by Roxanne -

Authentic Living

"A rose by any other name . . ."

Last year I picked one word to focus on for the year. My word was “romantic” and focusing on it allowed romance to enter my life in a more conscious and continuous way.

This year another word has emerged. It fits my on-going task of going deeper; going deeper into my life, into life around me, into the life of women, into the lives of  those struggling with poverty and into our education, economic, religious and political systems. The word is authentic.

Dictionary.com defines “authentic” as “one who acts independently.” The word “authentic” comes from the Latin word “authenticus” meaning “coming from the author.” This, in turn, is from the Greek word “authentikos,” from “auto” plus “hent” – a doer.

To be authentic includes acting, writing and speaking from an original or unique point of view. Going deeper into life allows us to do this because we allow life to more fully develop who we are – our personhood.

We are not  meant to be passive. We are not called to be doers on automatic pilot. We are called to be autonomous doers; acting and thinking independently, authentically and for ourselves, not blindly following others.

We are not victims of the powers that be or the systems in the world around us — unless we choose to be. To choose this is to choose a distortion of what it means to live a truly human life. To be “nice and quiet” neighbors, citizens, or individuals is to live life on the default setting. On the other hand we can choose to be autonomous, to observe and create new, different and better choices.

Each of us is given just one life. We can author this life in any way we choose. But it is our life to author – to live and to create.

I’ll return to the word “authentic” as the year unfolds. It will be interesting to observe what authenticity brings to the year ahead.

A happy and healthy New Year to all of you – my InnerPacific readers!

Roxanne

You may also like A Deeper Dive, Isn’t It Romantic and InnerPeace – I’ll Be Happy When . . .

by Roxanne -

Dangers of Obedience and Compliance

Photo R. Meshar

Too often in Christianity (Catholicism included) obedience is held up as a virtue. This is true if the obedience is to God within ourselves or our deepest interior voice. Unfortunately this is not typically the reference for the virtue of obedience. The reference is all too often to religious authorities, institutions or superiors.

This is the opposite of what Christianity calls us to. We are called to answer to God within. We are to discern our own heart and listen to our own voice. Those who call us to obedience to others often have their own benefit in mind.

Society, of course, encourages obedience and compliance. What better way to control large numbers of people?

Are you obedient to others? If so, why?

You may also like A Walk With God, The Guest and Fundamentalism is Fatal.

 

 

by Roxanne -

Japanese Garden Retreat

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to visit Osaka Japanese Garden. Today so can you. It’s still as lush and serene as I remember it.

Breathe deeply. Exhale. Remember that you are deeply loved at your very core. Your true Self is always present, watching and caring for you.

Scroll down and make space for an online retreat.

Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar
Photo R. Meshar

Pause for a moment to center yourself.

Keep that centered feeling as you continue with your day.

Namasté

by Roxanne -

Living the Minimalist Life

It’s very interesting to read about the choices he is making regarding how he wants to live his life. I admire him for questioning the cultural assumptions that we should work, buy a car/house, get married in our twenties – and other cultural myths. I also admire his desire to include many rich and varied relationships in his life and “un-include” materialism.

On the other hand, don’t try this if you need health insurance (there isn’t any) or if you have a serious medical emergency. Likewise this is not a lifestyle conducive to pets or children – though many women are forced to live as Joseph does with their children. Nevertheless, read on. I hope we hear more of his story in the months to come.

Itinerate writer talks of living, and dreaming, on $20,000 a year

By Joseph Fonseca

“I am a perpetual stranger, moving to a new city every year.  I’m not a businessman, or an international superstar for that matter. I’m a writer. My average yearly income hovers just north of $20,000 and comes from waiting tables and manning the till at bookstores. I live on little. I plan and I save.

When my itinerary was loosely designed six years ago, my main motivation was to gain greater life experience to inform my fiction. Much like people who save money to buy a house or to pay for their children’s education, I budget to live a writer’s life.

Seattle will be my seventh city in seven years. I have never before set foot in this bastion of coffee and computers. I arrive with only a few contacts in my phone and a roommate whom I’ve met through e-mail and Facebook.  There is no work lined up for me, and my bank account holds just enough money to last me a couple of months before paying rent becomes a crisis.

This is where you panic. This is where I get started.”

To view the entire article, go here.

You may also like Be A Tourist in Your Own Town, Other Options – Alternative Living Choices and The Richness of Simplicity.

by Roxanne -

Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life

As someone who reads more theology and books on spirituality than the average person – it’s wonderful to be able to hold up extraordinary books in this area. Especially since there is so much in bookstores that isn’t very good.

Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life by Karen Maezen Miller (New World Library, 2010) is about as deeply spiritual as you can get. Miller is a seasoned, spiritual writer in the Buddhist tradition who understands that “your life is your monastery” – a phrase from the book that I loved and remembered. It sums up her understanding of life.

If you have ever thought that it was necessary to get away to another world, maybe a monastery, in order to deepen your spiritual life – reconsider that idea. In a world where most theology and spiritual writing has been done by men in religious life, Miller uses real, ordinary life, even laundry – something most women know well – to lift up the transcendence of our existence found right in the most ordinary aspects of our everyday lives.

Just consider her chapter titles – Toughest Stains: Getting Out the Traces of Self or Spin Cycle: Changing the Ending. I smiled just reading them!

“Ever found yourself up to your elbows in the messy stuff of your own everyday life and wondered, ‘Is this all there is?’ Karen Maezen Miller answers that age-old question with a resounding ‘Yes.’ Read this deceptively simple, deeply wise little book not to change your life but to fall quietly, unequivocally back in love with the life you already have.”
— Katrina Kenison, author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day

Yes, this is it exactly – “fall . . . in love with the life you already have.” Miller writes clearly and with insight. This is a book you will want to reread and then give to someone else, as I did.

Our spiritual lives are not separate from our secular or everyday lives – rather our deepest spiritual life is present exactly in the midst of our daily life. It is we who are not present to the transcendent always with us.

The question is, “How do we become present to the sacred?” Miller’s Hand Wash Cold is a delightful guide.

You may also like Babette’s Feast, Come to the Feast and Labyrinths.