I just received a call from one of my personal coaching participants. A few days ago, one of the condominiums that he was marketing his services to, agreed to allow him to give preview to the residents, on his services. And today is the big day. The chances are very high for him to secure a good number of customers in this preview; he discovered that those attending the preview are highly interested in his services.
The spiritual life sometimes begins with unlikely candidates, in unlikely situations! Not long after Janet and I made our dash out west in 1978, the bill collectors got serious about my wild spending. They repossessed my car, harassed me at the furniture store where I was working, and made my life as miserable as only they know how.
It ended up being a battle of wits, with me stubbornly determined not to pay them a damn nickel, and soon I was looking for a place to disappear for a few years. I also had to find some answers. My shallow Catholic background, steeped in useless “mystery, miracles, and authority” where I was never exposed to Catholicism’s deeper aspects, such as the contemplative saints, was failing me.
When someone threatens our freedom, our inclination is to fight back - and fight back hard. No religion suggests that we stand idly by and allow others, either human or the forces of nature, to dominate us. The Buddha said, “I do not teach a surrender of anything to those powers that are evil, be they men or gods or the elements of nature.”
If our inherent freedom to live our lives freely, or practice our religion as we choose is threatened in any way, we dig our heels in and either openly or surreptitiously find ways to free ourselves from any yoke of oppression. This natural inclination is our human nature.