life in the womb, have been such an experience of joy, grace, exhaustion and a love I have not known.  From the infancy days to the playful boy that is emerging now, I am in such awe of his growth and his love.  I also want to acknowledge the presence that Mary has been as a mother.  It is extraordinary to see the love and care and devotion she has shown to him for these past 16 months and she knows that more than anybody.  Thank you Liam Francis for your presence in our lives.  You are the teacher, we are the students.  I love you and I hope you sleep well on your first Half Birthday!

Peace be with you, now and always,

Dad