Jim Cogley’s Reflections: Tues 15 Sept – Mon 21 Sept 20-26
Wood You Believe
The Journey of Enlightenment
A Pathway of Transformation
Retreat Facilitated by Fr. Jim Cogley and Luba Rodzhuk
This retreat will offer a unique opportunity for those seeking deeper healing and spiritual awareness and who are already familiar with the inner journey.
Venue: Ballyvaloo Retreat Centre
When: Mon – Thurs, 12th – 15th October; Cost: €370
Note: Bookings ASAP with Luba Rodzhuk on 087-7640407. Spaces still available. Wood You Believe books are available on website: jimcogley.com
Tues 15th Sept – Sight and Insight
The gannet is depicted in the carving preening his feathers. These magnificent sea birds are renowned for their sharp sight. On closer examination there is also another bird looking in the opposite direction. For those of us who are in our 70’s, whether we like it or not we have less life ahead of us than behind and are not going to die young. It’s the autumn time of life that is conducive to some mature reflection on what the years have taught us and particularly what are the key pieces of wisdom that have underpinned our journey. The ancient philosopher Socrates said that ‘the unreflected life is not worth living’ and without reflection we simply accumulate experiences, be they painful or otherwise, but fail to grow in wisdom. So, while we have the saying that ‘Wisdom comes with age’, the reality is that so often age just comes on its own! There are many who have lived a rich and varied life, may have suffered a lot, but who for some reason lack depth and still quite superficial. Their sight may still be okay, but they sadly lack insight.
Wed 16th Sept – The Relationship with Self
Reflecting on my own journey one key point of awareness was when I realized how important it was to be in right relationship with myself; that my relationship with myself forms the basis of all other relationships and that I could never be closer to another than I am to myself. From conception to eternity my one travelling companion was always going to be myself and no matter where I might travel to get away from myself the first person waiting for me there would be me. Prior to acquiring this insight, while I would have been generous with others, I would have been ‘stingy’ with giving myself the alms of my own approval or even kindness. At times I was like two people living in the same room but not seeing eye to eye. That inner division sapped my energy and generated a sense of loneliness. Now I understand loneliness not in relation to the absence of someone in my life but more to missing myself.
Thurs 17th Sept – Basic Faith Beliefs
There are certain core beliefs, all based on faith, that are essential to living with a sense of meaning and purpose:
That God has not created me for nothing, and my life can make a difference.
That I have a destiny and purpose and something to offer that is unique.
That even my mistakes and wrong turns can ultimately serve the Divine purpose.
That my life is about so much more than myself.
That I have a responsibility to get out of my own way.
That I have all the resources and talent that I need to fulfill my purpose.
That with trust my purpose can be revealed.
That surrender and letting go is the key to a fuller life.
Fri 18th Sept – What God do I believe in?
The kind of God that I believe in will exercise a profound influence on the degree that I can let go, surrender my life, and trust in the unfolding of divine providence. To believe that God desires my happiness and well-being more than I want it for myself makes letting go much easier. To hold an image of a punishing God is to be held back from surrender by a fear of what might be asked of me and being punished if I fail to live up those demands. To believe that God in His love wants only the best means that there is nothing to fear and that on the other side of surrender lies only love, mercy and acceptance. The belief that God’s will is totally in accordance with my higher self (but not always with my small ego self) makes a ‘Yes’ to His will a profound ‘Yes’ to who I really am. What this means is that in His will, and there alone, can I find my true life.
Sat 19th Sept – Keeping it Simple
Life can seem very complex, and our lives can become ever busier and more complicated. If we were to bring it down to one single principle: a commitment to simply doing the will of God, would it not immediately become simplified. Having a single focus awakens the truth expressed in the Beatitudes that ‘the (single-minded) pure in heart will see God.’ This may not be after we pass over but a deep awareness of God at work in our lives and in all things. The determination to put the will of God first allows for divine orchestration to come into play whereby what is the divine becomes clear, bringing us ever more into alignment with it and minimizing conflicts of interest where we never need to be in two places at the one time. Christ said that his satisfaction came from doing the will of his Father. Can there be any greater satisfaction or fulfillment for us either?
Sunday 20th Sept – Unfair Story
There always has been and there always will be a religious way of thinking that is very different from a spiritual way of thinking. What was designed to shock back in Christ’s time is equally meant to shock us now because it is still very different to the way most of us think.
That gospel story of the vineyard workers is one that comes across as quite unfair since at first sight it appears to favour the idler at the expense of the hard worker. What is really going on in the story and what are we to learn from it?
The idea that any employer in his right mind would employ these people and pay them a full days wage was unthinkable. Yet this is exactly what the owner of the vineyard did and it is precisely the point of the parable. It is meant to shock and the first people it shocks are the workers who have worked right throughout the day. They feel entitled to so much more than what was agreed on.
Jesus’ audience, while shocked by his teaching, probably knew exactly what he was getting at. The vineyard was the Kingdom of God and Jesus was challenging the very basis of their belief system as to how one would find access or be given one’s rightful place. The Jewish belief system was based on reward and punishments – in other words you got what you deserved. The kingdom was really a worthiness contest based on merit. What they saw in Christ by his words and actions was love that was all embracing where even the most undeserving were treated the same way as those who thought that they were the most deserving. There was no preferential treatment for the strong performers.
The big question is has our own religious belief system been any different and is that parable not just as challenging for us today as it was when first spoken? The belief that I can earn my salvation and deserve reward or punishment accordingly is deeply seated. The idea of God loving me before I even blink to deserve it is quite foreign to us. Yet we hold to the practice of infant baptism which is really an expression of the fact that before we ever take our first breath God loves us totally and unconditionally.
Quite apart from the religious side you would expect that people who worked hard and risen from poverty to relative wealth would be compassionate towards those who haven’t managed to make it. Yet the opposite is very often the case and they are the very ones who are most judgemental and sometimes resent any help that is given to the poor. The attitude is that I had to work hard to make it and why couldn’t they? Nobody ever gave me anything for nothing so why should they? That is where the reward and punishment model is alive and well in society at large. Likewise, there is little compassion for the ones who always wanted to work and use their talents but were never given the opportunity.
The core teaching of the gospel is that God, in contrast to our way of thinking, doesn’t work on the merit system at all. So, if one is into worthiness rewards and competition it’s a gospel that just won’t make sense. It’s not about Justice at all but it is about mercy and generosity. With God there are no entitlements rights or desserts. We can’t put God in our debt with an attitude of after all I have done for you surely I deserve my reward? Everything comes as a gift motivated by his love for us.
The bottom line is that the Christian life is not one long effort to earn or deserve God’s love and to be good enough to get to Heaven. Instead it is one great act of thanksgiving for the fact that we are loved so greatly. In other words, it is a response to being loved already that frees us from any sense of obligation and enables us to give our very best in return.
Mon 21st Sept – Life from Within
It is as we get older there is a growing realization of ‘what doesn’t do it for us anymore.’ By this I mean we become more aware that things that once meant a lot to us no longer bring the same level of fulfillment or satisfaction. There was a time when to be successful may have been a goal or to achieve certain degree of wealth; the opinion of others may have mattered a lot or to travel and see faraway places. Now I have come to realize that all these things, while good in themselves, invariably fail to deliver what they promise. In the words of Ecclesiastes, ‘The eye is not filled with seeing nor is the ear filled with hearing’. It becomes ever more clear that peace and contentment come from deep within and are not dependent on outside ‘happenings. An inner joy begins to erupt with the awareness that my life makes sense when I begin to live it from the ‘inside out’ and no longer from the ‘outside in’ as was the case for most of my earlier years.