Thank you for
reading the third edition of
THE NEW FAITH FOR
THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY
May 2021
+++
THE FOCUS OF THIS EDITION IS ON THE HEAVENLY ATTRIBUTE OF JOY
+++
BUT FIRST ….
+ Here are the links to the …
• first
edition of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY March 2021
• second edition of THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH: OUR AMAZING JOURNEY April 2021
+ And, here are links to all seven of The
Abundancetrek Blog posts on THE NEW FAITH FOR THE NEW EARTH as of 5/18/21
> One
| Two
| Three
| Four
| Five
| Six
| Seven
|
Posts 5, 6 and 7 are lengthy posts offering most of the Facebook Group posts and comments offered during February, March and April 2021.
+++
The
fruit of the Spirit is
love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against
such there is no law.
-- Galatians 5:
22-23 NRSV
Learning
to celebrate joy is one of the great practices of the spiritual life.
— Joan Chittister
. .
real religion is the transformation of anxiety into laughter.
— Alan Watts
Joy
is the happiness that doesn't depend on what happens.
-- Br. David Steindl-Rast
Heaven is simply full of joy. And, since we are heavenly beings right now, right here, we are full of joy unless we are allowing earthly attachments to dominate us. Heaven is full of joyful music. Do you hear it? Listen. Connect. Dance. Sing. Sing for joy. Dwell here. Rest here. Relax here. Thoroughly enjoy the music, the dance, the feast, the freedom of heaven.
There are many earthly pleasures which offer temporary happiness. But the joy which happens when as we travel on our amazing journey is eternal, infinite and permanent. Let us vow to cultivate the practices of The Amazing Journey of the Mind, The Amazing Journey of the Heart, The Amazing Journey of the Body and the Amazing Journey of the Soul.
These are essential journeys for opening the door to heaven with all of its abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom. We can enjoy these fruits breath after precious breath when we devote ourselves to the Amazing Journey practices which are taught the world over by wise teachers from many traditions. With the internet and the books and other sources we have so much guidance. We can truly be the joyful community of humanity. We are here to receive and give joy.
Like each and every one of the heavenly attributes, joy is a gift given freely and
abundantly moment after moment. Live joyfully. Live thankfully. Live in this
awareness, this reality. This is the way things really are.
Accept
the present moment and find the perfection
that
is deeper than any form and untouched by time.
-- Eckhart Tolle
The essential contrast between joy and happiness has been
pointed out by many wisdom teachers. They really are different. In order to enjoy the truth that we really
are in heaven right now, right here, we need to know this difference deep in
our mind, heart, body and soul. Earthly
pleasures of all kinds can only create temporary periods of happiness even if
they seem like a long time. Perhaps no
one has offered more wisdom on this truth than Eckhart
Tolle. The 2 quotes above come from A New
Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. Here
is a link to a longer excerpt that includes those quotes > https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/reviews/excerpts/view/19587.
A
vision without a task is but a dream
A
task without a vision is drudgery
A vision
& a task is the joy of the world.
-- On an English
church sign
Here we are on our fragile planet hoping to find reasons
to be hopeful, happy and whole. We are
fragile and vulnerable but full of energy and ideas, full of beauty and wisdom,
full of love and determination. May our joy in this life become more complete
as we grow in our commitment to the path of compassion, mindfulness and service
which gives us meaning and purpose.
Be
joyful, though you have considered all the facts
-- Wendell Berry
Perhaps
the most radical act of resistance in the face of adversity is to live
joyfully.
— Ari Honarvar
Don't
be concerned about being disloyal to your pain by being joyous.
-- Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan
There is plenty of pain in the world. No doubt about it. But heavenly beings know that pain is temporary and joy is permanent. And the more we embrace our heavenly identity, the more we feel joy and overcome pain. The world needs us. The world needs our joy.
We
need to approach our state of mind with curiosity and open wonder.
That
curious listening to life is a joy — no matter what the mood of our life is.
-- Charlotte
Joko Beck in Finding
What You Didn't Lose by John
Fox
Breathe in joy. Breathe out pain.
Simply be aware of this breath right now.
Joy comes freely with each and every breath
and all we need to do is be aware of this wonderful gift
given so freely, so abundantly, so lovingly.
+++
But wait, there’s more …
+ The Abundancetrek.com
JOY Page·
+ JOY
is one of the 37 featured practices at Spirituality & Practice
+ S&P
offers a Twelves Gallery on JOY.
+ Search for JOY at
Spirituality&Practice.com – 4052 results as of 5/18/21
+ Here
is a link to the page with links to the 366 Spiritual Explorations posts
which I offered on The Abundancetrek Blog in 2016. These posts are devoted to
the 9 heavenly attributes and the 12 spiritual practices. JOY is featured at
posts 309 to 316.
+ At Abundancetrek.com
you will find pages on the nine heavenly attributes: Abundance, Joy, Wisdom,
Beauty, Love, Truth, Peace, Justice and Freedom. And you will find pages on the
12 essential spiritual practices:
·
THE JOURNEY OF THE MIND > Stillness,
Detachment, Humility
·
THE JOURNEY OF THE HEART > Silence,
Discernment, Healing
·
THE JOURNEY OF THE BODY > Solitude, Devotion,
Holiness
· THE JOURNEY OF THE SOUL > Simplicity, Delight, Heavenliness
+++
The focus of the next edition will be on The Heavenly Attribute of Wisdom.
+++
And finally ...
+ Where do you see The New Faith for the New Earth
happening? I really want to know. I mean progressive communities of faith
committed to a dramatic expansion of Compassion, Peace, Justice and Sustainable
Abundance for all.
This list will grow in future editions as I learn more about
what’s happening and as you offer what you will share with us. I am
restricting this list to communities of faith who value the InterSpiritual path
and have a global outreach. I am sure I am leaving out many
significant communities of faith. Please help me fill in the gaps. In
future editions, I intend to add local communities of faith demonstrating
strong commitment to a dramatic expansion of Compassion, Peace, Justice and
Sustainable Abundance for all. Please offer suggestions.
Spirituality and Practice | Facebook link
Center
for Action and Contemplation | Daily Meditations | Facebook
link
Charter for Compassion | Facebook link
Gratefulness.org | Facebook link
Contemplative Outreach |Facebook link
Center
for Courage and Renewal | Facebook link
++++++++++++
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