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

The Answer is Love

Warning:  Super long post with numerous links to long posts, videos, etc. Give it some time.  I think you'll find that it's worth it.  

I've been struggling with something for many years, but recent events have brought it to the forefront again.  I've always been the person in the middle, the one who could see both the gifts and the pain on both sides of any issue.  I've stayed with the church of my youth (even through a lot of pain and a lot of situations where actions were taken that I don't agree with) because I can also see a lot of good and beauty and truth (and to be completely honest, mostly because I thinking leaving would hurt a lot of people I care about.)

Today, I am writing more to help me remember and process these things than to convince anyone else.  But, (and there is always a but with me) I also think that I am called to build bridges, to help people understand the other side, and if this post does even a little of that, I will be very happy.

Today, I am sharing both situations that frustrate me and make me want to leave, and those moments when I have heard or read things that seem to be saying, "Stay and make it better."  Because I am both a survivor of abuse, and a person with tendencies towards co-dependency, it is very important to me to figure out how to deal with this.  Part of me says "Get away and don't let them hurt you anymore."  Another part of me says, "But maybe by staying, you can bring them into the light." Am I really called to be a peacemaker and to help people understand these things, or am I just throwing myself back into abusive situations?

The LDS Church and the LGBT Community

In October of 2010, President Boyd K. Packer delivered a controversial address at the LDS General Conference.  While many church member saw it as love filled, many LGBT friends (those both in and out of the church) and their families and friends were hurt by it.  
I wrote this post in response.  

The same-sex couple I reference in that post are now married (although currently Utah does not recognize the marriage) with 2 beautiful children.   You can see their beautiful family and read more about their struggles to be recognized as a family here.  They are a family. There is love and beauty and strength in their family.  Right now, my church is fighting with words, time, and money to ensure that the love and bonds of this family mean nothing, to make them less than human in the eyes of the law.  I can't do that.  I will not do that.  I will stand with these beautiful people that I love.  

Women and the Church

I've addressed feminism and the Ordain Women movement in previous posts, including this one.  

I'm not a member of Ordain Women, but I know enough members and have heard enough of their stories to really feel compassion and love for these sisters and brothers.  Many people involved in Ordain Women are temple recommend holding members who serve in callings and attend church weekly. They are not apostates.  There may be one or two of them that sit next to you in church every week.  

Or maybe they don't sit next to you, because their voices weren't heard, and rather than listening to their pain and "comfort[ing] those who stand in need of comfort," we pushed them out the door.  Yes, part of the criticism of Ordain Women is true. There are some in the group that have left the church, or that remain on the fringes of the church (often because of the issues they bring up when they talk about why we need ordination.) I am not a member of Ordain Women because as close as I am to leaving the church, I don't feel like it is my battle to fight.  (Feel free to ask me more questions about this in a private setting.)

In what has been perceived as a reactionary movement, Mormon Women Stand has exploded on the scene.  Again, I have many friends involved in this group and I respect their choice to be involved.  While I appreciate the group's efforts to share the best of the gospel and to stand for truth and righteousness, their own "About" page tells me that I am not welcome.  

Discussions focused on questioning, debating, and doubting gospel principles do little to build the kingdom of God.

I am full of doubts and questions, and I need to talk about deep things, debate them even, to really, fully understand them.  I need to talk about the hard things, and I need to listen to others who have similar needs.  That is how I can best build the kingdom of God.  

(As a side note, sometimes I want to physically grab members of both groups, shake them silly, and then say, "This!  Look at this particular item! Can't you see that you're both saying the same thing here, but arguing that the other side doesn't get it?!"  More on that another time.)

Watching Others Go

My FB friend statistics make me sad sometimes.  Many (maybe even most) of my Mormon friends from my high school and college years have left the church, often because their voices were not heard and their experiences were not accepted, affirmed, or even acknowledged.  In some cases these people were even abused, shunned, and demonized.  

But my sadness isn't all about them leaving and missing out.  It's mostly about how much peace and happiness I see in their lives now.  It's about how brave I see them being as they choose their paths with integrity.  It's about me being sad that I have not been strong enough to do the same thing.  

A few months ago, another family that I love decided that their spiritual needs would best be served in a religious community whose views are more in line with the family's views of LGBT rights and women's issues.  They were kind of my anchors.  If they could sit though the difficult stuff, so could I.  But now they're gone.  Is it my time to step away too?

More Same-Sex Marriage Stuff

Last week I opened FB to see one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen.  (Seriously, these people glowed even more than Michelle and Kathy and their kids do in that picture from the Huffington post that I linked above.)  It was a picture of my dear, sweet friend and her beautiful wife, announcing their marriage.  Unlike Kathy and Michelle, these wonderful women no longer have to fight to have their family acknowledged, at least not legally.  Their marriage came just slightly more than a year after same-sex marriage became legal in Minnesota.  In the past year, I have watched so many friends take that joyous step that was for so long denied to them. 

The FB picture (and all it represented for me) was so beautiful that I keep going back to it again and again.  It still makes me cry tears of joy.  And I can't wrap my head around why some people think that this love is wrong. I just can't.  Yes, I've read all the arguments, but my head and my heart and the Spirit tells me that God loves these women and is happy for the peace and strength this will bring to their lives.  

And the Internet Rips My Heart Out Yet Again

#YesAllWomen
I tried to avoid the stories about the shooting, but I couldn't avoid what grew out of one response.  I first encountered the hashtag #YesAllWomen in a closed FB group.  Some of the women there have told their stories before, but in the safety of this closed group, some spoke their fears and horrors for the first time.  

If you want to know more, check FB or Twitter where the stories are probably still trending.  

Or you can read these stories shared by Mormon women.  #YesEvenMormonWomen

And Then I Heard a Message of Hope...

Maya Angelou, a strong woman with a beautiful soul passed away this week. As I read and listened to her words in the many posts honoring her this week, I was reminded that I don't have to stay in the bitter situations that beat me down and hurt my soul. I am strong enough to take charge of my own life, to step away from and rise up from those people and situations that don't reflect who I am and what my mission in life is. Even if you don't click on any of the other links in this post, click on this one and hear the beautiful words in her own voice.

Still I Rise

Everything I've mentioned so far in this post seems to say, "Run far and run fast.  Embrace the beauty and truth and love awaiting you if you can get out of the church now."

But These Things Happened Too...

Read or watch this whole address by Joyce DiDonato at Juilliard's commencement.  She spoke to my heart.  The world does need me, and maybe the church does too.  

The world needs you. Now, the world may not exactly realize it, but wow, does it need you. It is yearning, starving, dying for you and your healing offer of service through your Art. We need you to help us understand that which is bigger than ourselves, so that we can stop feeling so small, so isolated, so helpless that, in our fear, we stop contributing that which is unique to us: that distinct, rare, individual quality which the world is desperately crying out for and eagerly awaiting. We need you to remind us what unbridled, unfiltered, childlike exuberance feels like, so we remember, without apology or disclaimer, to laugh, to play, to FLY and to stop taking EVERYTHING so damn seriously. We need you to remind us what empathy is by taking us deep into the hearts of those who are, God forbid, different than us – so that we can recapture the hope of not only living in peace with each other, but THRIVING together in a vibrant way where each of us grows in wonder and joy. We need you to make us feel an integral PART of a shared existence through the communal, universal, forgiving language of music, of dance, of poetry and Art – so that we never lose sight of the fact that we are all in this together and that we are all deserving of a life that overflows with immense possibility, improbable beauty and relentless truth.

What an honor it is to share in this day with you – savor every single moment of it – and then fly out of this building, armed with the knowledge that YOU make a difference, that your art is NECESSARY, and that the world is eagerly awaiting to hear what YOU have to say. Go on, make us laugh, cry, dance, FEEL, unite, and believe in the incredible power of humanity to overcome anything.

Sometimes God/the Universe/the FB algorithms know exactly what I need to see and hear. It's been a week of synchronicity. 

A friend shared these two wonderful videos of Maya Angelou about love.

Then another friend wrote and shared this. (If you're not reading her blog on a regular basis, you should be.)

And on Friday, my visiting teachers and I had the best visit ever. One of them needed to get some plants for her yard, so we drove to a nearby nursery, where I got to see many beautiful plants. (I'm a flower nerd. Can't get enough beautiful flowers! See my FB photos.) Then we went to lunch and they shared the message on the car ride home.

To be completely honest again, I was nervous about the message they would share. You see, in May, there is no assigned visiting teaching message. Visiting Teachers are supposed to prayerfully choose a message from the talks given at April General Conference. Because I had shared my feelings about Ordain Women last month, I was kind of worried that they were going to share what many have referred to as the Priesthood smackdown. (You can read and see it here. Although there are some things that bother me, there are also a lot of wonderful things in that talk that actually make me feel better, as do these changes in the way we talk about Priesthood when we educate the Young Women.)

But back to the VT message...Anyone want to guess the topic they chose for the message this month? Yes. It was love. They chose this beautiful message titled "Love--the Essence of the Gospel." For years I've been saying that if you had to reduce the gospel of Jesus Christ to just one word, that word would be "Love." So glad to be reminded that President Monson agrees with me.

Then I went to the school for some early evening lessons. A student who graduated a couple of years ago came back for a lesson to prepare to sing at a wedding. Of course, a wedding song will have something to do with love, but not every song says this.

And A Quick Review of My FB Timeline for the Last Couple of Weeks Showed These Shares (which means it spoke to my heart)...

Post by Jeannine Robinett.

Post by Jeannine Robinett.

Post by Jeannine Robinett.

And another.

"Love, time, and honesty. You can tell what my brain has been focused on lately."  Yes, I know these kinds of things are silly and might not have any real meaning, but on some level, I do think that we see what we are looking for, the things that our focus has been on recently.

Post by Jeannine Robinett.

Post by Jeannine Robinett.

And Then I Read This…

Proximity and interaction do something powerful. They force us to see how others are being affected, and perhaps see how our own actions and decisions can impact others for good or bad. This seems to be connected with the very concept of empathy. If we don’t see others, how can we fully empathize with them?

Maybe I am the "Other" at church.  And maybe, just maybe, they need me if they really want to create Zion.  

As I Near the End of this post…

Writing is therapeutic for me.  Writing is how I sort things out.  Writing is how I make my decisions.  I don't know what the future will hold, but for now, the writing has done it's job.  I've made my choice…for now.  Your choice may be different.  Down the road, my own choice may be different. But for now, the answer is Love.  That is all I can do.  I can trust in Love.  I can trust in God.  I can trust that if I listen to my soul, I will know where to be and what to do.  

And I Also Watched This (Again)…

Darmok

If you don't want to watch the whole episode, you can read the synopsis here.  

Can we find a way to communicate?  Can we work together to solve the world's and church's problems?  Can we succeed and leave the challenge together as friends?  

Sometimes I feel a little like Dathon.  Sometimes you have to do something dangerous.  Sometimes, you have to risk it all for something better…for understanding.  

Final words from the Star Trek Mormon (read here to find out why I call myself a Star Trek Mormon. And if you are not enough of a Star Trek geek to quote from the movies and TV shows in your daily life, you can see the translation here.)

Darmok on the ocean.

The beast at Tanagra.

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

Darmok and Jalad on the ocean.  

Finding Light and Hope: Elder Oaks tells us to stand for principles

Here's the latest installment of my series Finding Light and Hope where I share the things that I found beautiful about each of the talks from the October 2013 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

You can read Elder Oak's talk here, or watch below.



Here are my favorite parts:

• Our theology begins with heavenly parents, and our highest aspiration is to attain the fulness of eternal exaltation. 

• ...we are also conscious that God’s plan is for all of His children and that God loves all of His children, everywhere. The first chapter of the Book of Mormon declares that God’s “power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth” (1 Nephi 1:14). A later chapter declares that “he hath given [his salvation] free for all men” and that “all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden” (2 Nephi 26:27–28). Consequently, the scriptures teach that we are responsible to be compassionate and charitable (loving) toward all men

• A teaching of President Thomas S. Monson applies to this circumstance. At this conference 27 years ago, he boldly declared: “Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but as the determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well."

Random insights and revelations

I should be asleep now, but when you eat dark chocolate m&ms after 9pm and use diet Dr. Pepper to take your night time pills, you just don't go to sleep easily. So, I decided to blog about some of my recent "lightbulb" moments.

Friday night I took a book with me to read while I waited for the choir concert to begin. The book is The Way of Qigong by Kenneth S. Cohen. I loved these two sentences:
"The foundation of qigong is song, relaxation and tranquility. Instead if making an effort and doing more, it may be important to do less."

First of all, I've known about the concept of song for quite awhile now. And I understand that the spelling of the word being the same as the word for a piece of vocal music is completely coincidental, but I still like to think of them as related. My best moments of singing are the ones where I find relaxation and tranquility. Song creates relaxation and tranquility in my life. Over the past several years, I have also learned that I was physically working way too hard to try to sing correctly. I'm learning that be doing less, I can often achieve more.

The next quote (from the same book) reminded me of Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." Neither God nor Qigong will make our troubles go away, but we can find peace in the middle of the tempest.
"Taiji means the balance point between yin and yang, the place of stillness amid change. Finding the Taiji state of mind is equivalent to finding what Thoreau called 'the witness self,' an aspect of the self that is untouched by life's turmoil and that can be accessed during times of difficulty."

Here is one of my favorite quotes and I believe it 100 percent:

"Writing is an act of hope. It is a means of carving order from chaos, of challenging one's own beliefs and assumptions, of facing the world with eyes and heart wide open."

--from The Writer's Idea Book by Jack Heffron

Writing is how I figure things out. I learn when I write. Usually I it's when I'm blogging or journaling, but occasionally, I learn something from writing fiction too.

A character in my novel (yes, the one I am currently writing) said something quite profound and I didn't realize it until I reread it later. She was trying to justify her actions and explain to my main character that it's all about power. Everything we do is about power. My main character is the leader of this group and therefore has power, but Trish pointed out a few other ways that Alanna seeks power. I won't quote the whole passage, but one of the things Trish tells Alanna is that she (Alanna) is a fixer. She's always trying to make things better for people. And fixing is power.

When I reread that, it hit me. I'm a fixer. I want people to be happy. And in many cases, it has transformed situations where I felt powerless. The danger comes when the fixing is more about me than about others. I think that this is what Trish was accusing Alanna of, making the situation better to make herself feel better, not really to help the other people.

Today, the Dalai Lama's tweet says,"Compassion is a feeling from deep in the heart that you cannot bear someone else's suffering without taking steps to relieve it."

I'm rethinking power. I'm not sure I really need it anymore, at least not in the way I used to view it. But that doesn't mean I need to stop being a fixer. I just need to fix because I feel compassion so strongly that I have no other choice but to make a difference.