A "Good" Discussion

"The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference." - Elie Wiesel

This past Friday, I was sharing a chuckle with a friend about my mentor, who as a young boy had gotten detention in Catholic school for asking a priest the wrong question. One Spring my mentor had raised his hand in class and said, "Father, I don't understand - why do they call it Good Friday?" Now, at this point, he probably would have been fine. It was the second part of his question that caused the problem. He said, "Because I don't think Jesus Christ would think of it as good..." Not surprisingly, he was promptly marched off to detention. He also never got an answer to his question.

My friend was once in a conversation with a retired Jesuit priest and he asked him the same question: "Why is it called 'Good' Friday?" The Jesuit priest gave him a fascinating answer. He told my friend that "good" is actually a mistranslation of an ancient word used 2,000 years ago in Aramaic and Hebrew. Apparently the same word was used for "good" and "God." Their logic was that there could be no word for "good" that didn't also mean "God."

It's a perfectly logical explanation. What still doesn't make sense is why the Jesuits haven't been spreading the 'good' word about this to everyone else out there reading calendars with the equivalent of typos every Easter weekend. Perhaps, they have tried. For reasons unknown to laypeople, it's possible the Church has chosen not to interfere with a term that has been familiar to us for centuries.

Either way, it does make you wonder what else you don't know that you think you know. Or to put it another way, what else you think you know, but that you might be wrong about. Just contemplating this for even a moment can start to dissolve your world. What if everything you believe turns out to be incorrect? What if all the structures in your life that you take for granted were revealed to be illusions? You can imagine one day deciding to explore more deeply only to discover that your world is built like the old Hollywood Western sets of the 50's, all painted wooden facades leading to empty studio lots or open desert. I suppose even agnostics live with a certain amount of faith - at the very least, faith that the ground underneath them will continue to hold up as they walk around each day.

Faith is a topic that always comes up around Easter, as well as around other holidays throughout year. But what is Faith? Is it blind acceptance of everything we are told as unquestionable Truth? I don't believe so. And I don't believe that is how the world's great prophets, including Jesus, would define it either. I would argue that Faith, with a capital "F" is an unwavering belief in something greater than oneself and in the perfection of the eternal spirit. I don't believe that any of the great spiritual leaders would have suggested that we place unwavering Faith in a particular organization or in, say, what's printed on a calendar.

Ronald Reagan, the former president of the United States, said some questionable things. However, he did share one truly important piece of advice when he said, "Trust, but verify." This is how we should consider everything we are asked to accept as the truth. We should trust what we are told when it comes from a source that we trust. But not blindly. We should trust - and at the same time - verify for ourselves whether the dictum holds up to scrutiny.

However, I'm not suggesting that you should require proof in order to believe in something. What I am suggesting is that you pursue something about which you are confused or unsure until you feel comfortable and at peace with it. After all, enlightenment and illumination stand, even linguistically, in direct contrast to ignorance and darkness. There are times when you pursue a subject to the ends of possibility and you come away without any more of an explanation than you had when you started. And yet, you feel at peace anyway. The universe is nothing if not filled with mystery. But it's important - and I think necessary - to explore those mysteries regardless of whether you may find answers. Sometimes you simply end up illuminated, which is enough. Sometimes what you discover is simply a way to better appreciate the inexplicable mysteries. There are people who seek to explain mysteries, and then there are those who seek to explain them away. We can subscribe to the former category, when explanations are available. When they are not, we can be satisfied knowing more fully the extent of what we don't know. By exploring mysteries, understanding some and recognizing others as inexplicable, we actually increase our faith. Surely, true faith is not built on so unstable a ground that examination and study and questioning can topple it.

Removing as much as possible the filter of the ego, which can create a flawed understanding or perception of even the most undeniable fact, we should hold all tenets of our faith up to the clear light and see if they hold up under scrutiny. Now some aspects of both spiritual and worldly life cause us discomfort. Thus, we might want to believe that there is a flaw in the system, though when pressed we must admit that a perfect system does not necessarily bring us perfect happiness all the time. If we're going to scrutinize our lives, our hearts or some circumstance to determine if our faith is warranted, we have to account for our emotional bias clouding the picture. For example, we might feel our ego become threatened when exposed in certain ways, but that reaction does not mean we should call the threat into question.

But when a certain "fact" is brought to light and it just doesn't feel right, it is perfectly acceptable, and even our responsibility, to question its veracity. When you first considered the connection between the event marking "Good Friday" relative to the name for the holiday (holy day) didn't you wonder why it would be called that? And if you asked a family member or clergyperson about it and received an answer (with or without detention), did you feel satisfied? If not, it would have been worth pursuing it until you did get an answer that put you at peace.

I for one have always wondered about this particular term and now I finally feel that I have a satisfactory answer. My faith was never in question, as my faith is tied to esoteric truths and is aligned with certain historical events, rather than to a name for an event thought up by academics or politicians.

So the next time you wonder why - about anything - why not find out? This doesn't make you unspiritual or faithless. On the contrary, it makes you more of a sincere seeker than someone who simply doesn't bother to question anything. Why? Because it is only that individual who takes the trouble to probe himself and the world for answers, who will one day find the elusive Truth that others only claim to seek.

Have a "God" week.

Nicole Grace
April 2007

"Faith must be enforced by reason. When faith becomes blind it dies." - Gandhi

Satori Sciences is pleased to offer a new, extraordinary workshop that can increase productivity, improve work quality and contribute to a significant decrease in stress.

"When I was working on Wall Street, I would often head over to Trinity Church at lunchtime and, after munching a quick bite on the way there, would spend 30 - 45 minutes sitting quietly in one of the small wooden chairs of their tiny meditation room. This tranquil time, however brief, gave me a tremendous respite from the intensity of my day. Leaving the darkened, hushed interior of the church, I would make my way back to the office, replenished and ready to take on the challenges of the office with a renewed energy, balance and enthusiasm. I know many others that have found unique ways to renew their energy during their lunch break, some who found a quiet place to visit, as I did. With layoffs, threat warnings and increased pressure to break productivity records, it is an appropriate time for us to offer this very special new training for corporations and individuals: Peace Meal." - Nicole Grace

Peace Meal is a 45 minute-long meditation seminar, designed to accommodate busy workers on a tight schedule! During the workshop period, one of our exceptional master instructors, each with over 12 years experience of enthusiastic discipline, will teach participants stress-release exercises and non-denominational meditation techniques, as well as provide one or two guided meditation sessions. Held in your corporate offices, or in an outside location provided by Satori Sciences, the workshops will begin promptly at 12:10 p.m. or 1:10 p.m. and will conclude promptly at five minutes before the hour, ensuring attendees have time to return to their offices after their lunch hour has ended.

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This unique half-day workshop provides attendees with a powerful introduction to meditation and mindfulness, taught by instructors with a minimum of 12 years of training and discipline in this art. The regular practice of quieting the mind has been proven to significantly reduce stress and feelings of negativity, as well as increase intellectual capacity and problem-solving abilities. The Art of Meditation offers a practical, non-denominational approach. (The Art of Meditation can also be combined with our Three-Fold Path to Mastery seminar for a transformational 1 1/2 day experience.)

During the powerful 4-hour session, attendees will learn:

• Several extremely effective techniques for quieting the mind
• Mindfulness
• Avoiding The Passion Reaction
• How to incorporate meditative practice into each day

*BREAKING NEWS*
Mastery At Work: 18 Keys For Achieving Success, Fulfillment And Joy In Any Profession has been declared the winner in the Best Books 2006 Book Awards in the category of Business/Motivation, by USA Book News.

From USABookNews.com:
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Read more press and reviews about Mastery At Work:

New Connexions Magazine - "Editor's Picks"
"Combining spiritual techniques with business practices, Nicole Grace recognizes that leading an impeccable working life helps us to achieve personal growth. Her secret key to success-work as a spiritual practice and spiritual practice as work. Whether you work on Wall Street or as a street vendor, Grace’s techniques of 'acting as if,' detachment, and focusing like a warrior will help you to create a fulfilling work and personal life."

USA Book News
Mastery At Work is an enlightening and informative new book that is transforming the way people think about life and work. Drawn from proven business strategies and ancient spiritual teachings, Mastery At Work presents practical techniques anyone can embrace and use to work more productively and with greater skill, as well as to lead an uncommonly joyful life, regardless of daily circumstances. Based on The Three-Fold Path to Mastery philosophy created by the author, Mastery At Work describes the pathways that can lead to a life of success, expertise, balance and fulfillment. ["USA Book News covers unique books from both the mainstream and independent press. We look beyond the best-seller lists to find fantastic books that are worthy of attention."]

Balanced Living Magazine
Nicole Grace is one extraordinary woman: a former Wall Street executive and an ordained Buddhist monk and a black belt in karate and a former symphony orchestra violinist! More important, however, is the fact that her accomplishments are demonstrations of the program she proffers in her first book, Mastery At Work. Drawn from her experience in multiple spiritual disciplines, including martial arts, Grace distills her impressive 18 Keys into a Three-Fold Path (Soft Skills, Professional Skills and Continuous Improvement). Taken together, they comprise a powerful life-way, as appropriate for the longtime seeker as it is for the spiritual novice.

Almost all of us work, and work (especially nowadays) can be fraught with difficulties: lack of meaning, lack of security and frustrating relationships, to name a few. Grace, through this prism of work, is providing the public at large a process into deeper experience and understanding. This is a book you can give to anyone as an ultimate, self-guided, personal-growth method, whether or not they’ve ever uttered the word spirituality. To the degree that they embody and express the 18 Keys, they will open inner doors, and what they learn and experience will find its outer reflection. Mastery At Work is a book about mastery of life. It belongs on every bookshelf.
- David Langer

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