jimwdollar

The Stone of Life

Find a stone that attracts you. Claim it as a sacred (to you, anyway) object of meditation. You are the stone carrier, the stonemason, the stone. You activate the power of the stone through reflection and realization. Spend time with the stone on a regular basis, cultivating a ritual of recognition and reorientation, with theContinue reading “The Stone of Life”

The Foundation of Good Religion

The foundation of all good religion,world-wide(Universal, should there proveto be religions in other partsof the universe)is expressed in the four primary symbolsof Christianity–devoid of the theology surrounding them:Bread, Wine, Water, Cross.The Water is the amniotic fluid of birth.Every birth is birth by “water (and blood) and spirit,”with the “spirit” being the spirit of life andContinue reading “The Foundation of Good Religion”

The New Religion

The new religion will connect you with the life that is yours to live, and help you live it. The new religion has no interest in separating you from your money, or getting you to sing in its choirs, or teach its Sunday schools, or recruit people to the new religion. The new religion isContinue reading “The New Religion”

Symbols of Transformation

Carl Jung wrote a hefty book entitled “Symbols of Transformation,” and I like the title so much, I’m using it here. I trust that Dr. Jung would be kind in his response to my pilfering his term. Take all of the symbols of the Christian Church—the Bible, the Promised Land, the Manger, the Cross, theContinue reading “Symbols of Transformation”

The Fight for Life

We fight to free ourselves from the presumptions, assumptions, inferences, conjectures, speculations, suppositions, deductions, judgments, opinions and conclusions that form our perspective, force us to live in a world we generate from within, and prevent us from seeing things as they are. Compassionate, mindful, awareness transforms everything it perceives. May we all live to beContinue reading “The Fight for Life”

The Peace of God

There is no political solution to the religious problem—there is no solution at all. This was Jesus’ realization in the wilderness and in Gethsemane: There is no solution. The religious problem is the problem of religion, of all religions. It is the problem of seeing, hearing and understanding. It is the problem of “everyone justContinue reading “The Peace of God”

The Worst Thing About the Bible

The worst thing about the Bible is that it ends. The Bible can’t end! There is no stopping! The Bible is expanded by every life in every age. We are writing the Bible even now! Revelation continues! Revelation is ongoing! The Truth is always breaking in upon us anew! We are always saying, “Now, IContinue reading “The Worst Thing About the Bible”

Of Roles, Wants and Values

We have to consciously bear the pain of the contradiction between the requirements of the life we are living and the requirements of the life that is ours to live. We are born into a certain context. The time and place of our birth—the family, the society, and the culture we are born into—the intellectualContinue reading “Of Roles, Wants and Values”

Discernment and the Community of Innocence

Discernment is at the heart of all good religion, and all good science. It is at the heart of life itself. Anthony Stevens and John Price say, in their book, Evolutionary Psychiatry, that the Platonic meaning of the word “science” is “the discovery of things as they really are.” Jesus said, among other things thatContinue reading “Discernment and the Community of Innocence”

Outlets of Grace

We are here, Each one of us, All of us, Worldwide, To be outlets of grace. Grace is to be understood as “unmerited benevolence.” Unmerited kindness, generosity, compassion, thoughtfulness… An unmerited gift of exactly what is needed, Where it is needed, When it is needed, Delivered precisely how it is needed to be delivered. That’sContinue reading “Outlets of Grace”