OVERLOAD

Yes I have got myself in a bit of a pickle with three heavy books on the go.  Climbing Jacobs Ladder is for our Sunday group and not everyone was able to find the book so I want to do some extra notes.It is about one man’s spiritual journey to rediscover a Jewish Spiritual tradition.  It is by Alan  Morinis who was on C.b.C. Tapestry years ago.
The main path of Mussar  runs directly through everyday life, and that is where we are to look for our spiritual lessons-in how we treat our children, our neighbors and ourselves.  A exceptional resource, illuminating how true spiritual transformation can take place in our lives one day at a time.

"Each of us is a soul!  "  Saying we have a soul is a linguistic misconception.  It is important to recognize our essence is the soul and at it's core it is pure.  Habits, tendencies, in balance and negative experiences often obscure some of the inner light.


We are invited to sharpen our awareness and notch up the beauty and purity of our actions.  He seeks out Rabbi Perr; an imposing figure with a black hat, a very long thick, wiry graying beard covering his  shirt and a black frock coat which fell to the back if his knees.   This will remind you of the Biblical story of the Patriarch Jacob who fell asleep on a rock and had a dream about a ladder reaching to heaven.
He found it very different from our stand-up/sit-down/ reciting responsive religious practices. 
He also found it had practices which were like Buddhist meditation.

Mussaar is not a discipline to be practiced in isolation, nor on a proverbial mountain top but to give one strength and insight that will render us impervious to the powerful temptations of materialistic society.
I have missed the four chapters of our study in revelations (not a book I have ever cared about) but the vision are to give us hope.  John shows us how the world looks to one in the spirit.  Just getting  together to study is fun.  There are some good questions :like what would Jesus say about your church?  What is lacking in your experience of worship?

In the tales of a Jewish Mystic it is about calling us to a new deeper understanding of what divinity means.  Mystical eyes can never be literal eyes."  A book of signs.  One of the first ones mentioned is the transformation of the six stone jars that are meant to be used for Jewish rites of purification. The mother of Jesus informs him that the wine has run out and then tells the servants to do whatever Jesus instructs them,
The water is turned into wine.  This is not a miracle story but a sign.  Jesus is the bridegroom calling Israel into a new status.  The wine of the spirit is to replace the waters of purification.  His mother represents a mythological figure who stands for Israel the faith tradition that gives birth to Christianity.  They will be freed from the temple worship, and the sacrifices of animals, and be brought into a new kingdom where the words of tradition take on new meanings for a new time.

I also like what Bishop Spong says about the Word the Logos which in Hebrew was the word dabar and gives the meaning that this word had the power to shape the world, to reveal the presence of God, to call people to a heightened sense of self hood, a heightened sense of consciousness!

 

I like what he writes about  Moses who wants to see the presence of God and God tells him to hide behind a rock and He will past by.  All Moses sees is a fleeting glimpse of His back.

I can relate to not seeing what God is doing in my life until I look back.  I would not want to wrestle with either Him or an angel like Jacob did.

The only way to see Jesus, who is transparent, is to keep looking especially when the way is hard and long.  To look with the eyes of the soul and seeing beyond our unworthiness to His Light which always goes with us.  The light transforms slowly.

Catching up.  Today is going to be a good day for dad and I!  First I will go for an early walk with a scarf to cover my face and my mitts.