When have love or suffering transformed me?
"Two universal and prime paths of transformation have always been available to every human being God has created: great love and great suffering. Only love and suffering are strong enough to break down our usual ego defenses, crush our dualistic thinking, and open us up to Mystery. They, like nothing else, exude the mysterious chemistry that can transmute us from a fear-based life to a love-based life. No surprise that the Christian icon of redemption is a man offering love from a crucified position…. Love and suffering are the main portals that open up the mind space and the heart space, breaking us into breadth and depth and communion." --Richard Rohr
#2 - from Inspired
#3 - from Writing without Paper
“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”
~Jalal ad-Din Rumi
#3 - from Writing without Paper
"Here's the thing, say Shug. The thing I believe. God is inside you and inside everybody else. You come into the world with God. But only them that search for it inside find it. And sometimes it just manifest itself even if you are not looking, or don't know what you're looking for. Trouble do it for most folks, I think. Sorrow, lord."
~ Alice Walker
Ponder this with me... love. fear. suffering. transformation. synchronicity. coincidence.
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3 comments:
Thank you for the call-out. I appreciate so much the other two quotes.
My friend at Contemplative Photographer (Diane Walker) also has a wonderful post today that quotes Richard Rohr. And Sunrise Sister has written a lovely Blogger Prayer.
The quote from blogger "Inspired" is a challenge. It's hard to believe that we put up barriers to love isn't it? In speaking with a friend not long ago about "another" I said that I was so pleased to be a friend to the "another" as I never thought I would be.....first friend asked why in the world I would think I wouldn't be befriended?.....I guess that's a barrier? We are silly creatures aren't we? Synchronicity/coincidence - one of my favorite topics to ponder, love/fear might come second in line. I don't spend a lot of time pondering suffering/transformation...although those subjects have played big time roles in my life.
Thanks for the thought provocating or is that "poking?" post!
xoxox
There's so very much goodness in this post. Thank you!
The words that are jumping out to me are "presence" and "communion." Transformation is only the removal, or even just penetration through, barriers, and what's inside the barriers is everything real, all present - a communion of all things that are created by and made of Love.
Synchronicity is an indicator - the AWARENESS of synchronicity, I should say - that the barriers are becoming thinner.
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