being strong and beautiful

Spiritual resource to share: new views of strength and beauty

Taew performing traditional Thai dance at international youth conference

As one of the host parents to our newest daughter, Taew from Thailand, I have been amazed and inspired at how much our new daughter has taken on. The more I talk with her, the more I realize the vast differences in cultures that she has bridged, and just how courageous she is!

I've been inspired while seeing how wonderful it is to blend our lives with those whose cultures have previously been unfamiliar to us. The bottom line of what is learned may seem trite, but it is true. We are one universal family - incredibly diverse, but each one of us expressing qualities that are universally beautiful and strong.

Just today, we had a wonderful example of this! Taew ran in her first track meet ever. Prior to the meet we talked about the beauty of women also being expressed in strength.

Taew wasn't very familiar with girls in sports. She claimed that she was not an athlete (which her track coach readily confirmed), and she spent most of track season on the sidelines, not wanting to get too involved for fear that she wasn't good enough. When she told her mother that she was doing this, her mother was concerned because it might mean that she would become more muscular and turn darker in the sun. (Paleness is preferable to the sun kissed faces here.)

Perhaps it is the whole ideal of beauty here that is different than in Thailand, or the whole expectation of what girls can or should do that was so different. She told us how she almost cried when the coach said that she was going to do the 400 meter run. But, she said emphatically, "My coach told me 'Yes, you can do this!'" And so she did. She went on to say that she got second in two races and last on the 400. And although her overall showed her more at the bottom than at the top, she just beamed and laughed when telling me this.

This was a huge step for Taew. She just soaked up the confidence her track coach had in her, the camaraderie of other girls cheering her on, and her own personal victory in doing something she never thought she would ever do!

Taew was able to experience a little more of her strength and her power. She was so happy, exhilarated even, that she proved she can do things WAY out of her comfort zone, and proved to herself that strength can be a very beautiful thing!

The inspiration is obvious. We can go beyond our accepted definitions of beauty and strength that we are comfortable with, and push to new heights: a more spiritual and lasting idea of what it means to be the infinite expression of an infinite Mind*. Taew rocks.

*Immortal man was and is God's image or idea, even the infinite expression of infinite Mind, and immortal man is coexistent and coeternal with that Mind.







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Celebrating the masculine!

How fun! Check out The Christian Science Monitor's back page story on manliness.

It is a fine time to celebrate the masculine! I wrote this story many years ago and never did anything with it .... until now. Enjoy!

We took our seats up in the balcony of a crowded auditorium to see what hundreds have been eagerly anticipating: a group of tap dancing Australian men in work boots exploding on stage in technical brilliance, energy, rowdy humor and outright fun.
I had never seen such a display of pure masculinity expressed and condensed into two hours! It was totally delightful (see TapDogs).



That one performance gave me a whole new direction and perspective on masculinity and how it is portrayed today.

How could one define masculinity today? Strength, vigor, boldness, committed focused effort, seeing the power in purity and the purity in power; masculinity as the ability to hammer out details into expressions of grace, beauty, form and function; as an expression of being able to stand, to be upright, the fathering qualities of wisdom, protection and guidance and the childlike qualities of exploration and breaking down barriers.

Masculinity is often coupled with femininity in an expression of completeness. When one adds to the above collection of masculine qualities, the feminine qualities of intuition, spiritual growth, freshness, the birth of new ideas, creativity, dignity and refinement – a beautiful and undivided sense of life is gained.

Taking it even to a higher realm, we can understand God as the source of all masculine and feminine qualities; we can see God as our Father Mother. Mary Baker Eddy, in her classic best-selling book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures talks about God in just this way. “Father Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation. (p.332)

She also writes, “Union of the masculine and feminine qualities constitute completeness. The masculine mind reaches a higher tone through certain elements of the feminine, while the feminine mind gains courage and strength through masculine qualities.” (ibid. p 57)

So what would try to tear down these concepts of true manhood? A wrong premise of what manhood truly is.

In the book of Genesis from the Bible, we have two accounts or premises of creation. In the first chapter, we have God, creating male and female in His image and likeness, created at the same time equally, with no partiality or hierarchy.

In the second chapter, we have the premise brought forth by the Adam and Eve story. Here man is portrayed as weak and vulnerable to temptation, shamed and needing to give up something in order to have a companion.

From the second chapter’s premise, comes a portrayal of masculinity degraded, masculinity that is brutal, domineering and egotistical. From this premise grows the idea that we live in division or duality, in a belief that one can take away the good of another, a belief that good is limited which gives rise to competition in which there is only one winner and there must of necessity be a loser.

This premise is illusive. As we replace this with the premise of man in God’s image and likeness, partnering with the feminine, the role of masculinity becomes stronger, purer, based on an honest conviction of all individuals’ God-given rights toward full expression.

Today, as the elevation of womanhood is emerging in many cultures, we are also seeing the redefinition of the role of men, who can be empowering to both men and women alike.

This first chapter of Genesis helps us to understand that there is one God, embracing the masculine and feminine qualities, the fathering and mothering qualities. We have a healthy base to see that there need be no dualism in our relationships with one another. Our pure sense of the masculine qualities expressed today, do much to forward our progress, as much as by having a purer sense of the feminine qualities expressed today.

This new premise transforms thought and we can celebrate masculinity in its true light – a masculinity that does not dominate, but equalizes the sexes; does not compete, but strengthens and refines; is not aggressive, but is powerful, strong and lasting. And masculinity, when coupled with the feminine, presents a balance in life, reflecting an infinite Father Mother God.



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River Lesson #5367

Spiritual resource to share: full engagement

I have learned so much from rivers. Rivers were a big part of my life for about ten years as a raft guide and whitewater kayaker and racer. Next to the the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, I probably learned more life lessons from this one natural resource than all others!

This lesson, lovingly called #5367, was about putting down the pride of accomplishment and fully engaging in the present state of things.

With rafting, I learned how to get a group of novices to work together quickly to play in the rapids and have fun; with kayaking, I learned much about overcoming fear and being able to trust; with racing, I learned how to sharpen my skills and got stronger, faster and more accurate with each race I took on.

HOWEVER, whenever I got to the river, got in my boat, and stuck my paddle in the first current, I noticed how unimpressed the river would be with all of my past accomplishments. Nothing from my past mattered except what I could put to use that day, that moment on the river.

In all my runs – whether it was with a group in a raft, or on my own in my kayak – I was successful when I was committed to the moment. And by successful I mean that I could experience the full joy of dominion over fear, of blending with the strength of the river and of increasing skill.

So, how does this translate?

When an experience is new to me or some new element or person has come into my experience, I find this lesson very helpful.

When the pride of experience tempts me to plow through another’s obstruction, I remember that a river flows around the rocks, and I am careful not to get caught in the eddy of turbulent water behind the rock. I can be gentle, yielding, and not get caught up on a rock!

When another challenges how I do things, I remember to not stand on the things I did in the past, but on what wisdom directs me to do now. Progress is a law of God and so is constantly working. I can listen.

The river is constant; constantly moving and will find its own level. God is constant, and as God’s expression, we are constantly moving and expressing all of God’s qualities. We will all find our own level of expression that is full and satisfying, strong and enduring and joy-full!

Mary Baker Eddy shares these ideas from an article from Miscellaneous Writings (p. 224):

We should remember that the world is wide; that there are a thousand million different human wills, opinions, ambitions, tastes, and loves; that each person has a different history, constitution, culture, character, from all the rest; that human life is the work, the play, the ceaseless action and reaction upon each other of these different atoms.

Then, we should go forth into life with the smallest expectations, but with the largest patience; with a keen relish for and appreciation of everything beautiful, great, and good, but with a temper so genial that the friction of the world shall not wear upon our sensibilities; with an equanimity so settled that no passing breath nor accidental disturbance shall agitate or ruffle it; with a charity broad enough to cover the whole world's evil, and sweet enough to neutralize what is bitter in it.....

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The Wilderness Experience

Spiritual resource to share: horizon-opening experiences

Today, I want to talk about the wilderness experience and how outright refreshing it can be.

I have had numerous wilderness experiences, both literally and figuratively. (You have had these too, as you will recognize further on down the blog).

My literal wilderness experiences have included those moments on mountains, whitewater rivers or lakes in the middle of nowhere. Experiencing the stillness and beauty of the northern lights, howling winds at high altitudes and whitewater stair cases have shaped me and have strengthened and inspired me.

There are always two sub-types of experiences in a wilderness experience and MBEddy captures them perfectly in her definition of Wilderness:

WILDERNESS. Loneliness; doubt; darkness. Spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence.

There is the first experience of loneliness, doubt or darkness. You feel separated from good, you don't believe you an accomplish anything, or the absence of light feels a little more real than light itself.

But, seeing through that experience, there is then this second experience of spontaneity - even playfulness with the universe! The material, limited sense of life falls away to reveal startling beauty, or a purifying rush of clean - of new beginnings and fresh starts, or an altitude of thought that makes all of the tediousness of human strife look, well, tedious and small and inconsequential in the light of the magnaminous nature of creation and its Creator.

This has been played out in my life like so:

• Doubting my ability to run a whitewater rapid in a kayak, and then doing it, resulted in the thrill of dominon over fear and humble awe of the ability to play with a power so beautiful.
• Being fearful of an impending storm on a mountaintop, but then overcoming that morphed into being a part of an amazing rescue effort that resulted in everyone's safety, and increased camraderie and joy!
• Feeling very isolated from civilation and from our base camp while paddling across a huge lake with my husband when strong winds came down on us against the direction we needed to take. We persisted, shouted out enouragement to each other, and kept going, not letting up one second lest we lose more ground as we made our way, inch by inch to our base camp across the wide lake. And we did it! We were exhausted, happy ...and safe.

But it has also played out for me in my more unconventional wilderness experiences, where I felt I was alone, abandoned or too down on myself: like when I was alone in a foreign country for the first time, or starting a new job, struggling with a persistent challenge, or recovering after a traumatic situation.

In each of these experiences, I had to walk through that illusionary wall of self-doubt, fear, and loneliness to see that there is an answer. Some "great fact of existence" was there reminding me that good is not helpless, that God's ideas cannot exist alone or that there are infinite resources that God has with which to bless mankind.

So what does this mean for you all? You probably recognize a wilderness experience or two that you yourself have encountered. Or maybe you are in right now. I hope you can take heart, that the material, limited sense of things - or those suggestions that you are separated from good - are not based on God's reality. These things have a short shelf-life. They will fall away.

Open yourself up to the spontaneity of God's infinite goodness. Start with one fact based on God's love, goodness and abundance. Opening that door will lead you into blessings, healing and peace. And your wilderness experience will "blossom like the rose!*"

Some fav quotes to leave you with:

* The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. -Isaiah 35

As long as there are young people with the light of adventure in their eyes, or a touch of wildness in their souls, rapids will be run. -Sigurd Olson

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. -John Muir

Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. -John Muir





Top photo by Gabe Korinek - copyright 2006

To share your thoughts on this or to explore this idea further, please feel free to be in contact with me, add your own comments below, email this article to a friend, or add to the healing finds and sites on the web to the right.