  Spiritual
This week: Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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I'm honored this week to be your guest host for the WDC Spiritual Newsletter.
Let us not speak of tolerance. This negative word implies grudging concessions by smug consciences.
Rather, let us speak of mutual understanding and mutual respect.
Father Dominique Pire
Perception and choice significantly influences the quality of life we experience - i.e., we set the course we follow by how we interpret and react to what we perceive the situations we encounter demands.
Samurai ponderings.
It is never too late to give up your prejudices.
Henry David Thoreau
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Greetings,
"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." This familiar phrase rings across many cultural, social, and religious groups as an ideal. With that in mind, I ask you to consider the following scenarios, and as you do, note your gut reaction.
 Miki is one of the best engineers at a construction firm. Her drafting and designs are exemplary, saving the company mega-dollars. Yet her boss doesn't quite trust her. She presents her point well when asked, but never looks him in the eye. How can you trust someone who won't look you in the eye?
What do you think? Now another -
Karen feels snubbed. She's finally been invited to corporate headquarters for the annual stockholder meeting. She will present her division's report, which under her leadership, was one of the few that profited the prior year. Despite her accomplishments for the company, however, she feels eminently snubbed. The Corporate CFO, meeting her for the first time, did not offer to shake her hand. What does she have to do to break that glass ceiling?
What do you think?
These are similar to two of the examples I recently was provided in a session at my day job as part of our client service risk management. We were asked to discuss our reactions to several such scenarios in groups of twos and threes. Some of our responses to the first scenario - that Miki was shy, that the boss was belligerent or boorish and maybe made her nervous or scared. Some responses to the second scenario - that the CFO had a physical disability, perhaps his arm was broken, that he was maybe left-handed, that Karen should have put her hand out.
We were then given more information by the facilitator. Miki was Chinese and considered it disrespectful to stare at a superior when stating a contradictory point. The corporate CEO was Muslim and considered it a rude offense to offer his hand to a woman who is not of his family. So our perceptions, based on what we in our corporate hierarchy here in the U.S. would expect, were off key. We then discussed some ways that these issues could have been communicated to facilitate understanding on the part of each.
In our global cultures, there is such beautiful variety, expressed in action and words. In our beliefs and the practices associated therewith, likewise. Whether one believes in one God, the Great Goddess, or the Great Spirit; if one seeks guidance from a pantheon of gods and goddesses, or inspiration from Mother Earth and living creatures human and not, or beings of alternate realms, the expression of that belief is no less valid for being different one from the other. These beliefs have withstood changing national hierarchies, political boundaries, pogroms and 'cleansing.' Perhaps because each is an expression of spirituality, connection on an elemental level with something greater than our mortal selves, they survive changes in dogma and politics, and other arbitrary temporal boundaries.
So whether one says "Go with God" (Christian) or "Brightest Blessings" (Wiccan), or a greeting of another belief system, if the words and thoughts are offered from the heart, it is a blessing drawn from the heavens, from life itself. If we accept it as such, that doesn't mean we have converted to an alternate belief system, but that we accept the blessing as it is offered, from the heart and spirit of the giver.
If we are willing and able to learn to accommodate and accept cultural differences based on social mores and norms, then why not spiritual. Would that not make the cultural differences moot? Recognizing that we each seek connection with the spirit, with a higher or elemental power, and in that are more alike than different?
Let's go back to the beginning, consider the following -
"Do unto others as they would have you do."
Until we next meet,
Brightest Blessings!
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Some of the expressions in prose and verse embracing diversity in spirit, mind and body among members of our Community ~ enjoy the journey, and share your response with the writer ~ it's what they would like, I'm sure
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Curious about different belief systems, what do you know, or perhaps will wish to know?
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Thank you for this interlude of respite and reflection in your virtual home - exploring the diverse nature of spiritual expression -
As a guest host, I have no formal ask and answer, so I would informally ask each of you to send a prayer, or healing thoughts, for a valiant member of our Community, JudyB ~ read her story not with sadness but recognition of her courage and strength and spirituality ~ she will hear the love in your prayers and feel the strength of your healing thoughts.
Thank you  ,
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Spiritual: August 05, 2009 Issue [#3198]
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