This Week's Quotation:
The challenge… is to stand well poised in the centre of the circle, the eternal Self, so that one can move awareness up and down the continuum from the spiritual into the physical and not be pulled into duality. Duality divides; paradox stretches the mind to hold relative truths and seeming opposites in wholeness.
~ Gloria D. Karpinski, Barefoot on Holy Ground
The Centre of the Circle
Rev. Berry Behr, Global Interfaith Ambassador
A beloved Spiritual teacher once taught me that the safest place to be, in a washing machine, is in the very centre. The edges are the place of most turbulence: the centre is literally the calm at the centre of the storm.
Storms have been a big theme in recent days. In South Africa, the Mother City of Cape Town has suffered enormous damage and many people have been displaced from their homes in an unusually violent winter storm season. Other parts of my home country have also been affected by weather phenomena. I have just left Canada, where parts of Toronto experienced extraordinary floods recently, and where fires continue to threaten much of the northern part of the country. I landed in Australia as the South Australia authorities were announcing a “Code Blue” severe weather warning. Turbulence in our weather patterns is equalled by turbulent political times. We live in a shifting reality. It is easy to feel as if we are victims of an endless cycle of violent change. Where do we find solid ground, when physically there is none?
The calm centre of my Spiritual Being is where I find the most reliable solid ground. Every morning, I visualise myself as the centre-point of my own world, a place of calm, with ripples of love and peace radiating outward. When I breathe into my own centre, I feel myself expanding into peace and being able to respond to the world in love. I feel the oneness of all things. Staying present in the moment, I hold an expanded awareness of the cosmic reality that contains my being.
The centre is a place of orientation, not separation. It is a place from which all things are possible and all possibilities are equal. I think about the centre of the Sun Cross, where all is held in balance and where I can touch the flow that connects each polarity of the continuum. From this perspective, I know myself to be at choice in how I respond to life. I know myself to be at home in the centre of my heart, the centre of my life, the Eternal centre of my Universe.
About Open Windows
We, the authors of this blog, dedicate it to the transparent exploration of the world’s sacred scripture and enlightened spiritual thought. We believe that the original inspiration of all faiths comes from a common source, named and revered in a myriad of ways. With that understanding, the innumerable symbols, beliefs, and practices of faith cease to divide. They become open windows to a common reality that inspires and unifies us. We find deeper insight and nourishment in our own faith and from the expression of faith from others.
We hope these weekly quotations and meditations speak to your heart and soul.
Dearest Berry, thank you so much for this powerful expression of how we must stand firmly in the centre of our being. We are here to hold the world in the light of our Divine nature and trust that the Infinite Intelligence that guides us will prevail in our world. I am here for this!
So powerful, Berry!
Beautiful picture of you Berry! I stand with you on the Holy Ground!
The centre is a place of orientation, not separation. It is a place from which all things are possible and all possibilities are equal.
Such a beautiful and meaningful piece Berry – thank you!