Humility: Open to the truth

-
Humility is humble in the sense of not being offended by the truth. But humiliation, according to Saint Bernard, is the path to humility. Saint Bernard means the humiliation that one uses well, that one accepts willingly insofar as it is true, but does not attribute to oneself if it is not true. Humility is never a put-down, but the willingness to acknowledge the truth about ourselves. Humility welcomes humiliation. Although it's painful at times, it realizes that, precisely because I feel humiliated, I'm attached to my happiness seeking programs in some way that needs correction if I'm going to be really happy and at peace in daily life. Thomas Keating
 
 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Multitasking and the New Cultural ADD

-
Image
I can save an easy ten minutes in the morning by shaving with my Norelco triple Header while driving to work. I can save a few more minutes by having a snack breakfast during drive time. I usually don't use my cell while driving and I don't own a Blackberry, but I am still considered a multitasker according to Allstate Insurance.
What's the deal with multitasking if it saves time, and helps you to be more productive? A certain amount of it is inevitable and probably helpful. It's just discovering what works for you that can be difficult. With the plethora of new gadgets streaming out to American consumers, multitasking is not only here to stay, but also, there will be more and more opportunities to be a member of the club!
If multitasking is hurting you or at least compromising your safety, quality of work, stress management, or health, then it's probably time for some re-assessment.
Whatever happened to concentrating on one thing at a time? We may learn to see d…
Read more

What do I really want?

-
We tend to look outside ourselves for what we think we want; money, fame, love. We tend to get stuck looking for what we want. What we want, true happiness, is inside. D'Souza, Discovering Awareness Be born to us today. O Little Town of Bethlehem In, Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer shared a memorable story about the time he was offered the opportunity to become president of a small educational institution, In essence, he had been told that if he wanted the job, the job was likely his. He called on a half dozen friends to help him discern his vocation by means of a "clearness committee," a process from the Quaker tradition where the group refrains from giving advice but spends three hours asking you honest, open questions to help you discover your own inner truth.
Halfway into the process, someone asked Palmer a question that proved to be the turning point. It sounded easy yet turned out to be very hard: "What would you like most about being a president?" Aft…
Read more

Collecting Spiritual Toys

-
Image
Some years ago, I met a young American woman who had traveled to India on several occasions to study yoga and meditation under distinguished teachers... After listening to her life story, I asked her why she was doing this. She told me that she was fed up with the materialism of the West, and she was now looking for the spirituality of the East. I told her that essentially she hadn't changed. She reacted strongly, "What do you mean, I haven't changed? Isn't spirituality better than materialism?" I told her in the past, she was collecting material toys to entertain herself; now she was collecting spiritual toys. The problem was she was still collecting. Her mindset was the same, only the object of her "treasure hunt" had changed... We think what we want is outside, but what we really want is within us. Tony D' Souza, Discovering Awareness The beginning of growth begins with a simple question: "What do I really want?' The answer to this que…
Read more