When Preaching is more than Talk! (Soul Searching Series)

Bishop T.D. Jakes is among an elite group of preachers who are able to communicate directly from their Souls to Yours! 

Bishop T.D. Jakes heads up The Potter's House," Dallas, TX 

In November 2010, I had the opportunity to sit and chat one-on-one with the master preacher, Bishop T. D. Jakes, for close to two hours. The meeting was held the day before Thanksgiving, so I considered it a Thanksgiving Gift from the Universe. The time spent with Jakes was an extremely soulful period in my life and left an impression on me that there are "preachers," and then there are those who do "preachering."

Bishop T.D. Jakes lights up your life on any given Sunday.

T.D. Jakes, with his fascinating and inspirational style obviously falls into the first category. He is one of those truly gifted speakers, able to talk directly from the Soul and to hit a deep resonance within others. He does it time after time when he speaks at his church, The Potter's House, Dallas, always hittmg a home run with his audience.

Joel Osteen is pastor of  Lakewood Church, a megachurch in Houston, Texas

What is it that preachers like T.D. Jakes and Joel Osteen,  and  another of my favorite preachers, have that others don't? Why is it that some preachers  people inspire others and others have people playing with their iPhones (See July 7, 2013 this blog) or falling asleep, rather than listening?

Jakes and Osteen speak from Truth that they have experienced directly, or seen up close in their interactions with others. Speaking from Truth allows them a level of authenticity and freshness those who do "preachering" don't. Some of those "preachering," too, can't take the success of real preachers! (OUTRAGEOUS ARTICLE: Why I called out Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer)

Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith

The key difference with preachers and others is that they may prepare a script before they get up on stage, but you get a sense that they are speaking directly from the heart. So, it doesn't matter if their talk was scripted: They are able to deliver their message from the Soul.

Beckwith, pictured with his wife, Rickie.

Rev. Dr. Michael Beckwith, head of Agape Church, another megachurch in  Culver City, Calif., is also one of those rare and gifted speakers. He can preach for hours, without running out of fuel.

All three men, Jakes, Osteen and Beckwith, preach in completely different styles. Yet, inspiring is too mild a word to use to describe these three guys. (Of course, there are many others whom I have not had the privilege of hearing speak directly, like Rev. Kevin Bacon of San Diego).

The "preacherers," though, quote the bible and reference scripture profusely, using these as their props since there is a void in directly connecting to with the Soul.

When you don't have a divine connection, then props and other materials serve just fine to influence your audience.

Truth needs no props. Truth does not even need the bible.

Truth is from the Spirit and the Soul.

As we traverse various levels in life, we may find the need to have "preacherers" who can guide us through scripture at appropriate times. But to be truly inspired and to walk out of churches feeling transformed, we need honest to goodness "preaching!" We need leadership that brings reason in moments of doubt and crises. See this:  (Black Preachers Wear Hoodies for Trayvon Martin)

Preaching has no educational requirements. If someone is operating from the Soul, then he/she already is doing so from the highest degree of their humanity.No further education is necessary. Some may pursue higher degrees, such as those offered by Sofia University (Mind, Body, Spirit programs offered by Sofia University) and receive Ph.Ds in Divinity and/or Religion at any other. But the education will do very little for them, unless as they connect what they're learning to what's going on inside them. The application of knowledge is what matters in "soul" work.! No one can teach you how to walk through the final road to connecting with your Soul!

Bishop Jakes and his wife, Serita, on a Sunday at Potter's House

The essence of Spirituality can't be taught, only LIVED! If you're not prepared to dig deeply into your Soul, dare to take real risks, then you'll continue to be that much separated from your Soul. It doesn't matter how much reading, studying or listening to "preachering" that you do.

When preachers like T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen and Michael Beckwith and others of that caliber reach within, they don't talk...they listen. They feel. They touch Truth.

 Photo Credit: Resim & Fotoğraf & Eftelya

When people touch Truth, you can tell this when you're in their presence: they begin to talk less as they become so receptive to what's coming through them.
Words become inadequate to express Truth. In fact, it can't be communicated, only lived and shared..
Truth begins to resonate within these people...in all they say and do.
They begin to be transformed from the essence of being. People see and know this and respond.

The energy of Truth that we see from preachers is palpable. We know and recognize it when we hear it.

Can we now understand now why the sick woman felt that all she needed to do to be healed was to touch the hem of Jesus' garment? (Matthew 9:20 ) So powerful was the energy emanating from Jesus' persona, she knew all she needed was to touch any part of that energy to make it hers!

Energy is substance. Energy is material.
Energy is God in action.

The best way to reach this energy is to dare live life fully... to believe the Spirit within you and stretch beyond the boundaries of where you believe you can go!

That's what authentic preachers do! They have pulled and stretched their insides, until you can feel their inner beings on the outside.

These preachers are resonating at a higher level of frequency, because they have lived authentically from the inside to out for so long.

It's not that preachers don't need to use the Bible for their own inner props and support. But it seems that when it comes to communicating a message, they are able to touch the core of their being to provide a delivery that often, were they to try, could not even be duplicated by themselves.

Each time preachers speak, they are fresh. For each time, something new pops to the surface from their Souls.




I respect the work of the "preacherers," as they, too, work hard. But to reach that higher level of being in the preaching world, aspirants must put down their training and their bibles and start digging deeply within their Souls.

They must DARE to believe what they are preaching, not just mouth it!

I have been witness to many who  fall into their latter category. Truth is...I've just stopped listening.

I can tell when I'm hearing only "words," and when I'm exposed fully to "Truth."

The latter needs no explanation. You feel it, as it resonates deeply within you.

For you readers, who are perhaps more exposed to "preachering" on an ongoing basis  than to preaching and/or preachers, begin to do your own digging and find your own Truth.

When you get a message on a Sunday or any other day that refers to a biblical quote, yes, look it up. But go deeper within your Soul to see if you can apply what was communicated to you in your own life.

If you're reaching from the core of your being, you won't need to sit in bible class to have anyone interpret "Truth" to you.

Like preachers, you will know the Truth of what the bible verse says, as it would resonate fully within your being.

This leads me to our next blog post, "Prayering" vs. Praying or Soul Searching. (Now scheduled for Sept. 1, 2013)

Until then, begin to reach deeply into your Soul, you just might "hear" what preachers like T.D. Jakes, Joel Osteen and Michael Beckwith are communicating.

Joel Osteen and his wife, Victoria  

You will feel your Soul reach out to greet you. 

Indeed... 

 "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free"- John 8: 32

...and begin to live at a new level of being.

Namaste',

Che'

Seeking The Truth in Church (Soul Searching Series)

Photo Credit: Обичам да съм Турист. И зная как. 

Стаята на Пауна (The Peacock Room), Castello di Sammezzano е Реджело, Тоскана, ИталияAdd caption

On Good Friday this year, I coined a new term,"Churching." 

The term came to mind when I noticed a man strolling his iPhone throughout the service and seemingly not  

paying attention to a word the priest was saying.

"Churching" was born: People who show up in church just to be there, out of a sense of obligation, or by believing that just showing up they are making a commitment of some sort.

The way I see it, "Churching"  is done for some specific reasons:

1. To gain respect in a local community.
2. To teach children "church" values.
3. To make social and business connections.(Really!)
4. To create peace in the household.



"Churching" is so different from "Going to Church," as this should involve Soul Searching and going
deeply within ourselves to find answers to life's troubling questions.

Photo Caption: Collection of Dr. D. Ash. http://chantalbethel.com

"Going to church" sometimes can mean going into an empty church, as pictured in the cover photo, simply because we find solace there. My best moments, actually, are spent in empty churches or monasteries. That's where I find so much peace exuding from the energy within the walls and the "spirit" of those who have prayed before and, those who will pray, after me.

Empty churches help me remember that the Spirit within me lives in everyone else, and that we're all just outplaying our individuated Souls' roles on Earth...through the ONE spirit!

 I get connected to my Soul easily in empty churches this way, and  real "soul searching" can begin. (I also can do this during my meditation periods at home. But why not go into a building, too, and feel it?) 

Understand... I don't really knock people for "churching." Everyone is at a different stage of evolution in his/her life's journey.  (Maybe, as this author suggests, the person just may be looking up bible verses. Judging people who use iPhones during church.)

Showing up at  a church at least gives recognition to the fact that there is a higher power at work in our lives. Even this small attempt at recognizing a higher being can bring peace to many people.

I also don't want to dismiss the importance of the iPhone user based on the surface of things, either:
Who knows if this man didn't need a distraction while truly absorbing all details of the priest's message?

The man's presence on Good Friday suggests that even if he's not there, yet, his Soul/Spirit is trying to guide him and is waiting for him to want to know more of the truth.

It simply may be, as noted above, the man went to church to please his wife, who was sitting beside him. If it brings peace in the house, why not?   So... "churching"... can give others hope of things to come.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Hebrews 11: 1

What is it about "going to church" or churching that brings us hope and promise?

For one thing, we can be sure that both these activities give our lives some guidelines and parameters for living.

This is the blessing of religion.

It sets limits on our potential human excesses. It gives us a sense of decency and a recognition that we have an obligation to live our lives in a pattern that dignifies our humanity.

 It's not the building!Sharing & participating in "community" is another aspect of going to church.

People who don't "Go to church" or go "churching" may be just as spiritual, just as committed to decency and the dignity of our human experience... perhaps even more so. But the very act of going into a church suggests to the world that we recognize the existence of a higher being, and we're ready and able to submit.

The only problem I have with those who are able but don't go "churching," to church, or don't care about the spiritual or anything greater than themselves,  is their seeming belief that the world begins and ends with the way they view it.

"No man is an island." We need human interactions for spiritual growth.

Our egos are the rulers of our personalities. We cannot let them reign.

If we allow our egos to tell us that the world begins and ends with us, i.e. the personalities that we are conscious of being, and that there is no greater power within our lives, operating our lives, then eventually, we're headed for trouble.

The ego camouflages all of God's (Spirit within) work and that of our Souls, which direct our ways and walk in the world. Being the "presenter" of our "beingness" to the world, some egos would have us believe that what we see begins and ends there.

Solitude IS good for spiritual growth.
But be careful in not making it a permanent state!

This is far from the truth.

Our egos...our personalities...are the least powerful parts of ourselves.

Real soul searching begins only when we allow our personalities to crumble, allowing our real selves to begin to shine through our human exteriors.

The truth of our being is hidden from the world, indeed,  even from ourselves.

By taking a step into a church, whether to do soul searching, as those "going to church," or even "churching," we are saying to the world and ourselves that we recognize this truth: "There is a greater power at work in the world and in our lives as our lives."

So let's welcome all "churching" people into our mosques, synagogues, churches, temples and monasteries.

Doing so just may be the start of something BIG for that man or woman!

Namaste',
Che'

Aligning With Truth: Wisdom Cats Long To Share

JUNE 16 EDITOR'S UPDATE: Wishing a Happy Father's Day to all dads, as I remember the legacy left by my father, who loved all animals, birds, reptiles and "creatures" of the wild.

Photo Credit: My Story

An alley cat now sleeps on a mat outside my door every night.

I can guarantee that when I open the door in the morning, if I hadn't already fed him, he'll be waiting.

If I'm leaving out in the afternoon and he's in the yard, he runs to his spot to check to see if food is there...before I leave.

When my car pulls up in the driveway, and if I hadn't left his afternoon food out before I'd taken off, he comes running.

He doesn't make a sound most times, except when he wants to say, "Thank you," or when another alley cat tries to take his food.

He politely waits for me. Even after I place his food outside, he waits for me to move away before he goes to it.

He needs for me to feed him, but he's too polite to beg even when he's hungry...and he also doesn't want me to see him "sweat."

I love it.

I've come to love this alley cat, I now call, "Pi."*

Like these kittens, Pi is a grey tabby cat.

I'd discovered him when I began to hear creaks coming from the swing at night in the middle of winter.

Not daring to go out, I'd discovered Pi asleep in the swing in the early morning.

From that day, I began to leave food for him twice a day: soft food in the morning and hard food in the afternoons.

Since then, Pi has found his home. This makes me feel good.

Pi did not come empty handed though: he's brought with him lots of gifts.

I've learned that by observing him, I also can learn a lot about life.

Cats seem to exude balance and, in many ways, spiritual essence. Their mysterious ways also suggest the hidden wisdom they possess inside. Centuries ago, and perhaps even today, some cultures revered cats.  In ancient Egypt, for example, cats occupied a special place of recognition. (Cats in Ancient Eygpt.) 

Life can be tough for these alley cats (Read this and WEEP!), but somehow they find a way to survive. What impresses me is that even in their being homeless and shelter-less, these cats still maintain their pride, still carry themselves with dignity. They actually don't know any other way to be, so whether cats are housed in a home, or they are alley cats, they exude this dignity.

The alley cats also seem able to sense danger very quickly, and for sure, because of their circumstances, they  take time to trust. This is so unlike cats that are housebound.


When Pi started coming around, he'd cower behind bushes when I came out to feed him.
Now, he stands closer and observes me.

Sometimes, we have a stare-down: he looks silently at me and, in his doing so, I sense his gratitude. Apparently, I'm not the only one who learns something by looking into the eyes of animals. (The Wild Eyes of Galapagos.)

Without being able to tell me what he's feeling, Pi still is communicating.

By getting closer to me, he lets me know he trusts me.

When he meows at me, it's not a sound of distress, as when he's fighting off the other cats for his food. It's a soft sound that communicates gratitude

I can be a cat whisperer, but I'm not there yet. I just observe and enjoy the magic of our communication.

The thing I'm getting a lot lately from Pi and studying pictures of cats is that there are deep spiritual messages these animals wish to share:

Everything we need is within us.

Recognize this, and we can solve many of our life's "riddles."







When we wait patiently and with a positive, faithful attitude, everything we desire will come to us.
Pi demonstrates this precept, each time he waits at the door. He knows every day his food will come. No meowing for it.

He has the quiet assurance that it is coming.



"Be Still and Know"- Psalm 46:10

He has the faith: it is coming.
He has the wisdom to know: it is coming.

He sits and waits: it is coming. 

He knows the truth: It is within him.

I suspect the other alley cats began to observe his contentment during the time he spends with them, so they began to follow him.

But you know what? They, too, learned to leave well enough alone. They've stopped coming by to try to take Pi's food.

I never did anything to them. After all, if I can feed one cat, I'd love to feed as many as are hungry. But what happened is that when  Pi cried, and I went out, they ran away. After about four times of this happening, they stopped coming around.

Now, it's just Pi.** ( Be sure to read update below.)

The others aren't waiting around. They've moved on to other places to find  food.

This is wisdom! 

If you've read the book, "Who Moved My Cheese," by Spencer Johnson, MD, you would get the message that we should not get stuck going back to the same places to find our good. Some of us, humans, do exactly this, even when the source is all dried up.

Photo Credit: My Story

By observing cats and their ways, we can extrapolate the following:

1. Be Still and Know:  Everything we need is within us.
2. Good is there: Just keep trusting.
3. Focus on what we need: Patience and Faith will win.
4. Have confidence in self (your Soul): If you lose confidence in self, you lose everything because you lose connection to the within!
5. When your life is in transition: Do everything to maintain your dignity and embrace yourself fully in love. "This, too, shall pass." 
6. When one source dries up, move on: Don't keep beating a dead horse.
7. Start giving to life from where you are: the smallest will be appreciated by those who need help.
8. Be grateful for what you have: Doing so, you open up the door to all other possibilities 

We see clearly the demonstration of gratitude for what we already have with the bible story of Elijah and the poor widow with two sons to feed. (2 King 4). The widow only had a small jar of olive oil, and Elijah told her to gather as many containers as she could and pour the oil into them. The widow shut the door, and she and her sons kept pouring the oil into them. Once every jar was filled, the oil stopped flowing.  The widow then took the bottles of oil, selling them and getting the money she needed to feed herself and sons.

Gratitude allows us to be creative with what we have and allows us to multiply our resources, by allowing us to see new and different possibilities. 

Photo Credit:  Loba branca

But do we do this? No. We often are busy looking at our neighbors, seeing what they have and wanting those, too.  Placing an emphasis on what we lack leaves little room for gratitude.

Many believe black cats bring bad luck. It's about consciousness.

Let's change this focus.

Bless what you already have, first, then go deeper within for guidance as to how to dig for new "wealth." Don't look outside yourself.

Using this consciousness, Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and turned water into wine.

Black cats get a bad rap! 

It's all about consciousness. It's all about knowing that you are enough for this journey of life and you have enough...and to spare.

That's the way of the cats.

Within them, unbeknownst to them, they have
a consciousness that moves mountains.

(Don't let anyone...no matter how close you think you are to them...interrupt your move to this new level of consciousness. You will
find distractors coming at you from many angles. Many of these people are unaware they are getting in the way of your good, as they are simply living their own lives with their own goals, values and agendas. So, it's  up to you to stay centered and focused about where you want to go.) 


Stand still. Go within and find the truth about you!

Namaste',
Che'

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TODAY...

I celebrate the spirit of my mother, Valda, who would have been celebrating a birthday today. As I wrote this blog post, I couldn't help remembering her because of her birthday, yet, I wondered if it were not the spirit of my father, Ivan, which had inspired and guided me to write it.

My father loved animals, reptiles, birds and all creatures of the wild; he spent his life around them near the Amazon Basin rain forest area of South America, where I was born and spent my early childhood. Ivan nurtured all creatures when they were ill, and to make a life for us, he exported them to zoos around the world.

 These beautiful birds are for you, Ivan and Valda: The cats can't touch them! 

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*NOTES:  
1. The name was adopted from the movie, "Life of Pi." I found the name, "Mr. Charles Barker," too much of a mouthful so settled for "Pi."
2. When I wrote the initial draft of this post, the other cats had stopped coming. Gradually, they began coming around again, and now they each come at different times of the day: in the early morning, then late in the afternoon. I've since learned to leave out different bowls of food for each of them.