Spirit Suppers

A few weekends ago, I attended an inter-faith conference where I picked up a few ideas to share with readers. One such idea came from a class titled "Spirit Suppers" also known as "Silent Suppers."

In short, a seat at the table -- the best seat -- was left open for a special guest. This could be an ancestor one wished to honor, a spiritual guide or even a deity. While the first few suggestions included pagan deities, someone mentioned, "Why not Jesus?"

Why not?

This concept isn't far from our Judaic roots. A Passover Seder tradition is leaving a special chair vacant for Elijah and invoking an invitation. The tradition in some families is that if a stranger shows up for dinner that night, it may be Elijah in disguise.

What if we invited Yeshua / Jesus to our suppers? After all, we are invited by Him to partake in His Supper.

Would we set aside the best seat? Would we offer Him the best food? Would every member of the family sit at the table at the same time?

Another aspect of spirit suppers can also be included in a supper with Christ. People turn to the seat and speak directly to the honored guest. While this may seem strange, talking to an empty chair has been used in other aspects of life, from talk-show hosts to therapists. 

What would you say to Yeshua / Jesus if He shared a meal with you? Would you sing His praises? Would you tell a funny joke? Would you share stories from your life?

Would you voice opinions about life, or events in your community or around the world? Would you include Him in the conversation with others at the table? Would you ask Him questions?

Would you just ask Him to pass the salt? Or would you ignore the seat completely?

Many Christians proclaim that Christ is at our side every moment. When we bring that into a more tangible aspect, it brings that home all the more.

Yes, Yeshua / Jesus is there whether we are sitting down to a big, crowded holiday dinner, chowing down on pizza in the midst of a busy schedule, or even when there is no funds for a meal at all. But when we acknowledge it by leaving a place for Him at the table, when we share our lives with Him, it makes His constant Presence more real to us.

Who will you invite to dinner?

Will there be a place for Him?

What will you say as He shares the meal?

~ESA

Dear Diary

To save time and space, I will completely separate my two blogs. I will no longer post duplications.

For stories and things I want to share publicly, I will continue to blog here, with links to my Twitter account.

For personal thoughts on my spiritual growth and development, I will post on Bride's Blog to Beyond.

Thanks for your continued readership.

** Image: Source unknown.

Memory Lane

I hope my readers let me indulge in a jaunt down memory lane. Though I swear I had that hairstyle with my "banana seat" bicycle when I was in high school, I will only scroll back to the time I was in college...

It was the late 1980's. OK - while some of you weren't even sparks in your parents eyes, some of you probably just thought, "That isn't that far back!"

That was a time before CD's, when being able to play a cassette tape in the car was a cool thing. Though it was a bit better than the first cars of my parents' generation, where they only had AM radio.

It was a time before the public access of the world-wide web (a.k.a. the internet). Computers were no longer huge machines with punch-cards and spinning reel-to-reel machinery that took over a whole room. By then, there were humble desktop computers that ran on a new language called DOS.

This was a lot better than strings of ones and zeros. I remember typing in lines of DOS code in my computer class. But I had a hidden asset; my kid brother was a genius on using those blinking boxes since he was in the 8th grade. He taught the teachers how to use the school one.

The time when we would dial up over the phone lines to "post messages" on a virtual "bulletin board" didn't arrive until well after collage. So I declined to learn more than the basic requirements of this blinking box.

It couldn't even help me type up my school reports. There were better tools for that. I had transitioned from manual to electric typewriters in high school. For those younger readers, "manual" means one without ANY use of electricity. The electric ones had no screen, but replaced the keys that would jam together if you typed too fast, with a spinning ball that could fly out if you typed too fast. For those my age and older, remember typing a page and making a mistake, where you would have to retype the WHOLE page?

I had a "high-tech" typewriter as my graduation gift before college. This would let me scroll through one whole line of type and correct it before I hit the "Return" key, which acted like today's "Enter" key and typed out that line. (Before that, for you youngsters, the "Return" key was how you got to the next line on a page. What wordwrap?) This technology saved on correction tape. If I missed a typo on the screen, though, I still had to manually scroll up with the roller on the side (not the "scroll-bar"), space over to the spot, and use the typewriter's version of "white out" to cover and re-type the error. If it was more than a few words, I would just crumple up the page and begin again...

We were well before the age of the "spell-checker" too. One would hire an English major to proofread a school report before handing it in.

Phones were another thing that changed over the years. Hands up ~ who remembers what this is? This was still on the phones at my parents' home when I was in college. My grandparents had this on their sole house phone too. But their phone number dated to an even-older technology: IVANHOE-6-3015. While we no longer needed to have an operator connect us, we did have to use the rotary phone letters to dial "IV" and the numbers. (And I bet you youngsters thought letters on the keypad had to do with texting!)

My college roommate and I had the luxury of sharing a phone (and our first regular bill). But ours was a newer technology - the push button phone! (We paid extra for "touch tone" dialing.) It was still connected to the phone jack in the wall, and the hand-held receiver was connected to the base with a long spiral cord. If I wanted a private conversation, I either called when my roommate was in class, or I hid in the closet like I did at home... until someone tripped over the phone cord and yelled at me! :P

The phone bill was different too. I paid per minute on local calls and a small fortune for long distance. But for some reason, when there was someone we loved (as boyfriend or girlfriend), we wouldn't count those minutes. We would spend an hour or more in either conversation or just listening to each other breathe in the silence. Maybe that didn't mean much to the guys, but it did to the girls. I wasn't the only one who would curl up around the receiver and shut my eyes listening...

The world keeps changing. There are generations today that will only know of what I speak from old stories and history class. Now we connect over cordless phones that work anywhere (or at least where we get a signal). We touch our loved ones over the internet, even in a virtual "face-to-face" conversation.

Is it really the same? I remember the old AT&T commercials: "Have you ever tucked your kid in from 10,000 miles away? You will!" We never did get those video-phone booths we were promised though. In fact, finding a working phone booth in the US today is a rarity. My husband is screwed if he ever has to use one; we can't afford cell phones. Mine is a company phone.

There is something my husband mentioned about today's technology that makes me think: "When a person is chatting, texting, tweeting or whatever online or on the phones, they are NOT where they are physically. Their mind -- and maybe something else -- is elsewhere."

It's sad to see a family having dinner together in a restaurant, yet all of them are using either hand-held video games or their smart phones. They don't speak to each other; they  barely notice the food they are eating. The only thing they have in common at that moment is where their bodies are.

Will we actually go to the extent of sci-fi, where our bodies are connected to some machine to keep us fed and alive and our minds are ... out there?

As I grew up, there was growing interest that started in the 1970's (maybe earlier, but I wasn't around much before 1969...). In grade school, I was assigned a science fair project on Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP). Ever since then, my ears would catch conversations about those studies. In college, there were lectures on telepathy, empathic ability, telekinesis, etc. There was curiosity about the spirit and how we could reach out and connect beyond the copper phone lines that were strung overhead everywhere.

In college, we would hug the phone close to our ear just to listen to a distant loved one breathe. There was a connection, despite the miles between. Perhaps there is a connection through the electronic world today, as well. Could our spirits have adapted to some degree that we use the technology to reach out and touch another spirit, even when we can not physically touch that person?

I am not a techo-phobe, and would likely have an iPad and smart phone if it was in my fiscal ability. The laptop I use to type this is also a company tool (with permission). But I also consider how this technology changes us.

Can I be the only one that found addictions to Twitter, FaceBook (and countless other online stuff) eating up all the time I can spare, and even more late into the night? Am I the only one that has seen online activities killing time I should be spending with family or visiting a friend who's struggling with illness?

Am I the only one that needs to unplug?

I've even been diagnosed (temporarily) with Adult-ADHD. I never had it as a kid, nor did I show any signs of it as a child, in my 20's or even 30's. Why now? Technology overload? Is that what happens when I try to keep up with all the things online? Instead of letting the doctors put me on medications that screw with my head, I sought prayer and looked for the root cause.

Unplugging helped -- significantly. It also brought me closer to my family members again. I have more time to volunteer and talk face-to-face with my neighbors and co-workers. Though I wonder if they will become jealous of my time when I go back to Twitter again...

In my life, my goal here is to find balance. I do enjoy reaching out and connecting to people worldwide. Perhaps there is a spiritual element. I've found the same "connection" when I pray for someone at a distance, as well as when I tweet back to folks online in rhyme. Perhaps it was there when I hung onto the phone and listened to a loved one breathing... just sharing that moment in time.

But I also know, too, that face-to-face connections are required. We are not spirits with minds alone. We are also spirits with bodies. While some consider the body "evil temptation," there are benevolent uses for the body too. A touch, a handshake, a hug, a kiss, ... a look when eyes meet eyes.

What do you do with your time

When you are no longer online?

~ESA

Obstacles and Tools

As one strives to grow spiritually, one recognizes and overcomes obstacles that impede growth. Often, these can be summed up in two words: Fear and Self-Pride.

Fear hinders our efforts to open our hearts and reach out to others. It prevents us from leaving comfortable situations for something new and unknown. Fear of failure stills hands and tongues more often than any criticism, reprimand or outside threat.

Self-Pride - feeling that I am greater or stand taller than others in someone's eyes (including God's) - leads to prejudice, ostentation, greed, jealousy, bitterness, lies, and corruption of the soul. With it, one's eyes remain on oneself and not where they should be.

Then there's the combination of the two: when one allows fear of what others think of them to alter what one is inspired to do. That defeats the purpose, for in changing it one weakens or kills it. Or worse, changes it's message or intent.

Within our possession we have tools to counter this.

Faith and Trust work together to form the Courage that sees us through the Fear. Faith and Trust in God opens us to Guidance and Understanding of things that were beyond us, helping us break the illusion fear often holds before our eyes.

We also bring out the best in others by believing in them and trusting them to do the right thing. Yes, we will get hurt, for the world is not perfect. But it's good-faith efforts that allows humanity to collaborate. And when we work together, something amazing happens: We accomplish far more than the sum of our individual efforts!

Humility is hard to maintain, but it keeps the ego down to a manageable size. It helps one to see the the false glitter of lies and LAUGH in it's face! It will not be in standing before people but in serving people that things progress. For in working for and with one another, we grow. Those that stand proudly in front oft are the ones blocking the progress.

Keeping our eyes off ourselves is one of the hardest things. Each year we celebrate our own birth. Attention is given to individual grades in school; personal accomplishments are recognized. To get a job, we must tell people what we do and how well we do it. It's become our way of life.

We need to avert our eyes from a public, self-centered perspective to see what is outside of ourselves (others and their needs) and within ourselves (God's Love, Guidance and Wisdom).

Further, this leads to another tool: Prayer. When we know we are not alone, and when we realize we need help, we pray. Sometimes we bemoan our circumstances and ask for help. But when take our eyes off ourselves completely, praying for others and opening ourselves to His Guidance, we let His Love combine with our love.

And in serving humbly, we allow that Love to flow through our thoughts, works and words. When we focus on self, this is choked off. When we focus how WE are helping others, it is crippled. But when we move our focus off ourselves entirely, it flows sweetly.

When we get past the Fear and Self-Pride,
So many wondrous things happen.

-ESA

Period of Renewal and Growth

Lent is often a time of preparation, a time of denial or fasting, and a time of prayer. Often we may do some aspect of this and not know why. Part of my own Lenten practices stem from the following understanding; what I refer to as the Tripod of Growth:

There are three things that will help someone grow in Spirit and Soul. These are prayer, fasting and good works. Like three legs of a tripod, they must work together in harmony and balance; too much of one or not enough of another and the whole thing will fail.

Prayer is the direct communication between humanity and God. It's not a one-way monologue, as God does communicate to us even if only our Spirit can understand it. Nor should prayer be a wish list; we need to be open and ready to change and guidance for the help we request.

Fasting does not only mean to refrain from eating or to not eat certain foods. In a broader context, fasting means abstinence (an act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite) or a period of such abstention or self-denial. In essence, we refrain from something in our life as a means of self-discipline. It is often associated with something we enjoy, food being the most common, but also TV, internet, etc. But it can also be abstaining from something we revile about ourselves, such as lying, cheating or procrastination. When we take on the challenge of self-discipline, our strength to resist temptation grows.

Good Works are anything we can do to help another in this world. This is the daily exercise that strengthens a soul, and is the most difficult leg to develop. Often we are tempted to illustrate the good works that we've done, but that only deflates the value or our efforts as they become self-serving. The best way to accomplish personal growth, is to act anonymously or in such a way that as few people as possible know who is doing these works. The good works need to stand on their own merit without our shouting about it or putting a spotlight on it.

If it's a true good work, the act, deed, word or work WILL stand on its own. Others will see it or the results and KNOW "this is a good thing." If we can step away from it and let it shine without others recognizing us for the effort, we grow inside.

This is often best accomplished through humility. When we humbly serve another, seeking nothing for ourselves, something grows within us, opening us up to greater awareness and ways we can perform even greater works. But if we seek this greater awareness and ways first, we will only find self-pride, deception, corruption and lies, and we will be led astray by these.

This is why prayer and fasting are needed, one as a guide to the right path, the other to strengthen the shield of our defense so we are not so easily led astray.

It's a tricky path.
But worth it.
Always.

-ESA