SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 176

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SIMPLICITY

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When I Am Among the Trees

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, "Stay awhile."

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, "It's simple," they say,

"and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine."

— Mary Oliver in Thirst

+ Nature is one of the twelve Spiritual Styles of Ed Bastian’s InterSpirituality Mandala, or Spiritual Paths.  Wisdom teachers often teach that getting out of the buildings of our lives and into the fields and forests and lakes and rivers and oceans is essential for our spiritual quest. Ed writes:

It is strange and tragic that so many have come to see themselves as separate from nature. And even  when they admit that they are a part of nature, many still insist that they are at the top of the evolutionary ladder, a superior species, chosen by God (or Darwin) to be in charge of all the other minerals, plants, and animals of the Earth. This bias toward human superiority can be found in many of the world’s religious, philosophical and scientific traditions. Fortunately, within these same traditions, are other voices that lead us back into sacred communion with nature—the mother of us all.  

Mary Oliver is loved for her many, many poems which connect nature to our spiritual explorations.  Mary Ann & Frederic Brussat of S&P suggest that her poetry adds something special to the practices of Wonder, Faith and Attention, three of the 37 S&P practices.

+ Simplicity is not one of the 37 Spirituality & Practice practices BUT put Simplicity in their Search Engine and you come up with 314 items including 117 quotes, 156 books, 11 practices, 9 teachers, 1 arts link, 11 e-courses, 7 films and 1 blog as of 6/4/16.  Go to http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/search/?q=Simplicity

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Simplicity Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Simplicity” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html