July 6, 2022 – Words of Wisdom, Eckhart Tolle

Zen

“I have lived with several Zen masters — all of them cats.”  Eckhart Tolle, (The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment)

“To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.”  Buddha
 

Zen

Here we come again to a conversation about the mind. The mind is truly a wondrous and mysterious thing. We are learning more and more about the mind every year. For example, scientists at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the University of Southern California (USC) have demonstrated the successful implementation of a prosthetic system that uses a person’s own memory patterns to facilitate the brain’s ability to encode and recall memory. In the pilot study, published in today’s Journal of Neural Engineering, scientists were able to show an almost 40% improvement of a participants’ short-term memory performance. “This is the first time scientists have been able to identify a patient’s own brain cell code or pattern for memory and, in essence, ‘write in’ that code to make existing memory work better, an important first step in potentially restoring memory loss,” said Robert Hampson, Ph.D., professor of physiology/pharmacology and neurology at Wake Forest Baptist.

The study focused on improving episodic memory, which is the most common type of memory loss in people with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and head injury. Episodic memory is information that is new and useful for a short period of time, such as where you parked your car on any given day.  The researchers recorded the neural patterns or ‘codes’ while the study participants were performing a computerized memory task. In this test, the patients’ episodic memory performance showed a 37 percent improvement over baseline. (information in this devotion was obtained from sciencedaily.com, March 27, 2018, Source:Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center)

It is easy to become forgetful. I just wish my cats were just as forgetful as I seem to be getting. While I may forget to feed them at the same time each day, they never forget when it is dinner time. As such, we all need time to relax, to refresh, to recharge – if for no other reason than to do some “data dumping” from our brains. Jesus always found time alone and away to pray – and to refresh – just like our cats. He sought that time for his disciples as well. It is a model we all should follow – all of us, and not only our cats. We may not be able to become Zen Masters, but we can at least find some Zen.

Let us pray

Lord Jesus, you took the time to get away and to pray. Give me the presence of mind to refresh my mind – through prayer, meditation and quiet-time. Amen.

Pastor Dave

July 5, 2022 — Words of Wisdom, Robert A. Heinlein

“But by your hard and impenitent heart you store up wrath for yourself.”

“Never try to out-stubborn a cat.”  Robert A Heinlein

“Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath…” Romans 2:3-5

“But by your hard and impenitent heart you store up wrath for yourself.”

In the text from Romans the word “hard” or “hardness of heart” is used to define the actual state of the mind. It literally means a mind that has turned to stone – a mind which is impenetrable. It is a state of mind where nothing can make an impression toward change – the one who has a “hardness of heart” is completely resistant to seeing another person’s point of view. And this is not just an insensitivity to people, or things – it is especially true as to G-d’s effect on the person. As such, a heart and a mind that are completely closed to any change is going to be more open to the “evil one” – more open to doing harm than in doing good. It speaks to a heart that is not affected by grief, by sinfulness, or by emotion.

Paul’s message to the people in Rome is to point out the hypocrisy of those who judge others while doing the very things which they are judging those same “others”. To think that they will avoid G-d’s judgment is the height of “hard-headedness”. But as people, we do tend to be a bit stubborn, and hardheaded. That is why we need repentance and forgiveness – often – in fact, every day. Every time we repent and turn to G-d, we are forgiven. It should be a daily practice – so that we do not become hard-headed toward our relationship with our neighbors – and in our relationship with G-d.

Let us pray

Lord Jesus, we are too quick to turn in toward our own selfish wants and needs and to reject the needs and the point of view of others. Help me today to have an open heart – not to be hard-hearted. Forgive my sins and renew my heart. Amen.

Pastor Dave