The Polished Mirror

On Reading

Victoria Bresee

From Leland Kaiser-

"If you are growing in consciousness, you never read the same book twice. You grow in awareness since the first reading and you now understand what you did not understand before. In many ways it is a new book for you.

If you read a book and understand it, you have probably wasted your time. . .

I expect to find several hundred books in your personal library you do not fully understand. Once you understand them you should give them away. They are of no further use to you.

Another caution, if you read enough about something, you may stop believing in it. Much sincere belief is simply incomplete knowledge. If you read more, you would know better."

Yes, ignorance can provide so much energy and momentum! The older one becomes. . .the more one has read. . .

Knowledge vs. Knowing

Victoria Bresee

After years in academia, either as a student or professor, yesterday's meditation, "The Silent Teacher", in Mark Nepo's The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have, was a welcome reminder as one more semester begins:

"After the hard years of getting a doctorate, after studying on my own hundreds of sacred texts from so many different paths, I have leaned that the blessing for experiencing oneness is not the strength or clarity that arrives with it, but, more deeply, a peace from dividedness."

He suggests this exercise-

"Close your eyes, and bring into focus one thing you know from reading or studying that has helped you. Note where it comes into your awareness. Does it come alive in your head, in your heart, or in your stomach?

Bring into focus one important thing you have learned from living. Note where it comes into your awareness. Where does it come alive?

Without judging either, note the sameness or difference in how these knowings live in you."

An Alchemy of Mind

Victoria Bresee

From one of my other blogs, Becoming Ourselves:

"I am currently reading Diane Ackerman's poetic and scientific description of the brain, An Alchemy of Mind: The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain. It begins-

'Imagine the brain, that shiny mound of being, that mouse-gray parliament of cells, that dream factory, that petit tyrant inside a ball of bone, that huddle of neurons calling all the plays, that little everywhere, that fickle pleasuredrome, that wrinkled wardrobe of selves stuffed into the skull like too many clothes into a gym bag (3).'"

Besides my reading of the latest in brain research, I also enjoy looking at the personality with the multiple selves models utilized in Voice Dialogue (Hal and Sidra Stone) and Psychosynthesis (Roberto Assagioli), so I love the last metaphor of a "wrinkled wardrobe of selves stuffed. . . into a gym bag".

The first chapter ends with by listing what she calls the "bad jokes that evolution has played on us".
        1. "We have brains that can conceive of states of perfection they can't achieve,
        2. We have brains that compare our insides to other people's outsides,
        3. We have brains desperate to stay alive, yet we are finite beings who perish." (6)

No wonder we need to imagine that there is something more.

New Inspiration at Harvard

Victoria Bresee

Just returned from a week in Cambridge for Jess Michalik's graduation from Harvard Divinity School. It was a beautiful week of memorable ceremonies, traditions, and family gatherings. Spending a week gave me time to visit the museums, soak in the intelligent energy of brilliant generations (centuries) of famous scholars and leaders, and to visit the Harvard Divinity Bookstore everyday.

Sadly, because so many students buy their books online, it is going out of business. While most of us do need to find ways to fill our libraries as economically as possible, nothing beats getting to enjoy leisurely browsing through shelves of fascinating books that we may never imagine without seeing them, picking them up, and taking a look at the back and table of contents. It is a great loss, but I still could not keep myself from taking advantage of the substantial sales every single day. Somehow I managed to get all my 50 or so books back on the plane without paying extra.

Even sleeping on the floor in a room surrounded by hundreds of books on almost every topic was inspiring. By the end of the week, I had acknowledged a long-suppressed yearning for doctoral studies, so I will be applying this fall, in spite of the fact that I will be entering a program at the age of 57. Oh well, what else would I do with my 60's?

The Peabody Museum, on Divinity Ave. was the great spark, when I even visualized my focus --something along the lines of Religious Syncretism and its Role in the Lives of Latin American Women. It will utilize my MA in Spanish and my MAR-(Master's in Religion in Women's Studies). Now, I have to figure out where and which field-Women's Studies, Religious Studies, Cultural Anthropology, Latin American Studies. . .

Well, I must say, I am feeling very alive, in spite of my age.

Hmm. . .

Victoria Bresee

More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly. ----Woody Allen

Comment by Paul Martin of Original Faith

Funny comment but boy is he on to something...

While I don't find the times we live in a challenge to my faith, I do find them a challenge to my optimism about the capacity of the species I happen to belong to for making a long term go of it here on planet earth. We simply don't solve problems - from health care, to nuclear weapons, to global warming, to the ever expanding human population. We see them, we know about them, but somehow appear incapable of devising systems of government that resolve them.

A Quiet Period for Polished Mirror

Victoria Bresee

It is clear that I have not been posting lately on The Polished Mirror and I have decided to take a break, at least for a while.

This summer will be filled to the brim with events, projects and a month with Spanish students in Costa Rica. It starts with a trip to Boston for my son and sometimes co-writer, Jess Michalik's, graduation from Harvard Divinity School. I have started 3 other blogs that are related to my practice in Spiritual Direction and Brain Nutrition, here in Southern California, and a book that I plan to finish by the end of the summer.

In the fall, The Polished Mirror will probably be moving to another site, so if you lose contact, just google us.

Thanks for your interest and have a great summer.

A Question of Priorities

Victoria Bresee

If God is telling us that he can't do anything about starving kids in the Sudan, but he has the time and energy to make gay people straight, then God is one hurting buckaroo.

---Colin McEnroe, via Grover's Corners.

The Price of Neatness

Victoria Bresee

I am currently relishing A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder--How crammed closets, cluttered offices, and on-the-fly planning make the world a better place, by E. Abrahamson and David H. Freedman. One of their quotes--

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then, is an empty desk?

---Albert Einstein

Prayer for the Virgina Tech Community

Victoria Bresee

Let us take a moment of silence and hold in our hearts the Virginia Tech community…

Loving God, we grieve the lives of the people who died in this tragedy and ask you to welcome them home and surround them with your love. Be with your people who mourn their loved ones and friends and with all who have been touched by this event. Thank you for those who are ministering to this community through counseling, prayer, hospitality, and presence.

Teach us, Lord, to be a people of peace and compassion, to minister to all those who are suffering including those who act out in violence. Forgive us and help us to forgive others. Help us to erase all violence from our own lives no matter how seeming small or insignificant.

We ask this in your name, Jesus, you who knew violence and answered it with love. Amen.

By Julie Vieira, IHM at A Nun's Life

Contemplation and Spiritual Practices Online

Victoria Bresee

An article in Spirituality & Health, "A Field Guide to Christian Contemplation Online" (July/Aug. 2006) describes a number of sites for spiritual uplift, education, guided meditation, and even a self test to find the best spiritual practice for your own personality type. They have been added to the list at the right, but I am posting here a little info on each of them.

Classic writings by the great Christian mystics can be downloaded at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.

Spirituality & Practice: Resources for Spiritual Journeys has a wealth of information as well as online classes and spiritual forums. The study opportunities from May-Dec. include Practicing Spirituality with Pema Chodron, Practicing Spirituality with Children, Practicing Spirituality with Thich Nhat Hanh, and Practicing Spirituality with Henri J. M. Nouwen.

Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., founded by Fr. Thomas Keating offers info and courses on Centering Prayer and also a 12-Step Program that integrates Centering Prayer.

Google Earth's View of Darfur

Victoria Bresee

A new initiative, called "Crisis in Darfur" is the result of a partnership between the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and Google Earth to use Google's mapping service in order to show the destruction of villages and the carnage and thousands of displaced people in refugee camps, in detail.

"Experts estimate that 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million more have been displaced since the conflict flared in 2003, when rebels took up arms against the central Sudanese government." Click here for a CNN article with a pop-up demo on how the new technology works.

From Paul Martin, (Original Faith) April 13

I think what may bother me most about today's large scale human and environmental destruction is that now the whole world's watching, we see what we're doing - and we keep doing it anyway.

I say "we" but it looks to me as if we live in a world where the average person is more enlightened than the average politician or CEO. "Leadership" world-wide strikes me as generally highly problematic. Imo, the Cheney administration clearly shows that if we were to get a sustained level of corruption of that kind, our constitution, great as it is, wouldn't work anymore. It assumes that the leadership isn't peoccupied with figuring out ways to get around it.

Illness and the Mind/Body/Spirit

Victoria Bresee

For a great discussion on the "two essential contrasting views on the connection between psychological/spiritual wellness and physical health," take a look at "Mind/Body/Spirit: The Holistic Thug" at Paul Martin's Original Faith (4/10/07). Be sure to click on the comments below the post and also read the previous post "Spirituality & Adversity: Mind/Body/Spirit" (4/9/07) that got the discussion going.

1. The primary causes of physical health problems are physical and biological. However, dealing well with such problems psychologically and spiritually in some cases contributes to recovery.

2. Underlying psychological or spiritual difficulties are usually or always a leading cause of physical health problems and of non-recovery from physical health problems.

Since, unfortunately, discussions are still not possible here, please just send me an email and your comment will be posted. polishedmirror@aol.com

Standing before Jesus

Victoria Bresee

"One of the threads running through his writing is the idea that true religion always leads one to question oneself, rather than make claims over others. Jesus is not a possession or a badge of superiority, but the one before whom you stand, in gentle self-questioning."

From a review of Rowan William's new book, Christ on Trial (via Faith in Society)

"through glass darkly"

Victoria Bresee

by Karen Gimbel
(via The Spectrum Blog)

Following Another's Vision

Victoria Bresee

Thoughts reduced to paper are generally nothing more than the footprints of a man walking in the sand. It is true that we see the path he has taken, but to know what he saw on the way, we must use our own eyes.

--Schopenhauer (via Far Country Tell)

To me, this seems like how all religions start. Someone has an experience and tries their best to share it with others, always confined to the language and symbols that they grew up with. Others try to replicate it as best they can, but it never is quite as magnificent. They try to organize the method to train others, but the life of the original dissipates quickly. Just leaving doctrine that is far removed from the experience.

Many years ago, my freshman year in General Psychology, I read about experiments with ducks in cages. Whatever they were doing when their feed was thrown in to them randomly, they continued to do ad nauseum, assuming that whatever their action, twirling around till they were dizzy, pulling out their feathers, squawking, snapping at their mate, or pecking the door with their bill, it was what brought the food.

Therefore we can fast, breathe with alternate nostrils, contort our bodies, say certain prayers with specific words, chant, think positively, make deals with God, etc., etc. . . Some prophets have had near death experiences, high fevers, or even been hit on the head with a rock, but it is never the same. We will never be able to see "what he saw on the way, we must use our own eyes" and find our own path.

Eating the Body of Christ

Victoria Bresee

For an amazingly multi-faceted discussion of the controversial chocolate sculpture of a naked Jesus on the cross, read Death by Chocolate at the Holy Schmidt blog.

Here are a few excerpts, but the whole article is worth taking a look at ---

"The latest religious uproar to make news is the chocolate art exhibit cancellation of an anatomically correct (yikes, I'm afraid to ask) replica of the crucified and very naked Christ, bringing new meaning to the term death by chocolate.

This 200-lb edible artwork, entitled "My Sweet Lord," has caused such a public outcry, particularly amongst the Catholic community, that its Holy Week exhibit, slated for a Manhattan hotel gallery and set to launch today following Palm Sunday, has been canceled.

The usual comparative religious finger pointing has happened, with some Christian groups protesting that you'd never see this sort of naughty bits chocolate art depiction of the Prophet Mohammed or of Martin Luther King Jr. on his day of honour. And they have a point. Why the artist didn't see fit to layer a white chocolate loin cloth around Christ's hips is as much a mystery as his audacious choice. . .

Food for Thought
So to see Christ depicted in temporal, culinary form seems fitting, almost. Such a display speaks to the mystery of Christ on so many levels. First, we have the whole substance of Christ issue, so prevalent in early-Christianity leading up to the Council of Nicea. All that talk about whether Christ was half human, half divine, fully human or fully divine. Truth be told, it continues today.

What better medium for the artist then, but chocolate to portray both the sinfulness of His humanity and the heavenliness of His Divinity? Chocolate, after all, comes by its rich reputation honestly, for it enjoys a rich religious history. The Mayans revered the Cacao Tree, calling it the food of the Gods's. And the Quakers were some of the first to capitalize on this reality, if the business enterprises of families like Baker, Cadbury, Fry and Rowntree are any indication.

Which leads me to the little matter of paganism in Christianity, and more specifically, Easter.

Christianity, as most everyone knows, owes much to its pagan predecessors. Some would argue Christ Himself is but a mythical lifting from Mithraism, given that both Mithra and Christ share equinox dates with winter solstice birthday and spring (Easter) rites, a virgin birth, a Mediator role, the Messiah label, twelve disciples, the magic touch of healing and miracles, a cave tale, an itinerant lifestyle, persecution, transfiguration and symbolism of the lamb.

But that's fine. What's a little syncretism between religions, after all? . . . For more. . .

Balancing Zeal with Prayer

Victoria Bresee

A reminder from one of my favorite writers, San Juan de la Cruz or St. John of the Cross---

"Let those men of zeal, who think by their preaching and exterior works to convert the world, consider that they would be much more edifying to the Church, and more pleasing to God. . . . if they would spend at least one half their time in prayer . . . Certainly they would do more, and with less trouble, by one single good work than by a thousand: because of the merit of their prayer, and the spiritual strength it supplies. to act otherwise is to beat the air, to do little more than nothing, sometimes nothing and occasionally even mischief . . . for it is quite certain that good works cannot be done but in the power of God."
From Spiritual Canticle

Body/Mind Duality

Victoria Bresee

I'm not against the body or the head either: only the neck, which creates the illusion that they are separate.
----Margaret Atwood, in Surfacing

Posting Comments--Just send an email

Victoria Bresee

Getting a discussion going is so much more interesting for me than writing into outer space, the way it feels for me with no comments coming in. Comments certainly used to come in, and I had no idea why they weren't any more. There is no doubt that this site would also be more interesting for readers if they were able to see a lively discussion in process or to be able to add to the conversation.

The webmaster for Weblogger finally, after questioning him, informed me that the commenting capacity had been deleted about a year ago, because of huge spamming problems. The Polished Mirror will be moving to a new home soon. In the meantime, just email any comments and I will post them gladly and appreciatively.

Email comments to polishedmirror@aol.com

Re: Taking a Positive Stand

Victoria Bresee

From Paul Martin at Original Faith

The people doing the negative stuff are so darned pro active...

Making a Positive Stand

Victoria Bresee

A few weeks ago I resigned as the editor (writer) of a peace blog that I had maintained for 2 years, often at the expense of this one. When I looked at my postings on both blogs I realized that there were many more posts against the war than for peace and peacemaking. Many more posts exposing such things as torture than about contemplation or renewal. That's when I returned to the beginnings of what we had envisioned for this blog. I mentioned watching "The Secret" the other day. One of the presenters stated that we could accomplish much more by being positive--pro-peace, instead of anti-war, or supporting a "War on Terror" or "War on Drugs."

Today while sorting through the mostly defunct Progressive Christians Bloggers Network, (still here down at the right) I found this appropriate cartoon, via the rh[+]factor --

Salmon Song

Victoria Bresee

Originally uploaded by rocket ship.

Singing, singing, throw a life into the sea
Like salmon flinging, ringing out the changes,
Strong charges of their swimming, leaping destinies
Running home to spawn and die. I too
Fling, sing, dive down, hurl forth again
Gladly in Thy name;
Unfurl my length, uncurl coiled strength without reserve
To move more sleekly, sing more sweetly,
Better serve; help stir the waters running through this earth
Help move, help birth, a world.

Swim strong, to God return, give all:
It is a cleaving song that calls,
And life that in the losing lives. ----Paul Martin © 2007 Lynne Ann Martin

"Spirituality and religion often find expression in poetry. In my own writing, poetry and prose both focus on this area. My poetry relates more to immediate experience. Original Faith adds meaning to immediate experience by going a little way toward conceptualizing it; offering some insights; considering relationships between, for example, love and faith. But I go only a little way with conceptualization because it's easy to go too far. It's easy to end up playing games with language and logic. So my thoughts about experience don't stray far from experience itself."

"Salmon Song," the artwork, and the comment are taken from Nasra Al Adawi's interview with Paul Martin about his poetry and his upcoming prose work, Original Faith.

Moving Towards the Unknown Possibilities

Victoria Bresee

The Secret, mentioned in a previous post, is a best-selling DVD and a book that is currently #1 on the NYT self-help book list Its main message is that we created the lives we are living through the "Law of Attraction". Although there are many flaws with such a simplistic message, see the critique Oprah's 'Secret' May be Your Downfall, watching it did remind me of a number of steps to approaching life more positively that I tend to forget. One analogy presented by a speaker on the documentary is that of car headlights- In the darkness, although we can only see 200 feet ahead of us, we can still make it all the way across the country.

I had already posted this favorite by Andre Gide, under Pertinent Quotes.

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Two days from now I'm planning to embark from the shore, the closer the date gets, the more nervous I get and the more I find that I need to do before I can really take off. If I don't make a big announcement for my life by May, you will know that I was never able to leave sight of shore, but I'm 55 years old now. As my younger son Mitchell often has said to me, "Mom, if you're ever going to do anything significant in your life, you're running out of time."

Another good one that was quoted in Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way,

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will still land among the stars. --Les Brown

Blogging Unites Beyond Politics, Religion, Race or Color

Victoria Bresee

I can not tell you how much I was touched by seeing my poem in your blog. Living in Poetry, LIP, celebrates the work of other bloggers and hopes to spread the word around bloggers to be able to support the work of each other. . . so blogging not only helps us to deliver our work out there, but also beyond politics, it kind of unites us beyond religion, race or color.

God Bless you,
Nasra

Man-Made Borders

Victoria Bresee

On The Border

This photo shows the Arizona/Mexico border "When folks talk about the Mexican-American border, most have no idea what it is really like. This arbitrary line through the middle of the desert is what divides economic prosperity from depression." Originally uploaded by Bisbohemian. Click on the photo to enlarge.

Inspired by a poem about forbidden love between a French woman and a German, used in a poetry workshop in New Mexico, Afro-Arab poet Nasra, wrote this poem, Creations of God, on one of her blogs, Decaying into Love, accompanied by the above photo.

This love of ours
Lingered in to various oceans
Crossed the eternity lines of centuries
It would not merely cross imaginary borders!
A barricade that separates us
Putting us as a tag of nation or race
We prefer to have a passport of being human
Or lovers that once have existed this beautiful earth
We rather be labeled nothing more than being among creations of God
So here and forever remember us
As once we were creations of God
Rejoiced in love
Deeply believed that love goes across man-made borders
It could never be a felony, to be imprisoned for life

Nasra Al Adawi 2006

Nasra lives in Oman and has several beautiful blogs to share her poetry and that of others from all over the world. They are amazing examples of the lack of borders that the internet provides and she takes full advantage of global connections. A collection of her poetry Within Myself: the Willpower to Live. . . beyond Cancer, gives voice to the experience of cancer. I was introduced to her work by long-time fellow blogger, Paul M. Martin, at Original Faith.

Comment March 28, 2007

I share Nasra's feeling/thought in this poem. To me, my primary "ethnic identity" and that of others is human. I can view and truly appreciate other aspects of identity as falling within that broader and, to me, more significant and far-reaching context.

Paul Martin
Original Faith

God's "Will" for Our Lives

Victoria Bresee

A friend just sent me "The Secret" and asked me to let her know what I thought about it. It will take me a while to write everything that I "thought" about it. The advice that was given by many characters in such a New Agey way, sounded very, very familiar. During the movie numerous leaders, thinkers, scientists, and spiritual beings were referred to and quoted from, so the thousands of years' heritage of Secret's message wasn't hidden. What I was struck by though, is how much of the message is also part of the message of Christ. This will be discussed in a future post, I'm sure. Please send any thoughts on this for a good discussion.

Just yesterday I posted the previous prayer by Merton and I've always loved the way it expresses the doubt, and the confusion about what God's will for us might be. The Secret repeats the famous advice of Joseph Campbell, though, to "follow your bliss." To some, to follow that path sounds selfish, especially when we are aware of so many needs around the world. Yet, it reminds me of a quote that I placed on another blog just a week ago-- in an article What does the World Need from Us?, from Howard Thurman---

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

The speakers in The Secret spend quite a bit of time talking about the importance of our emotions, not just our thoughts as we create the world that we want to live. By looking at God's will for our lives in this way, we can't be feeling like we are "doing our duty," but being a blessing to others because we are doing what we love and sharing it with them. This perspective certainly can lift the mood that such ponderings can bring.

The Merton Prayer

Victoria Bresee

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude"

Thinking, Feeling, Praying at the Cellular Level

Victoria Bresee

Here are a few quotes from one of endrocrinologist, Dr. Deepak Chopra's earliest books, Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine:

"When researchers looked further, beyond the nervous system and the immune system, they began to discover the same neuro-peptides and receptors (for them) in other organs, such as the intestines, kidneys, stomach, and the heart. There is every expectation of finding them elsewhere, too. This means that your kidneys can 'think'. . . "

"We can safely conclude, then, that mind is not confined to the brain by some neat division set up for our own convenience. Mind is projected everywhere in inner space."

"Is there really any reason to keep mind and body apart at all?. . . Everything is interconnected at the level of the neuro-peptide, therefore, to separate these areas is simply bad science. A body that can 'think' is far different from the one medicine now treats." (p. 70-71).

Since this book was published, in 1989, hundreds of studies have been published that document that our body and our thoughts and our feelings are all ONE, for instance the work of Dr. Candace Pert (Molecules of Emotion etc.). How has this new way of looking and experiencing what we think of as our SELF impacted our spirituality, our way of prayer and meditation, our notions of disease, or even what we might "think" is "wrong" with us? Are we often still in the old paradigm of trying to control the "physical" body or our emotions with the "mind" and will power?

The relatively new Theology of Embodiment deals with the model theoretically, with heavy jargon (see Trisha Famisaran's intro, with a recent bibliography), but it hasn't yet had much impact on Pastoral Theology and Christian ways to worship and connect with God. How would or could "Church" services change? How would public prayers sound? The Protestant Reformation tossed out many elements of worship that touched and included the whole being, replacing it with words, Bible study, whatever we normally think of as mental. Maybe that is why so many Searchers are drawn to more eastern ways of connecting with the Divine, ways that bring sound, tones, scents, and movement into a total experience. Those elements were certainly taken for granted in Judaism, and then continued especially in the Orthodox traditions, so they must have also been a part of early Christianity. Maybe one factor has been the increase in literacy. Now, being a Christian means words, words, words. . .

Here is a quote from a fascinating book "The Alphabet and the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image" by Leonard Shlain--

"No book, no doctrine, no doctrine, no book"--De Quincy

The Sacred Feminine

Victoria Bresee

I first saw Paul Heussenstamm's mandalas when the spiritual growth and healing group that we were part of in Laguna Beach (at Jean Angle's), was invited to his home, in the early '90's. At that time, he was still running his surf shops, but we could see the power of his developing work. If I had only bought one of his pieces, then! Nowadays his work shows up across the globe. This piece was posted on a creative site, Seeking the Sacred Feminine, whose author lives in the UK. It is followed by a Lenten prayer.

"Who am I that you should love me?

For you know me inside and out?

The ways I hide…from you, and from myself.
You know me;

my faults and flaws,

my masks and coping patterns…

You know the lies I tell myself.

You know who I am and who I pretend to be;

my fears and longings are not hidden from you,

and yet you love me,

completely…

and you call me to know myself as you know me

a bearer of Your image,

Your plan buried deep within my very being.

Holy Spirit, help me to be open to your promptings,

to respond to your call from within..

Help me to learn what it is to move

with the unforced rhythms of grace,

to be refreshed by living waters,

to change and to grow,

to emerge from the depths of my being

pushing through the layers of deception,

the walls of self protection,

and to become the person

you have planned, and called and made.

Who am I that you should love me?

For you know me inside and out?

I am yours Holy Mother, Eternal Father…

I am yours…

bought at a price,

a terrible cost…

your life, given in Christ, to set me free."

To watch a short video of Paul talking about Art as a Spirirtual Path.

Who Needs Organized Religion?

Victoria Bresee

Jess Michalik and I have been discussing this lately, as he is will be graduating from Harvard Divinity School in June and I sometimes think about going on for a doctorate in theology. He reminded me that I would need to be affiliated with some denomination or faith. The one that I grew up in, Seventh-day Adventism, was clearly not interested in anyone of my gender when I and 2 other women graduated from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, in the mid-90's. Why continue to feel rejected and beg for acceptance like one of the women, who had to request a special dispensation, just to do CPE?

Besides, my own spirituality had grown much broader through the years to encompass a variety of models and tools to experience the divine in my life, so why should I be limited by a set of doctrines?

That same week I found a blog, Gnostic Notes, written by a man that I had heard speak since I was in 8th grade, and always, since the 60's found ways to expand traditional minds in gentle, thoughtful ways--Leland Kaiser. There are many fascinating articles that demonstrate how far beyond our original religious upbringing his explorations have taken him, but the headline that hit on the exact topic of our conversation was How To Go Beyond Your Church Without Leaving It . I thought of his reasoning again, during a discussion with a Muslim friend who was disappointed at some of the attacks on Islam that have come out in US magazines from a few women who had rejected their faith. His comment was that by leaving Islam, they would have much less effect than if they had stayed within Islam to work towards the changes they felt were needed.

Here are his closing statements--

"Beliefs should never get in the way of your spiritual growth.

All beliefs constitute baggage that must eventually be laid aside in your journey to the Source. They are simply stepping-stones on the path to truth, not final destinations.

Remember, spirituality is how the universe is hard-wired. Religions are software programs that help us release the power of the hardware. None of them are very good. With experience we write better software.

Stay in the church – teach others to think in a more expanded way – help them grow.

You don’t strengthen a church by leaving it. Stick around and help it transform itself."

Click here for the complete article.

I'm not sure I'm convinced. It took me years of healing and exploration to regain my connection with my Source, far away from the legalism and shame I was raised with. I had to find "God" in my own way. I had to heal my sense of self, that included my body, through eastern modalities and meditation. It's hard for me now to walk into church and hear the same cliches, without the pain flooding back. Maybe my lesson is to be able to still sit there without tension and defensiveness, just sending out love and forgiveness to everyone. I'm afraid I find myself getting judgmental in defense. Maybe I've just not grown enough spiritually to be able to feel spiritual in my own church. What an odd thought!

The Mirror

Victoria Bresee

The cover of the March issue of Spectrum Magazine showcases, The Mirror, by Canadian artist John Hoyt (click for a larger view).

"Here's what he says about The Mirror: 'This image is based on a Photoshop sketch/oil painting from 2003. The Mirror, or so it seemed to me at the time, is actually a 'reflection' on the idea of law as a revealer of personal defects. My paintings often draw on various fifteenth-century sources for their imagery. When using these sources, however (which I alter to varying degrees using Adobe Photoshop), I am working as an artist, rather than an art historian. In The Mirror, for example, The Tower of Babel is from Pieter Bruegel.'"

For the entire inteview with the artist and a discussion by commenters about religious art and ethics and art, go to the Spectrum Blog. . . I may ask the artist a question or two myself, like about his choice of the main figure being "the temptress", "the wayward young woman," beautifully bare. The mirror is so small that she isn't able to see her own nakedness, only the viewers get to see her lovely body.

Because the focus of The Polished Mirror is to be able to look at ourselves clearly and to do what we can to cleanse the lens that we view the world through, I am looking for art to use on the site. I'm hoping to find an image that we can all find ourselves in, not only those of us who were shamed by the Church as we were developing naturally into womanhood..

Reconstruction for a Few Days

Victoria Bresee

The links on both sides of the page are under reconstruction. Some already have been reorganized and some will be very soon. Please check back. Thanks.

Recap of Directions to Comment

Victoria Bresee

Correction--Please see posting above

Remember, also, since this blog has been in existence since early 2005, you can click on the calendar to the right to read everything posted from the very start.

"The Infidelity of Busyness"

Victoria Bresee

"To commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to the violence of modern times." Thomas Merton

If we do start to look at "sin" as that which separates us from our Divine Source, busyness certainly is the number one "sin" for many of us. Today I made the choice to turn down an invitation to some interesting events to have a quiet day by myself to reflect, read and meditate. I picked up Jon Kabat-Zinn's book, "Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness" and started reading the chapter, "The Infidelity of Busyness," which he starts by quoting Merton, one of my favorite writers. He goes on to quote from David Whyte's poetic essay on our relationship with time, "Crossing the Unknown Sea."

"With regard to our marriage with time, to say yes (to accept more projects than we can do and maintain our sanity) would be the equivalent of promiscuity, of faithlessness and betrayal. Stress means we have committed adultery with regard to our marriage with time. If we want to understand the particulars of our reality, we must understand the way we conduct our daily relationship with the hours. In the hours is the secret to the workday, and in every workday the manner of our marriage to the hours and subsequently, our journey through the day, is crucial to the happiness we desire."

A Return to the Beginnings

Victoria Bresee

Jess Michalik and I have been discussing "The Polished Mirror: a Blog for Social Justice and Christian Contemplation" and why we haven't been posting for most of the past year. I realize, as Jess pointed out, that most of my postings have been concerned with Iraq and all the repercussions of the war, totally neglecting the contemplative spiritual growth aspect that is mentioned in the title. I actually am the editor of a women for peace blog , so those concerns already have a place to be expressed.

During the past year Jess has experienced many benefits from the deep meditative practices that he is researching and developing. He is writing a book describing his explorations and studies of ancient texts and soon will be offering workshops and training on the East Coast. He plans to start a new blog where he can list the events, as well as post on the topic. There will be a link provided here as soon as it is ready.

For the rebirth of The Polished Mirror, I will refer back to Jess's original explanation of what we envisioned-- to remind us of the constant need to "remove the rust," and to polish the mirror, so that we can see more clearly and reflect at least occaisional glimmers of the Light.

"Separating us from the ability to perfectly reflect the Light is what Catherine of Genoa calls the "rust" of sin. Sin is not the violation of this or that law, but it is literally that which separates us from God; it is literally that which distorts our vision and prevents us from being God's perfect reflection.

Perhaps it will seem overly pretentious then if I state that the purpose of this blog loosely construed is "clear sight" and the "removal of rust." But nonetheless I hope that both for the editors and for those who read and comment on this blog, this site will be the occasion for many openings into clear vision, vision of the world and our shared political and ethical futures, and vision of the self, whereby each of us can look long into our heart of hearts to discover the sources of death and suffering that we might uproot them."

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I have been fully known.
----1 Corinthians 13:12

And because for us there is no veil over the face, we all reflect as in a mirror the splendor of the Lord; thus we are all transfigured into his likeness, from splendor to splendor; such is the influence of the Lord who is Spirit.

----2 Corinthians 3:18 For the entire Mission Statement. . .

Cherry Picking No Fun Anymore

Victoria Bresee

I must admit that I'm as good a "cherry picker" as anyone. I used to find it entertaining to pull select texts from the Bible to "prove" all kinds of things, to approve almost any behavior, and especially to show that the Holy Scriptures could be used to justify "sins" that we hadn't even imagined yet.

Yes, I know that the Bible was used not only to justify, but inspire slavery, the conquest of the Americas, the murderous Crusades, and the Inquisition, but that was a long time ago. I already posted my thoughts on "What Lot has to Teach Us" regarding the use of the Sodom and Gomorrah story as a standard for sexual morality. I found the "Letter to Dr. Laura," (scroll down to comments) on Chuck Currie's blog, hilarious.

Lately, however, "Christians" are using the Bible to justify killing hundreds of thousands of people at the expense of our children, our poor, our educational system, medical care. . . See "Christian Priorities"?

Tomorrow a well-known Old Testament scholar is coming to the university where I teach. In past years I would have been excited about his presentation on how scripture can be used to support peace, but my enthusiasm for what Sam Harris calls "cherry picking" (Letter to a Christian Nation) has seriously waned. I'm sure that the speaker has spent years finding those texts that sound peaceful and show a loving God, but I'm finally admitting that the Old Testament commands killing, ransacking and destruction much more than peacemaking. Even the New Testament has plenty of texts to support intolerance and dehumanization of the "Other". I'm afraid that these days my own "cherry picking" would result in a very, very small volume.

New Member of the "Axis of Evil"?

Victoria Bresee

A Canadian survey (via A Family in Baghdad) of 4 countries found that "62 per cent of Canadian respondents believe Bush has made the world less safe since he became president in 2001".

Thirty four per cent felt Bush is such a "great danger" to the world that they actually listed him as the "world's third most dangerous leader, behind North Korea's Kim Jong Il. Top spot went to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.". . .

Isn't it ironic to see him listed with his "axis of evil" arch-enemies?

"The most pessimistic responses came from Britain, where 69 per cent of people said American foreign policy has made the world less safe since 2001. In fact, British respondents said Bush poses an even greater danger than Kim Jong Il."

Botero's Abu Ghraib, New Guernica?

Victoria Bresee

Because the time is so short to see this important art exhibit in New York City, I am posting this notice that appeared on a blog for peace, yesterday.

Just a few more days to see Fernando Botero's exhibition of paintings and drawings expressing the powerful degradation of Abu Ghraib. Just a few days, in just one show, because American galleries did not feel that Americans wanted to see this kind of thing.

During my years of teaching Spanish, I have introduced many students to Picasso's masterpiece, Guernica, a monumental piece that well conveys the terror during the Fascist bombing and destruction of the Basque village and the Spanish Civil War. They also see in their textbooks the pleasant portraits of pleasantly plump and the immense sculptures of voluptuously plump characters of Colombian artist Fernando Botero.

Fans that have gathered, unprepared for his current show at the Marlborough Gallery in New York City are most vulnerable to the unexpected intensity and walk out very moved. Unbelievably, there are some, like a couple of university art students, who have never heard of Abu Ghraib, and state that they would like to find out more about it. But, what can we expect, when a day after the elections that will certainly have global repercussions, it was reported that on election day the U.S. media spent equal time discussing the break up of the Brittany Spears/Kevin Federline marriage?

Well, this exhibit is incredible! Look at this arm and hand. After being so familiar with the usual chubby chubby sweet Botero arms, it is extra disturbing.

Abu Ghraib 67, 2005. Oil on canvas Courtesy of the Marlborough Gallery

More Images from the Exhibit at the

From NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, 11/11/06
"Fernando Botero's portraits and sculptures of happy rotund people have delighted millions. But the Colombian painter and sculptor's latest exhibition takes on the subject of Abu Ghraib. After reading news reports of American abuses at the Iraq prison, Botero produced works unlike anything he has done before.

A collection of some 50 paintings and drawings at the Marlborough Gallery in New York depicts prisoners as they are beaten, sexually abused, blindfolded, hooded, bound with ropes, attacked by dogs and forced to wear women's underwear."

MORE . . .

Resisting Evil Through Truth and Love

Victoria Bresee

"It was a fundamental principle of Gandhi's way of life that evil must always be resisted, but in ways and by methods of action that are nonviolent."

"I must not resist an aggressor with violence; yet I must remain in control of the situation not by the power of force, but through truth and love. I must always express the truth and confront the adversary with the truth. At the same time I must always look for the truth that is in the other. It may be there but hidden. Part of my task as a nonviolent person is to try to discover it. I must always express love, but also I must always look for love. And I must understand that it may be expressed in such a clumsy way that it is obscured and easy for me to miss. Nonviolence has a keen eye for the truth and the love that are in the other, but so hidden that only the most sensitive heart can perceive them."

From Seeking the Face of God, by William H. Shannon

Fear and the Selling of American Empire

Victoria Bresee

In an AlterNet article by Andrew J. Bacevich, the author of The New Militarism, How Americans Are Seduced by War, states that "at the end of the Cold War, Americans said yes to military power. The skepticism about arms and armies that pervaded the American experiment from its founding, vanished. Political leaders, liberals and conservatives alike, became enamored with military might."

Do you remember celebrating the end of the Cold War? Well, "the present-day Pentagon budget, adjusted for inflation, is 12 percent larger than the average defense budget of the Cold War era. In 2002, American defense spending exceeded by a factor of 25 the combined defense budgets of the seven "rogue states" then comprising the roster of U.S. enemies. Indeed, by some calculations, the United States spends more on defense than all other nations in the world together. This is a circumstance without historical precedent."

"The Bush administration has tacitly acknowledged (war as a permanent condition), describing the global campaign against terror as a conflict likely to last decades and in promulgating -- and in Iraq implementing -- a doctrine of preventive war."

To maintain this massive military force costs a staggering amount of money. Fear is needed to justify it. A new documentary, "Hijacking Catastrophe, 9/11, Fear and the Selling of Empire," shows the extremes that the Bush administration has gone to in order to create an atmosphere of fear. Amazing streaming video clips are available for viewing, such as on the Downing St. Memo and 9/11 and The Culture of Fear.

We do, actually, have great reason to be afraid.

Break from Posting Over

Victoria Bresee

My co-editor, Jess, is on a three week silent retreat, but today I am back to posting.

Jess Austin Michalik Graduates from Columbia University, summa cum laude

Victoria Bresee

I have just returned to California from a week in New York City enjoying commencement services for my son and co-editor, Jess Michalik. He reluctantly agreed to wear his robe and go through the rituals for the benefit of his family, including his proud grandparents. The week began on Sunday, with a lovely interfaith Baccalaureate service in the historic St. Paul's Chapel. Monday night Jess was initiated into Phi Beta Kappa, Tuesday he received the honor of summa cum laude and departmental honors from Religious Studies.

At Wednesday's commencement address the president of Columbia spoke of this graduating class being the Class of 9/11, since the attack occurred just 4 days after they had settled into their rooms and started classes. It was a sombering thought thinking of how the world changed so quickly for these students who came with enthusiasm and promise. Many of our postings have concerned the repercussions of that day.

Jess has accepted a scholarship at Harvard Divinity School for the next phase of his studies.

W. H. Auden, from September 1, 1939

Jess Austin Michalik

Into this neutral air

Where the blind skyscrapers use

Their full height to proclaim

The strength of Collective Man,

Each language pours forth its vain

Competitive excuse:

But who can live for long

In a euphoric dream;

Out of the mirror they stare,

Imperialism's face

And the international wrong.