Susan Galvan

July 8, 2012 – Communion of the Heart

by

7/8/12 Rev. Susan Galvan

Communion of the Heart

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ Matthew 22:37

How do we do that? It’s all about relationships. It’s the essence of the spiritual life. Life is not a solo project. We are all connected in a web of relationships. It comes down to two words, “be with” —another, your self, with the divine. Be present, with an empty center—a beautiful emptiness without attachment, and allow the breath of God to flow through. Fools Crow, of the Lakota, called it being “a hollow bone”.

How is being empty being with another? Let go of your concerns, judgments, and cravings. Enter a state of deep receptivity. Listen with the heart, open, free of agenda. It is a sacred space where veils fall away and you are available.

Ray, a highly successful business man, worked so hard he lost his wife and family. He wasn’t there for them. Through divorce, his dreams were demolished. Seeking relief from deep depression he entered a bicycle race and encountered Lance Armstrong. He asked Lance how he had overcome divorce and then cancer. Armstrong put his arm around him and with a squeeze said, “It could have been much worse.” In that moment Ray’s life changed. He understood that he was not alone, there was still a lot of life in front of him. Lance Armstrong, in a moment of empathy, gave a wonderful gift. This empathic gift is in you and me. We are all redeemers. Give the gift of a listening heart. It is transformational. Step out of your own energy and have empathy for the other being.
Ibn Arabi said, “My heart has become capable of every form; it is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks, and a temple for idols and the pilgrim’s Ka’ba, and the tablets for the Torah and the book of the Koran. I follow where the camels of love go. That is my religion.”

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July 8, 2012 – Communion of the Heart

by


7/8/12 Rev. Susan Galvan

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ Matthew 22:37

How do we do that? It’s all about relationships. It’s the essence of the spiritual life. Life is not a solo project. We are all connected in a web of relationships. It comes down to two words, “be with” —another, your self, with the divine. Be present, with an empty center—a beautiful emptiness without attachment, and allow the breath of God to flow through. Fools Crow, of the Lakota, called it being “a hollow bone”.

How is being empty being with another? Let go of your concerns, judgments, and cravings. Enter a state of deep receptivity. Listen with the heart, open, free of agenda. It is a sacred space where veils fall away and you are available.

Ray, a highly successful business man, worked so hard he lost his wife and family. He wasn’t there for them. Through divorce, his dreams were demolished. Seeking relief from deep depression he entered a bicycle race and encountered Lance Armstrong. He asked Lance how he had overcome divorce and then cancer. Armstrong put his arm around him and with a squeeze said, “It could have been much worse.” In that moment Ray’s life changed. He understood that he was not alone, there was still a lot of life in front of him. Lance Armstrong, in a moment of empathy, gave a wonderful gift. This empathic gift is in you and me. We are all redeemers. Give the gift of a listening heart. It is transformational. Step out of your own energy and have empathy for the other being.
Ibn Arabi said, “My heart has become capable of every form; it is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks, and a temple for idols and the pilgrim’s Ka’ba, and the tablets for the Torah and the book of the Koran. I follow where the camels of love go. That is my religion.”

June 10, 2012 – Lighting the Torch of the Soul

by

6/10/12 Rev. Susan Galvan

Lighting the Torch of the Soul

Lighting the Torch of the Soul is bringing the heart’s core out into the open. So often, because of our busy-ness, we put it on the back burner until, late in life, it’s still “in the closet” and we are filled with regret. What brings us power to live in the light—in the Christ consciousness?

To do it, stop. At a mosque, each person upon entering, stops and washes off the outside life and leaves their shoes inside the door, so as not to bring the world with them into the holy space. So stop, and leave your world and go into your empty space.

Then get quiet. Come into the moment—no past; no future—step out of your exhausting story into where you are clear and still. Where your heart knows no limits. Experience that warmth of love. It is always there within, whether we are in it or not. It is where nothing is missing or needs fixing or re-arranging. Experience the lightness of being and gratitude which lifts the heart. Where you are at peace.

Next, appreciate your abundance, even the traumas you had which are part of what got you to this point. And appreciate each other. We each need an ally, a friend to point out our blind spots, to bring us back. This is not a solo journey. Together we move to where we want to be. Support each other’s dreams. Do not practice “dream-icide” upon yourself or others.

Finally we each need a plan. It might change, but follow. How do we recognize our plan—that we are manifesting the Christ consciousness? It’s when we light up. It’s doing things for which we are enthusiastic (en-theos, which is Greek for “filled with God”). It’s doing things that energize us. Remember you don’t have to know how, just what. In expressing your heart’s core values wonderful things do happen in ways never expected. Keep listening, opening, following. Affirm, “I am open and willing to allow the Christ to express in me, through me, as me!” “I am open and willing to allow the Christ to express in me, through me, as me!”

Play

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

June 10, 2012 – Lighting the Torch of the Soul

by


6/10/12 Rev. Susan Galvan

Lighting the Torch of the Soul is bringing the heart’s core out into the open. So often, because of our busy-ness, we put it on the back burner until, late in life, it’s still “in the closet” and we are filled with regret. What brings us power to live in the light—in the Christ consciousness?

To do it, stop. At a mosque, each person upon entering, stops and washes off the outside life and leaves their shoes inside the door, so as not to bring the world with them into the holy space. So stop, and leave your world and go into your empty space.

Then get quiet. Come into the moment—no past; no future—step out of your exhausting story into where you are clear and still. Where your heart knows no limits. Experience that warmth of love. It is always there within, whether we are in it or not. It is where nothing is missing or needs fixing or re-arranging. Experience the lightness of being and gratitude which lifts the heart. Where you are at peace.

Next, appreciate your abundance, even the traumas you had which are part of what got you to this point. And appreciate each other. We each need an ally, a friend to point out our blind spots, to bring us back. This is not a solo journey. Together we move to where we want to be. Support each other’s dreams. Do not practice “dream-icide” upon yourself or others.

Finally we each need a plan. It might change, but follow. How do we recognize our plan—that we are manifesting the Christ consciousness? It’s when we light up. It’s doing things for which we are enthusiastic (en-theos, which is Greek for “filled with God”). It’s doing things that energize us. Remember you don’t have to know how, just what. In expressing your heart’s core values wonderful things do happen in ways never expected. Keep listening, opening, following. Affirm, “I am open and willing to allow the Christ to express in me, through me, as me!” “I am open and willing to allow the Christ to express in me, through me, as me!”