Sunshine Cathedral Blog

by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins

“The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Any time we look for a reason why something can’t be done, such a reason is usually easily found:

“I can’t go back to school because {I’m too told; It’s too expensive; I don’t have the time; I was never a good student; It would take too long; At this point in my career, what’s the point?}.”
“I can’t manage this health problem because {I’ve never been very healthy; My mother had this same problem and it got the best of her; I don’t want to have ‘false’ hope; What do doctors really know?}”.
“I can’t tell the truth about this issue because {No one would believe me; I have too much to lose; It would make me look bad}”.
“I can’t ask for help because {I’ll look weak or needy; They might say no; They’ll think less of me}.”
“I can’t offer help to a friend in need because…”
“I can’t pay down this debt because…”
“I can’t contribute to a good cause because…”
“I can’t lose a few pounds because…”
“I can’t learn a language because…”
“I can’t…”

But what might happen if we forgot all the reasons why we can’t do something. What if we were to dare to imagine, just now and again, that nothing was impossible, that we had all the time and all the resources and all the help needed to accomplish almost anything, and that we and our world would be better served by our optimism than by our pessimism?  I bet we’d see more than a few miracles in our lives. In fact, the “can do” people can share a plethora of stories about the miracles they’ve experienced because they simply believed miracles were possible for them.

Joseph Murphy said, “Your desire is your prayer.” Instead of talking ourselves out of the good we desire (and deserve), let’s allow ourselves to want our good, hope for our good, expect our good, imagine our good, and trust that our good is at hand. As we start to believe that possibilities are unlimited, we will find that more and more opportunities show up to bless our lives. Let’s say with the Apostle Paul, “I CAN DO ALL THINGS through the [divine Presence] which strengthens me.”

Sharing the Light is an Internet talk show where Reverends Durrell Watkins, Robert Griffin, Michael Diaz, and others discuss theological questions of interest to our community.

In this episode of Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral’s Robert Griffin speaks with Michael Diaz. We invite you to join us for an enlightening conversation on Sharing the Light.

by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins

“Forgiveness is primarily for our own sake, so that we no longer carry the burden of resentment. But to forgive does not mean that we will allow injustice again.” Jack Kornfield

Forgiveness is healing release. It isn’t ignoring pain, nor is it approving of abusive behavior or betrayal. Forgiveness is saying, “I’m not going to torment myself for days / weeks / months / years with something you did in the past.”

Now, once we are willing to forgive, we can even begin to see that the person or people who wronged us were themselves acting from habitual pain, fear, brokenness. As Louise Hay says, “We’re all victims of victims.” Once we see that most people are doing about the best they can most of the time, we can view even our perceived enemies with compassion.

And you know what? Sometimes we even need to forgive ourselves! Sometimes we need to realize that our behavior at some point did not honor the God in us, but also, in that set of circumstances, we were doing what we knew to do or we were doing the best we believed was possible. We’ve learned some lessons since then and experienced some healing, so why not give ourselves a break too?

Forgiveness isn’t easy, and sometimes the best we can do is say out loud that we are “willing” (at least in a particular moment) to forgive. But that little willingness is sometimes enough to ignite a miracle. We don’t have to allow people to continually betray us, walk all over us, or abuse us, but neither do we need to continually punish ourselves with bitterness, resentment, and ill-will. Forgiveness is a desire for healing, a choice to release the past to the past, an affirmation that love is bigger than any difficulty we’ve experienced. And so we pray each week, “Forgive us our debts (trespasses / transgressions / sins) as we forgive our debtors (those who trespass against us / those who have sinned against us).” Amen.

Q & A with the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins

Question: Do you have any tips for meaningful, quality meditation?

Answer: Meditation is simply quieting our discursive thinking.

Sit in a straight back chair (comfortable enough you won’t experience pain, but upright, so you won’t fall asleep). Focus your eyes on a small object, a flickering candle, or place right in front of you on the wall (or close them if that keeps you from getting distracted). Breathe naturally, but follow your breathing… just notice your breath going in and out.

And that’s it. Don’t “think” about anything… just enter into the Silence, and stay with it.

If random thoughts pop up (and when you are new to meditation, they will), simply notice them; don’t judge them or get upset because they floated across your mind. Just notice and release them and return to your breath.

If you can’t just jump into the Silence, you can pray your way into the silence. Do that by repeating a bible verse over and over (silently, non-verbally), like a mantra. Psalm 63.1 is a good one, “O God, you are my God, eagerly I seek you.” After a couple of minutes of that, just sink into the stillness and follow your breathing. If thoughts pop up, notice them, release them, and return to your breathing. If you can’t seem to do that, return to your mantra for a while, and then ease back into the Silence.

You can also try “Lectio Divina.” There are Lectio Divina exercises in Spirit & Truth. Just read a passage from a sacred or inspirational text. Then notice what word or phrase jumped out at you when you read, and think about that word/phrase for a while. Then, mentally, respond to that word or phrase. After you’ve read, reflected, and responded, move beyond this internal dialogue into the Silence and just sit quietly for several minutes. This is another way of praying your way into the Silence.

Meditation becomes easier once it becomes habitual. So every morning or every evening, at about the same time, meditate.

If you can’t seem to sit still, try movement meditation, such as Yoga or Tai Chi or Qi Gong exercises. Even walking meditation is good. Simply walk in a circle around the room, very slowly, eyes forward, feeling the full impact of each intentional step, conscious of your breathing the whole time. If you have access to a labyrinth, walk within that maze-like pattern, quietly, slowly. Walking meditation is something I particularly enjoy.

Finally, set realistic goals in the beginning. Don’t try to meditate for a whole hour. Try five minutes. If in five minutes you have 45 completely tranquil seconds with no discursive thinking, you will have done well. After five minutes become easier, increase to 10, then 15, then 20. If you can never get past 20, just stick with 20. If you enjoy the practice and want to increase to 30 or 45 minutes, do it incrementally. Any attempt will be useful as long as you stick with it.

by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins

“Fear develops a malignant magnetism by which it draws to itself the objects feared, just as a magnet draws a piece of iron, and thus increases our miseries.” Paramahansa Yogananda

It is important to remember that fear is focus, and what we focus on we tend to drift toward, attract, or create in our lives. When we focus on defeat, or on what could go wrong, or on why things are unlikely to succeed, or on why something might be very difficult, we are actually setting our course for the very things we don’t want. But even though we don’t want them, if we are focused on them, we are bound to move in their direction or attract those very things into our experience. Hope is always the better way. When we focus on what we do want, what we wish to achieve, what we believe is possible, on all the ways things could work out well and for our benefit, then we begin to move toward, attract, or create those better conditions in our lives. Fear is focus, and so is hope. Where we place our focus is entirely up to us.

Sharing the Light is an Internet talk show where Reverends Durrell Watkins, Robert Griffin, and others discuss theological questions of interest to our community.

In this episode of Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral’s Senior Pastor Durrell Watkins speaks with Director of Media and Justice Ministries Robert Griffin. We invite you to join us for an enlightening conversation on Sharing the Light.

by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins

“What’s encouraging about meditation is that even if we shut down, we can no longer shut down in ignorance. We see very clearly that we’re closing off. That in itself begins to illuminate the darkness of ignorance.” Pema Chodron

Question: In the past few months, I have lost my partner to cancer. We were both active in the Church, and, together, we loved worshiping with you. When I attend now, I feel a presence there that I did not before. I am brought to tears by many of the sermons preached and singing at communion. Could it be that, through the loss of my loved one, God’s love for me is being reinforced within my spirituality or am I just feeling too emotional?

Answer: We all know that grief is painful, but it’s important to know that it is also a healing process. As you move through your grief, you may be experiencing the warmth of community, the power of beautiful memories, or the appreciation of all the good that remains in your life. It could also be that in the discomfort of loss you became even more open to the healing power of Spirit, and now open to the Spirit more fully, you experience the power of Spirit more dramatically. And finally, spiritual growth, like all growth, is also a process. It could simply be that after years of reading, praying, studying, filling your mind with positive messages, you have merely grown to a new level of spiritual maturity and awareness. Whatever has sparked your spiritual renewal, I wouldn’t dismiss it as being “too” emotional, but I would encourage you to make the most of it and be thankful for the sweetness of deeper communion that you are experiencing. And certainly, God does offer comfort in our times of trial. I trust that God will bless you as your journey continues!

by the Reverend Doctor Durrell Watkins

“…now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6.2

We hear a lot about corrupt regimes, a struggling economy, various epidemics, crimes and ethics violations, natural disasters and accidents… the news we hear is often unpleasant. As if the news of the day isn’t problematic enough, we even have to hear prognostications of doom for the year 2012. Really?! As we fill our minds with this constantly negative news, we begin to feel less and less hopeful in our own lives. We almost start to expect things to go badly from day to day, and such expectation robs our lives of joy and power.

We need to remember we are people of faith. We believe in possibilities no matter what the current news climate is like. We believe in the power of hope even when situations seem hopeless. We believe that circumstances don’t dictate our feelings and we know that nothing can rob us of our sacred value. When we are tempted to feel down about what others are saying about one thing or the other, let’s use the words of the Apostle Paul as an uplifting affirmation: “NOW is the time of God’s favor; NOW is the day of salvation.”

In this moment, we are divinely favored. In this moment, all is well. Let the news and the prognostications be whatever they may be; we can choose to remember our truth: NOW is the time of divine favor. NOW is the day that all is well. And so it is!

Sharing the Light is an Internet talk show where Reverends Durrell Watkins, Robert Griffin, and others discuss theological questions of interest to our community.

In this episode of Sharing the Light, Sunshine Cathedral’s Senior Pastor Durrell Watkins speaks with Director of Media and Justice Ministries Robert Griffin. We invite you to join us for an enlightening conversation on Sharing the Light.