You could say this title represents a key emphasis for Sunrise Chapel.  What does it mean to educate ourselves in the way of the Word, and to have that learning translate into spiritual practice that helps to frame each day?  I was delighted this week to discover a 2006 article by the Rev. Barry Halterman addressing this very question.  May it inspire you to continue in your spiritual education and growth this month!

Love and Peace,

Ethan

Despite what our senses tell us, we are not just our bodies. We are not merely physical beings. We are spirits, and our physical bodies are really only specialized tools that enable us to experience the physical world. 

Our spirit consists of what we love and the thoughts that arise from our loves. Just like our spirit, love can seem like some kind of ethereal, abstract, mental thing, or maybe some kind of impulse. But just because love isn't measurable or even perceivable by our physical senses doesn't mean it isn't real.

We can feel it when it is present, and we feel when it's absent. We feel warm and alive inside when it is present and cold and lifeless when it's gone. We can feel and even see its effects, so we know that it exists. Don't tell parents the love they have for their children isn't real! That love is the most real thing on earth. The precious innocence we feel when holding a newborn child can warm the soul like nothing else. Personally, I've never felt anything more real. In fact, at those moments I'd say everything else seems pretty unreal.

What about you? When do you feel the most alive? Think about it. When was a time you felt really full of life?  I'll bet it was when you were doing something you really loved (think about time spent in recreation to good conversation about deep subjects with our friends, for example).  What makes you feel alive? Isn't it just doing what you love? The more you love something, the more alive you feel. So love is very real. In fact, the book Divine Love and Wisdom (n. 1) starts off by saying, "Love is a person's life." Of course!

Love and its partner wisdom aren't abstract. They may not be perceivable by our physical senses, but they can definitely be perceived by our spirit. We are taught that Divine Love and Wisdom are real spiritual substance (Swedenborg, Divine Love and Wisdom 40). They are real things that are received by the faculties of the mind called will and understanding and felt by our spiritual senses. They are every bit as real to our spirit as warmth and light are to our body. Spiritual education then, means teaching and learning about the spirit. It means learning about love and wisdom and how they apply to every situation.