September/October 1999
Articles on the theme "Attachment & Detachment"
Life's Parade
by Bob Gonzalez
Of death, meditation, possessions and
true detachment.
Responding Resourcefully to Criticism
Cydné Battreall
Learning to detach or disassociate
to create new ways of responding to criticism.
The Ultimate Release
by Constance Felos
Forgiveness: the conscious, energetic
release of debilitating attachment. Death of the body: the ultimate release
of physical attachment.
You and Your Thoughts
by Patrick Plaskett
The problems of identifying ourselves
with our thoughts and emotional responses.
Cultivating Detachment
by Dr. Neil Cooper
Detachment as part of a spiritual practice.
Its role in connecting us with Source, Spirit, Energy, Qi, Consciousness.
In The Heart of God
by Ron Graham
How attachment and detachment can be
good or bad. Sorting out which is which.
Attachment & Detachment - Their Hidden Meaning
by Magzcha Westerman
The numerological significance of the
words Attachment and Detachment.
The Rewards of Release
by Dr. Audrey Craft Davis
The rewards of releasing losses to
the universe. Releasing others from the bondage of our thoughts.
Transcending Attachment
by Rev. Pat Cross
Using attachment and detachment to
help us reach a higher spiritual level - a connection with our true Source.
Detachment Brings Joy
by Rev. Nancy L. Buchanan
Of going with the flow to achieve a
positive lifestyle.
Other Feature Articles
Natural Health Q & A
by Dolores Puterbaugh
A discussion of some of the physical
and emotional changes and challenges women face going through menopause.
2000 and Beyond!
by David Findlay/ Patricia Diane Cota-Robles
What is . . . Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)?
by Sam Jarcynski and Greg Stanek
Mineral Kingdom
by Judy Power
Featured stones for September and October:
Peridot and Natrolite.
In The Heart of God
by Ron Graham
According to John Bradshaw in his book "Healing the Shame that Binds You", attachment and detachment is the process of holding on and letting go. There is a time to hold on and a time to let go. Both can be positive or negative. To be attached or detached in love is good. To be attached or detached out of dependency or fear is not so good. As human beings we experience both the good and not-so-good. It is just a part of our being and doing.
As a student of human behavior (people watching), I'm inclined to believe that a lot of people, if not most, are attached or detached in unhealthy ways. People are alienated and separated from themselves and their God. The extreme rate of divorce, alcoholism, child abuse, and juvenile crime definitely tells us something is not working. And our best efforts to heal these afflictions are less than adequate. Maybe it is because we live in a society governed by a system that isn't working. We do not have a government for the people and by the people. We have a government that is dysfunctional because its people are dysfunctional. I think it is safe to say that, as a whole, we are attached to negative energies that destroy self-worth, value, dignity and equality.
Let's, just for a moment, look at addictions. How many people are addicted to alcohol, food, drugs, relationships, sex and religion? I'm sure you know people who are addicted in some way or another. People are attached to addiction so they can be detached from themselves and their feelings. The addiction becomes their 'best friend.' They take it with them wherever they go. They also take all the unresolved 'stuff' which continues to perpetuate the addiction. There is no alpha and omega to addiction. There is no beginning of the new and ending of the old. It is a never ending cycle as long as we are in it. We are attached to it like glue.
We didn't create this human condition on our own. The sins of the father are multi-generational. It is safe to say we are the product. It also safe to say we are the solution, if we choose to wake-up and make the necessary changes in how we think and behave.
We can choose to attach and detach in healthy ways. Scott Peck, MD, in his book, "The Road Less Traveled", believes that we live in a narcissistic society because we are detached from our higher selves and our God and we are attached not only to 'stuff' outside of ourselves, but to fear and misconceptions. The following from an inspirational calendar says it eloquently: "The greatest malady of the 20th century, affecting us individually and socially is: loss of soul. When soul is neglected, it just doesn't go away; it appears symptomatically in obsessions, addictions, violence and loss of meaning."
I am a firm believer that nothing is by chance; for I had to experience and, collectively, we had to experience all that has transpired to date in order to be who we are today. The human quest for understanding has created the feelings of alienation, separation and externalization in order for us to know who we are and where we came from. According to Max Weber in "The Sociology of Religion", man believed he had to take on the responsibility of understanding his existence. His quest for order and truth created the concept of institutionalization. Hence, bureaucratic structuring. And, this process according to Burger and Luckman in "The Social Construction of Reality", becomes the process of externalization. This process of institutionalization and externalization is multi-generational and in this evolutionary process, I believe, we forgot who we are and where we came from. Our job today is to remember the Source.
Personally, my process was difficult until I started not only remembering, but also embracing the source of my being. There are a few truths that I live my life by today. The first is what the great Indian Chief Seattle said: "All thing are connected. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself." The Christ said: "Whatever you do unto the least of your brothers, you do unto me." Finally, in his book "The Prophet", Kahlil Gibran says: "When you love you should not say, 'God is in my heart,' but rather, 'I am in the heart of God.'"
For me, this is the simplest and most powerful truth I can embrace for it takes away all the pseudo-reality of my best thinking and places me right where I belong . . . in the heart of God. It tells me that God never went away or abandoned me, but I did. It tells me that God never broke his covenant nor did He stop loving me for He is unconditional. It also tells me I can, and collectively we can, by embracing and acting on these truths, create heaven on earth one day at a time. It is a choice we can make daily by realizing and believing that God's love is unconditional; that there is no judgment except for our own; and we can connect to the energy of love and detach from the negative energies. We start first by embracing our uniqueness because, weather we know it or not . . . we are in the Heart of God. Amen.
Ron Graham is an artist and writer who strongly believes his passion for truth is channeled through his art and writing. Palm Harbor, FL. (727) 772-1168.
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