I like the radical and rational Rabbi Balfour Brickner. I also like the congenial, Buddhist practised-minded Sylvia Boorstein.
She wrote: I think what most excited me (and many other westerners) about Buddhism was that it offers a succinct explanation for suffering. It recognizes that pain is a given in lfe, but still offers the possibility of the end of suffering (by ending the extra pain of struggling with situations beyond our control.

In my life my living model for the non-struggle pathway are my own husband, Dr Jean Netario Cruz and Tato Malay.

“The end of suffering, I learned was something I could bring about through my own practice. IT DEPENDED ON ME. And, I didn’t have to believe it was true, or say I believed it was true, or make any declaration of faith at all.”

“The Buddha’s elegant and succinct teaching about the possibility of the end of suffering – not the end of pain, but the end of suffering- I was captivated, and I was thrilled and I was reassured. The idea that it was possible, in the middle of this very life, fully engaged in life, to live contentedly and compassionately was completely compelling.”

Between what I learned from the Rabbi  about prayer and the above statements of Sylvia Boorstein I can now enjoy LIFE without being fearful I am not doing enough to appease an ANGRY God (of the Old Testament!)!!!!!

At this point in my spiritual journey I am guided by Rabbi Brickner:

“If I am for myself, what am I? A well-reasoned faith is independently formed but not solipsistic. It does not isolate a person from humanity; it does not allow an individual to turn away from the needs of others. A well-reasoned faith does not pretend that all human beings are good or kind or honest.”

I being an ISTJ need to guard against solipticism!

“The politics of God, as unfashionable as it has always been, has never gone out of fashion. The remembered giants of religion – men such as Martin Luther , Sir Thomas More, Walter Rauschenbusch, John Haynes Holmes, Rabbi Stephen Wise and Martin Luther King, Jr – are remembered and admired precisely because of their willingness to speak their religious truth to those in political power so as to effect social change. They made a virtue out of seeking to implement for society the ethical demands of the prophets of Israel.”

“These men shared one common commitment: They preached and worked for a finer public morality without advocating some specific religion for all.”

“Herein lies the world of difference between them and many of our contemporary evangelists. Those clergy who pursued the elimination of social evil used the logic of their fith to influence , not to coerce or CONVERT.”

With my new mind and my new body I resonate peacefully with Rabbi Balfour Brickner’s interpretation of prayer:

“For me prayer has become meditation upon the best we know, communion with the noblest that we understand, and reaching out of what we are to what we yearn to be.”

“I like that definition because it completely shifts the grounds of responsibility from God to us.”

I agree with the rabbi. I don’t want to offend anybody but I can’t stomach the type ‘Amen” mentality on Facebook.

The rabbi continues:”It reverses the common view that in prayer, we should somehow affect God, compelling the Eternal One to do something for us. Not so, my father suggested. God is an ideal, a paradigm of all we hold of ultimate value or good. Prayer i the activity we enter into to enable us to concentrate on those values. Such concentration help us to find our FINER SELVES, act more responsibly, better control our passions, come to some deeper understanding of a given situation, reach out for a solution of what troubles us.”

This to me is closer to what the Law of Attraction teaches. We are the answer according to M Tamura. God has given us the tools. We are to help ourselves. We have been empowered. We are not victims!!!!!

I am amazed at how this interpretation of prayer empowers me. It emboldens me. I can do things for myself.

“This is what we mean when we suggest that God is, we do. The purpose of prayer is not to change God, but to change the person praying.”

I like the above. This defies the “appease the gods” mentality!

“God does not manipulate or change the intimate details of a person’s life as an accommodation to that individual’s momentary personal needs.”

I believe God gives us the tools we need to find our FINER SELVES, to act more responsibly, better control our emotions, come to a deeper understanding of a given situation, reach out for a solution of what troubles us.

“God is, we do.”

Eleven nights in the hospital! My victory over my fears against surgery transformed me. I am a new ME!

According to Alan Seale: “We must learn to listen to the wisdom of our souls and trust its guidance.”

Seale continued: “Full-spectrum living involves being willing to start from scratch, listen to soul mission, and create your own set of rules. It involves creating a structure for life that provides stability while at the same time sets us free. Then ego can feel secure once again. The difference is that this time the structure and rules were created by soul rather than by outside forces that may or may not be in harmony with your true mission.”

Furthermore Seale wrote: “we come into this lifetime, every one of us, with the possibility and potential to know ourselves fully. And the fullness of self includes and, in fact, is our divinity.”

Still from Seale: “We begin to recognize our personal truth and break away from mass consciousness.”

Michael Tamura wrote: ” Truth is absolute in spirit but expresses itself relatively in the physical.”

“Infinite Possibilities” said: “Our first responsibility in life is not to make the world a better place or to tend to those less fortunate but to live up to our own high standards to act with faith that our dreams are ‘meant to be’ and to maintain a tolerance and compassion for our own divine journey by being so responsible to ourselves, the world will become a better place and those around you will richly benefit not just from the love you’ll share but from the example you become.” (shift from 1st person to second person not mine).

“All meanings are made up and the absolute truth is whatever you decide it is. The meaning of experience depends on your interpretation of it, or your decision to accept someone else;s interpretation and the decision to accept a basic assumption is also arbitrary.”

I am not sure of the source of the last quote.

According to Neale Walsch , … “when you are surrounded by higher consciousness… you receive greater benefits if you surrender.” In practice one tends to go by the collective consciousness and this does not always serve us well. Hence Walsch emphasizes choosing the company that we keep.

We should remember that our thoughts are powerful. Often we bring our thoughts into reality. We manifest our thoughts. It is therefore prudent that we stay away from those whom we know habitually think negatively. It is possible that we don’t think negative thoughts in spite of the negativity that surrounds us but with the law of perversity being in place we just may be badly affected by the effects of the negative thoughts of others around us.

Take for example, the contaminating effects of somebody’s bad mood. If we stay within the range of influence for a couple of hours, chances are we will eventually nt be able to think straight. Or we may get into an irritable mood ourself.

On the other hand if we meditate for a few minutes daily, our template will be one of peace. We may see the world as a friendly and safe place even with the pervading noise and bustle of daily living. It may rain but instead of being bothered we may even enjoy the raindrops.