Armor Up: The Helmet of Salvation and the Sword of the Spirit

Paul threw these two together into the same verse (OK, technically that was probably scribes and translators), so I feel just fine about doing one quick, short post to cover both.

The Helmet

The helmet protects the skull which in turn protects the brain.  If you have any doubts about how important brain health is, spend some time exploring this site.  Brain damage doesn't just affect the physical things you do.  It affects your personality, how you think, and how you interact with others.  Paul might not have know all the details of how the brain works, but they certainly knew back then how important it was to protect the head.  

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, two very important energy points are found on the head.  (These correspond roughly with the 6th and 7th Chakras).  Located at the forehead between the eyebrows, the upper dan tien is often associated with spirit.  The Bai Hui point at the crown of the head is sometimes called the Hundred Meetings or Hundred Convergences point because of all the meridians that start or end there.  From an energetic standpoint, both of these points make the head something well worth protecting.  

Although the people of Paul's time probably had some different ways of thinking about the head, we tend to associate it with the mind, with awareness, with consciousness, and with understanding.  

Salvation

Salvation is literally to save.  Most people believe it to mean deliverance from our sins and the consequences of those sins through the atonement of Jesus Christ.  

The helmet of salvation might just simply be our understanding of the atonement.  

And that means that I need to share my definition of atonement.  Again, I have many words that I get, but I don't get.  It was actually the study of tai chi and some Buddhist principles that helped me come up with this definition that makes sense to me.  (And it's fine if it doesn't make sense to you this way.)

Atonement is empathy across time and space (Jesus taking on all the pains and sins of the world while in the Garden of Gethsemane) creating a oneness, a wholeness, and a unity which enables us to transform any sin, weakness, pain, or sorrow into something better and stronger. The Atonement is empathy and transformation.

The Sword of the Spirit

There's all sorts of symbolism we could explore about swords.  For my purposes right now, the sword is simply an instrument or tool.  As weapons, swords are used both offensively, and defensively.  You won't last long in a sword fight unless you know how to block your opponents attack.  The parry may be even more important than the strike.  

Here's your interesting little tidbit from tai chi about weapons.  In the weapons forms of tai chi, the weapon (sword, saber, fan, staff, etc.) is seen as an extension of the qi of the user.  My qi flows through my fan.  

The Word of God

Revelation, whether delivered directly to an individual or through an individual to a group, is often what we think of when we talk about the word of God.  Scriptures are one source of the word of God.  

The word of God is not a weapon of offense.  It is part of the defense.  It is a tool that we can use to strengthens ourselves.  

Perhaps Paul (or scribes and translators) put the helmet and the sword together because they saw that the word of God helps us to understand the atonement.  As I embrace compassion, empathy, unity and transformation (which I've learned more about in tai chi and qigong than in church), I am carrying the sword of the spirit and wearing the helmet of salvation.  

Armor Up Part III, The Breastplate of Righteousness

Other posts in this series can be read here, here, and here.  

So far I've written about thinking of the armor of God as energy, the belt or girdle as connection to the lower dan tian, and the fact that armor is just one letter away from amor or love.

The breastplate of righteousness was supposed to be the easy part of the armor to write about, but the more I read and think, the deeper it gets.  This post might be really long as I explore every avenue, or it might be super short if I just decide to jump to the end.  Let's just see what happens.

Breastplate

The breastplate is designed to protect the torso, specifically the vital organs.  With the possible exception of the helmet, there is no more important piece of armor.  The heart and lungs are so necessary to our health and well-being that the body has it's own armor or cage (the ribs) to add protection for these organs.  Bullet proof vests and flak jackets are our contemporary versions of breastplates.  (Quick side note:  I didn't realize that flak jackets and bullet proof vests were not the same thing even though we now sometimes use them interchangeably.  Flak jackets were originally designed to protect from flying debris (shrapnel, casings, etc.) and bullet proof vests, which were developed later,  protected against projectiles.)

Breastplates can also have religious significance (in Exodus, we learn of the breastplate worn by the high priest) or indicate status.  

The Heart

In the West, we have come to associate hearts with love, compassion, and emotion.  But the energetic properties of the heart go even further.  In Chinese medicine, the heart is responsible for thinking and consciousness.  It is the place where Qi (energy) is transformed into Shen (spirit).  It is also the home of empathy.

This is one of those times when I think that imagining the armor of God as the Wei Qi field is more helpful than imagining it as a solid piece of metal.  How we think and feel should certainly be protected, but love, compassion, empathy and spirit can only grow through interaction with the world outside of ourselves.  Perhaps the breastplate of the high priests, with stones representing each tribe, the most important things for the high priest to consider, is more appropriate here than the armor of a soldier.

The Lungs

The heart pumps the oxygenated blood to all the cells of the body, but it is through the lungs that this most important element enters.  Through the lungs, we also expel waste products and what is no longer needed.  A failure in either of these physical roles can be fatal.  Again, there must be give and take, interaction with the world outside the body, interaction that could take place through a field of energy, but might not take place if our armor completely seals us off from the world.

The Middle Dan Tian

I love this description of the middle dan tian:

The Middle Dantian / House of the Human Realm Located in the solar plexus/center of the chest area, its field of energy also naturally extends into both palms. It is considered by the ancient Taoist, Tibetan Buddhist and other spiritual traditions to be the seat of one's soul and the root of the ego's sense of self and individuality. It's a place where raw earthly powers from below mix together with the detached sublime heavenly forces from above, creating a distinct kind of emotional energy usually only associated with human beings — it is the heart's energetic capacity to express feelings and show compassion.
"The Taoist Approach of the Three Dantians" By Te-Hsin Lo & Joseph Zeisky

When we put on the armor of God as energy, we are protecting and nourishing our souls and spiritual life.

Righteousness

This is definitely a loaded word, and I won't try to cover all of that today.  I'm just going to cover what I think it is and isn't in this particular situation.

What it's not

Righteousness is not outward actions or appearances.  

Righteousness is not a checklist.  

Righteousness (or the lack thereof) is not something that someone else can declare about you.  

What it is

Integrity.

Ethical and moral conduct.

Living open to God's direction through personal revelation.  

This quote (and introductory commentary) shared on Facebook by Illuminate Experience actually looks a lot like righteousness to me.  

What is important is that meditation be deep enough to see dharma's cosmic order and align one's conduct with it.
Do not accept it merely from tradition or even from the word of your teacher. Go and see for yourself through the practice of meditation.
To be established in dharma means not only seeing it face to face in enlightenment, but repeating the experience over and over until unity is more real than the passing show we know through the senses. Only then will one's actions never fall back into the tyranny of lower laws. 

"They are not following dharma who resort to violence to achieve their purpose. But those who lead others through non-violent means, knowing right and wrong, may be called guardians of the dharma.
One is not wise because he talks a good deal. They are wise who are patient, and free from hate and fear.
Dharma is not upheld by talking about it. Dharma is upheld by living in harmony with it, even if one is not learned.
Gray hair does not make an elder; one can grow old and still be immature. A true elder is truthful, virtuous, gentle, self-controlled, and pure in mind.
Neither pleasant words nor a pretty face can make beautiful a person who is jealous, selfish, or deceitful. Only those who have uprooted such impurities from the mind are fit to be called beautiful.
Shaving one's head cannot make a monk of one who is undisciplined, untruthful, and driven by selfish desires. He is a real monk who has extinguished all selfish desires, large and small.
Begging alms does not make a bhikshu; one must follow the dharma completely. He is a true bhikshu who is chaste and beyond the reach of good and evil, who passes through the world with detachment.
Observing silence cannot make a sage of one who is ignorant and immature. He is wise who, holding the scales, chooses the good and avoids the bad.
One is not noble who injures living creatures. They are noble who hurt no one.
Not by rituals and resolutions, nor by much learning, nor by celibacy, nor even by meditation can you find the supreme, immortal joy of nirvana until you have extinguished your self-will (ego)."
— Dhammapada, verse 256-272

How do I put on the breastplate of righteousness?

The breastplate of righteousness covers that area (heart, lungs, middle dan tian) where I am most vulnerable and where I must also be the most open.  There are qigong exercises to strengthen and balance these areas, and certainly that would be part of my armor.  On an energetic level, I can learn to both feel compassion and protect myself from the negative energies around me.  

I can also put on the breastplate of righteousness by examining my motivations.  Do I choose an action because someone said I should, or because I know it to be the right course?  Do I allow my true self to be present in every interaction, or do my thoughts, feelings, expressions, and actions reflect the people I am with at the time?  Do I obeys laws and commandments in fear and anxiety or are my actions rooted in compassion and empathy?

Next up:  Shoes

Perspective

"How Firm a Foundation" is one of my favorite hymns.  For years, it has given me comfort and encouragement, reminding me that I have someone in my corner.  Many of the verses are clearly from God's perspective.

Fear not, I am with thee;  oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.  

Recently I've been thinking about how we are God's hands here on earth.  We are the ones that do his work.  When each of the "I" statements becomes about me personally, rather than just God watching out for me, it reminds me of my responsibility to reach out to others, to be the aid that they need.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand

And it isn't just about about helping others.  It's about standing with them, mourning with them, bearing their burdens.

For I will be with thee,

It's about holding them near, caring for them, lifting them up.

Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.  

The final stanza is a beautiful promise that God will never forsake us.  It's also a reminder of the kind of person I want to be--the person that never turns away one in need.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake.
 

Click here to read all 7 verses.  

Blessed Are the Peacemakers. I Hope.

I have a gift.  It really is a gift even though for most of my life, it has caused me a lot of pain.  I've decided that instead of letting it keep hurting me, I need to embrace it and use it for good.

The news and Facebook and Twitter tell me that there aren't many people like me left in the world.  I'm really hoping that is not true.  Because what the world really needs now is more people like me, or maybe just for those of us that have suffered with this gift to step up and reach out.

I have the unique gift to be able to see and understand both sides of any argument.  Seriously. Test me. Maybe it should have been obvious when in Jr. High I chose to do a paper on Hitler.  I am in no way condoning any of the atrocities he committed, and genocide is about as far as you can get from my philosophy of love and compassion for all.  But...I also saw a man that had been deeply hurt. Does it excuse his actions?  Absolutely not. However, I did feel his pain.  I felt the pain of a nation that had been beaten.  I saw how easy it would have been to follow this leader, one who actually did a few good things and was determined to make his country a world power again after the loss of World War I had crushed them.

My gift has caused a lot of pain and anxiety in my life.  Election season alone nearly did me in.  In the past two weeks, two other events have shaken my Facebook world.  I'm purposely being vague here, because I don't want people searching for these topics and finding my blog and leaving nasty comments.  (I'll probably get enough of those from my paragraph on Hitler.)

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago,  a church launched a new website about a certain minority group.  I felt that it was a step in the right direction.  A small step, but a very good thing.  But some of my friends didn't see it that way.  And I get it.  They were very hurt by the policies and cultural practices of the church during the 70's, 80's, and 90's.  They see it as too little too late.

Then, some lovely women I know created an event to open a dialogue about issues that concern them.  Whether or not this is the right way to start the dialogue, they put themselves out there, embraced the vulnerability that is necessary for true connection...and were viciously attacked.  Although some good conversations have grown out of it, there has also been a lot of hatred--name calling, threats of violence, even one documented death threat.  I just don't get this.  It is so completely foreign to me that I don't know how to deal with it.  This was my FB status a couple of days ago, and it was the only way I knew to address all my feelings of frustration from the last several months.

I'm grateful that I have friends that are so passionate about what they think and believe. I just sometimes wish that some of them could take a little more time to discuss the issues and try to understand the other side rather than just condemning them or resorting to name calling and threats of violence. The fact that you have not experienced something does not mean that no one has ever had to deal with it. The fact that you haven't felt it doesn't mean that no one else feels that way. Empathy and love, people. That's all I'm asking.

Today, I have a new plan, well at least the beginning of a new plan.  People are yelling so loudly that they are not listening.  People are so afraid of being hurt or losing something that is important to them that they can't see or feel what the other side sees and feels.  I refuse to continue to sit quietly watching people I care about destroy each other.  It's time to be a bridge.  It's time to be a peacemaker.  It's time to listen.  It's time to help others see what I have seen.  

I love this post from Shannon Hale.  You should also check out the other post she references.

Finally, watch this video.  Then really think about it.