Spiritual faces in the news...Need a ticket?

As one friend offered: "Tickets to see the Dali Lama, tickets to see the Pope......glad we don't need tickets when it comes to Jesus...He paid the price for us all!"

These were some of the national news making events this past week. But did you read about the little girl born in India with two faces?

The baby, named Lali, was born with what doctors called a rare condition known as craniofacial duplication. She has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes. She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all four eyes at the same time.

People in the local village where she was born have begun worshipping her as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess of valor, Durga.

We can only hope the baby, Lali, does not become someone's circus-like sideshow.

Tickets, anyone?

I am not taking away anything from the Pope's and Dali Lama's visit to the United States. After all, both are spiritual leaders in their own right. Both bring a lot to the table when it comes to bringing attention to the world's plight. Some of what they bring is pure garbage.

The Pope's trip comes as the Roman Catholic Church in the United States - with the third-largest Catholic population in the world - struggles against titanic pressures. Among them: a sex-abuse scandal that led six dioceses to file for bankruptcy and left others in financial straits as payouts to victims exceeded $1.5 billion; a demographic shift in U.S. religion that has saddled the church with the largest net loss of one-time members of any major faith; and a fundamental threat to church orthodoxy linked in part to the nation's secular, polyglot culture.

Within the U.S. church, many conservatives ardently support Benedict. They admire his embrace of the traditional Latin Mass, his challenge to Islamic extremism (which inflamed many Muslims but inspired dialogue with others), and his encyclicals on love and hope.

The Dali Lama's appearance in Seattle is sponsored by Seeds of Compassion, which the founders hope will mark the beginning of a broad-based collaboration to bring concrete public awareness, public will, and an empowering call to action to address the global need for the social and emotional well-being of children.

They see this as part of the emerging global Compassion Movement. As an outcome, they seek to bring social and emotional learning into families, to caregivers, and to schools so that all who touch the lives of children have the tools and empowerment to provide the foundation for kinder and more compassionate children, communities, and society.

Dali Lama's appearance is the first in the U.S. since the recent turmoil began in Tibet.

The unrest, which began with a March 14 riot in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, has already cast a pall over preparations for the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer and energized human rights advocates and others who contend that China's rule over the area has been harsh and that Tibet should be independent.

However, The Dali Lama says he does not wish his native Tibet to be independent, only allowed to continue to see justice served as a human rights issue.

Being non-denominational, I can only muse about how people tend to place more value on some people, and less value on others. After all, we are all humans trying to exist in the chaotic mess of a world we find ourselves living in.

I am more apt to embrace the Dali Lama than the Pope. The Dali Lama brings freshness to culture rather than the Catholic Church's dull message as always about world peace, and the traditionalist viewpoint is about as dull as listening to a Latin Mass.

We don't need a ticket to see the Pope or the Dali Lama. We are all yogis or Christ-like if you stop and think about it. We can make it a priority to connect with spirit. A few moments spent focusing our attention inward can allow us to see life with fresh eyes. We can also expand our view of the world by educating ourselves like the yogis and Jesus did before attaining yogic mastery or in Jesus' case - Godhead. Yogis study not only spiritual disciplines, but they also study science, philosophy, the arts, and medicine. Another way to emulate the yogis of Tibet or Jesus of Nazareth is to focus our minds on positive thoughts that affirm the well-being of the planet. We also become aware of our ability to create change in the world with our thoughts, actions, and intentions.
The yogis of Tibet as well as Jesus have been called "supreme artists of life" for their ability to treat every situation like a spiritual endeavor. As we aspire to express the same art of patience, compassion, and peace in our lives, we too can radiate the tranquility, warmth, and joy attributed to these spiritual masters.

I can only allow that God has many faces. God is in the face of each human on earth for we are all created in his image. Take a look at a new face this week and see if you find God in it!

You will not need a ticket I assure you!

John W. Cargile, Msc.D, D.D. is a licensed pastoral psychology counselor. He is a member of the National Educational Association and Alabama Educational Association. E-books, reference material and study programs are now available at his website www.21stcenturyministries.com You can contact him at jwcargile@charter.net. All conversations are confidential.