Those of you who have followed this blogger may find the thoughts in this posting a repeat of previous reflection(s). However, I am in Henderson, Nevada. An invitation to celebrate Mass for people gathered at the hotel came my way. Following one of the presentations from last evening by Mr. Bernie Dohrmann, I am sharing some of the Dr. Wayne Dyer thoughts from his book, The Power of Intention. So, you have had a head start on today's thoughts.Last night Mr. Dohrmann spoke about one of the "lesson" his father, Mr. Alan Dohrmann taught his nine children in one of the famous "Dohrmann Seminars." For those with children, I am sure your brood have told or would tell of some of your stories to them to help them understand what life is all about.
Mr. Dohrmann concluded a presentation with a recollection of his father teaching his children that within each of them is a power, a power of light, a power of brightness that enables each of them to change the darkness in their own lives as well as the lives of others.
In his book, Dr. Dyer speaks about the real power that we have within ourselves comes from our Creator, regardless of the name we assign to the power that created this world, that is the essential cause of who we are.
We so often hear people say that we existed in the mind of the Creator even before the world was created. In his mind the Creator had a plan for each one of us. It was and is a plan that always was. It was a plan that took on special significance on the day that you were conceived and made very real the day you came crying into this universe of our. It was then that you began to live out your God's, your Creator's plan for you. Each day since that first day of the rest of your life, you were entrusted with the responsibility to live out what he wanted for you and for his universe.
The wonderful gift that this Creator gave to you in his plan, his intention, is a most unusual gift. It was the freedom to live out his plan as you wished. We were given the freedom to live in darkness, we were given the freedom to live in the light that the elder Mr. Dohrmann taught his children.
Now what is that intention that the Creator God may have had for you ... your Bernie, you Bruce, you Helen, or each one of you? To answer that question you have to look at your life. Why do people make annual retreats ... business meetings or spiritual times away from the helter-skelter of our world? I honestly believe that happens because we have that divine intention buried within us that daily calls upon each of us to come to know that intention.
Once we know what that intention or what we believe it to be, we become an incredible person of passion. We become alive like few have ever known us. A man who taught me in high school at least some 50 years ago impressed his students more than any other teacher at the time. He spoke of the "turning moment" in his life during WWII when he was on a burring ship and had seen so many of his colleagues dying. It was then that he realized there had always been what he called the "nagging pain" in his heart to do something for young people. It was then that he finally landed on the pathway that was intended for him. He saw that light and refused to let it go ... because he knew his being saved as his ship sank in fire and as living burial ground in Pearl Harbor for those who could not free themselves from the compartments below deck.
Two year ago in a not as dramatic way I found myself having a very difficult time breathing with each step I took. Several days later a doctor came to me on the operating table with these words: Fr. Jordan, I am here to save your life. You should be dead ... never, ever, forget those words. And I say this to you because I honestly believe you have a mission to fulfill. God's intention for you has not yet been completely fulfilled.
And here I am today ... some two years later. Retired from active priestly ministry yet finding that there is not enough time in a day to live out what I see as that intention that was buried in my heart for all those very productive years of priestly ministry but years that only touched the surface of what God has been calling me to do.
Each of us us has quietly living within us that Creator-given power of intention. Know your passion, know what you are the happiest in doing, know the highway that enables you to bring light into the lives of other people in a way that no other person but you can do that.
Bernie, I want to thank you personally here today for gathering that Benedictine Brother's notes of your Dad's lessons to you and your siblings. As a priest who loves to use stories, I realized how marvelous your Dad must have been ... even though he may have needed that coat hangers for some of you!
Thank you for sharing his lessons because he continues to be the master teacher for us when you take that mic and speak so passionately from that inner place where you found the power of God's intention for your life.
