By Michael Avery
My wife, Pichaya, and I have learned that Divine Spirit, Spirit, God, or “the Universe,” call IT what you will, won’t interfere in our lives unless we ask. When faced with an important decision or a personal crisis, we can ask for guidance through dreams, contemplations, visions, or waking dreams. Most people, however, forget to ask.
It is important that we do all we can to help ourselves in addition to asking the Divine. A number of spiritual exercises are available that can help us navigate “dark nights of the Soul” or other crises. Many can be found in a book called The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, by Harold Klemp.
One additional spiritual exercise that I have found helpful in stressful situations is simple, and yet powerful. It’s called “A Circle of Friends.”
A Circle of Friends
I tip my hat to the late Mike Dyer, a friend and math professor at the University of Oregon, for this imaginative spiritual exercise. I don’t recall if he had a name for it, but the memory of Mike’s description of the exercise and how it helped him is fresh in my mind. I have called on it on several occasions during times of crisis and have suggested it to others needing support.
I remember Mike telling about a personal crisis he was experiencing in his own life. He had done all he could to resolve the issue, but was still struggling. At that point, he inwardly called upon every friend he could think of and asked them to surround him in a circle of love. Mike had interacted with many of these people who shared his love of music and service to life through his spiritual teaching.
He described how he imagined his friends standing around him in a circle, a golden cord of love connecting each person’s heart with the heart of the person to his or her right and left. From each of those forming a ring around him, Mike imagined a golden cord also connecting with his heart in the center. The most sublime feeling of love filled the circle, he reported. He found the experience to be extremely uplifting and helpful.
One may also call upon beloved pets, guardian angels, and spiritual masters in addition to, or instead of, friends. This spiritual exercise may also be expanded to include other techniques for achieving solace, support, and guidance.
For example, I sometimes imagine a pair of large, cloud-like hands—The Hands of God— and place every aspect of my challenging situation in these hands without trying to change anything. I surrender them to Divine Spirit, visualize the hands closing and then dissipating in the air. I say out loud,“Well, that’s done! Thank you.”
I am often amazed at the results of combining these two exercises. Lastly, I make it a point to inwardly thank those who have joined me in the Circle of Friends.
Some years after hearing Mike Dyer talk about this spiritual exercise, I imagined a group of animals emerging from a forest around me and forming a circle. I’d been thinking of children’s books at the time, not requesting help for myself.
I was startled when I heard a captivating chorus arising from the animals. The words have stayed with me to this day and serve as a reminder that it’s all about love and that help arrives from the most unexpected sources.
We are One in the Circle of Life. Love is All, just open your heart.
We are One in the Circle of Life. Love is All, just open your heart.1
1. The phrase comes from “The Circle of Life,” in Porcupines at the Dance, p. 48.
LIN BUER
Wonderful exercises! Mike, your words reach right into my heart and open it to Divine Love. I read a guest essay in the paper today where in ancient Jewish times, pilgrims would enter the Temple Mount plaza and turn to the right. People who for whatever reason were despairing and alone should walk to the left creating two interacting circles. The pilgrims would look in the eyes of those coming towards them and say, “ What happened to you?” Then listen with an open heart. Then say, “You are never alone.” Personally I like the Circle of Friends exercise better, but the ancient ritual of acknowledging each other Soul to Soul is profound too. May we all connect with all life with a loving heart. Lin
Al Coffman
What a lovely way to remember Mike Dyer. Mike was dedicated to teaching and innovating in the ways of the Holy Spirit. Thanks for sharing this in detail so we can all go play in the inner garden of Spirit.