David's Desk

I am looking forward to spending time with David Spangler and R.J. Stewart at the Fairy Congress in June. I get to camp in the woods and enjoy the sacred space of Skalitude Retreat Center in Eastern Washington. Healthy food too! And great rockin' music with lots of drumming!  Fun! Fun! Fun!

DAVID’S DESK # 83

David's Desk is my opportunity to share thoughts and tools for the spiritual  journey. These letters are my personal insights and opinions and do not necessarily reflect the sentiments or thoughts of any other person in Lorian or of Lorian as a whole. If you wish to share this letter with others, please feel free to do so; however the material is ©2014 by David Spangler. If you no longer wish to receive these letters please let us know at info@Lorian.org. Previous issues of "David's Desk" are posted on www.lorian.org.

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            In action movies, there’s often a moment when the hero or heroine “suits up.” Bruce Wayne puts on his uniform and becomes Batman, Clark Kent tears open his shirt and becomes Superman, Diana Prince spins about and becomes Wonder Woman, the marshal ties on his gun belt and pins his badge to his chest, the knight puts on his armor. These are always transition moments when an ordinary person becomes something else, revealing his or her inner qualities and the determination to meet whatever challenge is presenting itself. In the movies, they are moments of high drama and mark the point at which the hero is about to meet the problem head on, ready to take names and kick ass.

            Films often linger over this moment; for instance, we see Batman putting on his boots, buckling on his utility belt, pulling down the cowl over his head, thrusting his hands into his gauntlets, each act presented in loving detail, sometimes in slow motion to emphasize the importance and power of this transformation.

            We have “suiting up” moments in our lives, too, though rarely as dramatic or colorful as those shown on screen. Film has to use outer symbols such as uniforms and costumes to visually represent what is really an inner change, invisible to the eye but very real to the heart and mind. They are moments when we feel something powerful within us come to the fore to enable us to act for something larger than just our own private good. It need not be a moment of confronting danger. It can be as simple and ordinary as a single mother who shrugs off her tiredness and sense of overwhelm to take on her day’s work to ensure her children are clothed and fed.

            Some years ago, I twice had the privilege of giving the Sunday morning sermon at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. This was no simple affair. It began with Dean of the Cathedral, the Reverend James Park Morton, and I and several priests putting on appropriate vestments in a “vesting” room before processing out to the altar. I wore a traditional scholar’s red robe while the Dean put on an “alb” or tunic, a stole, and a chasuble, a richly decorated outer robe. I watched him “suit up”, and with each garment he put on, I could feel layers of spiritual energy surrounding him. By the time we were ready to process, he had transformed from “ordinary Jim” to a true priest of Light. He was tapping his spiritual self, and the presence around him was palpable.

            This was dramatic. But I have seen others do something similar without changing clothes or adding anything to their outer appearance. Instead, there was an inner shift, a realization that the moment was calling out to the “angel of their better nature,” so to speak. They “suited up” inwardly.

            In baseball language, we might call such a moment “stepping up to the plate.” Whatever we call it, it is when we access our identity as a whole person ready to bring our full attention and presence to the needs and demands of the moment. We’re not hiding behind some secret identity, pretending we’re a mild-mannered nobody. We’re not passing the buck, sitting on the fence, making excuses, or whatever other cliché you’d like to employ. We are drawing on our resources to do what we must because someone, somewhere is depending on us. We are taking responsibility. We are ready to make a difference.

            Each of us has our own way of suiting up as well as of knowing when it’s time to do so. Such times need not be dramatic or life-changing, but they are moments when we bring our loving commitment to building a better world around us—and within us—to the fore. You know these moments when they come. Often they are when the motivating question within us changes from “What can this situation or person do for me” to “What can I bring and give at this moment? What resources do I have, ordinary and simple though they may be, to make a difference?” Suiting up is other-directed.

            Suiting up can sound heavy, even burdensome, but in fact these are also moments of joy, even exhilaration. There is nothing quite as wonderful as standing in our sovereignty and capabilities and saying to the world, “Here I am, I’m ready for you! I can make a difference!” In the world of comic book superheroes, when an individual discovers his or her powers or previously unknown talents, it’s a moment of wonder and delight. Think of Peter Parker in the movies when he discovers his Spiderman powers. There he is, shouting with excitement and joy as he leaps from rooftop to rooftop, amazed at what he’s discovering about himself.

            We don’t have to be superheroes to know such moments. A friend of mine works in a bar. It can be a stressful place, and the work is demanding. But she sees it as her spiritual gym. “It’s where I can develop my spiritual muscles,” she told me. “I know if I can bring love and blessing into this place, I can help create a better atmosphere for everyone. And doing so helps me discover my own ability to handle stress and make a difference. It’s not always easy, but I’m finding I can do it, and I’m better for it.” So when she goes to work, she suits up. You won’t see her wearing a superhero costume, but if you could see her attitude and determination to make her little slice of the world a happier and more harmonious place, you would know the “suit” is there. And to top it off, she told me, “since I’ve been doing this, I’ve been more joyous in my own life. Nothing like bringing love to others to discover it bubbling up within yourself!”

            I happen to think that humanity itself is facing a suiting up moment as we confront the growing challenges of the Twenty-First century. We wear the outer clothes of a fractured, warring, self-oriented species, disconnected from the well-being of other lives upon this world and the health of the environment. But underneath all that is the garb of a true planetary consciousness, one with a sense of being a participant in the living wholeness of Gaia. Within us is a knowing that the take what you want dominating, power-seeking attitude that has governed civilization since the dawn of agriculture, won’t help us to “live long and prosper,” as a Vulcan might say in Star Trek. We need another way of living and being on this world. We need to ask what the world needs from us and how we can make a difference.

We need to suit up.         

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 David  new 6-week long online class, Partnering with Subtle Worlds: The Subtle Ecology, begins May 23rd. This class is the first in a two-part series exploring the invisible ecosystem that is all around us and offers practical ways to partner with it. More information about this and other of David's spring classes on the Lorian website.