62 – Prayer – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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As we have in these past weeks thought together about spiritual practices, I fear I have fallen into a trap that often captures us as we discuss this subject.  As we focus on one practice after another we see the practices in isolation.  In our attempt to describe and recommend a particular practice we spend our time describing the contours of a practice and fail to address how practices fit together and perhaps naturally lead one to another.

Take for example prayer.  You have probably seen many times prayer described as ACTS – adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.  Each can be described as a spiritual practice and addressed separately.  But when we recognize prayer can be and should be each of these, we begin to understand the danger in thinking of these practices in isolation.  Of course, ACTS does not yet describe the fullness of prayer, does it?  What of prayer as silence?

Today, what other practices can you name that naturally flow one into another?

61 – Journaling – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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Very often journaling is contrasted with keeping a diary.  The usual comparison is that a diary is a “record of events, facts and occasions with little, if any, commentary.”   A journal “records subjective responses to events in thoughts, feelings and hopes.”  And then a “spiritual journal focuses on how thoughts and feelings relate to our faith experience. It moves to honest reflection on self and God.” (from Marjorie J. Thompson, Exploring the Way: An Introduction to the Spiritual Journey, p 16)

It really is the “honest reflection” that forms the essence of journaling.  It is like a long conversation with a trusted friend when the more and more you talk you move past talking to “hear yourself talk” to letting words flow that beg for release, to hearing something of who you are, who you want to be, and who you are becoming.

Maybe that is why Anne Boyles (in Journaling: A Spiritual Journey pp 14-15) can write, “Something in the physical act of writing releases creativity and self-understanding … journaling unlocks the imagination.”

60 – Commonplace Book – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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Have you ever heard of a “commonplace book”?  In its simplest form it is a book you “make” that is a collection of quotes, verses, poems, drawings, sayings, even clippings.  Why?  Because these “things” struck you as having some worth and you thought it of value to “save” this so you could read it or see it again.  I read that in years past colleges offered courses on how to keep a commonplace book.

I see it as another form of a journal.  In your commonplace book you “save” things that have impressed you for one reason or another.  Then you return to the book and perhaps “sit” with it and allow some of your entries to work in your mind and soul more.

Can you think of one or two or maybe five things you want to put in your commonplace book today?

59 – Journaling – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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This past week as I took time several days to write out a praise list in a small notepad I almost always have in my pocket, I realized one practice many regard as helpful I have failed to mention yet, journaling.  From time to time I hear some speak of journaling as a wonderful experience and as a “door” to spiritual insight and growth.  If I am in a group of people when someone makes that statement I can usually look around the room and see some silently (or not so silently) agreeing and others grimacing, seeming to say, “Not that journal thing again!”

At its foundation a journal is a way of paying attention to your life.  It is a way for you to be with your thoughts, and experiences.  It is private and it is yours. There is no one right way to journal that fits everyone.  At its best, a journal is a tool that helps you reflect on God’s presence in your life.  It is not a scorecard to see how often God shows up. It is a way to slow down and pay attention to the ordinary (or not so ordinary) and maybe see what you missed.

Let me repeat, “No one way of journaling fits all.”  If you are drawn to this practice you will over time find a pattern and style that fits you.  But remember, it is not a “school” assignment.  You don’t “turn it in” for a grade. You are creating a place and space to listen to your life, your experiences and to God.  Slow down for a few minutes, pay attention, and let what you see and hear find it’s way to a sheet of paper or even to a computer screen.  You may be blessed in ways you cannot at first understand.

58 – Praise – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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During this past week did you make time for the appreciating practice outline last week?  I did not make time every day but on two days I did.  One of those mornings it was not long after I woke up that I realized I needed an “attitude adjustment” so I would be less likely to “inflict” my attitude on others I encountered that day.  That morning I read Psalm 145 and for 10 minutes thanked God for whatever entered my mind.  Not only did a lot pass though my mind during those few minutes but at times I had some sense of what Edwards described as “the ‘nothing’ between what comes… nothing left standing without praise between you and God.”  Those brief minutes made a difference in how the remainder of the day for me.  What happened for you as you make time to thank God for what came to you?

This week I want to point our attention to some words from Richard Foster’s A Year with God.

“For this exercise, write down the things that you want to praise God for, such as your health, family, security, friends.  Then read or sing your praise aloud.  Tomorrow add more things to the celebration list, perhaps expanding your view to thank God for Jesus or for things he has done for the world, the county you live in, your town, and so forth.  Continue adding to or refining this list over the next ten days, reflecting on how you feel that day.  The Bible makes it clear that music and musical instruments were an important part of celebrations.  Consider listening to or playing a favorite praise song before or during the reading or singing of your list.  Remember that your act of reading or singing is a way of celebrating, praising God for all he has done and all he is.  Allow joy to bubble up as you think about all the blessings in your life.” (day 346)

57 – Appreciating – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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This past week I had occasion to turn to Living in the Presence: Spiritual Exercises to Open Our Lives to the Awareness of God by Tilden Edwards.  One chapter is entitled, “Appreciating.”  He speaks of appreciation as “a natural gift … meant to lead us to God”  (p 115).  Edwards suggests that “appreciation naturally appears the moment our self-concern is relinquished.  It cannot be possessed and it cannot be earned; it simply is, a free gift, available everywhere” (p 116)

In the chapter Edwards offers the following exercise to open ourselves to God through thankfulness and praise.

1. Raise your open hands to shoulder height (the traditional Hebraic and frequently Christian prayer posture).  Loosely hold them there as you take several long, slow breaths, opening your trust of God through all that is given.

2. Share the praise of one of the Psalms, such as 145 or 148, keeping your hands raised if it feels right to you as you speak, chant, or listen to it.

3. Now remain in silence for about ten minutes.  As anything comes to mind, simply say, ‘thank you, God (or Lord)”, and gently release it.  Let this be your response to absolutely  everything that appears to your consciousness, including judgements, images, resistance, confusion, sin, thoughts, and sounds.  Do not try for anything to come.  Just be present in open appreciation of God in all that does come.  Be thankful even for the “nothing” between what comes (then there is nothing left standing without praise between you and God).  Keep in mind that St Paul said to be thankful in all things, not for all things.  Your thanks is not meant to cover over bad things in your life that call for resistance.  Rather, your thanks is your way of recognizing that God can bring good even out of the worst things, so there is not need for evasion or despair about anything.

You may want to prolong this time, letting yourself become more and more silent, and your thanksgiving more and more a wordless appreciative presence.

4. You may want to sing a simple song of praise or may be moved to include more physical expressions of praise, such as swaying and other movements.” (p 120)

Are you interested in giving this exercise a try?

What could happen if each day this week you intentionally set aside time to make room for appreciation, thankfulness, and praise?

56 – Spiritual Practices – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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During our past weeks on this list l have listed a number of spiritual practices, given a brief definition/description of those and for some gone into more detail.  I want in the next weeks to look more deeply into practice with the hope that we see how to incorporate some of the practices into our lives.  Below I have listed the practices that have been mentioned.  You may want to go over this list and consider what practices you already incorporate in you life and what practices you sense a need to incorporate.  Don’t fall into the trap of trying to “do it all.”  Rather, trust that the Spirit can open your heart and mind to see the steps you need to take.

I would love to hear what practices you want us to address, so please feel free to let me know what practices you are doing, what they have meant to you, and what you think your next steps might need to be.

  • Prayer
  • Study
  • Confession
  • Worship
  • Service
  • Secrecy
  • Guidance
  • Meditation
  • Solitude
  • Fellowship
  • Fasting
  • Chastity
  • Submission
  • Sacrifice
  • Silence
  • Simplicity
  • Celebration
  • Gratitude
  • Frugality
  • Watching
  • Simple Prayer
  • Breath Prayer
  • Jesus Prayer
  • Centering Prayer
  • Examen
  • Lectio Divina

What stands out to you?  What draws you?  What puts your off?

55 – Silence – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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Before we leave the practice of silence for a while, I wanted to share one last quote attributed to A. W. Tozer,

“Only after all the noise has spent itself do we begin to hear in the silence of our hearts, the voice of God.”

What have you found that helps you get past that “noise” and allows you to not get “caught” by it?

54 – Silence – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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We so often speak of spiritual disciplines singularly that we can easily forget in practice they naturally flow one to another.

In the small volume of devotions, Challenge by Mark Link, S.J., he offers the following pattern for those going through the book:  (1) Read the reflection prayerfully. (About one minute.) (2) Think about what stuck you most. (About four minutes.)  (3) Speak to God about your thoughts. (About one minute.) (4) Listen to God’s response. Simply rest in God’s presence with an open mind and an open heart. (About four minutes.) (5) End each reflection by praying the Lord’s Prayer slowly and reverently.

Then on a Ron Edmondson’s web site I saw the counsel that in a daily quiet time of 15 minutes you could, “spend 6 minutes reading the Bible, 3 minutes talking to God, 2 minutes in silence, asking God to speak to you, and 4 minutes writing your thoughts at the time.”

http://www.ronedmondson.com/2011/07/how-to-begin-a-daily-quiet-time-in-5-easy-steps.html

Though these two writers come from different traditions they both recognize silence needs to part of one’s practice.  I will not presume to tell you how much time you should spend in silence, but I will be be presumptuous enough to say you need to find time in your life for silence.

53 – Silence – Intention on the Spiritual Journey

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How did it go?  Did you spend some time opening the door to silence?  Or, if you are already spending time with silence each day, did you notice other places and times silence opens to you?

Many people who decide to “give silence a try” are almost immediately frustrated when they encounter what seems to be constant noise, thoughts and images on the inside.  It might be easy to turn off a TV or radio or mp3 but quieting the internal noise proves to be much harder.  Frustration builds when we attempt to stop this internal noise and the noise either gets louder or the number of thoughts seem to increase each time we try to stop one thought.

Many counsel that we not try to stop any of the internal noises but let them go.  Rather than attending to the noises and giving them our attention, we do not give our attention to that noise.  We don’t try to push anything away, we don’t try to not hear the noises, we just let them float by and do not go after them.

It often helps to have something to bring us back to our intention to be silent.  This might be a word or even an object that has no power in itself other than it signifies to you, your intention to be silent.  By gently repeating the word or gently toughing the object, you call yourself to silence without struggle or effort.

See, if as you spend time with silence, you can let the thoughts, images and noises go, and rest in the deeper silence.