SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 106

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SOLITUDE

+ The life of peace begins anew each morning. We take a breath, awaken, and receive the gift of life, the gift of the present moment. The great spiritual traditions urge us to take time each day to center ourselves in the spirit of peace. If we dare enter the solitude of peace, we will rediscover who we are, each one of us a beloved, precious child of the God of peace.

-- John Dear

+ How do you begin your day?  I often begin with some Yoga asanas and / or a Chi Lel Chi Gong routine followed by a mindfulness practice, usually including Dr. Edward W. Bastian’s  Seven Step InterSpiritual Meditation and Centering Prayer as taught by Father Thomas Keating. The aim is to integrate mind, heart, body and soul.  Before we eat Breakfast, Mary & I will sing or say “This is the Day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” When and if I get to the computer, I go to several websites for inspiration including The Daily Lectionary, Daily Zen, the Gratefulness Word for the Day, the One Spirit Daily Inspiration, Inner Frontier, Weaving Home on Facebook  and several Spirituality & Practice pages.  There are several other sources I like but I do not always find the time to get to them. 

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the spiritual practice of Solitude.

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

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 97

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEALING

+ The regular practice of contemplative prayer initiates a healing process that might be called the divine therapy. The level of deep rest accessed during the prayer periods loosen up the hard pan around the emotional weeds stored in the unconscious of which the body seems to be the warehouse. The psyche begins to evacuate spontaneously the undigested emotional materials of a lifetime, opening up new space for self-knowledge, freedom of choice, and the discovery of the divine presence within.

-- Thomas Keating in Invitation to Love

+ Healing is the goal, the destination, of this stage of the journey, the Journey of the Heart.  Our explorations in this stage began with the practice of Silence followed by the practice of Discernment.  These practices are essential as are the Journey of the Mind practices of Stillness, Detachment and Humility.  So, practice, practice, practice.

Perhaps goal or destination are not the right words to use here because, for most of us, healing can never be grasped in its entirety as long as we are living in the confines of our earthly bodies.  But we are more than that.  We really are heavenly beings.  There are people who live on earth within the confines of these earthly bodies of ours who nevertheless live fully as heavenly beings.  I believe our evolutionary process is making this happen more and more.  It still may be only a few who can live fully as heavenly beings here on earth but more and more of us can enjoy this amazing heavenly life frequently. 

I know Father Keating thinks so.  He urges us to practice Centering Prayer so that we can indeed enjoy the “discovery of the divine presence within.”  And Jesus taught us that “the Kingdom of God is within you.”  Go for it.      

+ Spirituality & Practice offers many resources on the practice of Healing.

+ I have work to do on my Healing Page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Healing” 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

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 78

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF  SILENCE

+ Somewhere in those depths of silence I came upon my first experiences of God as a loving presence that was always near, and prayer as a simple trust in that presence.

 -- Cynthia Bourgeault in Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening

+ Cynthia Bourgeault offers plenty of practical wisdom on the practice of Centering Prayer along with great insights into the Wisdom emphasis of Early Christianity which is now being recovered through  her efforts and the efforts of many others.  They are finding that the mystical approach is central to what Jesus taught and to what his first followers practiced and taught.  Here are a few more quotes from Cynthia Bourgeault to whet your appetite:

“Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 2:5) The words call us up short as to what we are actually supposed to be doing on this path: not just admiring Jesus, but acquiring his consciousness. -- Cynthia Bourgeault in The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind

As we actually taste the flavor of what he's teaching, we begin to see that it's not proverbs for daily living, or ways of being virtuous. He's proposing a total meltdown and recasting of human consciousness, bursting through the tiny acorn-selfhood that we arrived on the planet with into the oak tree of our fully realized personhood. He pushes us toward it, teases us, taunts us, encourages us, and ultimately walks us there. -- Cynthia Bourgeault in The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind

+ Spirituality&Practice offers many resources on the Spiritual Practice of Silence and a wonderful photo and quotes gallery.

+ I have work to do on my Discernment page.   Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Discernment” 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

SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS -- 71

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF SILENCE

+ Silence is God's first language; everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear the language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God.

-- Thomas Keating in Invitation to Love

+ We have a lot to learn about the power of silence in our society.  Noise is everywhere.  There is hardly any escape from it. Silence, of course, is not a magic bullet for any particular physical or mental healing, but it sure does help.  It is definitely an essential practice leading to all kinds of spiritual healing.

You can bring your silence with you into this noisy world. You can pay attention to the world in new ways as you practice being silent. Practice it in as many situations as possible. Try to tune out as many distractions as possible including your own noise. Be quiet. Be aware. Don’t speak. Listen. Pay attention. Let inner silence and outer silence have significant time and space in your life. Something wonderful is happening. Something fascinating is happening. Something amazing is happening. In this joyful silence, you are becoming you and you are helping others become their true selves. Silence speaks volumes.

+ Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina as taught by Father Thomas Keating is an excellent method for entering the glorious silence which leads to our awe and awakening to the very real presence of God.  Many people have been discovering this new world since Father Keating’s books began to gain popularity toward the end of the twentieth century.  From the Father Keating's Contemplative Outreach website here is a very brief introduction to Centering Prayer:

“Centering Prayer is a receptive method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

“Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it adds depth of meaning to all prayer and facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer – verbal, mental or affective prayer – into a receptive prayer of resting in God. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Christ.” 

+ SpiritualityandPractice offers many resources on the Spiritual Practice of Silence and a wonderful photo and quotes gallery. The meme above comes from that gallery.

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