January | 2014 | Cultural Glimpse

January 19, 2014

A Kid’s Take on Martin Luther King

I was watching my five-year-old nephew when he soon whimpered, “I want to call my dad!” I avoided his request because the reason his dad dropped him off at my house to begin with was to get time alone.

My nephew insisted. “My teacher said that it’s Martin Luther King Day and we have to be nice to people.”

“Meaning?” I said.

“You should be nice to me,” he said, smiling.

He suckered me in. The name Martin Luther King brings the softest side in you. Most people are moved by Dr. King’s “I have a dream speech” but he had many many inspirational values that if we applied to our daily life, we would live in peace.

Later my nephew said, “I want Martin Luther King to come back to life, so he can tell us about his dream.”

His words really touched my heart. Unfortunately, we can’t bring Martin Luther King back to life, but we can keep his dream alive by living it.

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January 18, 2014

Conversations in Silence

I just finished reading the book Conversations in Silence, which is written by an old friend whom I have not seen in a long time. Narendra, the author, was born in India. In his book, he describes in diary form his journey with a spiritual master, Mother Meera. He meets her in the early 1990s when he is sent on a job project in Germany.

Mother Meera is an embodiment of the Divine Feminine, the Divine Mother on earth. She was born in India but today she lives in a tiny hamlet in the German countryside where she gives thousands of visitors her unique blessing of Darshan – in silence.

She teaches the unity of all religions. Everyone can go their own ways. It is only important to be connected with the light (the personal spiritual role model) every day by praying, reading or meditating.

Narendra’s accounts in this book, his determination to attain enlightenment, are inspiring. After work (he’s an engineer), he is anxious to drive for hours to sit – even if briefly – in front of Mother Meera. One wonders how this world would be if we gave as much attention to our spiritual growth as we did to the physical and mental aspects of our lives.

January 14, 2014

How Are You Doing on Your Journey?

“Dreams are a big part of our everyday life,” said Pastor Aaron during Sunday’s sermon at Freedom Christian. “Looking at the history of the church, I see that wherever the biggest dreamers and most creative people were, who continue to have God’s dreams birthed in their hearts and live them out, that’s where God moved the most.”

The remainder of his sermon, which is part of a 12 week series titled The Mission, was just as powerful and inspiring as he noted, “I think one of the dangers of Christian faith is simply this in America: We stopped dreaming yet we serve the greatest Dreamer of all time.”

He said that we as Christians submit to God’s sovereignty and use it as an excuse for our apathy, adding, “In America, we might not be faithful to God but God is still faithful to us and then we take his faithfulness and say, see, God must be pleased with my unfaithfulness because He’s still faithful to me when I’m unfaithful to Him.”

He paused along the way and asked, “How are you doing on your journey? What might God be challenging you to change about your attitude, your heart, your nature, maybe those dark places?”

It is answering such questions that helps one grow spiritually and feel a special closeness to God, but only if we ask them of ourselves regularly, not forget them at the church altar.

January 1, 2014

The Mystery School, My Little Secret

This February I’ll be starting the third year of the Mystery School (it’s a 4 year program). Very few people in my life know that for the last two years I’ve been enrolled in this school. Until now, I had kept it my little secret.

I stumbled upon this school in 2011 after reading Lynn Andrew’s Writing Spirit. Hugely influenced by this book, and because Lynn is an internationally bestselling author with 19 books under her belt, I called her up. I wanted advice on how to move ahead with my writing career. Little did I know then the journey I’d be embarking upon.

Like magic, the Mystery School began transforming my life as a writer, wife and mother. Its ancient Native American teachings were not strange to my ears. I come from a tribal nation that’s thousands of years old. My people are from Mesopotamia, where once upon a time long ago, similar types of teachings were the norm. Then people invented so many new things, that they forgot the value of anything older than 50 years.

Well, my little secret is no more. But what awaits me in the school are a lot of hidden rich secrets, which I cannot wait to unearth and discover.

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Month: January, 2014