Instead of offering a review, I'd like to share one of the exercises we did together, and invite you to join in the comments.
After a discussion of openness to God and to self, and the realization that you really can't have one without the other, Nanette asked us to do the following homework:
Name three things that help you and two things that hinder you from finding the core place where God and self meet fully?
Here's my first nomination for something that helped:
We'll have more pictures as part of the Wednesday Festival. Meanwhile, please chime in below with thoughts about the book if you've read it or thoughts about the exercise.
pretty pheeto and I got to say, great book, great author, great BE 3 and great group.
ReplyDeleteSandals and bare feet' Harrrummpphh!
ReplyDeleteThree things that help:
Silence. The outdoors. Art -- as in, gazing at and contemplating.
Two things that don't: Platitudes. Too much on my to-do list.
Things that help
ReplyDelete-silence
-spiritual direction
-keeping myself in circles (people, blogs, books, articles, podcasts...etc) which are cutting edge in all aspects of "being the church".
-cultural arts
Things that hinder
-my own 'monkey mind'...it overthinks
-having to live in an extroverted world with an introverted orientation.
Name three things that help you and two things that hinder you from finding the core place where God and self meet fully?
ReplyDeleteHelps: 1) Daily quiet time/morning pages/prayer time
2) Nature
3) living in Christian community
Hindrances:
1) Getting trapped in lassitude: "there's too much to do so I won't do anything"
2) Listening to negativity.
1.Silence is a help to get to the core place where God and I come together.
ReplyDelete2. Having an encounter with others who share loving space with each other.
3. A 'thin place'--a place that has been worn by other people's faith that connect all humanity to the holy. I experienced this at Stonehenge, Santiago Compostella when I saw the worn steps of pilgrims' feet and at Taize` in community prayer.
What works against it:
1. Fatigue
2. Fear, negativity or whininess
Name three things that help you and two things that hinder you from finding the core place where God and self meet fully?
ReplyDeleteHELPS:
1. Pray-as-you-go... helps me center and refocus especially when I am stressed or scattered with too many things to do
2. Photography - gives me another view of the world...
3. Getting outside my usual circle (friends from other churches, reading blogs, doing pastoral work with nondenom. groups like Emmaus where it's not just my corner of the world)
Hindrances:
1. Letting the sexist crap get me down.
2. Forgetting Who is in charge