WE ARE TAUGHT TO DISMISS OUR OWN THOUGHTS - Don Hanley’s blog #56

I pondered what I was learning as I continued having delightful and dreamy meetings with Mary, Jesus’s Mom, and John. I began to think that I was taught to make Jesus an idol of worship rather than learn how to become an increasingly loving being as he taught and lived. I was thinking of the many things I was taught to believe - the worst of these, I believe, is that I am not capable of thinking my own thoughts and must rely on others who are more educated, experienced, or capable than I am.

I had read THE PRINCE by a l6th century fellow named Machiavelli many years ago and thought it applied to Adolf Hitler. who demanded that everyone think just like him. The PRINCE stated that the most important thing a leader must do is to instill fear into the minds of the followers if he wishes to have conforming and loyal followers. Hundreds of years ago, I think that this advice even began to fit the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in matters of faith and morals. The church’s teaching is that one must unconditionally obey the laws as expressed by the bishops and priests, or we would be condemned to hell. It was the kind of fear-filled teaching that smacked of Machiavelli. Some sects make Catholics look like libertarians, e.g., forbidding singing or dancing, or having and driving cars, and many more, if one wanted to go to heaven. And that same kind of teaching applied to nearly everything. I dared not disobey    the government if it wanted me to become a soldier. And, as a male in our society, I must work hard and provide for a family if I was to be a 'good' man. And there are more.

 

I looked forward to talking with Mary and John about this. I was sure they would agree that Machiavelli's ideas were similar to those of the Roman Empire rulers; what about the Mosaic laws?

That evening, I returned to Nazareth and Mary’s beautiful flower garden. John, Ruth, and Julie were with her. Mary said that Paul was ailing with some flu and was resting in her spare room, and Joshua had taken food to him and was watching him. I told my trio of adults about my fear that the Christian churches ruled the faithful by instilling fear in them.  Julie played with her ragdoll as we talked. I told them about my thoughts about the PRINCE and fear-filled leadership, and John said, “This sounds a bit like the way Pharisees see the way we Jews must obey Yahweh. I think most of us conduct ourselves in a way that is not just one way but both ways – with fear and compliance through love and patience.” John said that Jesus often insisted that rules and ways of being are not either/or but both/and.  He condemned any imposition of fear either by word or action. We can honor the laws,  and remember laws were made for man and not man for the laws. And, again, the most important thing for everyone is to grow radiantly loving.

I responded, “And I like that. Most Christians I know are working to be loving and kind but are still somewhat fearful. I think I need to be more aware of the both/and approach, as I often judge myself and others too harshly.”

Mary added, “I fear our Paul of Tarsus has the same challenge. After all, you have lived in that fearful approach to our loving Father. I believe my Son, Jesus, was never afraid of our Father, Yahweh. And he helped Joseph and me to no longer have any of that fear. I still have some fear of our fellow humans, such as Julie’s reaction to that Roman army captain.  I guess some fears are natural and help us stay safe.

John added, “We need to be connected more closely than just gazing at some idol. As Jesus said repeatedly, we need to care for one another in every way and all ways. We are not created to be alone.”

Ruth made an interesting comment: “I think there is a connection between idolatry and adultery. To commit adultery is to try to love more than one person in the same way as one loves his or her spouse. To be an idolater is to idolize or praise some object that is not God, nor is it truly connected to God.” I clapped for her, and the others joined me. Julie looked at us questioningly.

I shared the experience of seeing an inspiring picture of  one of the most radiantly loving person I ever knew - the wife of my dear friend, Joe Dillon. It inspired Joe, but he did not worship it.  I thought of the thousands, even millions of people in the world who were inspired by pictures and statues and even buildings but did not worship them. And with that, I disappeared again.

Now, open your heart and be inspired by an image or a set of writings. Pay attention to the banquet and enhance the world.

I REFUSE TO BE A “GOD-FEARING” MAN – Don Hanley's blog #54

When I was back in my walking-around world, I attended a Christian, non-Catholic funeral of my lifelong friend, a dedicated Methodist. He had been a wonderful, friendly, joyous, and life-giving fellow whom I will miss greatly. The minister was much more conservative than my friend. He called John a ‘God-fearing man.’ That was a term I disliked and never used.

One time, I looked it up, and, historically, it did not mean to be afraid of God, but it did mean being very conforming to all the traditional Christian commandments – and there were hundreds more than ten. I was sure my friend John would not consider being God-fearing a compliment.

When I got home from the funeral, I picked up an inspiring book entitled Anam Cara by John O’Donoghue and read this:

A Blessing for the Senses

“May your body be blessed.

May you realize that your body is a faithful and a beautiful friend of your soul.

And may you be peaceful and joyful and recognize that your senses are sacred thresholds.

May you realize that holiness is mindful, gazing, feeling, and touching.

May your senses gather you and bring you home.

May your senses always enable you to celebrate the universe and the Mystery and possibilities in your presence here

May the Eros of the Earth bless you”.

Now, that would have been a far better thing to say than telling us that John was a ‘God-fearing man!’ I decided to take this to my next meeting with Mary and the others at our next dream meeting.

I didn’t have to wait long. I sat in Mary’s flower garden with John, Luke, Paul, Ruth, Joshua, and Julie that evening. Julie was the first one to speak, “I don’t know what that funeral guy was thinking, but as my grandma Mary would say, ‘He’s full of prunes.’” I don’t know how the translator angel said it, but everyone laughed, and I said, “Julie, you are so smart, and I agree with you.” She grinned, came over to me, and hugged me.

John said, “Jesus, as I’m sure you know by now, never wanted anyone to live in fear. He wanted us to do everything we do out of love and kindness, never out of fear or because we think he or anyone else said he or she should do it. I can’t stress that enough.” Paul asked, “But didn’t he say we must love others to get to heaven and be with God, our Father?”

John responded, “Not in the way you seem to be saying – as we must conform to some commandment, but that we do whatever we do because we are living a life of loving kindness and being one with the spirit or grace of the Father. For those who love, we don’t need to think about it; we must act just like breathing.”

John stopped, took a noisy deep breath, and said, “I just decided to take that noisy breath, but I do not need to do that every time I breathe. If I did, I would not stay alive very long. I breathe, and now, after spending time with Jesus and with Mary, Joshua, Ruth, Julie, and others, I am loving. The big difference between breathing and loving is that in love, we need others to help us keep in touch or connect with others – literally or in our memorial experience.”

Luke, John, and Paul continued to discuss what it means to be a loving person, and I was enjoying it a great deal—darn it, I disappeared.

Now, nurture your heart, breathe, and reflect on your menus. Enjoy the banquet of love, and then do something positive!

A CHRISTIAN LOVES HIM/HERSELF AND OTHERS - Don Hanley's blog #52

While I was back in the 21^st century, I had other dreams besides the wonderful ones in Nazareth. In one, I was visiting my old (1964) parish in Kansas. In that dream, I was standing with a group of Catholic adults, and, for some reason, one portly middle-aged fellow asked me if I was a Catholic. I replied, “In my own way.” He promptly asked, “What the hell does that mean?”

“I believe I follow Jesus’s message to love others as I should love myself. So, you tell me what kind of Catholic you are. You come across to me as a mean-spirited kind of one.” He got a rather mean look and said, “Oh, I do, do I? Let me show you what it means.” He drew his right arm back and started to swing, and a fellow behind him grabbed his swinging arm, and another man grabbed his left arm. They both looked at him as he glared at me. One of them said, “We’re sorry about that, sir. George here is always looking for some trouble.” I woke up and shook my head, wondering what the dream was trying to teach me. The following night, I was glad to be back in Nazareth with my favorite kind of loving people and sitting in Mary’s flower garden.

“You look a bit worried, my old and young friend. Now, tell us about it. John is getting bored trying to get Paul here to understand what my Jesus was all about.”

“Well, Mary…” I glanced over at Paul before continuing, “… back in my century; a fellow got angry because I told him I was just the kind of Christian who worked on loving others as I hoped I loved myself. I then asked him whether that was true for him, too.” He answered me by saying he would show me how he answered smart alecks and started to hit me with his fist. Fortunately for me, two other fellows stopped him.

Mary asked if those who stopped him were violent in any way, and when I said no. Then, she said they were being more Christian than the guy. I agreed, and she turned to Paul and said, “Now, Paul, that is an example of what I was trying to say; Jesus taught that how we live and conduct ourselves is more important than just saying what we believe. Don’s angry man is not a Christian if that is the way he habitually treats others. Jesus insisted that those who follow him must be non-violent – even if it costs them their lives. Of course, that is what he lived and why he was crucified.” She shuddered as she said this.

She continued, “Now, Paul, it is very important that you tell others who want to follow Jesus that it means that they must love others, not just mouth words that they believe might please Jesus and Yahweh, who is sitting on a throne somewhere in the heavenly sky.” She turned back to me and added, “And Don, I have thought greatly about what you said the last time we were together. You said that millions of men soldiers killed millions more and called themselves ‘Christians’. Something has gone wrong, very wrong, over the years, even centuries, for them to even dare to say they are ‘Christians’.”

I agree with you, Mary, and fortunately there are many Christians who are very like Joshua and Ruth and know how to love and radiate that love to others. Unfortunately, they were often outnumbered by those devoted to rigidly just follow the laws and rules that they believed Jesus espoused.”

John added,  “That is so sad. Jesus wanted us, his followers. to help one another survive, and not only survive, but to discover and enjoy living together in peace and harmony..

I felt more than a little ashamed when I said, "When I was a priest, I often got in trouble with a few church authorities for espousing this kind of thinking.”

I smiled when Mary said, “Well, they were wrong, and they need to get off their thrones or whatever they are sitting on, go out into the desert, and think about it. Or maybe they need to find a good woman who can love and have a baby or two with her.” She smiled with satisfaction.

This time, I was smiling when I disappeared. Now . . .

Keep opening your mind and heart to studying the menus, and BE love.

SAVORING THE POWER TO BE WITH - Don Hanley’s blog #48

For days, I reflected on the nature of love as my trio of friends in Nazareth talked about it. I thought of some people, both men and women, who I believed lived that kind of love. I also wondered how well I had lived it. Thinking about this prompted me to meet Mary and her visitors in another vivid dream. This time, the trio seemed quite excited that Paul had awakened. Joshua, Ruth, and Julie stayed home and ensured Paul was okay.

Again, Mary greeted me warmly, “Welcome, our 21^st. Century friend. Luke told us that Ruth and Joshua’s visitor, Paul, has awakened and is amazed at how well he feels emotionally. He is having a hard time realizing that he has been in a coma for three weeks or so. I was telling her that I was certain that he, in his entire life, had never experienced the kind of loving care that she, Joshua, and Julie have given him. She was about to argue with me when you showed up.”

“And I’ll bet you are right, Mary. And I'm beginning to believe that he is receiving the kind of love that Jesus wanted everyone on earth to express to everyone. I hope this fellow, Paul, begins to tell people about that rather than persecuting those who know how to love. What do you think, John and Luke?”

“It’s too soon to tell.” Luke added, “Physically, he will take several more days to heal sufficiently to get out of bed and do more time than it takes to go to the latrine. He is muttering about how wonderfully kind you and Joshua are to him.”

John added, “And, Don, I’m glad that you have recognized that Ruth and Joshua’s love is exactly what Jesus told us about and insisting that we all have the power to be so kind. We need to open our hearts and express it rather than be cruel, envious, and all the other ways that hinder us from being peaceful, creative, and gifted folks. Were you teaching this as a priest in your younger years?”

“I would like to say ‘Yes,’ but I was told about it, but I was not taught how to help others and be self-accepting. I think I was taught to be a kind of Christian Pharisee - spouting all kinds of so-called spiritual laws and ‘shoulds’ that everyone must do and keep if they wanted to get to heaven and be with the Father.”

The last time I was here, Ruth was kind enough to say that she experienced me as a lovingly kind person. I responded, “I can only say that being with Mary, John, Luke, and her has helped me to become more loving and kind. It is something that I believe we must experience, as John says, and not something that is taught like a language or doctrine.”

And with those ‘wise’ words, I vanished again; so, please . . .

Be the kind of person who radiates love and kindness and does not read the menus but enjoys the banquet of life.

What About All Those Miracles? - Don Hanley’s blog #45

I was glad to be back in my dreamland with Mary and John. Now, I’m wondering who I’ll get to meet this time. I seemed to have stayed in my dream, and I was surprised to meet Joshua, Ruth’s husband, and their beautiful little girl, Julie. Julie was attractive like her parents, but her face was marred by a cleft palate. Ruth was also with them and told me that Luke was watching Paul if he woke up or needed to be moved.

Mary smiled and said, “Welcome back, my new and very old friend. I want to introduce you to two of my favorite neighbors and friends, Joshua, Ruth’s husband, and their beautiful daughter Julie.”

I hobbled over and shook both of their hands. It was so nice to have Julie’s tiny hands in mine.” I’m so glad to meet you and Julie; you are as pretty as your mom.” She smiled, and Joshua told me she was just two years and two months old.

“I’m glad to meet you, Joshua. I hear you knew Jesus from the time you were a little boy. How old was Jesus when you first met him?”

He looked at Mary and said, “I think he would have been around ten, don’t you think, Mary?”

“I would guess that would have been about right. It was before Joseph, and I took him on a trip to Jerusalem because I remember you telling us after you learned that the so-called wise men there were astounded at his questions and even answers about Yahweh. You said, ‘They should come to Nazareth and spend a few days with Jesus. They would learn far more than they know now.’” Both she and Joshua chuckled.

Mary looked at me and added, “Joshua followed Jesus around.” She looked at Joshua and continued, “I think you were his most consistent student and helper, don’t you?”

I just had to ask Mary and Joshua, “If Jesus was still walking among us today, would he have helped Julie with her lip?” John and Luke looked at me like I was some idiot, and Mary, being more kind and polite, simply smiled.

After an uncomfortable pause, John answered, “You’ve been exposed to too many tales about Jesus that mistakenly describe Jesus as some magical miracle worker rather than the enlightened messenger who had good news for all people. And again, let me tell you that he repeatedly told us, his disciples, after being asked to perform a miracle for someone. “If I am gifted enough to perform these kinds of miracles, I would be sitting all day somewhere performing healings, and people would be waiting in long lines. I would not be able to do what I have been sent to do, which is to enlighten people about their own miraculous powers - given by our Father when he created us and has remained hidden for too many even now. All creation is a miracle – especially humans.” 

John continued to say that Jesus was present when a few people began to ‘see’ more clearly the true meaning of life. And often they told everyone, ‘I had been ‘blind’ but now could ‘see.’ And a few other experiences like that." I asked him about the wedding feast where Jesus turned the water into wine. John chuckled and told me that there was a rich wine maker and grower in attendance that day and he was notoriously stingy. When Mary told Jesus that they were almost out of wine, Jesus asked the rich wine maker if he could share some of his wine. The man was so moved by Jesus's reequest and concern, he sent a servant to his home to bring back more wine. Those of us who knew the man, called it a miracle. It would not have seemed worthy of note, if we had simply said, "Jesus asked a rich fellow to share some wine, but calling it a 'miracle' made it notable. 

Later Luke told us he had a physician and friend in Jerusalem did have the training to be able to operate on Julie's lip, and he would talk to him when he was back in the capital.

Of course, this discussion on miracles helped me understand  more clearly the nature of Jesus and his mission. I sighed a deep sigh of relief and … disappeared. So, now, please …

Nurture and open your heart, study the menus and begin or continue to enjoy the banquet.

Please find the time to go to Amazon Books, search for Don Hanley’s books, and buy one (or more).

Still Waiting for Paul and Meeting Luke - Don Hanley’s blog #44

I was very pleased that I came right back to the dream with Mary, John, and Ruth. The last time I had learned that Paul of Tarsus, the fellow who had been persecuting the Jews, especially those who had become followers of Jesus. He was now in a coma and right here in Nazareth. I was still in ‘my’ chair in Mary’s flower garden, and John explained Paul’s letter in his horse’s saddle bag.

After Mary gave me her warm welcome-back greeting, John said, “I do believe this man in Joshua and Ruth’s house is the fellow who has been sending some Jews, who are devoted to Jesus, to jail and even condemning them and ordering them to be beaten. I know both John and Ruth knew Jesus well and that he even helped Joshua, Ruth’s husband, build latrines here in Nazareth. And I’m sure Jesus would approve of them helping care for Paul after his accident. Jesus often said, ‘Love one another and even your enemies.’

Ruth added, “Of course, Jesus would have approved of our helping this fellow. We did not know at first what he had done to those who followed Jesus, but even if we had, we would have taken care of him. Don, Mary, and John tell me that you, twenty-one hundred years before now, still believe in Jesus. So, I would you ask such a question?”

“I am still working to understand Jesus’s true nature and mission.  Most of those we call Christians in the 21^st century believe Jesus was God and man – fully God and fully man.” I talked directly to Ruth but kept glancing at both Mary and John. So, even before I began dreaming about being with Mary and John, I tended to think that Jesus was fully human and was so very enlightened that he was one with God the Father. And, as I read the Gospels or other accounts of those who had been with Jesus before he was executed, I thought of him as one of us humans but far more enlightened and working to help us become more fully one with him and our Father.”

Mary nodded, indicting she agreed with me, and then added, “Now I am concerned that this Paul fellow will be troublesome when he wakes up.

Ruth said, “He is still breathing evenly but not moving except when Joshua and I move him to prevent bed sores.”

Just then, a man on a horse rode up near us. John jumped up and said, “This is Luke, my fellow apostle, and I’m guessing he is the one you mentioned when you read Paul’s letter years later.” He walked over just as Luke dismounted. They gave each other a warm hug and greeting. I was curious to know why he was here and had a horse, as I was sure Luke was not a Roman citizen. Luke cleared that up rather quickly after he and I were introduced; he informed us that he had been drafted to be King Harod’s palace physician, and one of his perks was having a horse, and again, I vanished.

Continue opening and nurturing your heart, avoiding eating the menu, and enjoying the banquet.