Mark Marshall

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Personal Growth

Paradoxical Ascent 1

When you think about the thought of ambiguity, it brings to mind an ancient thought of the ‘Paradoxical Ascent’.  The very term seems to be inline with ambiguity and in many ways it is, but in a much deeper mystery. The usage of the word paradox in our society is the polar opposite, it actually means disambiguation.

A paradox is a true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition. The term is also used for an apparent contradiction that actually expresses a non-dual truth (cf. kōan, Catuskoti). Typically, the statements in question do not really imply the contradiction, the puzzling result is not really a contradiction, or the premises themselves are not all really true or cannot all be true together. The word paradox is often used interchangeably with contradiction. It is also used to describe situations that are ironic.

Paradoxical Ascent is an early fathers term from their mystical perspective. In the early 1700’s some early fathers of the Jewish mystical faith called it coincidentia oppositorum. Every actual thing involves a coexistence of opposed elements.  Consequently to know, or, in other words, to comprehend an object is equivalent to being conscious of it as a concrete unity of opposed determinations. The coincidence of opposites that characterizes God, humanity and the world can be approximately understood by the simultaneous adoption of two points of view.

While this may seem like a contradiction of polar opposites, it is really that the opposites are all in HIM and complement each other. One makes the other what it is! In more simpler terms we can look at the Kingdom of God as inverted. I say inverted because it seems to be the opposite of what we think and the way we view life. In the Kingdom up is down meaning if you want to ascend you must first descend. If you want to receive you must first give. If you want and desire love you must first love. From our finite perspective it is hard to contain and satisfy a definition of our infinite God and His essence.

For example we say the sun rises in the east every morning and sets in the west every evening. And that is what is so difficult for us because it really does seem that way, our eyes actually see, and we perceive it to be so. But until you are enlightened with other truths on a bigger scale you would never know the truth. The reality being; the sun never MOVES, but rather the earth is turning and rotating around the sun!

This is the beauty of the mystery of the paradoxical ascent to God, that quite possibly what we see and are experiencing is the polar opposite of the truth?

Kingdom Community

In My Shoes

In my shoes, just to see what it’s like to be me
I’ll be you, let’s trade shoes
Just to see what it’d be like to feel your pain
You feel mine, go inside each other’s minds
Just to see what we find
Look at life through each other’s eyes
But don’t let em say you ain’t beautiful
They can all get lost, just stay true to you
Don’t let em say you ain’t beautiful

They can all get lost, just stay true to you

Eminem

The process of love goes in stages I believe. Its a total process. You have to go from ‘Having Love, to Showing Love, to Being love!’

Each one is a step, and its a practice that many have gone before us and have conquered. Having love is the first step of the process. It usually happens when you have been amazingly touched by Love in your being.  So the beginning process is that you respond by just having love and grace for others around you! This first phase if you will is more of a response.  No one can have love that hasn’t first experienced it. It is like the ripple effect or wave after the initial splash in a pool of water. So those that ‘Have’ love towards others have experienced love! You can not share and give what you do not have or experienced.  If you do it will not possess the true content of substance.  Your having love towards others will be nothing more than another concept, not substance.

Showing love is nothing more than a choice to align myself to the power of love that was shown unto me.  Love on this level is a choice, a daily, minute by minute decision to choose to remember the power of the love that abides in you!  Choices like these chip away at the core of your self life.  In every situation in your life, weigh it in light of  I Corinthians chapter 13.  If you read that chapter, there is pretty much not anything else to say.

Being love is a total surrender! When you choose you still are in control, because you might still choose not to show love.  When you surrender then you  have given up the right to choose. This is the ultimate level, then God Himself can BE Himself through you. You surrender your choice to love or not love, and eventually you become Love.

Practicing this process in real life goes like this. For the record in the old concept of God’s grace or man’s will, I say God’s grace abounds and definitely came before mans ability to choose. When I think about this journey and process of becoming Love, I think it goes in these ascetic practices.

1. Empathy: the learned ability to to feel FOR someone and their struggles.  This is a conscience choice to feel for the suffering of others. This is what I call Having love. The ability to share in a commonality with others in their sufferings. My belief is that this only comes about by those who have been touched by Love Himself in some fashion or form.  Love on this level is the beginning, but it is a supernatural characteristic. When I feel empathy towards another I am striking a chord in my own life of my own suffering in the past or present. But it rarely moves anyone to real action that requires me to get involved.  It’s like I want to eliminate the suffering of others but I don’t know how to do it without conflicting with my own personal life.

2. Sympathy: the inability to no longer sit by as a bystander and watch others suffer. In this stage we possess the mindset to feel WITH you.  So now our motivation is to get up close and personal and be one with you. In this level of the process you actually suffer when others suffer, and rejoice when others are honored.

3. Compassion: is the surrendered path of life that live to feel AS you…..and seek to eliminate the suffering and injustice of others.

So don’t be discouraged, but rather keep cooperating with the process…

In the words of Eminem,

In my shoes, just to see what it’s like to be me
I’ll be you, let’s trade shoes
Just to see what it’d be like to feel your pain
You feel mine, go inside each other’s minds
Just to see what we find
Look at life through each other’s eyes
But don’t let em say you ain’t beautiful
They can all get lost, just stay true to you
Don’t let em say you ain’t beautiful

They can all get lost, just stay true to you

Eminem

Divine Purpose , Kingdom Community

Hearts that BURN!

There is an amazing description of how spiritual events take place in our lives. In Luke 24 the resurrected Christ is walking veiled to the disciples, and they did not even know HIM!

They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32

I wonder how many times we have stood in the presence of such greatness, and not really recognize the significance until later on.

I can tell you my story of a man that I heard of.  When I came to hear him speak. It totally changed my life forever.  As I heard him speak it made so much sense to my heart, but my mind and understanding could not connect the dots. These sayings of his created so much peace in my heart and chaos in my mind, to the point as to which I had never been before.  You have to understand, I am not a jump on the bandwagon guy.  But if I have experience in and belief, I’m going to annoy you with my bandwagoness… I don’t jump easily to something that is NEW just because it’s new. But I saw the effects in my own heart and those around me who heard.  These words offended my self righteous religiosity, but liberated the inside of me to no end. Very hard experience to describe to you.  It’s like me trying to tell you what water taste like!  Good luck with that one.

Hearing him over and over made so much sense to me. I was crushed by the fact that I had spent almost 20 years in the religious realm,  totally devoted to the God Realm and serving 110%! And I couldn’t believe that I had never heard any of this kind of truth!  And to hear him made me feel so blessed, like I can’t believe I’m hearing this! I saw the miracles and peoples’ response.

I remember eating dinner with him many times.  Every time without fail the wait staff were totally drawn to him. It was almost embarrassing, I mean every where we went, people just talked and talked and wanted to badly to be around him. It was so common, it was totally expected every where we went. We would have to peel him away from people. I remember him having a  2000.00 pair of shoes from some place in Italy, have no idea the name, but still ‘Hanging with the little people’. His heart was with the people, but his mission was to challenge the church leaders of the day. For that is the only way to create change overall.

As our relationship grew I would meet him on trips just to ‘hang out’ and serve in any way I could to make life easier on him. I learned through him not only the protocol of the church, and the Christianize, but also the deeper purpose of the mission.  I have never seen a place that wasn’t drawn to him. But I have to tell you, in the gathering of the elect there was a special presence. When you gather the spiritual, and those with perception of the anointing there was a very special Draw on the Presence.

And every single time this man opened his mouth whether in the pulpit, or at the dinner table, or in private; I was never ceased to amazed. I can say with full assurance that he changed my life forever. My mind, my spirit, my theology is all the better and more solid than ever before.

I can remember the bliss that filled me thinking about the great movement I was a part of.  Not in any prideful way but a sincere love and devotion to the path that was laid out before us by God. I mean it seemed so great and perfectly fit! Overwhelmingly blessed beyond measure.  But we slowly became a threat to the status quo and system of the day.  The gazing eyes of the lack of respect was stinging. Not realizing that we were not the enemy!  Many times we would have to leave abruptly after meetings because people did not ‘agree’ with him as he laid out the spiritual plan.  Many of those ‘spiritual leaders’ would have him come and hold meetings only to use his gift and difference to add monetary blessings to their own work. You see I have seen him so many times be tolerated and not celebrated.  I know most people don’t know this but many of those with gifts of the spirit can easily get prostituted for that gift!  I know many don’t want to think of this, but said leaders have many times brought people into their congregations to do one of several things:

1. Bring a stirring and commitment beyond the normal realm of commitment. (revival spirit)
2. To confirm, affirm, the current leaderships path
3. To create buzz about the mission of the church, and fund projects

You can see where this man clearly would and could not be a good candidate for some of these.

He is the simple man and woman’s guide; and every religious leaders nightmare.  You see when he speaks I could see the simple people freed into the presence, and the religious blinded.  Even by the same teachings, it would sear the heart of the religious and harden, and free and feed the hungry and called at the very same time!

Often imitated,
many times hated
never celebrated….

Mar Enoch Ashe
Beloved

Divine Purpose

3 Gifts of Spiritual Guides

(From Bishop Kalistos Ware)

Three gifts in particular distinguish the spiritual guide.

1. The first is insight and discernment (diakrisis), the ability to perceive intuitively the secrets of another’s heart, to understand the hidden depths of which the other does not speak and is usually unaware. The spiritual father or mother penetrates beneath the conventional gestures and subterfuges whereby we conceal our true personality from others and from ourselves;

Yet, for a word to possess power, it is necessary that there should be not only one who speaks with the genuine authority of personal experience, but also one who listens with attention and eagerness.

The elder’s gift of insight is exercised primarily through the practice known as the “disclosure of thoughts” (logismoi). In early Eastern monasticism the young monk used to go daily to his spiritual father and lay before him all the thoughts which had come to him during the day. This disclosure of thoughts includes far more than a confession of sins, since the novice also speaks of those ideas and impulses which may seem innocent to him, but in which the spiritual father may discern secret dangers or significant signs. Confession is retrospective, dealing with sins that have already occurred; the disclosure of thoughts, on the other hand, is prophylactic, for it lays bare our logismoi before they have led to sin and so deprives them of their power to harm. The purpose of the disclosure is not juridical, to secure absolution from guilt, but its aim is self-knowledge, that we may see ourselves as we truly are.

The principle underlying the disclosure of thoughts is clearly summed up in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers: “If unclean thoughts trouble you, do not hide them but tell them at once to your spiritual father and condemn them. The more we conceal our thoughts, the more they multiply and gain strength… [But] once an evil thought is revealed, it is immediately dissipated… Whoever discloses his thoughts is quickly healed.”[3]

If we cannot or will not bring out into the open a logismos, a secret fantasy or fear or temptation, then it possesses power over us. But if with God’s help and with the assistance of our spiritual guide, we bring the thought out from the darkness into the light, its influence begins to wither away. Having exposed the logismos, we are then in a position to deal with it, and the process of healing can begin. The method proposed here by the early monks has interesting similarities with the techniques of modern psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. But the early monks had worked out this method fifteen centuries before Freud and Jung! There is, of course, an important difference: the early monks did not employ the notion of the unconscious in the way that modern psychology does, even though they recognized that with our conscious understanding we are usually aware of only a small part of ourselves.

2. The second gift of the spiritual father or mother is the ability to love others and to make others’ sufferings their own. Of one elder mentioned in the Sayings of the Desert Fathers, it is briefly and simply recorded: “He possessed love, and many came to him.”[6] He possessed love — this is indispensable in all spiritual motherhood and fatherhood. Insight into the secrets of people’s hearts, if devoid of loving compassion, would not be creative but destructive; if we cannot love others, we will have little power to heal them.

Loving others involves suffering with and for them; such is the literal sense of the word “compassion.” “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2): the spiritual father or mother is the one par excellence who bears the burdens of others.

Yet the relation between the spiritual father and his children is not one-sided. Though he takes the burden of their guilt upon himself and answers for them before God, he cannot do this effectively unless they themselves are struggling wholeheartedly on their own behalf. Once a brother came to St Antony of Egypt and said: “Pray for me.” But the old man replied: “Neither will I take pity on you nor will God, unless you make some effort of your own.”[11]

3. A third gift of the spiritual father and mother is the power to transform the human environment, both the material and the non-material. The gift of healing, possessed by so many of the startsi, is one aspect of this power. More generally, the starets helps his disciples to perceive the world as God created it and as God desires it once more to be. The true elder is one who discerns the universal presence of the Creator throughout creation, and assists others to discern it likewise. He brings to pass,

The lack of spiritual fathering and mothering is eroding our culture…

Kingdom Community

Wounded Warriors

In the town where I work by the bank is a small veterans memorial.  On the wall it reads:

Losing your life in service to your country is not the worst thing that can happen to you; but being forgotten is.

I read that every day as I go to the bank for our company. It has been on my heart for a couple of years now. What do we do with our fallen soldiers and wounded warriors. I feel somewhat jaded here so bear with me. Our country has not given our veterans honour that is due. I mean lets face it our veteran health care is nothing like the Mayo Clinic.  It is like pulling teeth to get people to do more than attend a once a year parade for our soldiers. I can’t even imagine what the Viet Nam veterans went through when they got home.

With this thought today I am thinking the church does the same things with our wounded warriors of the faith. Those who were on the front lines paving the way into new realms of life and living. It is a painful struggle to feel ignored and or forgotten. Especially when you have laid it all on the line for others. American Christianity is become fad driven. Excitement for something that isn’t even real half of the time. I always think of everything I see in the church world today in light of those who gave all they had so we could live in the spiritual realm freely. I can’t imagine that our forefathers of the faith would be very excited to visit some of our churches today, where there is no honor to their life’s work.

Jesus said remember me! We were commissioned and to take the Eucharist (thanksgiving meal) every week as to re-member ourselves in light of Him. Forgetfulness is a God given gift. If we didn’t have it we would never overcome heartbreak and tragedy. But remembering with honor those who have served, that is YOUR gift to God.

Let’s take inventory shall we. I would venture to say not one single person reading this would be where they are today spiritually without the price paid by someone who paved a way, and invested in you. The church has lost it’s ability to love the flawed saints, to honor those who paved a way. And it could be quite possible that the ones who helped you get where they are may be flawed and even fallen from the faith. It still doesn’t change the fact that you owe so much to them for your enlightenment.

You don’t choose to forget these people; it’s a gift.
You have to choose to remember.

The word honour is translated TIME.
Take the time to give honor and respect to those who have bleed spiritually for your freedom. It pains me somewhat to hear preachers teaching things today that are acceptable to the masses: yet when I preached it 15 years ago I was slandered, ridiculed, rejected and basically shunned.

I’m writing as an old soul and father in the faith to so many; Honor your spiritual fathers and mothers this week. Write them a note, call them, or even share part of your rescources with them. Trust me this is the first command with promise. Our country will not thrive because of the evil we have rejected, and psuedo standard of goodness we pretend to stand for. It will make it and thrive due to the ability to choose to REMEMBER those who labored among us. Beloved the church is in the same shape.

Personal Growth

3 Friends We All Need

I have been contemplating Kingdom relationship principles and came across the thought, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net.”

I discovered that there where three kind of friends and relationships we all need to be successful in life. It made me think of the other three friend groups we all are familiar with. I remember the 3 Stooges; Moe, Larry, and Curly. The 3 Musketeers; all for one and one for all. The 3 Amigos, hopefully no one is in the 3 Blind mice club! There is a verse that talks about a three-fold chord not easily being broken.

I think about all of my friendships I’ve made all over country. Many of these offer so many gifts to me. But I would say if you had these three friends, then I am convinced it would be hard for you to fail at most anything. I’m talking about those friends that literally can be a source of sharpening, and another that brings clarity and the breath of life in hard times. I remember the teaching we used to get from our leadership courses; Your 5 closest friends right now will influence and determine your future. In other words the principle is you attract what you project.

My philosophy is always been we need mentoring people in our lives. We need those Over us, or ahead. We need those who walk Beside us our partners. We all need to be giving back that which was given to us in this light; we all need those we feed and help.

I believe your friends not only are a life source, but they are your friends for a reason. Many of them are ‘mirrors’ in to who you really are. Sometimes they expose you to parts of you that you weren’t even familiar with about you. I pondered to the greatest leader of all and those ‘friends’ He hung out and worked with.  I mean imagine if all of your work friends are your every day friends; that could be heaven or hell LOL. Jesus prayed all night before ‘picking’ his mini tribe of friends. I believe all 12 of them were necessary to fulfill His mission on earth. They were called and in the end He called them friends.

The 3 kind of friends we all need, whether we think so or not. The Kingdom is like a Net; so therefore the Kingdom is about relationships and connectedness  for a higher purpose.

1. Casters – Relationships that Motivate me.

Motivate – prompt, strive, stimulate, activate (provide a motive for doing something) inspire, encourage; ‘Fire with Enthusiasm’

These are the friends and people in our lives that inspire us. Not only to infuse with energy for goals, but more importantly the inspiration to be the ‘authentic me’. Discovery of our Divine nature and our RealU context takes courage. I can’t think of anything more important as to be on the search for our authentic self. Many of us have accountability partners for eating right, working out, achieve personal goals and the such. These are all great, but we need those who inspire us to shed fear and shame, and walk in our true authentic self.

You remember that Snickers commercial, where one of the people on the team, or worker is acting Not like themselves? And the just of it is, their friends will say Bob, eat a snickers man you are NOT BEING YOURSELF!  So we have snickers bars at work, and when people are being grumpy or complaining, we go had them and Snickers and say _________ you are not acting like your real self, eat this please!  It is important that we have authentic grounded friends. Those who can walk the walk.

I mean motivating me by being the kind of person that makes me a Better me! That’s what kind of friend I aspire to be. I think because it is much easier to be vulnerable and authentic in the presence of those with like desires. I don’t know all of the things in your life that cause you want to be vulnerable and authentic, more than the fear of others scorn; hopefully you are there and are ready for the ‘casters’ to arrive in your life and motivate you.

There is an old saying, ‘When the student is ready, the Teacher will appear.’

2. Menders – Relationships that Mend me.

Menders are those friends that know how administer grace when you need it the most. These are the friends that really know you better than you even know yourself. These are the friends that can show you the forest in spite of the trees. They are not impressed with your accomplishments like others are, and certainly are not afraid of your mess.

Mend – to make something (broken, torn, wore out) whole. By usable purpose by repairing
To remove and correct defects. Recovery of the sick, to knit grow back together. To improve
conditions and affairs

3. Washers – Relationships that Moisturize me.

Moisturize – to add or restore moisture, make moist, soft, and pliable again.

When people become dry they get brittle and break easily over time. They no longer know how to bend, they crack. These are those headed for a burnout, or are there and do not realize it.  Washer friends keep you from bitterness of soul, through the sheer joy they bring to your life.  They can bring peace and a light heart to about anyone. In these times especially we need these people in our lives.

Listen to the pod casts on this series. We go into more detail about how to identify these types of friends and just why they are important to you.

Click HERE! to listen…