The Charisma Code by Robin Sol Lieberman

Author:Robin Sol Lieberman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940468419
Publisher: White Cloud Press
Published: 2016-06-16T04:00:00+00:00

SHOW YOUR VALUE.

STEP THREE

CONNECTION

See Others’ Value

CHARISMA RULE

See the great stuff others are made of.

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

CONFUCIUS

I recently met with a member of the clergy at the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Los Angeles, in hopes of understanding the etymological roots of charis and “charisma” and how they are used in the Greek Orthodox tradition today. Father John gave me a thrill when he used his native tongue to give charis its proper audible expression.

“Khar’-ees,” he said. I savored this virgin auditory experience.

I had been doting on, investigating, writing, and chopping up this little word for so long, all the while thinking it rhymed with Harris, only to discover it’s more of a Clarice.

“Can you tell me about charis and charisma?” I asked.

With rays of afternoon light coming in through his little side chapel window, John eagerly engaged with my enthusiasm for his expertise.

“First of all,” he said, “charis isn’t used just in religious settings, but you are almost always giving it to someone. It can be a favor you do for them, like finding their keys, buying them some baklava, or wiping their tears. When people are filled with charisma during spiritual practice, they don’t necessarily think they are giving it to others, but they are. They can’t help it. They are like a fountain, and people want to be around them. After a meditation, I can always point to who was ‘touched.’ There might be a whole crowd of people, but the charismatic ones stand out to me. They glow. They don’t have to do a thing; they simply attract others. But it doesn’t last forever, you know. Sometimes you have charisma and sometimes you don’t.”

“In this tradition,” I asked, “what practice do you do to get filled with charisma?”

In response, John handed me a little maroon and white booklet. “I think you will be interested in this,” he said. “It is the prayer the mystic disciples of Jesus used in the desert. In prayer, it’s not the words we say that matter; it’s the space between them. We pray as a means to meditate and stop thinking about ourselves. The prayer helps us get out of our personal neurosis, and we experience ékstasi (ecstasy). That’s when the gift of grace comes in and we get khárisma.”

“What’s that feel like?” I asked.

Smiling and with eyes aglow, he replied, “How can you explain what God feels like? I guess if I had to describe it, I would say it feels like love. But really big love. Really clear and really wide.”

I prodded a little deeper. “If you had to use a word other than love, what would you use to describe your experience of being filled with charis?”

Without missing a beat, John replied:

“Connection.”

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