After a 2 year hiatus, wow, that was longer than I thought, I am in my 3rd week of a sabbatical from teaching and wanted to return to writing, at least once/week, maybe more if I am drawn. Feel free to like, comment and share these posts. I write to share what I am processing, now that I have more time to process on this sabbatical, and my hope is primarily this: to help heal ourselves and our world, just that.
I take my cue from one of my spiritual teachers - Adyashanti - who just announced his retirement from teaching this week at the end of October. I wrote this down in my Notes app to remember and refer to often…Adyashanti states, “Amidst all of the complications and distractions of modern life, we are entrusted to remember that we are here for two fundamental reasons: to awaken to our intrinsic divinity, and to love in such a way that our presence here redeems the sorrows of life.” I added these words in my self-published book The Soul’s Journey: Finding Our Way Home, “Our true nature is already one with G-d and our task in this life is to realize this and embody it in our daily living.” As St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, explained, “In all things, love and serve.”
So why am I writing, it’s a good question to ask myself as I begin again…it is to help remind myself and others of our inherent goodness, beauty, and dare I say, divinity. It is also invite into the space healing and dialogue (so I encourage comments and sharing for those up for it) as I continue to see and realize how much we are in need of healing, I certainly feel it in my own daily experience. Thank you for listening, reading, commenting and sharing.
I can see that I never finished the stages of the Soul’s Journeys here on Substack, so I will re-post the overview and the first 3 stages before finishing with the final 3 over the next week. For today, I wanted to share what’s on my heart…this is a question we use often in two groups I gather with on Zoom both stemming from retreats I have done in the past through Fr. Richard Rohr’s Living School program and MROP - Men’s Rites of Passage. It’s a different question than “what’s on your mind?” - it asks for something more real…if your heart were to speak, what would it say? I would say right now that I am most aware of the need for community and belonging and how often in the past few days and even few years, I have felt excluded, on the outside, for one reason or another. I am aware of how texts or emails I have sent or words I have exchanged may not have landed the way I had hoped. So, how can I respond to others in a way that is loving even when I receive a hard text to read or another challenging communication. I have also felt for my son who had several experiences in the last year of exclusion and it is always hard to see and feel that with your child.
After completing the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, a 40 week retreat in daily life, I came to one primary insight - “speak truth in love.” Yet, I am not sure how I am doing…some days are better than others. All I can do is keep trying to be my most authentic self, even when some days feel really hard. Brene Brown whose Ted Talk on Vulnerability is still one of the most watched Ted Talks of all time, shares this insight about belonging, “Belonging is the innate human desire to be part of something larger than us. Because this yearning is so primal, we often try to acquire it by fitting in and by seeking approval, which are not only hollow substitutes for belonging, but often barriers to it. Because true belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world, our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.” I continue to seek and create true belonging for myself and my family. In my experience, true belonging heals and helps us flourish. May you experience true belonging in your own life.
Bill Gordon here. Enjoy your sabbatical man. It is a pleasure to here from you. I appreciate your depth and your courage.i know we all saw you as a prophetic voice for good reason. I too have felt or believed I was on the outside so to speak. It has taken years to find the right groups to connect with. Community can seem so fleeting and difficult to sustain. Yes our ongoing healing is so important to commit to and healing seems to happen best in community. I miss our Illuman group is it still going on? Please stay in touch I miss you brother and the rest of the group as well. Please send my very best regards to everyone. Also may your writing continue in earnest and give you some gratitude support and even renumeration as well. Big hug to you brother and I look forward to hearing back in text on my phone or email or? Great to be part of your readership. Gordon at gordonsieveke@gmx.com and 7088388657
our sense of belonging can never be greater than our level of self-acceptance.