contemplation Archives - Page 2 of 5

Stay with me! It’s something I often say after receiving the Eucharist – stay with me Lord! I got those words from a prayer attributed to Padre Pio. The prayer is too long for me to memorize, but the image of Him staying with me is comforting.

Today though, stay with me is a request for you! This morning my mind is racing with thoughts I hope I can put to paper in some understandable fashion!

practice produces thirst

Those of you who know me, either personally or through my blog, know that I have a regular contemplative practice. I’ve been at it for quite a few years, though not always as consistent as I’d like to be. What I notice through my practice is the more I do, the more I want to do. The more I sit, the more solid my practice becomes and the more I thirst for something other than.

I desire to read, watch and listen to various forms of media focused on contemplation – it’s purpose and benefits. Recently I was listening to DVDs of Fr. Thomas Keating talking about centering prayer.

matthew 6:6

He made reference to Matthew 6:6: when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Fr. Keating compared the “inner room” to the act of contemplation. He went on to say that “reward” in this instance is not some tangible prize as you might think but is a “flourishing or blooming of our human nature.” WOW! It’s our “transformation – we become all we can become,” he said. What an awesome promise. I’ll take it!

He goes on to say that 2 things happen in this inner room. I’ll focus on the first thing in this post. In our inner room, through the practice of contemplation, we experience an “affirmation of our basic goodness.” THAT’S the transformative power of contemplation – we begin to see the good in ourselves.

recognizing goodness

Instead of focusing on our faults and failures, we begin to recognize that we were created by God in His image and likeness and as such, we are GOOD! It’s that simple. What follows from this affirmation of basic goodness is we no longer focus on projecting our faults and failings on others through judgment but instead recognize the good in them as well. And we all live happily ever after, right? Not!

it’s complicated

Unfortunately, we spend way too much time complicating things. Scripture says Jesus came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. I don’t know about you, but to me an abundant life is a happy life. If you could come up with an image that depicted ultimate happiness what would it be? For me it would be heaven.

When I hear that Jesus came so that we could have a more abundant life, I think of experiencing heaven right here, right now. Why do we have to wait until our physical body dies before we can have an experience of heaven? I really don’t think we have to. So yes, what I’m getting at is contemplation will get us there. It will transform our way of thinking in a way that will free us up to experience all Jesus promised!

Jesus, The Way, the truth and the life

Jesus came to show us the way. He is our example. He tells us: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life!

His Way: love, peace, forgiveness and compassion summarized in the term self-emptying service (humbly serving others without expectation or egoistic motives; thinking of ourselves less and thinking of others more)

His Truth: non-duality (this wasn’t in my first draft of this post but hit me between the eyes as I edited – I know it was the Holy Spirit because THIS makes more sense). Listen here to Richard Rohr explain.

His Life: Union, unity. The vine, the head, the breath that gives us life and holds us in being. The Ultimate being whose only desire is that we love Him and one another.

Stay with me now. Jesus’ ministry was the ultimate example of self-emptying service. His life on Earth was never about Him, it was about others. He was inclusive, not exclusive. Heck, He knew Judas would betray him and yet he was still invited to Passover. He didn’t put a label on him, He just went with the flow so we could experience a deeper union with the Trinity.

He was an example for us. An example of how to live in order to experience the abundance on Earth He so clearly promised. He was an example of how to live in order to experience heaven on Earth.

the state of the union

We wonder why people are turning away from the church. I think it’s a lame excuse, but I’ve been told it’s because they witness a hypocrisy in many churchgoers. To this point, here’s part of a homily I read this morning in the Liturgy of the Hours:

My name is constantly blasphemed by unbelievers, says the Lord. Woe to the man who causes my name to be blasphemed. Why is the Lord’s name blasphemed? Because we say one thing and do another. When they hear the words of God on our lips, unbelievers are amazed at their beauty and power, but when they see that those words have no effect in our lives, their admiration turns to scorn, and they dismiss such words as myths and fairy tales.

They listen, for example when we tell them that God has said: It is no credit to you if you love those who love you but only if you love your enemies, and those who hate you. They are full of admiration at such extraordinary virtue but when they observe that we not only fail to love people who hate us, but even those who love us, they laugh us to scorn, and the name is blasphemed.

Therefore brothers, if we do the will of God the Father, we shall be members of the first spiritual church that was created before the sun and moon; but if we fail to do the will of the Lord, we shall be among those to whom it is said in Scripture: My house has been made into a robber’s den. We must choose then, if we want to be saved, to be members of the Church of life.

The first church wasn’t yours!

First spiritual church? Before sun and moon? Interesting concept, to say the least. Let’s think about that. Before the sun and moon, God was. He is and was love and thus is His will! Stay with me. If you want to be a member of His church (the one true non-denominational church, the oldest church, the first spiritual church), you must choose Life: self-emptying love that does not identify with nor recognize labels and leads to the union of ALL things! THAT’S heaven on Earth. To think that Jesus’s message is any more complicated than that is folly in my opinion.

When we start truly following Jesus by living His Way, His Truth and His Life, THAT’S when we begin to live the fairy tale. That’s when we will all live happily ever after. I hope this inspires you to look into the practice of contemplation and maybe even start. God bless you!

spiritually childlike — Spiritually childlike

Where are YOU now? Really, where are you spiritually? The older I get the more I realize I need to “check myself” before I judge or criticize someone else. Dear friends, I have a secret to share – you’re not perfect……..AND NEITHER AM I! Look in the mirror. We all have ways about us that are less than perfect, ways that can use adjusting. Actually, I would go out on a limb and say there are things about us that are most likely judged and criticized by others. I can guarantee that there are things we do and say ourselves that we would be quick to judge or criticize about others.

In this same vein, it occurred to me just this morning how much we expect of God. We expect so much but fail to deliver on what He expects of us. When things don’t go our way we have the audacity to ask him: “Where are you?” How often do you think God asks that of us?! Did I hear you gasp? Light bulb moment? I know it was for me this morning.

Spiritually spent?

So, why don’t you ask yourself today – where am I now, spiritually? Am I the same person I was 20 years ago, 10 years ago, 5 years ago? Heck, am I the same person I was 2 weeks ago? Has my spiritual/prayer routine gone unchanged for decades? I would hope your answer is DEFINITELY NOT! I would like to believe I am not the same person I was just yesterday.

Of course, I can ‘t take credit for the positive changes I feel I’ve made up to this point. To God ALL the glory. All I can take credit for is “showing up” each day to receive all God has to offer me through prayer, meditation, Scripture, spiritual reading and community (friends and family members that inspire me to be better and do better). How important that is for me to show up so that He can transform me. He is the potter, I am the clay.

Inspired by Richard Rohr

I began thinking about this today after reading Richard Rohr’s Daily Reflection. You can read the whole thing here. Here’s the part that got my attention:

If we do not discover a prayer practice that “invades” our unconscious, and reveals what is hidden, we actually change very little over our lifetime………When you meditate consistently, a sense of your autonomy and private self-importance–what you think of as your “self”–falls away, little by little, as unnecessary, unimportant, and even unhelpful. The imperial “I,” the self that you likely think of as your only self, reveals itself as largely a creation of your mind.

Through regular access to contemplation, you become less and less interested in protecting this self-created, relative identity. You don’t have to attack it; it calmly falls away of its own accord and you experience a kind of natural humility……..In meditation, you move from ego consciousness to soul awareness, from being fear-driven to being love drawn.

Meditation

I started this blog over three years ago when my meditation practice was in it’s “infancy.” I wanted to share with others how amazing the practice of meditation really is. I cannot adequately express how deeply it has moved and transformed me. Want to know how I know I’ve been transformed? It’s quite simple, I’m an attorney who no longer feels the need to prove to others that I am right. Actually, I am an attorney who no longer feels the need to be right! That’s “off stage”, of course!

In addition to all that, there’s a particular peace and joy that resides in my innermost being. A peace and a joy that cannot be shaken no matter the circumstance. The peace and joy comes from feeling God’s Presence around me at all times. I no longer have the audacity to ask: “where are you now?” because I know, to steal a line from St. Augustine, He is closer to me than I am to myself.

So every morning I “show up” for meditation. I say yes to just sitting with God. I imagine myself on the potter’s wheel as I sit. Although I may not “feel” anything at times I know He, the potter, is at work. I surrender to His action and Presence in my life. Yes thoughts creep in every so often. There are days I feel a sense of consolation and then there are days I feel total desolation. It happens. It’s all normal and so life changing!

So, the next time God asks: “Where are you now?” Will you respond as Samuel did? Will you show up? Please do and share your experience with me. God bless you!

Tag: contemplation (Page 2 of 5)