Jim Palmer's Blog, page 68

People sometimes wonder why God would allow so much suffering in our world.

I often come across the view that God’s will is something that “will be done,” as in the future. We look out into the world and see misery and suffering and it’s clear that this can’t be “God’s will.” And so our way of maintaining a belief in the perfection of God and the imperfection of the world is to say that God will some day sort through it all and will ultimately somehow make everything okay. This idea is meant to help us swallow the bitter pill of the misery of the world because we surmise that at some later time everything will be worked out.

For a time I worked for and traveled the world with an international human rights agency, based out of Washington D.C. (IJM). I posed as a customer in brothels where girls as young as 12 years old are forced to provide sex to customers 4-6 times a day, six days a week. I also visited a slave labor camp, under the guise of being an investor, where boys that same age were chained to poles and worked around the clock rolling cigarettes to meet their quota or be beaten with electrical cords.

The theology that ultimately God’s will and all this horror will work out fine in the afterlife seemed to fall empty in the face of their daily torment. The violent violation of their most basic human rights is not God’s will – not then, not later, not ever. There is no later resolution as a theological rationale for their current reality.

There is only one cause of suffering in this world – our spiritual ignorance and what we rationalize out of it. The only solution is to see things as they truly are, and to begin living life by responding to situations as they require, which includes rescuing children out of brothels and slave camps.

The end of suffering is not something God does for everyone at some later point. This idea is appealing because it lets us off the hook of taking responsibility for our lives and the condition of the world. There is nothing left for God to do. Jesus said the Kingdom of God has already come.

People sometimes wonder why God would allow so much suffering in our world. Maybe instead we should be wondering why we do.

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Published on July 04, 2013 19:07

I am peace, contentment, freedom, and wellness…

Our sensory experience of the world happens through the mechanics of the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. The mind takes it from there and distinguishes or differentiates one thing from another, and applies its will in the form of preferences. Let’s take a simple one. You don’t know an eye on your stove is on, and you put your hand on it. Through touch, you have the physical sensation of pain. Then the mind does its work. “A hot stove is bad.,, causes pain. Don’t touch a hot stove! As a precautionary measure, check the stove to be sure it is off.” Finally that whole experience is filed away as a memory, and it conditions the mind with this piece of understanding. It’s a mind that now understands a hot stove and what it means, especially if you touch it. Because of all this, the habit is developed of being more careful around a hot stove, and certainly not touching the eye if it is on or you suspect it has been on.

So, let’s take another example. You’re at a coffee shop, working on your laptop. You go to the restroom, and when you return you discover that your laptop is gone – it has been stolen. Through sight, you are able to detect that the laptop is gone… it’s not there anymore. So, the mind begins its commentary about the situation:

laptop = expensive possession

laptop = important/personal information and documents

laptop = way of staying connected with people

laptop = significant part of doing your work

laptop = how you pay your bills

laptop = an important form of leisure – music, gaming, videos, etc.

Then the mind moves to stage 2 of the commentary, which is calculating the personal consequences of the stolen laptop. And every one of the consequences falls under the category of “Bad.”

Bad = significant monies must now be spent for a new laptop

Bad = important information and documents are no longer available, and there’s the risk of identity theft, account breaches, etc.

Bad = loss of technological mobility

Bad = contact with friends has been disabled

Bad = you lost a lot of work-related things, and cannot now do any work

Bad = your way of paying your bills has been disabled

Bad = your enjoyment and leisure has been taken away

Then the mind moves to stage 3 – all the emotions associated with these bad things and what they mean or represent. Frustration, fear, anxiety, anger, unhappiness, distress, worry, annoyance, uncertainty, upset, dissatisfaction, discontent, disillusionment, gloom, etc.

Consider the possibility that it would inaccurate for you to assign cause and effect to the situation of your stolen laptop and misery. In other words, the stolen laptop did not cause your misery. A laptop is an object made of various plastic and metal parts that enable a number of functions human beings have found useful. To put all this in perspective, the history of personal computers as mass-market consumer electronic devices effectively began in 1977. About ten years later, laptops became an item of growing interest. So, before that time… there was no mass-market computer or laptop at all.

So, consider that the stolen laptop is not what caused your misery. What caused your misery was what your mind said about what this meant or represented for you. Over time, your mind has been conditioned by all kinds of preferences and attachments. Things have meanings because our mind has learned to differentiate one thing from another, and develop preferences out of them.

Consider the possibility that in the depths of who you are, you are peace, contentment, freedom, and wellness. Consider that this fact about who You are is always true, and that You cannot be disturbed.

Consider the possibility that the depths of the ocean are deep and still, but the winds of a storm can disrupt the surface. A pond can be tranquil deep below, but a rock that is tossed in the pond causes a ripple and disturbance on the surface. That disruption or disturbance on the surface masks the peace deep below.

In the depths of who you are, you are peace, contentment, freedom, and wellness. But then the circumstance of a stolen laptop is like the ocean storm or rick tossed in the pond, disrupting and disturbing the surface. Meanwhile, there is peace deep below.

But consider this alternative. Think of the rock tossed in the pond. A rock doesn’t mean anything, right? I mean, it’s just a rock. You throw it in the pond and it just sinks to the bottom. There’s no other meaning to be had. What if your stolen laptop was like that rock – something that just happens without meaning and sinks to the bottom.

Consider that we are the ones who are creating the disturbance in our lives by the meanings we have attached to the things that happen. The stolen laptop did not cause our misery, what we told ourselves about the stolen laptop is what caused our misery.

You could live without a laptop. Everyone did before 1977. If your laptop is stolen, address the situation skillfully as it requires. That’s all there is to do. That’s all there ever is to do – be present in the moment and respond to situations as they require. I’m not saying that means we won’t feel physical pain by touching a hot stove, or emotional pain when you’ve lost a loved one. But the suffering of our lives is generated by ourselves. We are creating the storms and throwing the rocks ourselves… we are adding the meaning from our preferences and attachments.

What if we could let what happens in life be the rock that has no meaning generated by our preferences and attachments, and just let it sink to the bottom without disturbing the reality of who we are.

I am peace, contentment, freedom, and wellness… with my laptop.

I am peace, contentment, freedom, and wellness… without my laptop.

I am peace, contentment, freedom, and wellness while I am in the process of responding to my stolen laptop as the situation requires.

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Published on July 03, 2013 13:59

Too often the Christian religion is obsessed with “sin,”…

“Too often the Christian religion is obsessed with “sin,” and its entire identity revolves around it. It often proclaims a sin-management gospel, which greatly diminishes the significance of Jesus. According to this view, the core identity of every human being is “sin,” and the significance of Jesus has to do with fixing it. There’s a way this view could be reasonable if it wasn’t for the Christian religion’s mistaken notion of sin, which is something akin to being bad and condemned by God, which is not biblical in my view.

It has always been curious to me that the cornerstone of this version of “the gospel” is the idea that humankind is born with “original sin.” The Bible tells the story of humankind’s relationship to and with God or the divine. The story begins in the Book of Genesis, not with original sin but with original blessing. God created the world and humankind, and declared all of it to be good. Yes, that’s right – GOOD, not bad. If humanity is sinful and therefore cannot be joined with God, how is it that Jesus was both at the same time?

Does God create something that is bad? Does a father disown and condemn his own children? We are the offspring of God. Does it make sense that God would sentence us to eternal conscious torment as punishment for who we are? So much of religious pathology stems from this view of God.

The Bible teaches that “sin” is falling short or missing the mark of who God created us to be and what God desires for us. Jesus did not teach a sin-management gospel. The central message of Jesus in the gospels was about the kingdom of God. Jesus’ main message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of God has come.” The other mistaken notion of the Christian religion is the world “repent,” which does not mean to be sorry for and turn from your wicked ways. Even if this was what “repent” means it doesn’t work because what we resist, persists. But the word “repent” (metanoia) means a deep and profound shift in perception. It means going beyond the way we typically process reality or a transformative change of heart.

Too often the Christian religion is a hindrance to Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom. Everyone’s energies are siphoned off, caught up in sin-management, that there’s very little left for truly stretching out into the truth of who we are, being the kingdom of God, and living in the reality of our original blessing.”

- Jim Palmer, Notes From (over) The Edge

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Published on July 02, 2013 06:23

In the depths of our true Self we are peace, freedom, well-being, and contentment.

In the depths of our true Self we are peace, freedom, well-being, and contentment. On the surface of our lives there is drama because of our preferences, attachments, and not seeing things as they truly are. Your true Self is undisturbed and undisturbable. But this Self is masked by all the drama we are creating on the surface of our lives as we seek to attain happiness in ways that can never produce it.

The world is characterized by change and impermanence, and can never be the source of lasting peace and happiness. We suffer a million times over because of this. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result. But we do this every day – we form attachments and cling to impermanent things to give us peace and happiness. The bad news is that there is nothing that can “make you happy.” The good news is that there is nothing that can make you unhappy.

You can be fully connected and engaged in life and the world without being “attached.” Consider the possibility that this is what Jesus was describing when he spoke of being IN this world but not OF this world. Being “in this world” is to be fully connected and participating in life as it unfolds moment by moment, responding as situations require. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

The “not of this world” part is a recognition of who You are at the deepest level, and seeing beyond what appears on the surface of things. The “not of this world” part recognizes that the underlying, unchanging, and fundamental essence of who we are is the image, likeness and being of God, and that this essence is the underlying and fundamental nature of all things. The “not of this world” part is recognizing that there is no separation – from God, one another, love, peace, wholeness, well-being, and freedom. That instead, this is who we are and is never threatened, disturbed, diminished or compromised.

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Published on June 30, 2013 17:50

Your life is your spiritual path.

“You don’t need to find a spiritual path. Your life is your spiritual path. The next moment is your teacher. Whatever arises next, make it your spiritual path. What does the present moment require of you?

Nothing? Then nothing is your path.

To notice something? Then noticing is your path.

To act? Then your action is the path.

To give love? Then expressing love is your path.

To create? Then creating is your path.

To eat? Then eating is your path.

To be aware of your true Self? Then awareness is your path.

To shed tears? Then your tears are the path.

To be courageous? Then courage is your path.

To notice a pattern of thought or behavior? Then your noticing is the path.

To seek? Then seeking is your path.

To let go of seeking? Then the cessation of seeking is your path.

To be content? Then being content is your path.

To be struck by beauty? Then awe and wonder is your path.

To be seized by bliss and ecstasy? Then bliss and ecstasy is your path.”

- Jim Palmer, Notes from (Over) the Edge

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Published on June 29, 2013 06:07

Jesus didn’t fit.

“Jesus didn’t fit. He had no home in any sect. He didn’t fit in with the Essenes, Pharisees, Zealots, Priests or Rabbis. He did not subscribe to any school of thought, whether it was the school of the great Rabbi Hillel, Philo the philosopher or the school of the Cynics which all had a strong following in his day.

Jesus identified with the whole of humankind irrespective of race, religion or gender. His vision was too transcendent for any sect.

Jesus was not a member of any exclusive group. He recognized that no group could have a monopoly of the supernatural human spirit anymore than they could restrict the working of God’s spirit to their little group.

Jesus’ friends supposed that only one group of people could work in Jesus’ name, whereas Jesus taught that everyone who responds to God’s Spirit and acts in a human way, is a Jesus in his or her own right.

Jesus was not part of any kind of Establishment – not an old one or a new one. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus did not replace Judaism with Christianity. At a later point, others built an Establishment called Christianity, but the itinerant Jesus had nothing to do with that. The very nature of an Establishment is contrary to his itinerant spirit.

Often to their dismay, Jesus’ close friends found that he would not stay in one place long enough for them to consolidate interests and central beliefs or take steps to organize a movement. Jesus always moved on. In fact, one time his three closest friends had a revelation on a mountainside, and wanted to build some kind of structure or monument to capture and display the glory of Jesus. But Jesus, the They wanted to build some booths or some kind of monument to capture the glory of the moment. But Jesus, the incurable itinerant, would have none of it.

Jesus freely taught those who’s heart was open. Some of them followed Jesus and took up his message and way of life for themselves. But it’s doubtful Jesus ever took any steps to organize the church by ordaining twelve apostles, which is more closely aligned with the Old Testament tradition of the twelve tribes and further implies that the organization of the Christian church was the new Israel, began by Jesus. The whole notion of Jesus beginning a new hierarchy ruled by the chair of Saint Peter is a grave distortion of the whole character, life and teaching of Jesus.”

- Jim Palmer, Notes From (over) The Edge

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Published on June 27, 2013 20:00

13 Beliefs Worth Inspiring In Our World

13 Beliefs Worth Inspiring In Our World:

1. Belief in the goodness of people

2. Belief in the power of love

3. Belief in the beauty of life

4. Belief in the equal, inherent and divine worth of every person

5. Belief in the freedom of being a fully-expressed human being

6. Belief in the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part

7. Belief in they mystery and miracle of being human

8. Belief in feeling it all deeply

9. Belief in listening to, trusting, following, and giving expression to what most deeply

stirs, moves and speaks inside you

10. Belief that everything matters and nothing is wasted on our journey

11. Belief in truly seeing and knowing a person behind their mask – listening, loving,

accepting others without condition or judgment

12. Belief in the balm of kindness, tenderness, and gentleness

13. Belief in the need for human touch

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Published on June 25, 2013 19:46

It’s one or the other – Heaven or Hell. Or is it?

Our mind can only operate within the framework of what is often called “dualism,” which is perceiving the world through a grid of binary opposition: up/down; right/left; good/bad; happy/sad; cold/hot; day/night; etc…

Dualistic thinking is not a problem when it comes to basic human cognitive functioning. However, there is a limit to what can be known in this framework, and when we impose it on spiritual truth it becomes a problem.

Perhaps one of the most dualistic views of the Christian religion is: Heaven/Hell. In this dualistic understanding, Heaven is viewed as a perfect state of being or a perfect paradise with no pain, no suffering, no disturbance, no discomfort, no difficulty, no problems, no hardships… just complete perfection. On the other hand, Hell represents the opposite – eternal conscious torment.

Can you see the dualism in that? It’s one or the other – Heaven or Hell.

Jesus did not subscribe to this dualistic view. The primary message of Jesus was, “The kingdom of God has come.” Jesus taught that the kingdom of God was here and now. In other words, God’s kingdom – the reality of love, peace, freedom, well-being, wholeness, security, contentment – is present and available in the context of the human reality and condition. This is a non-dualistic truth that Jesus taught. Our mind can’t grasp this because we think of our options as:

a) Be on earth and be miserable

b) Die and go to Heaven and be perfectly happy

c) Die and go to Hell and be eternally tormented

Jesus says, d) None of the above. Jesus’ answer was living in the reality of God’s kingdom HERE and NOW. If you took Jesus’ words to be true, leaving this world would actually be leaving God’s Kingdom because Jesus said the Kingdom of God has come. That’s good news! You don’t have to wait to die and go to Heaven for the good stuff!

But the mind can’t accept this. Why? Because it can only comprehend one or the other. It can’t conceive of both at the same time.

Jesus main message was, “Repent for the kingdom of God has come.” The word “repent” does not mean to be sorry for your past wrongs or to turn away from a life of sin. The word “repent” (metanoia) means “beyond the mind” or beyond the way we typically process reality. In other words, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is here but you can’t get to it in the same way you are accustomed to knowing things or figuring them out. Metanoia involves a deep inner shift in terms of how one perceives what is real.

The attraction of the dualistic view on this matter is that you don’t have to do anything and can absolve yourself of personal responsibility. Right? All you have to do is die and go to Heaven. This is why Jesus said that the path to truth is a narrow road. People prefer the path of least resistance, and are willing to suffer terribly in the process. We all know Frost was right, taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

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Published on June 24, 2013 17:30

It’s one or the other – Heaven or Hell.