Detoxifying the Soul

A friend of mine is going through a detoxification regimen that involves a liquid diet for a week. The purpose of this is to cleanse the body of toxins with the hoped-for result of feeling healthier and having more energy.

Is it possible to detox our souls? In Buddhism the three "toxins" of the soul are called "the three poisons." These are: greed, hatred and delusion. These three poisons are also viewed as toxic in other religions, too. In Christianity, these are called "vices" as they are in Confucianism.

So how do we get rid of the toxins of greed, hatred and delusion? By nourishing our souls with the corresponding virtues of humility, charity and truthfulness.

A virtue is a habit of character and takes time to instill. Like all good habits, we need to consciously practice in order for the habit to become an unconscious part of us. In other words, we need to practice these virtues religiously.

A virtue can become part of who we are, and who we are becoming. The key to integrating a virtue into our character is conscious commitment. When we keep such virtues in the forefront of our thoughts, prayers and meditations, we are taking the first step to detoxifying our souls.

A Vacation for the Soul

Summer is a popular time for vacations. Yet, it can also be a time for pilgrimages. A vacation for the soul is called a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a sacred journey to a sacred place. It is first and foremost a spiritual journey. Like a vacation, a pilgrimage involves movement and travel, but there are some genuine differences between the two.

So what’s the difference between a pilgrimage to Westminster Abby and, say, a vacation to Disney World? First, a pilgrimage is a concretely physical spiritual practice that involves more than traveling. Most pilgrimages involve walking, hiking and visiting sacred sites along the way. While many vacations also involve physical activity, in a pilgrimage these activities are understood as soul nourishing.

The main difference between a vacation and a pilgrimage is that the journey itself is as important as the destination. This is true even though the purpose of a pilgrimage is to visit a sacred place. When we’re going on a vacation, we want to get to our destination as soon as possible so that the vacation can begin. We get irritated when a plane is late or heavy traffic delays us. On a vacation, the destination is the goal.

A pilgrimage values the journey itself. Christian George, in his book Sacred Travels (InterVarsity Press, 2006) writes:

A pilgrimage benefits the believer in many ways, but above all it gives us a
perspective on God, faith and how we encounter both. I have found that the process
of pilgrimage is more transformative than simply reaching a destination. Each step of the journey involves deeper communion with God, and by the end of it, we discover
that we have encountered him thousands of times along the way.

I'm hoping to do at least one pilgrimage this summer (to Machu Picchu in Peru) and my soul will accompany me.

Tough Self-Love

When is it time to give yourself some "tough love"? This question arose in a discussion yesterday at a chronic pain support group I attend as a spiritual advisor.

This issue come up when one person in the group, who had been depressed over some losses in his life, said that he was "stuck." He had tried medications and psychotherapy, but still couldn't break free of the depression. He has a loving family, including a supportive spouse, who are empathetic and understanding of his painful condition.

Then, one member of the group said, "It's okay to be depressed, but it's not okay to be depressing. You need some tough love to help you move forward." However, this person's spouse was not the tough love type. Another member said, "If your spouse can't do it, you need to give yourself a good kick in the rear."

How do you give yourself tough love? One way is to refuse to wallow in self-pity over your circumstances. Tough love focuses on actions rather than feelings-- it won't let you use your feelings, no matter how painful, as an excuse for not acting in a positive and healthy way.

Tough love can also be a tool in our spiritual toolbox. When we're stuck in a negative place, we can give ourselves a "tough love" good kick in the rear to shake us out of our negativity and malaise. One thing to remember is that tough love needs to be loving-- it needs to be done in the best interests of the one receiving it.

Good News for 50+

Are you 50 years old or older? There is some very good news from a recent Gallup poll on happiness. The survey showed that by almost any measure, people get happier as they grow older.

This survey is described in an article in today's New York Times by Nicholas Bakalar titled, "Happiness May Come With Age, Study Says." The Gallup poll took a huge sampling of more than 240,000 people ages 18-85. The overwhelming conclusion was that 85 year-olds are much happier than 18 year-olds.

What this study found is that happiness decreases and anxiety increases from age 18 to age 50. Age 50 seems to be a turning point because well-being increases from that age on.

What is the reason for the increasing happiness at age 50? Dr. Andrew Oswald, a professor of psychology said, "It's [increasing happiness] not being driven predominantly by things that happen in life. It's something very deep and quite human that seems to be driving this."

I'm not surprised. As we age we, hopefully, grow in wisdom and experience. We learn to look inward for happiness and contentment. This looking inward is a spiritual process in which we become less dependent on external factors and more focused on connecting with the sacred dimension of life.

Still, it's nice to see a study confirming the relationship between aging and happiness. As the poet Robert Browning wrote, "Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be..."

Affluence and Ease

Old Testament scholar Walter Breuggemann says that the first stage of prophetic criticism is embracing grief. Prophets were able to see the other’s loss as their loss. They hurt for the poor, the downcast and the outcast. They were able to put themselves in the place of the lost and least. Hence, their righteous anger at the neglect of the poor. They felt the pain of the poor.

In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 15:19-31), we see a man who is blind to his neighbor’s plight. The rich man feasts each day, but he doesn’t really see the poor soul that lay at the gate to his home hoping for a few crumbs. Of course, this is a classic parable of reversal. For after death, their situations are reversed. The parable says that the advent of God’s kingdom means the turning upside-down of the present social order.

Luxury itself is not the problem. Neither the Old Testament prophets nor the rest of the Bible advocates asceticism, the idea that giving up comfort and pleasure will make one a better person. But the comfort of luxury becomes a problem when gained at the expense of others’ misery and when it deadens us to a sense of compassion and responsibility.

For the prophet Amos, it was the effect of luxury on one’s mind that is the real issue. Being “at ease” had led the affluent of his day to adopt the attitude: As long as I’m comfortable, that’s all that matters. Why disturb my comfort by worrying about the plight of others? We need to recognize the dangers of affluence, how it can diminish our compassion and how it can shift the focus of our lives onto self more than others.

A Summer Prayer

As Memorial Day weekend approaches and summer weather begins, it's a time to savor the warm days of this season. The following is based on a prayer composed by Ted Loder in his book, My Heart in My Mouth (Innisfree Press, 2000).

Sabbath God,
In this season of warm days and long daylight,
Of cicadas, fireflies and birds singing at first light,
Of flowers bursting with color and grass so full and green,
We are grateful to be alive.

Give us the wisdom to pause from our hectic routines and enjoy
the simple things of this time of year...
To take off shoes and walk barefoot in sand or grass,
To sit outside in the cool of the evening and listen to the
symphony of nature.
To eat watermelon and spit out the seeds,
To swim in pools and oceans,
To play with children and like children.

Let us live easily for a time,
Putting away watches and looking away from clocks,
ignoring all the things that need to be fixed, moved or cleaned.
Let us lose ourselves in the beauty and bounty of
the earth you created.
May this be a time of rest, refreshment and renewal.

And, as we pause to play and rest, let us not forget to enjoy
time with you, Lord.
May we be calm enough and quiet enough to perceive your presence.
Let us not fill all our time with endless activity.
Let us not fill all our silences with noise.
Let us simply be for a while.

"Many Faiths, One Truth"

In today's New York Times, there is an article by Tenzin Gyatso (the 14th Dalai Lama--leader of Tibetan Buddhism) by the above title. In this article he argues that compassion is the common thread that weaves together the religions of the world.

The Dalai Lama attributes his understanding of the centrality of compassion to a meeting he had with Trappist monk, Thomas Merton in 1968. Merton said that he could be faithful to Christianity while learning in depth from other religions, including Buddhism. He believed that studying other religions enriched his own.

The issue of religious intolerance is also addressed in the article. The Dalai Lama sees a "virulent" strain of religious intolerance in today's world that has led to conflict, violence and even war. This situation "demands that we promote peaceful coexistence and understanding across boundaries," he writes.

Compassion in the antidote to intolerance. When compassion is practiced, understanding and empathy are nurtured. Fostering tolerance among the religions of the world is essential if humanity is to thrive in a peaceful way.

We need to listen to this wisdom of the Dalai Lama. Religion can be a force for mutual understanding or intolerance. When we embrace the common value of compassion, we tap into the power of religion to unite rather than divide.