Thursday, January 13, 2011

The Spiritual Work of Gratitude

The Spiritual Work of Gratitude – Henri Nouwen

To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives is easy, but to be grateful for all of our lives-the good as well as the bad, themoments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections-that requires hard spiritual work. Still, we are only truly grateful people when we can say thank you to all that has brought us to the present moment. As long as we keep dividing our lives between events and people we would like to remember and those we would rather forget, we cannot claimthe fullness of our beings as a gift of God to be grateful for.

Let's not be afraid to look at everything that has brought us to where we are now and trust that we will soon see in it the guiding hand of a loving God.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Untangled


Epiphany is the season of signs of wonder. It is the season of seeking the light. It is the season of becoming the light. 

Like Karen indicated earlier, it is a season that continues to call forth our need for spiritual practice and discernment as we daily search for new life, new birth, and new light in the mystery of our faith.

This story came across my cyberspace. It is from a recent San Francisco Chronicle. It is  about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. 

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. 

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them. Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same. 
  



May our spiritual nourishment of self and others help us get untangled from all that binds us from letting our light shine.

blessings for the new year,
Sally

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Epiphany has arrived and that means our Advent Spiritual Practice challenge is coming to a close. As the Spiritual Care Network team we have noticed folks have been logging in and we have received some notes of thanks for the challenge.

At times I found this challenge helpful and there were days when it was discouraging (I always struggle when I don’t do something perfectly). As I was reflecting on how I might conclude this challenge I recalled some of the stories I heard along the way.

I heard from some colleagues and personally experienced a different spirit this Advent season. Having set aside the time for practice, prayer and reflection I entered the Christmas season with a calmer spirit. Don’t get me wrong I still got cluttered and busy in a way I hoped I would not, but there was an acceptance that had not been there before - a new peace in the season of peace.

From members of the Squamish congregation that joined us on the challenge I heard the same. They have already been promised some of their stories will make their way to sermons any day now. There are stories of families being drawn together in practice, assistance with grieving a child who is struggling far away, and even a stain cleaned out of a carpet that had been there for years.

And so today as I thought about what this challenge has meant to me I thought of the magi journeying to Jesus. And I realized that perhaps their story is our challenge. What did they know of the Christ child when they began their journey? What did they expect to experience or receive?

What we know from Matthew’s gospel is “When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matt 2:9-11)

In faith as we journey towards Jesus we journey towards the light of life. It is not until we arrive at the light that we know how it will change us. The mystery of faith does not come with a guaranteed check off the box result. And the walk of faith (at least for me) is a never-ending journey, I am constantly in search of the light of life. And so with thanksgiving I am able to say this season has inspired a renewed search for life. And so my hope and prayer is that as we conclude this challenge we will not look at this day as the end of required practice but rather the beginning of a daily search for new life, new birth, and new light in the mystery of our faith.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Returning to God


I can’t tell you how many times, over the past 10 years I have started and stopped the practice of Centering Prayer.  It just never felt fulfilling.  All I did was sit there and try not to think about all the things I was thinking about.  And in the end, there were no revelations, no solutions, no sense of accomplishment.  So why bother?  Right?  And yet, for some reason, I am constantly being called back to this prayer practice. 
 
So, once again, as I considered committing to ONE spiritual practice (my spiritual practice routine seems to be as eclectic as my taste in music and my hereditary background!) I found myself drawn to Centering Prayer. So,  I vowed to try it again for a full two weeks… and here I am five weeks later and it has become my regular (almost daily) practice.  And despite the fact that there are still no revelations, solutions or sense of accomplishment (at least in the societal definition of the term), it has worked for me this time. 

So what’s the difference, you ask?  Well, it was an awareness, actually three awarenesses, that came to me in my first sit (this time around).  Firstly I recalled a statement by Mother Theresa. 
 
When asked by a reporter what she says when she prays, Mother Theresa responded “I don’t say anything.  I just listen.”  

“Well then,” asked the reporter “what does God say?” 

“God doesn’t say anything.” Responded Mother Theresa, “God just listens … and if you don’t understand this, I can’t explain it.”

And I realized that listening to God listening to me is a very peaceful, spiritually fulfilling practice. And no revelations or solutions are necessary.

My second awareness was another quote from somewhere in my past that went something like this:

At the end of a Centering Prayer sit a student went to her teacher and with frustration in her voice said “This is a waste of time!  My mind was constantly wandering to all kinds of things.” 
 
To which the teacher responded “Aren’t you blessed, to have so many opportunities to turn back to God!”

And my frustrations were turned to blessings! I no longer had to beat myself up over a chattering mind.  I simply let go of the noise and turned my focus back to listening to God, listening to me.

Finally, into my consciousness came the quote used by Peter Short at our last Conference gathering:

“Gone to the fields to be lovely.  Back when I’m finished blooming.”

And I knew that, for me, Centering Prayer was the “field” where I could go and “be lovely”, because in the eyes of God, I am (lovely, that is).  And I no longer have to set a timer of any sort to end my sessions and I don’t have to worry about whether the session is 30 minutes or 10 minutes, because I know that whenever I return, it is because I am “finished blooming” … at least for now.  God has done God’s work in me for this time.  And it is good.

So perhaps, in the end, there was, in the mind-chatter, a revelation of sorts, a solution to my challenge with the practice which has led to a sense of accomplishment in that I feel grounded, at peace, and generally content.  And so I bother.  I set aside the time most days (nobody’s perfect) and I feel blessed to be able to return to God and to the acknowledgment of God’s constant presence, again and again and again. And I am fulfilled by it.

Ivy Thomas
Conference Minister
Kamloops-Okanagan Presbytery

"We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are." - Max DePree