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THE MIDDLE WAY OF SPIRITUAL COMPANIONSHIP (CONTINUED)
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us, always and forever.
The Buddha was a child of great privilege, and his
father went to significant lengths to protect him from When we find the middle ground, with the help of our
seeing the suffering of the world. Slipping out of the spiritual companions when we need them, or by help-
palace walls, he saw death, poverty and misery first ing others find that space when they need it, we can
hand. Which led him to flee the palace and to immerse remember our Ultimate Belonging in every molecule of
himself in the most arduous and challenging ascetic an expanding, infinite Universe.
practices he could identify.
May we find ourselves steeped in between: quietly, se-
His “enlightenment” resulted when he saw that the renely, and with humility, insight and understanding.
most stable, balanced way forward was to avoid in-
dulging extremes, and to hew to a “Middle Way.” “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,
“who is, who always was, and who is still to come, the
And this Golden Mean, or Middle Way, finds equal Almighty One” (Revelation 1:8).
expression in the Quran, with Muhammed (pbuh)
اهطسوأ روملأا يرخ
stating “ ”, meaning the best choice is the “Never was there a time when I did
middle one. not exist, nor you…nor in the future
shall any of us cease to be”
These are but a few examples, as Judaism (with Mai- (Bhagavad Gita 2.12)
monides, for instance), Confucianism, Indigenous spir-
itualities of various sorts, and many others across the
board, speak similarly of the need to ground ourselves
away from polarities. Reverend Seifu Anil Singh-Molares
In this context, trained spiritual companions and
directors know that our biggest struggles are associ- Listen
ated with what many perceive as the ultimate dichot-
omy, namely Life and Death. So, our births are usually
cause for great celebration, hope for the future, and the PUBLISHER: Spiritual Directors International
promise of things to come. And our deaths are mourn-
ed, and often met with cries of sadness, loss, sorrow, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND EDITOR:
longing and regret. Rev. Seifu Anil Singh-Molares, MTS
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR: Matt Whitney
But as we persist with our spiritual paths, our com- SUBMISSIONS: [email protected]
panions listen us deeper and closer to the heart of the ADVERTISING: [email protected]
matter, far beyond opposites and dualities. We don’t Listen is published four times a year. The names Spiritual Directors
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deny the latter, as the denials would be extreme them- International , SDIWorld , and SDI and its logo are trademarks of
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Spiritual Directors International, Inc., all rights reserved. Opinions and
selves, but as we navigate our moments of despairing programs represented in this publication are of the authors and advertisers
sorrow on the one end, and those of joyful ecstasies on and may not represent the opinions of Spiritual Directors International, the
Coordinating Council, or the editors.
the other, we may find that true peace of mind lies in
the middle spaces. Those where we are truly one with We WELCOME your feedback on any
each other, and where we remember that our essence is
beyond yesterdays, todays and tomorrows. aspect of this issue of LISTEN, or on SDI
as a whole. Please send your comments to
The entire universe is contained within us, and every
particle of God, the Universe, beyond the beyond, or [email protected]
however we might refer to the ground of all being, is
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