Black Belt Spirituality

I found a post that I posted last year for Lent. And the message applies today. Especially now that my blog is on black belt spirituality: I've gone and updated it as needed but I hope it does what I hope to continue doing with this blog: Incorporating martial arts, spirituality and Christianity.  Enjoy: My therapy this week was great. Physically painful, but great. But what  therapist would inflict physical pain on their clients you might ask. Not many. And for me, therapy is actually my training at my Tae Kwon Do dojang. It was painful tonight because on 8 months ago while doing take down drills I fell improperly and rolled my shoulder, and this week I aggravated it. Oh well, I love it, and pain just reminds me I'm alive. (Twisted, right!?) Tae Kwon Do has been a part of my life for the better part of 25 years. It has been a valuable source of discipline and structure. Also it instills the values of honor, self respect and respect for others and perse...

Recently while helping teach a children's martial arts class I was reminded of something. For those who don't know, I am a third dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Hence the name of my blog.   At one point, to encourage the kids, the head instructor stopped everyone and said the following.  "You are martial ARTISTS! I want to see you create your ART!"   Kicking and punching as art? Yes! Art. We are living breathing contradictions. We learn the martial. The mechanics of defense.  But we also train in a spiritual mind and body art. We strive to sync the emotional, the physical and yes the spiritual. A constant journey of self learning and self actualization.    Now did the kids fully understand that.  Probably not.  But I almost did.  It reconnected me with the artistic(read spiritual) side of my work out.  I gave a talk to a group of Chaplains about this this afternoon.  I hope it was effective.  Keep mov...

Reflection given in Chapel today.          Have you ever gone somewhere and been so immersed in thought or discussion that you don’t noticed that you've past a few people along the way. Or maybe gone on a road trip and get so lost in thought that you arrive at your destination and think, “Hey, how did I get here!?” There’s been a few mornings I have arrived at Bristol Glen and wondered that.  In this afternoons passage we join two of Jesus’  followers, Cleopas and his unnamed companion, who were not of the inner 11 disciples. These two followers are are walking. Where they are going, ultimately, we don't know only that they are on the road to Emmaus, a town 7 miles west of Jerusalem.  Its Easter, towards the end of the day. They are walking west, into the sunset. Into darkness.The sun is probably in their eyes, keeping them from recognizing this stranger who joins them on their walk. Their walking but they aren't paying attention.1  ...

This post is a reflection I shared in chapel at the continuing care facility I work in for Palm Sunday.        I’m sure that most of us have watched or can remember watching a military parade. Some may remember the victory parades after WW2. I can remember the parades after the First Gulf War. The returning army marching in all their glory. The Commanders, with their glistening medals and badges proudly leading the parades.  I remember that when I was in high school, I fell in love with American history; specifically Civil War history after watching the movie Gettysburg and then visiting the battlefield. I think I have been there at least 5 times, not that I was counting. But what drew me in was the regalia of military pomp and circumstance. The drama of the victory, and defeat. I mean who doesn't like a good story about a victorious warrior marching into his city to the cheer, and adoration of the people. It can be very moving. (more so maybe if you are on...

        I love this middle part of John’s Gospel. From chapter 5 through 12, John’s Gospel deals with unbelief. Well, persecution and unbelief, but today I want to focus on the unbelief. John’s Gospel is the Gospel of Love, a spiritual manifest of who Jesus declares, repeatedly, who he is. And we don't we believe him. I think it would be safe to assume, that a lot of us go through periods of belief and unbelief. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I did. It was only for about two years, but who’s keeping track. I know many folks in ministry, maybe more so in my field of chaplaincy, that struggle continuously with unbelief. But it doesn't make you a bad person, and especially not a bad Christian.  I recently read a quote by Timothy Keller. He’s a well known Presbyterian Pastor and has written about experiencing God during periods of doubt and struggle. He says: “The basic premise of religion-that if you live a good life, things will go well for you-is wr...

I haven't posted in a few days. Lenten Fail. But as I tell folks I encounter in the hospital and nursing home; We believe in a God of forgiveness... So here is a sermonette I will be giving at work this week. Enjoy.          This weekend I had the chance to take my confirmation class to a service at a pentecostal church. It was quite a change from the traditional presbyterian worship we are used to and for the kids in the class it was quiet the change and almost shocking. If you aren't familiar with the Pentecostal church, a focus of much of their belief is focused on the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit. But the focus of our scripture this afternoon is Jesus. Who Jesus is, what authority he has, and what happens after the final resurrection.  Jesus in our passage is talking about the time that is coming when he will call out to the dead. And those dead shall hear his voice and they’ll live again! Pretty impressive stuff right? To t...

Today marks Saint Patrick's Day.  So what do green beer, parades, Leprechaun's, snakes and all things Irish have to do with the saint we call Patrick? Absolutely Nothing! Patrick was actually Scottish (possibly Welsh or English, depending on your source) who as a boy was taken into slavery in Ireland. Only after escaping at 20 and returning to Britain did Patrick become a bishop and return to Ireland as a missionary. Read some history  here  and  here . But what can we learn from St Patrick.  We can learn how it means to truly be a follower of Christ. How we can love our enemies as our neighbors. Going back to minister to those who enslaved you is pretty radical showing of God's love. We can learn to be rooted in the mystery of the trinity and work of Christ. "I bind this day to me for ever. By power of faith, Christ's incarnation; His baptism in the Jordan River; His death on Cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spiced tomb; His riding u...