What
Is The True Meaning?
As
we bring this year to a close I would like to share some thoughts with
you about the transformative power of joy. 2005 has been an extraordinarily
special, transformative year for me. One of my favorite authors, Dr.
Viktor Frankl, addresses much of what this year held for me in his book
titled, Logotherapy In Action. Dr. Frankl was a psychiatrist
who survived the withering brutality of the Nazi concentration camps
and gifted us with his bright spirit of love, compassion, and hopefulness.
His work in the fields of psychiatry, existential psychology, and his
many books are all classics in the field. His work is so noted for its
simplicity its effectiveness was overlooked until recently. That is
the paradoxical beauty of simplicity. We miss how profound it is! I
feel that joy is a spiritual gift that fits this definition as well.
In his work Dr. Frankl speaks of the necessity of answering the pivotal
human question, Why am I here? He asks us to consider not
what we can expect from Life, but rather what can Life expect from us?
His fundamental premise is that every moment has meaning. I believe
this as well. If we can understand the meaning of an event we can survive
what seems to be intolerable suffering because we transform the suffering
into an event that has meaning in our lives! It does not excuse the
brutality of the event! It puts the event in a larger context. Dr. Frankl
also speaks of the importance of Spirit. He says we are more than just
a body and a mind. We are Spirit.
As we share
this celebration time with all the religions of our world I am very
grateful for this special opportunity to celebrate the vibrant Spirit
of Love and Joy in all of us. I am grateful for the opportunity to be
alive in this lifetime. I am grateful for the opportunity to answer
the call of Life and say that I will express the very best of me. I
will give the very best of all I am to making this world a happier,
more peaceful, loving place to be for all! I will look for the silver
lining when life seems challenging. I will breathe deeply and release
that which does not serve my highest good. When Im frustrated
I will use the gift of perspective so I dont take myself too seriously.
These two simple and yet brilliant therapeutic interventions were designed
by Dr. Frankl to help us be fully alive and appreciate our humanness.
Paradoxical intention uses the physiological principle that we cant
be tense and relaxed at the same time. Dereflection is the principle
of not being so self-centered, so inwardly focused and brooding
that we are a detriment to our own happiness. By using these simple
techniques we make room for the expansive expression of Divine Love,
Joy, Peace, Compassion, and Hope in our lives.
What I
especially love about Dr. Frankls views is that he is so hopeful.
He speaks of the technological age that we live in today. Even in the
1920s when he was developing his practice he spoke of people being sick,
not from organic or psychological origins, but from existential causes!
People simply didnt understand the meaning of their lives. They
were bored, empty, lonely, frustrated, futile. All of that sounds so
very relevant for us today, doesnt it? In his own way he speaks
of us not requiring enough of ourselves. When we dont understand
or appreciate our specialness we cant possibly be in touch with
our precious Spirit right within us. He gave an example of a young woman
in her 20s who was considering suicide. He asked her to imagine herself
in her 80s looking back on her life and her accomplishments. In doing
this exercise the young woman saw her interest in being an artist, an
educator, and her love for children. She charted her course anew. A
few months later she was connected in the art world she loved so much,
doing her work and sharing her gifts. She had connected with the true
meaning of her life! I love these stories because they hold the same
Truth for all of us. Were here for a very special reason. Were
here to bless the world with our presence, our talents, our energies,
our gifts. When we commit ourselves to serving the world we open the
way for the vast repository of Love and Joy to be expressed in us, through
us and for us! What is the true meaning? That is the true meaning! Be
the Light of the world! Be the Joy of the world! Be the Love of the
world! Be the Doctor Of The Soul as Viktor Frankl exhorts
us to be!
For me
the meaning was perfectly captured in a dream I had this year. I heard
the words, Do that which brings you joy and I will take care of
the rest! I connected with the Divinity within me and the answer
clearly came. The events that have unfolded are beyond my wildest imaginings
of what joy could be. I continue to step into the mystery and follow
at the pace of guidance as Christina Baldwin says in her
book, The Seven Whispers. The love, joy and peace I feel
are beyond anything Ive ever felt before. I know there is more
to come! Its the same for you as well! This access to joy that
we all share is at the heart of our celebration of the birth of the
Light and Love that is central to our many spiritual traditions. As
we move into December I must say I find it so very interesting that
the religions of the world seem to be so Earth-Based in their timing
of celebrating the birth of the Light just when the days are getting
longer. This synchronicity seems to indicate our symbolic, if not yet
intentional, celebration of our oneness! The birth of the Light of Illumination
tells us the joyful news that were all here together to share
this world as Holy Loves gift to us. The joyful news is that we
are the Light and Love of the world! We are Divinity Itself. We are
the Christ Light, the Christ Love in expression, the Goddess of Love,
the Buddha Incarnate. We are the All in All of Life Itself. As we celebrate
the birth of Love and Light may we truly understand we celebrate the
birth of Peace. When Love and Light reign supreme Peace reigns supreme.
May we live in a spirit that honors the magnanimity and awesomeness
of that Truth. May we make Love and Peace and put all thoughts of war
to rest forever. May we cleanse our hearts and minds of all thoughts
of separateness and disillusionment. May we open to the Love, Joy and
Peace of our connectedness, our true heritage as caretakers of ourselves
and each other. May we never forget that its a real danger signal
to our social consciousness when Peace is boring! Thats a real
serious disconnect from our true spiritual center of Love. We cannot
give what we do not have. We must reclaim our lives. We must reclaim
the Love, Joy and Peace that reside within us with each breath we take.
We are the manifestation of Spirit Itself, the joyous expansiveness
of Love Itself. Physician heal thyself tells us we are the
doctor of our own souls, our own lives. We own the response-ability
to heal ourselves and to share this healing light, love and power with
all others. Thats why were here. Thats who we are.
Thats our mission and vision in Life. We are the doctors of our
souls! Blessed Be to you as we share this awesome moment in our own
stories of our own very precious lives. We are the Light, Love, Peace,
and Joy of the world. Blessed Be to you, my precious sisters and brothers
of our beloved planet, Earth!!! Blessed be to us all as we share these
awesome spiritual gifts always!!!
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