Finding Spiritual Wholeness in the Midst of Conflict, Change, and Confusion | Rev. John Riley

Well, we are on a journey. We are on a journey to discover spiritual wholeness and we have been on this journey the last few weeks. And today, the key to finding wholeness, spiritual wholeness is the – sorry, the key to finding spiritual wholeness in the middle of change, conflict and confusion is by shining your inner light. 

The I of the Storm

We have been on this journey using the book, The I Of The Storm, Embracing Conflict, Creating Peace by Dr. Gary Simmons, that idea of embracing conflict and creating peace. So, it’s that we’re in the storm, we are in the storms of our lives because there are changes that happen in our world. There is confusion that happens in our lives and there is conflict sometimes in our lives and our relationship. That’s kind of the nature of our human condition as spiritual beings. And so, through this process of living we can experience spiritual wholeness, through any situation, whatever is happening around us, whatever is happening to us, whatever is happening inside of us. In the midst of all of that, we can still have this sense of spiritual wholeness. 

The Common Union 

We began with the idea of communion, that common union that we have with God, that common union that we have with each other, identifying it, acknowledging it, then embracing it and practicing communion where we share these ideas and these experiences, our spiritual thoughts where we open up to that infinite flow of life, love, and wisdom from the divine source within. 

Clear Spiritual Vision

Then we practice seeing the world through clear spiritual vision, by looking at the world not through our stories, not through those limiting beliefs that we have, not through our automated behavior patterns, but rather intentionally looking at the world, at our life, at our situations with a clear spiritual vision, looking at it for what it is. And then we moved on to living on purpose, living with a sense of purpose, purposely, waking up each morning with the intention, today, I am going to live into this idea that I am how God gets around, that I, if God is everywhere present, that I’m that expression and experience. I can be that experience of God in action. I can allow that that infinite source of life, love and wisdom to guide me, to express through me and to be my expression into this world. 

There are times when it gets a little tough to do that — at times when there is lot of change, when there’s a lot of confusion, when there is fear, when there’s uncertainty, where there’s conflict, where there’s doubt, where we are struggling in life, where we hit a roadblock. 

The Practice of Non-Resistance

But one of the keys to moving through that process even in the midst of the change and the confusion, moving through it with spiritual wholeness is the practice of non-resistance — I’m forgetting the words. Let me take a sip. It must be my allergies from these beautiful flowers. No, they’re not. — the spiritual practice, the profound spiritual practice of non-resistance. Non-resistance is a very deep practice and it’s something that is a lifelong journey of understanding. There are times when we can look at it and say okay, that makes sense to us. And then there are times when the word non-resistance just doesn’t hold meaning for us. That’s especially true when we’re looking at the world, at the things that we create in the world. Looking at these human creations, these human inventions, these human things that — like for example, I wouldn’t necessarily practice non-resistance, one might think, I wouldn’t practice non-resistance in tyranny. Maybe there is something that I need to push against. I shouldn’t practice non-resistant when we have social injustice, or we have systemic racism. That’s not a place to practice non-resistance. It is from a spiritual perspective, when you understand how we mean the word non-resistant. 

Open and Receptive to Life

In his book, Dr. Simmons says this, he says, “You were the avenue through which the presence of God lives in this world”. For this to occur you must be present to life. You must be open and receptive to life. You must be there and willing, and a willing participant in life. Now, so often when things come at us we get into our defensive posture. Our walls come up. We hunker down. Our emotions, our relationships then tend to shrink because we are shrinking from the situation. We’re shrinking from the world. We are shrinking from the conflict. In the vein of, in the idea of, trying to protect ourselves, we hunker down. The challenge with hunkering down is that we then are in a posture where we are suppressing all of the feelings that we have. We’re not living into our full divinity. We’re not being the presence who can bring peace into the world. We are firing our shots through our walls. So, that’s what happens when we become resistant to things. We begin to hunker down. 

He says, “You must show up, you must be present to life. Non-resistance is the I of the storm” and the I of the storm with a capital I, that me, that divine presence in the storm, that poise in confusion, that poise in an attack, that centeringness in a debate, that coming from a place of common union when we have an argument or disagreement, coming from a place of centeredness when there is all of the storm around me, coming from a place of centeredness in the middle of a diagnosis or something that’s happening within me, coming from that place within us that is pure, that is whole. That’s the I of the storm. When we come from that place, we’re really open and receptive to whatever life has to bring. We are open and receptive to the gifts that are coming to us. We are open and receptive to the lessons or the opportunities that are presented there. And when we come from a place of defensiveness, of resistance, then we are closed off from seeing the possibilities, from seeing the way through it. We’re just going to hunker down until it’s over, till it blows over and then I’m going to re-emerge. That’s something I think we learned as a kid. Just hang on and a few days later, everything’s right as rain. 

“Non-resistance and communion are overlapping attributes”, Gary says, “that being present to life without conditions means being connected to our experience”, to whatever is happening in the moment, “without pushing it away, without ifs, ands, or buts”. The idea of non-resistance, that phrase, can generate a lot of “yeah buts” in our life. Non-resistance, yeah, but, if you were in this situation, you would be looking at a differently. So again, what we need to do is look at it not from the standpoint of how we’re going to react to somebody, but non-resistance from the standpoint of “How can I stand in my spiritual strength? How can I draw upon all of my spiritual abilities, all of that spiritual power that’s within me, all of that strength that’s within me and be present to the situation, without allowing it to diminish me, without allowing it to suppress me, without allowing it to bash me against the wall?” So often, we are in this stream of life and when things happen, we are holding onto the sides afraid to flow with life, afraid to allow it, to follow, to take us where it needs to go. So, whatever comes to us in life we can be present to it without resisting it but be present to it and coming to it from a place of strength within. 

Your Feelings and Your Intuition

Dr. Simmons says being present to life also means being connected to your feelings and your intuition. So often, we want to cut off those feelings. We want to shut down when we start to feel angry. We want to shut down when we start to feel sad, or lonely, or afraid. We want to shut down whenever we’re starting to get attacked. That’s that defense mechanism. Non-resistance isn’t about shutting down or blocking it or trying to push it away. Non-resistance is just being present to it, just being present to it, saying “Okay, here’s what’s happening and here’s how I’m experiencing it. Here are the feelings that I have around it.” Being present also means taking life into your center. He says, when we’re centered, we relax and are interested in creating a safe place for everyone in the experience, not just for yourself, but being present to life as a whole, being present to our common union. 

When we come, when we are getting bombarded, whatever it is in life that’s coming at us, that storm that’s around us, when it’s coming it’s being present to it and bringing it into the center of our being. Bringing it in means not having it overwhelm us, not saying “Okay, this is my life now”. It’s like bringing the situation the data with clear spiritual vision into the center of our being, into that place where there is pure love so that within us we can surround our experience, our belief around it, in that harmonizing energy, bringing it within us where there is strength so that we can be with that situation, with those thoughts and ideas and not be diminished by it, bring it into our center of being and being centered in that process, being connected to Spirit, being connected to Source, being connected to that inner strength within. Being present means letting your center, your spiritual nature, move you instead of letting your fears and insecurities move you. 

The Key to Finding Spiritual Wholeness

So, when we are present and non-resistant, we are clearly aware of what’s happening. We are aware of our own emotions and our own feelings about it. We have the ability to center ourselves because we’re not reactive. We are not in fight, flight or fear mode. We are just being with it, without giving it a whole lot of story, without making stuff up and fueling the fire if you will, but being centered and present with it. Then in that presence, we are able to see opportunities, ways in which we can maneuver through it, ways in which we can come up with new ideas and new solutions, ways in which we might be able to bridge the gap between each other, ways in which you can move forward and not feel stuck. That’s what non-resistance is all about. It’s about being really truly present to whatever the situation is. “A movement from centre”, he says, “is always authentic, an authentic response to the situation. Authentic action means doing the right thing, my center, my connection with God, moving me to sit in the still calm.” The key to finding that spiritual wholeness in the midst of all of the muck, all of the mire, all of the stuff, is by shining your inner light, by allowing it to be present and allowing your light to shine on it, allowing your light to shine through it so that you can move through it with ease and grace. 

The Four Facets of Being Present

There’s a great metaphor. It’s really like that there are four facets of being present for ideas and you can use the idea of a light bulb and a light switch as a great metaphor. For a light bulb to work you need to have energy. You need to have that, you need to be connected to the source and then there’s a connection that goes to the light bulb, the wire that takes the energy to the light bulb. Then in between there, there’s a switch. The switch is either on or off or perhaps it’s a dimmable switch. That switch is your resistance. When the switch is off, my light is not shining. I’m hunkered down. I am, as they might say, my shadow twin, Skippy. It’s not John showing up anymore. Skippy’s here — everyone, run for the hills. Now I may turn the switch on a little bit, lift up the dimmer and then my light shines a little bit. We’re having a little less resistance to it. The energy is starting to flow. Yet it’s not really so bright and I’m still limiting myself. It’s not the situation that limits me; it’s my reaction to it, it’s my resistance to it. It’s not the argument or the things that people hurl at me. It’s not the things that people say about me. It’s my reaction to it that creates my sense of disconnection from that other person, that creates that sense of diminishment. My light is not shining so much, not because of you but I have been on a dimmer switch. I’m resisting it. 

Those things that you say about me, might be true to some degree. Those might be opportunities for me if I look at it from that perspective if I’m not resistant to it and just bring it into my centre from a place of calm and peace and look at it clearly. Okay, I can see that at times that might be me, but it’s not the whole of me. I can see how sometimes I get frustrated or sometimes I make mistakes and sometimes I go down a path that isn’t the right path but that’s not the whole of me. When I look at it from that perspective, I can say okay, I can breathe, and say there’s an area for my growth and I’m just going to take that nugget and discard the rest. I’m going to discard the shame. I’m going to discard the blame. I’m going to discard the insults because that’s not true to who I am. As a spiritual being, I am whole and you are whole and I know that the insults that you are hurling at me are not coming from your centre perhaps, but your dimmer switch, your sense of anger, your resistance. So, I can have compassion for someone else and understand that their circuit breaker just went off and no power, no power to the system. 

Looking with Spiritual Vision

So, this idea of the light switch, whenever we run into and bump into some conflict, whenever we have something, a goal or project that doesn’t go the way we think it’s going to go, instead of letting it wrap us around the axle, instead of getting upset about it, look at it with spiritual vision. Look at the data. How can I look at this differently? What lessons can I learn from it? How can I improve myself from it? What good can come of it? How can we redirect it, redirect the energy to another light? How can we change the situation by being present to it and coming to it from that sense of who we are, that inner sense of joy, that inner sense of love, that inner sense of gratitude for who we truly are? Non-resistance is a very very deep practice and let’s just simplify it. Let’s just keep in mind that light switch. When that problem comes, am I going to allow the full energy of that divine pattern within me to flow? When that argument comes, am I going to allow that full energy of presence to presence me so that I can move forward with ease and grace? When that loss or that challenge or that grief shows up, can I be present to it, allow it to be and centre, bring it into that centre of my being, bring it into that centre of love and allow that presence, that power, that substance, that intelligence, that wisdom to flow so that I can learn to embrace conflict, so that I can learn to be a presence of peace, so that I can learn to be that I of the storm? 

Our affirmation today is on the screen and I’ll read it once and then invite you to affirm it with me. 

Open and receptive to what is, I welcome what shows up and allow love to heal and harmonize my life. I AM present to life. 

Would you affirm that with me? Together: 

Open and receptive to what is, I welcome what shows up and allow love to heal and harmonize my life. I AM present to life. 

Shining Your Light

Allow that feeling, that emotion, that sensation, that energy to flow up, to bubble up within you. Allow it to flow so that your light can shine. Pema Chodron, in her book, When Things Fall Apart, wrote, “Things falling apart is a kind of testing and also a kind of healing. We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get resolved or solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and then they fall apart. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen, room for grief, room for relief, room for misery and room for joy”, without resistance, being present to life, being open and receptive to what is, so that we can bring forth that spiritual wholeness that is within each one of us. Because each one of you has within you right now everything you need to bring a sense of peace to your life, to stand in your power and to be that bright light that you are.