WE
ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF DEVOTION
+ A devotional life
is one lived in the presence of the Lord. The world's religions tutor us in an
amazing variety of ways to practice our devotion. To name just a few: Sufis
dance. Buddhists chant. Catholics pray with a rosary. Protestants sing hymns.
Orthodox Christians meditate on icons. Hindus gather to receive blessings in
temples. Jews wrap themselves in a prayer shawl. Native Americans bring up the
sun. Muslims make a pilgrimage. Whether our devotional practices are formal
liturgies or informal gestures, they recognize that everything is linked to the
Divine. There can be no bracketing of our existence into holy and unholy
precincts.
Begin, then, by
cultivating your own garden of devotion. Pick as many seeds to plant as you
desire. Water them with love. Be vigilant in your caretaking. Add new plants to
the garden for variety. And be happy knowing that this garden pleases God.
-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat in their Introduction
to the Spiritual Practice of Devotion
+ A daily practice of prayer and meditation and
contemplation is essential for awakening. There are many paths of devotion. It is important, however, to make sure that
you don’t try too many paths at once.
Maybe it is best to follow one path at a time.
But, then, you can get stuck on certain paths. You can be misguided. That’s why I strongly advocate being open to
the wisdom of other traditions and practices.
I particularly like the 14 precepts of
Thich Nhat Hanh. This is wise
counsel for any one following any path.
As you go through these precepts, simply substitute the name of your
path for “Buddhist” whenever you come across that word ... unless you are a Buddhist of course.
+ Spirituality & Practice offers
many resources on the spiritual
practice of Devotion. You can
explore even more with this link to
“Devotion” on their search engine. You will find 2153 items as of 4/26/16. And, of course, there is a Twelves
Gallery of Memes on Devotion. The meme above comes from that gallery. The
Body also gets a lot of attention from S&P as you can see if you go to this link to
“Body” on their search engine. You will find 1611 items as of 4/26/16.
+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this
practice or any practice. And, I have
work to do on my Devotion page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Devotion” or
“Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.
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