Peace

Sacred Peace

The following talk was presented to the Temple Beth Torah congregation in Fremont on March 12, 2010

Introduction - Giggle-ism: - My personal path of exploration

Extracted from Alan’s journal:

So last Friday I decided to try the practice – to attempt to drop the small me which is made up of fears and habits, the part that often feels victimized by the world, and just dwell in peace. I watched my thoughts as I tried to detach from the world for 24 hours. How hard could it be?

Friday night worked pretty well as long as I was at the temple, surrounded by people I care about and I am interested in. I was able to drop much of my story of self-importance, and just tell stories for the joy of sharing and listen to stores from the joy of sharing.

The drive home was not too bad as Phoebe was working through some of her issues out loud. Phoebe is a powerful person who can solve her own problems, I could be of service by just being present and silently listening.

Then a little TV and we went to bed. Now I expected to drop into quiet slumber, as I do most nights, and I did. But soon, in a dream I heard, “Shabbat Shalom” sung endlessly louder and louder until I woke up from the noise.

Now, as most of you know I am armed with a giggle. I smiled at the absurdity of being jarred awake by an inner chant of peace, and dropped back to sleep, only to be woken again in around a half-hour by the same voice singing. I could not even blame anyone else as it was my voice singing so loud.

This process repeated until I gave up at 4 am, and made a few notes for this evenings talk. Then I could go back to bed for a few hours of deep sleep, finally making it past REM sleep. Apparently I will not give myself a break unless I feel that I have worked enough! What a revolting development!

My Sabbath continued as I made myself an early breakfast and took on a wood-working furniture repair project in the garage. I decided to call this rest because the problem solving and working with my hands was good for my body and mind and is a clear break from my from my usual “work” sitting at the computer keyboard.

So I am going along fine for a few hours watching my inner voice being fairly peaceful, while Phoebe is trying to load TaxCut with a little help from tech support. Eventually I am called in to join the fray and spend the next two hours doing as, Alex, the support person suggests, downloading several versions of the program and performing arcane registry magic then being repeatedly placed on hold (terrible music) as Alex communes with his buddies or takes a smoke break before choreographing the next disaster.

Eventually, he gives up and tells us that the next level of support will call us in 3-4 business days. Life is too short. I found myself repeating inwardly, “I am not a victim. I am not a victim.” I asked Alex where we can get a refund on our opened package of TaxCut. I suspect that he secretly works for TurboTax.

So much for quiet-mind; I did have time during the downloads to tell Alex about my book and my web sites. Maybe one of us will eventually find peace.

Back to the woodworking, we now have a new fold-out bed in the guest bedroom. A little TV and little nosh and I may not be fully taking a break from myself, but at least I do not mind hanging out with me.

Finally the sun sets and, experiment over, I can allow myself to do what I think of as “work”. So I collect a few quotes for next Friday and I write this.

3/12/10 Talk:

This evening’s Torah portion (Exodus 35) starts out with Moses telling the whole community what G-d has commanded:

“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to The LORD: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death.”

Pretty harsh! Let me deconstruct this so we can better understand it. I will address five questions from the viewpoints of several religions:

Who is sending this message and to whom?

What is being asked?

How can I reasonably obey the request?

What will observance get me?, and finally,

Are there compelling reasons in this day and age for Shabbat observance?

So first question: Who is the source? Our Torah portion states, “The LORD has commanded.”

The commandment comes directly from the divine to all Jews, and through us, presumably to all people and all ages. As a spiritual being, I have to assume I am being talked to directly. Each of us is being talked to directly. So who is talking?

Quoting Rabbi Rami Shapiro, the name of G-d is, in Hebrew, the unpronounceable YHVH. YHVH isn’t a noun, but a verb. YHVH is a form of the Hebrew verb “to be.” G-d is the be’ing of Reality, the is’ing of Reality. Not a Supreme Being somewhere else, but being itself; aliveness itself.

In Judaism we often say that we are in a partnership with the divine. I think that this means that inside each of us, certainly inside me, there is a small-s self that deals with its own identity and its place in the world. Some call this the ego. This self is constrained, as it should be, by ideas, rules and boundaries. I identify it as the voice in my head.

Inside me is also another, broader and essentially unlimited sense of Self, with a capital S. This is an aspect of pure awareness without story. If I slow down and I am very still, I may notice it as the silence between thoughts. In many traditions it is said, “G-d speaks in silence.”

My second question is: What is being asked? Our portion states, “Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you,”

I choose to interpret this phrase to mean, “Quit working and take some time to play”. Those of you who think that this attitude is too flippant should know that Jews have been lax about observing the Sabbath since at least the sixth century BCE. In the time of Jeremiah, farmers and merchants brought their goods to Jerusalem from the countryside on the Sabbath, while the priests and the official prophets of the day looked the other way. It was left to Jeremiah to condemn the practice. And you all know how well we Jews listen!

The Central Conference of American Rabbis upholds the rabbinic principle that the Sabbath has been placed in our control, and we are not under the control of the Sabbath. They state, “The Sabbath is our day of rest, a day dedicated to the delights of the soul. [This includes] sports and games of all sorts as proper forms of relaxation.” Tonight, in line with this, I propose a play of consciousness.

All week I strive, and sometimes I may ask myself, “What does all this effort get me?” Tonight we transition from the mundane to the holy. On Shabbat we may stop and reflect, “Where can keeping the Sabbath take me?” The week is all about doing, tonight I have the opportunity put that aside, and if I do, perhaps tomorrow I can focus on being.

Earlier in this service we welcomed the Sabbath bride. The Jewish people have a love relationship with Shabbat. In Islam, Mystic Sufis translate surrender to the divine as surrender to one’s beloved. I quote from “Loves Ripening”, a recently published book of translated poems from the sage Rumi:

"Money and real estate occupy the body,

but all the heart wants is expanding friendship.

"If the house of the world is dark,

Love will find a way to create windows.

"Love itself describes its own perfection.

Be speechless and listen."

On the Sabbath, perhaps I can find a few moments to be speechless and listen?

My third question is: How can I reasonably obey this commandment in today’s world? Is there an effective and efficient way (I am always the engineer) to create a space of holiness and peace?

I know from years of trying for silence and watching my thoughts that one thought leads to another, endlessly. I need a practice to help my mind shut-up. Buddhism contains a set of practices designed to help a person find inner silence.

Buddhists advocate Mindfulness, the state of watching your thoughts come and go as an uninterested or interested but mostly unattached observer. The mindful observer ultimately dwells in peace as the mind quiets. The tool to get us to this state is compassion; compassion for our plight, for our fears and worries and strivings. If I can have compassion for my self and my story, I can relax into just being me. Eventually my compassion may expand to include my family, my community, the world, and, ultimately, all life. Not a bad goal for the Sabbath!

In “Just before the Giggle”, a book I wrote several years ago, I suggest that it is possible for me to take everything and everyone in my world seriously except my silly small-s self. I do this as a cure for anxiety.

I can still strive to meet deadlines and fulfill all the responsibilities that I have freely taken on. I may appear to the world as a workaholic, while on the inside I apply compassion and know that my self-construct, my self-interest, my self-importance, and even my self-reliance are silly and unnecessary burdens. I am a small part of a larger community. I can laugh at my pretensions and shush my inner-critic.

You might laugh too. You will be laughing with me. A while back, this technique eliminated an ulcer for me. If I apply it, even only on the Sabbath, what a free and freeing world I can create!

My fourth question is, “What will this practice get me? What’s in it for little me?" Our portion continues, “…a Sabbath of solemn rest”

Solemn rest is deep rest, quiet rest, restorative rest that supports aliveness.

Buddhists advise:

“None can live without toil and a craft. But if you toil without rest, fatigue and weariness will overtake you, and you will be denied the joy that comes from labor’s end… Treasure silence when you find it, and while being mindful of your duties, set time aside, to be alone with yourself.”

In Isaiah 58:13 we are specifically allowed to participate on the Sabbath in any activity which is dedicated to some important social [or] religious purpose.

Any attempt on our part to get in touch with our higher Selves seems to me to be both social and religious.

Finally, can I end this discussion with some compelling reasons to observe the Sabbath? The Hebrew philosopher Ahad Ha’am, said “More than the Jews kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept the Jews”. Our love affair is a two-way street.

Swami Muktananda, a guru in the Hindu tradition once told me, "Honor and worship your own Self, G-d dwells within you as you, for you."

For me: The divine is there for me, to help me.

As me: Hiding as me. Little me is enfolded by big me. I just need to somehow, look past my self-obsessed viewpoint.

Within me: As close as my own thoughts.

Dwelling: I am a house of G-d.

Honor and worship: I need to cherish this house of G-d and every other house of G-d. I am not unique. We are all sanctuaries. The Sanskrit word that Hindus use for “hello” is “Namaste”, “I respect the place in you that is of love, of truth and of Light.”

The silence that I may spend the Sabbath searching for is already there, inside me all the time. It is there for me to access at any time. I can identify with it and let the troubles of my small world disappear for a time; for a day?

And what if I don’t take advantage of my opportunity to honor the Sabbath and make it holy?

Our text portion reads, “…whoever does any work [on Shabbat] shall be put to death!” I think that this refers to a spiritual death.

If I don’t take a break from my work in the world, my little-s self-centered viewpoint, then my spirit may wither and die, my body may grow ill. I need to take time each week to dwell with the part of me that is fully alive, to tap into my source in UHVH. In this way I can honor this commandment, honor all parts of myself, and bring aliveness more fully into the world.

Perhaps this is a path that will take me toward Tikkum Olam (Healing the world).

                      AMEN (May it be so in truth)