Tag Archive | mantra

“Father Forgive Them”

Jan25

Today’s blog revisits the topic of forgiveness and offers tools when even the desire to forgive feels outside of our grasp.

 

 

Revisiting Grief

This weekend, grief decided to make a reappearance.  The grief that paid me a visit is the grief of loss as is related to perceived betrayal.  On the highest and most profound level, I know that betrayal is not really possible.  Another person does not have the power to betray me, hurt me or deprive me of love.  But, since I have not yet achieved the fullness of enlightenment, Buddhahood, or Christhood, it often feels as if they do.  So when I was reminded of what I might perceive as betrayal or harm to me at the hands of another, I found myself wrapped in the cloak of my inner victim, seething with hurt, rage, even hatred.  I wanted to lash out in revenge.  Scream my rage.  “Make them pay.”  Fortunately I think I know better…..maybe.

Setting Aside Old Behaviors

In the past, if I felt hurt or betrayed by another, I simply wrapped a cloak of resentment and hatred around me so that I would not have to feel the pain of loss.  My first inclination when grief decided to pay me a visit this weekend was to indulge this impulse.  But now after 20+ years of inner work, I have come to understand how unproductive and potentially hurtful these defense mechanisms of hatred and resentment have been to me and to my ability to be open to healthy intimate relationships.  I knew I needed to set aside my defense mechanisms of hatred and resentment, be present to the pain, grieve the loss and be open to another layer of forgiveness.  Ha….my defense mechanisms had other plans it seems.

Calling in Reinforcements

I tried, I really did.  I tried to be understanding.  I tried to be hospitable.  I tried to stand in compassion.  I tried to allow myself to grieve.  I tried to be forgiving and let go.  But when Tuesday came around and I was still being chased by my demons of resentment and hatred I knew I needed to call in some reinforcements.  So while being attentive to my yoga practice Tuesday night, seething in anger, I prayed.  First I tried a mantra.  Then I tried to engage the practice of Tonglen.  Then I tried breathing.  Then I tried visualization.  I tried everything in my arsenal of spiritual practices, but instead of relief, all I felt was more rage.  Then somewhere between the in and out breath, in the middle of Sun Salutation A, I heard a tiny voice in my head that said, “Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing.”  I immediately recognized this as Jesus’ words on the cross.  While Jesus was hanging on the cross, being spit at, harassed, tortured, these were his words for his tormentors.  Did Jesus feel betrayed, angry, hurt, disappointed, despairing….YOU BET…..and in the face of this, when he was perhaps incapable of offering forgiveness himself, he asked it of God.  I heard these words and realized the powerful healing balm inherent in these words.  I immediately embraced these words as my mantra and in doing so, I felt an enormous amount of relief.  My hatred and anger subsided and I began to find peace.

Outside our Reach

What I realized is that sometimes (ok, maybe often), forgiveness is totally out of our reach.  I wanted to be compassionate, loving, forgiving….but found I could not.  I guess I’m still human.  And, when forgiveness is outside of my reach, there is a source that I can turn to that can accomplish the forgiveness for me.  And, in turning that which needs forgiveness over to this loving Source that I call “God” and Jesus called “Abwoon”, there is relief.  So today, I continue to offer these words in regards to the perceived betrayal,  “Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing,” and enjoy the relief of knowing that God is taking care of it.

What hurts, losses, betrayals are you still grieving?

Where are you struggling to forgive these losses?

How might Jesus’ words help you to surrender this forgiveness to God, inviting God to help you through that pain?

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

You Are Loved

Jan23

In today’s blog I share with you the words that came to me during my yoga practice yesterday morning.  I believe these are words for all of us!

Worthiness and Love

Of late, I have been reflecting on worthiness – specifically worthiness of being loved.  This love is of course about our intimate human relationships, AND I know at the deepest core of my being, that this worthiness is ultimately about Divine Love and our ability to believe we are loved unconditionally, infinitely and beyond measure.  As in worthiness of human love, we might hear that God loves us, but do we actually believe it?  Most of the time and for most human beings, I would say the answer is “NO.”  And what I have learned is that until we not only hear this love, but believe in it….with our whole hearts and souls, we are without peace, joy, compassion, mercy and fulfillment.  In other words, it is in REMEMBERING the LOVE that WE ARE…..that we find peace, contentment and joy.

God Speaks

So I showed up for yoga class yesterday morning with these thoughts wrapped around my aura.  Before beginning class, our instructor usually invites us to state within ourselves an intention for our practice.  I didn’t have a specific intention for the morning, so I simply sat in silence, waiting.  Then, clear as a bell, I hear God speak.  And this is what God said to me, “You are my beloved daughter, and with you I am well pleased.”  Yeah, Yeah….I know this is scriptural….and that it comes from the scriptural narratives about Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan by John.  And…..I also believe these are not only God’s words for Jesus….but are God’s words for us as well.  And…..hearing these words yesterday made me wonder, “Is this the truth Jesus had to hear, know, embrace and embody before he could embark upon his own healing ministry?”  I think perhaps it is!  So I used these words as a mantra during my yoga practice and allowed myself to not only hear these words, but begin to believe them.   And in being present to these words, I felt peaceful, joyful, grounded and secure.

My Prayer for You

So, here is my prayer/invitation for you today – that you take these words, You Are my Beloved Daughter/Son, and with You I am Well Pleased – imagine that God is saying these words directly to and about you……and believe that God is addressing you in this way.  Then, let your heart be open to hearing, believing, embracing and embodying this truth…..BECAUSE…….YOU ARE LOVE…..YOU ARE LOVED…..YOU ARE WORTHY….And the quicker you know this….the quicker you will know peace, contentment, fulfillment and joy!

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

It’s Official – Contemplative Worship is Coming

Dec5

It is Official!

Well, it is officially official!  Authentic Freedom Ministries will be offering Sunday “worship” services starting January 8, 2012.  And, all I can do is sit in breathless awe and wonder.  And the awe and wonder is over the overwhelming support, positive feedback and interest in what we will be offering.  Apparently the thoughts and suspicions that have haunted me for these past 20 years are real.  People are hungry spiritually, starving actually, and have not or are not finding the fulfillment to this longing through their Sunday worship alone or in the absence of Sunday worship.  While this may not be true for some, it seems to be true for many.  So, in response to that hunger, we will be offering something as a complement to traditional Western worship or as an alternative.  Here’s what it will look like (at least initially):

Contemplative Worship

In my experience and observation, what is frequently missing from the traditional ways in which we have been worshipping is time to discover the Divine that resides within us.  Instead, we worship the God “out there” and hear someone else’s interpretation of what that God looks like, acts like, smells like, feels like, tastes like (ie: a dry and tasteless wafer that sticks to the roof of your mouth).  Then, we are told the laws and rules of our chosen Church and are expected to abide by these rules because that is what we are told to do…..but we are never given the tools to come to know God within our hearts and we are never empowered to allow that knowledge to guide our actions, our thoughts, our behaviors, etc.  At the end of the day, we are rarely given the tools through which we can REMEMBER the Love that we Are and heal the wounds within that prevent us from remembering this truth.  Then, there is the additional challenge that some religious doctrine tells us that we are NOT this love…but instead, that we are inherently evil and that love has to be earned and that it can be taken away if we do not follow the rules of the Church or the angry “god.”  SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…….our goal at Authentic Freedom Ministries is to give you the tools through which you can REMEMBER the Love that you are…..and heal the spiritual wounds and fears that might be standing in the way of you remembering that love so that you can live the life of joyful contentment that is your natural state.  In the context of worship, it might look like this:

An Opening Song that states our intention to be open to knowing the Divine that lives within our hearts

A Scripture Reading recognizing that Hebrew and Christian scripture does possess a wisdom beyond us when we allow God to speak to us directly through it, unfettered by doctrine or dogma or someone’s political agenda.

Mantra/Chant a tool that helps to engage and thereby calm our monkey minds so that we can be peaceful enough to hear the voice of God within us

Contemplation/Meditation a tool that helps us to be open to the voice of the Divine within us, a source for inspiration, insight, comfort, healing, discovery, challenge, invitation, empowerment.

Sharing we learn and grow through each other’s discoveries and insights

Ritual ritual empowers us to embody the insights, healings, comforts, discoveries, challenges we gain through contemplation.  And….the ritual objects, through our prayers and intentions, carry the energy of these insights, healings, etc.

Song of Mission we are invited to take our interior relationship with the Divine out into the world in service to God and for the benefit of all of humankind.   We are called to be God’s hands, ears, eyes, heart in the world.  We accept this call and say “yes” through our songs of mission.

Asking for your prayerful support

So, as we step into the call to bring forth contemplative worship, the ministry team of Authentic Freedom Ministries invites and welcomes your thoughts and prayers and any other means of support that you may be called to offer.  We offer this, not in competition or in conflict with what other houses of worship are providing, but to answer to the call of those that hunger and thirst for more.  We recognize that some are called to a contemplative path and offer this service for anyone called to that path.

In gratitude on behalf of the Authentic Freedom Ministries team,

Lauri Lumby, Spiritual Director

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Spiritual Practices …. continued…

Feb10

Today I continue the series on Contemplative Spiritual Practices.  These practices, many of which come out of the Christian Contemplative tradition, are adaptable to anyone, regardless of your religious beliefs or background.  Today, we will explore Mantra Prayer.

Abwoon d’bwashmaya

Om Namo Yehoshua

Ave Maria

Hail Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.

Om Mani Padme Hum

Hari Krishna

Sita Ram Sita Ram Jaya Sita Ram

Om Mata Om Mata Om Shri Mata Jagate Mata

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.

Gan Gan Ganapati Namo Namaste

 

Mantra Prayer

Mantra prayer in its simplest form is the repeated recitation of a word or phrase. In our Western culture, we are most familiar with the Catholic rosary and its requisite prayers, The Hail Mary, The Apostle’s Creed and The Lord’s Prayer as a form of mantra prayer.  The rhythmic repetition helps to draw us into a calm, peaceful, perhaps mindful state, not unlike the relaxation that is facilitated by a mother rocking her child.  I can recall the number of times I have used the Hail Mary in this way during times of intense anxiousness, worry or fear.  Mantra prayer can become an even more meaningful form of meditation when we not only recite the word or phrase, but bring our mind into focused concentration on the words and their meaning.  The combined efforts of mental focus and rhythmic repetition help to draw us into a deep state of peaceful calm where we are able to be open to the fruits of contemplation which include: insight, wisdom, knowledge, guidance, healing, comfort, direction and understanding.

 

Examples of Mantra Prayer

Here is a Youtube link to my Kirtan teacher, Ragani as she leads mantra prayer in its Kirtan format:  KIRTAN

And here is a link to the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, another form of mantra prayer:  ARAMAIC Lord’s Prayer

And here is one from the Taize community in France, Ubi Caritas (where charity and love are, there is God)  TAIZE

 

How to do it

Mantra prayer is really quite simple:

1) Choose a sacred word or phrase that has meaning to you.  (you might choose one from the list above)

2) Focus your attention on the meaning of the word or phrase

3) Silently or aloud in word or song, repeat the phrase over and over and over

4) Rest in the peaceful calm facilitated by this mode of prayerful meditation

 

What sacred word or phrase has meaning to you?

How might you begin to incorporate mantra prayer and meditation into your daily spiritual practice?

 

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

 

Lady in Waiting

Oct18

Can we find God in the waiting?



I’m not sure what happened, maybe I finally got my butt kicked enough or I’m just plain tired and worn out or maybe I had half a glass too much of wine last night…..but I think I finally got it (for today anyway).  There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING I can do to hasten along this house search, the progress of the divorce, the publication of my book, the growth of my business.  I QUIT.  Not really, but for today I feel the distinct call to DO NOTHING. I have searched house listings, gone on house tours, done all I can that needs to be done to make our divorce safe and legal, I have completed the editing of the first pass pages of my manuscript and shipped them off to the publisher, and I have networked, networked and networked to grow my business.  There is nothing more I can do but WAIT for all these seeds I have planted to germinate, take root, grow and produce fruit.  How un-Western of me, un-pragmatic, un-cola.

So, for today, I am making a commitment to DO NOTHING.  (Ok, I do have a client tonight and our Monday meditation group….but that stuff is just plain fun!) But what does it mean to DO NOTHING?   As I contemplate this question,  I think I hear God whispering, “Lauri, you have done all that you can do and the rest is out of your hands.  Now, will you just give yourself permission to spend a day to simply be with me?”  AHHHHHH   Now that sounds like a magnificent day….a day to simply be with God.  But, what does that look like?

For each of us, “being with God” has different meanings.  Determining what this means is part of the exploring part of the spiritual journey, the results of which are unique and deeply personal.  I cannot say what being with God means for you, but I’ll give you an idea of what it means to me:

  • Practicing my “morning pages” (a spiritual discipline of freehand, free form writing as popularized by Julia Cameron in her book, “The Artist’s Way”)
  • Tending to my daily meditation practice
  • Yoga
  • A walk outside in the MAGNIFICENT fall folliage
  • Practicing writing poetry
  • Playing the piano – JUST BECAUSE
  • slintegration (a spiritually intentional NAP)
  • chanting mantra – JUST BECAUSE
  • Playing with chant composition
  • More meditation
  • More writing
  • Maybe a little collage creation
  • Cooking something fun – JUST FOR FUN
  • Reading

In a nutshell….DOING NOTHING and BEING WITH GOD for me means PLAYTIME!  And…..as a recovering PERFECTIONIST – Play is something that has never been easy for me.  So for today, I will spend the day in PLAY with God.  HOW COOL IS THAT????

When do you take time to DO NOTHING

How can you find God in times of NOTHING but PLAY?

How easy or difficult is it for you to give yourself permission to DO NOTHING….or TO PLAY?

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries/YourSpiritualTruth

http://yourspiritualtruth.com

Lauri is a trained, professional Spiritual Director and is available for private consultation over the phone, via Skype and face to face. You can contact Lauri at laurilschmidt@ntd.net or (920) 230-1313

Bibbity Bobbity Boo

Sep28

Exploring dreams, imagination, magic and mantra prayers.  What does Disney’s Cinderella teach us about ourselves?

 

 

Ok, so apparently we are having a Disney Princess theme this week.  Yesterday is was Mary Poppins (yea, I know, she’s not a princess….), today Cinderella, tomorrow …. who knows? 

 

While I’m not a big fan of the typical thematic interpretation of the Disney Princess genre (you know, lonely girl longs to find her prince, she enters into some sort of journey, then finds her prince and lives happily ever after), I will attempt to look past the “happily ever after dependent upon finding your prince,”  to find the universal message for those of us in the real world!  Today, I feel called to spend some time with Cinderella.

As the firstborn child in a typical American middle class family of moderate dysfunction, I could totally relate to the Cinderella theme of “how come I have to do all the work?”  I recall as a child identifying with the Disney interpretation of the child forced into drudgery by her cruel stepmother.  Yep, I loved cultivating my inner victim and longed for the “prince” that would rescue me from the responsibilities of the firstborn.  Today all I can do is say, “Sorry mom.”  I was a huge brat and in many ways lazy (as I guess most teens are) and I admittedly loved nurturing the illusion of entitlement.  Again, sorry mom! 

Now, looking beyond my inner victim, I ask, what does Cinderella have to teach me (us) today?   The answer to this question seems to be hidden within the Cinderella soundtrack.  One of the things I love about Disney films is that they are great at creating standout soundtracks to accompany their films and within these soundtracks are usually one or two (or in the case of Mary Poppins – MANY) songs that totally make the movie.  This is no less the case for Cinderella.  There are two songs from this film that stand out to me and it is these songs that illuminate the universal message within Disney’s Cinderella.   

 

A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhTjnzlcIeI

If you don’t want to take the time to click on the YouTube link and watch the video, here is what the song says:

A dream is a wish your heart makes…

In dreams you will lose your heartaches…

Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through.

No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.

Not being a huge fan of the pop-culture spirituality that says, “Ask and you will receive” coupled with “You create your own reality and what you think you will have,”  I’m not inclined to give a literal interpretation to the Cinderella soliloquy.  Instead, let’s look at it from a Divine-centered perspective.  Here is my current working theory (right or wrong):

  • God plants within our heart our highest truth and knowledge of the path that will lead us to our highest good.
  • We have access to this knowledge through active attention to the Divine through our hearts, intuition, dreams, imagination, insight, learning, knowledge, physical and spiritual vision.
  • We are invited to be open to receiving God’s vision for our life and when we act upon this vision, our life unfolds in a magnificent way far beyond what we ever could have imagined (manifested) for ourselves. 

The Cinderella dream song reminds us of this truth.  When we tend to the dreams and visions within our hearts – those guided by the Divine within us, then whatever “we wish for” will come true.  This is not magic….this is REAL!  But in truth, when we actually do this, it feels nothing less than magical. But how do we allow ourselves to be open to receiving the Divine vision of our highest truth and greatest path?  The answer is in the second great song from Disney’s Cinderella:

Bibbity Bobbity Boo! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAJr1ixBdIc

Now I have to give credit to my (now deceased) mother-in-law, Deanna Schmidt, for what you will now read.  Bibbity Bobbity Boo, while presented as a magical incantation invoked by Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, it is nothing less than (thanks to Dee) a mantra prayer.  Mantra prayer is one of the infinite ways in which we can allow ourselves to be open to receiving Divine guidance, insight and comfort in our lives.  Through mantra prayer, we repeat a sacred word or phrase over and over and over, allowing the rhythm and repetition to lull us into a peaceful, meditative state.  Bibbity Bobbity Boo is a fantastic form of mantra prayer (and was used by my mother-in-law when she felt anxious or scared – in fact, it is the prayer she used when fighting breast cancer). 

And….I suddenly realized there is one more VERY IMPORTANT lesson for us in Disney’s Cinderella…….WE ARE NEVER ALONE in our spiritual journeys.  This is the role of the Fairy Godmother – to remind us that the Divine places people into our lives (or we draw them to ourselves, or both) that act as a vessel through which the Divine is able to unfold the miracle in our lives.  And isn’t Fairy Godmother a great title for these amazing, magical people? 

So the invitation today is to:

Reflect on the dreams your heart is revealing to you.  How might they be leading you to your highest truth?

What tools are you currently using to be open to Divine guidance and inspiration in your life?

Who are the Fairy Godmothers and Godfathers in your own life who have acted as vehicles for the Divine in your life?

 

Lauri Lumby

Authentic Freedom Ministries/Your Spiritual Truth

http://yourspiritualtruth.com