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Tag Archives: intention

The Will To Be Honest

27 Sunday Sep 2020

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expectation, honesty, humility, intention, Matthew, Philippians, promise, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Say what you mean and mean what you say. That seems to be an adage that has gone out of favor these days. It’s easy to agree with what is being asked if your opinion is requested, especially if disagreement would meet with disapproval or argument. But what happens if that conversation is followed by expectation of performance? I’m speaking about situations like that of the gospel reading today. (MT 21:28-32)

The father had two sons. He told the first one to go and work in his vineyard. The son refused but later went as he had been asked. When the father gave the same directive to his second son, this one agreed to go but did not fulfill that promise to his father. Jesus uses this parable to illustrate belief/non-belief in “the way of righteousness.” Having read the preceding text (PHIL 2:6-11) from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, I was drawn also to the qualities of honesty and humility in speech and performance found there and as they relate to the gospel.

If I am asked to do something, the hope is that I will be honest in my reply and the fulfillment or denial of the request. Sometimes it takes humility – emptying ourselves of our own will – to do what is asked of us as well as to be honest about our intention to do or not do it. Even more frequent perhaps is the case in which we are simply asked our opinion on something controversial. If you know you disagree with the majority, are you willing to state an honest opinion? When might that be difficult for you? Why?

The Power of Intention

06 Saturday Jun 2020

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enlighten, fire of faith, Holy Spirit, intention, Joyce Rupp, love, Peace, Pentecost, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Another Saturday…perhaps a good time to take a breath, to put to rest all the troubles of the week now ending and to pray for more peaceful days in the weeks to come. We began the week with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We might ask ourselves how we have kept the fire of faith alive – even just during this week. How will we do so going forward? Here’s a brief prayer from Joyce Rupp to encourage us:

Flame of Love, Enkindler of Hearts, enlighten my mind to recognize where my love has grown dim. Spark renewed desire in my heart to give myself ever more completely to your service. Beam your grace through my being so I respond freely. May the fruits of your love be harvested through me. I will share them generously. Amen. (Prayer Seeds, p. 174)

This prayer reminds me that it is not always what we achieve that is important but how we go about the doing – our intention and motivation – that is key to “success.”

Dawning Light

04 Tuesday Dec 2018

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give thanks, grace, gratitude, intention, joy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’m aware again today of the power of intention and the necessity of determination as well. I was awake, you see, at 4:45am but determined to take advantage of the 90 minutes still available to me for the rest that early morning sleep affords. With that in mind I did my best to let go of my mind’s busyness and today it worked! When I heard my alarm at 6:15 I was grateful and recognized a welcome “start-up” line floating through my consciousness. It was as if Kahlil Gibran had come himself to invite me to the day. To wake at dawn, he said, with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving. (from The Prophet, On Love). 

With that gift, I was propelled out of bed and companioned at every step on the staircase to the kitchen with a “thank you” that just kept rolling effortlessly along. Thank you for this day, thank you for my feet that uphold me, for my Sisters still asleep and for the quiet, for the potential in this day at the office, for a clear sky…thank you, God, for everything I see and for the gift of sight…That may strike readers as simplistic and unrealistic but underneath that gushing waterfall of words is a deep knowing of the pain and suffering that exists in the world. The grace of today is that the suffering does not blot out the joy and gratitude for the life, the love. 

It is somewhat like the experience that we see and hear reflected in the reports of the Bush family as they take their father/grandfather through the ceremonies of the next two days. The loss of this man to each of them and all of them – and to the country – is immeasurable. To allow his rest from the labors of his life and to celebrate what will remain in memory is the reward for letting him go into light.

May we each find reason to give thanks this day.

Kick-Start

27 Tuesday Nov 2018

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compromise, excuses, God, gratitude, inertia, intention, Lynn Bauman, meditation, praise, psalm 96, refreshed, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Sometimes it’s just the vocabulary of a line or two that snaps us open to possibility. Occasionally there is a convergence of small events that sparks a new knowing. Let me give this morning’s example. 

In the semi-darkness of the kitchen as I poured my coffee, Sister Paula mentioned yesterday’s blog and the essential nature of what Dave Peters had written about intention that I had quoted. Ten minutes later, settled in my chair looking out at a tree stripped of any sign of life and then back at a blank computer screen, I picked up and read Lynn Bauman’s enthusiastic translation of today’s lectionary psalm. 

Come sing to God, O earth, sing out this song anew. And bless God’s holy name in praise, for day by day we are renewed, restored, refreshed again by glory’s light. Proclaim good news among the nations of the earth, tell all the peoples everywhere God’s work, God’s ways, the wonders that God does…This is your God, bring all you have and offer it in honor of that sacred name. (Ps 96: 1-3, 8)

At that moment I recognized that I had been moving on “automatic pilot,” slipping deeper and deeper into a place of inertia. I didn’t need to search for explanations, blaming the weather or the political climate or anything external. I just knew that the discipline of intention had somehow leaked out of me and left me in that state. As I resumed reading the psalm something in me began to lift and let me know that today needs to be different.

O, heavens rejoice with fullest joy. O, earth express your deepest praise. O, oceans roar in satisfaction and delight, and lands from sea to sea join in. You trees on earth and mighty forests deep, shout out to welcome God’s return. For God has come to us as fairest judge to settle all our wrongs with right. (vs. 11-13)

No compromises today will be tolerated. No excuses will be good enough to give in. I’m due on my meditation mat right now, then to the shower and soon to work, all with determination and deep gratitude.

What Is Spiritual?

26 Monday Nov 2018

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David Peters, God, intention, joy, love, prayer, spiritual, The 12 Steps to Joy and Happiness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I read a paragraph a few days ago that made me smile and deserved the post-it flag that I pasted to the page. It’s from the book that sets out The 12 Steps to Joy and Happiness, written (with enthusiasm and joy) by David Peters, longtime friend and board member of The Sophia Center for Spirituality. I want to share it here as something that seems self-evident but which takes constant attention to develop as a conscious attitude. Here is what Dave says.

What makes an event spiritual? It all lies in the intention that we have going into that event. Without that intention, no matter how the event appears on the outside, it is a waste of time. Appearing to be in prayer for the purpose of appearing to be in prayer is a negative. Intention is the key for something to be spiritual. A spiritual event is spiritual because a person intends it to be spiritual. The person has an intention to bring God to that event consciously so that joy and love are there. God is rarely mentioned in most of these events, but the essence of God – love – is present and flowing over all. Reading these thoughts can be a spiritual experience if that is your intention. (p. 53) 

I think Dave has captured an essential truth in the second to the last sentence. Isn’t it possible to intuit the presence of God in people whose way of living manifests God – even if the name of God is rarely mentioned? It is truly love that speaks louder than words.

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Where Wisdom Lives

14 Sunday Oct 2018

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balance, Benedictine, calendar, fulfillment, heart, intention, psalm 90, spirituality, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, time, time management, wisdom

abalanceThe beginning of a new week is always a good time to take a breath and see what lies ahead. That task presupposes a look at the calendar to be sure we have noted all the “goings-on” and the preparation necessary for each event. I’m reminded of that practice by the first line from this morning’s psalm that prays: Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. (PS 90:12) The first clause of that sentence sounds like the necessity of knowing what day and date it is (something that escapes me sometimes lately) but the second clause adds a goal to the “numbering.” It implies good time management but also good choices about how we are spending the time that we have.

Benedictine spirituality runs on a time schedule that is based on a balanced day of activities and rest. A good exercise to illustrate this is to draw a circle and divide it into four equal quadrants entitled prayer alone, prayer together, work alone and work together – and then fill it in with everything you do by yourself and with other people. Rest/leisure is included as “work alone” and should not be ignored. It’s good, especially if one is just beginning to look for this balance, to draw two circles for the day labeled Start and End to check at the end of the day to see whether intention and fulfillment merge. I find it a good way to test procrastination tendencies as well as workaholism. And as the psalm seems to suggest, wisdom is found in the middle path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Thing at a Time

17 Tuesday Apr 2018

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challenges, intention, Life Is a Verb, one thing at a time, Patti Digh, practice, slow down, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, to do list

alistI woke up this morning at around 3:00 and realized about ten minutes later that I was not likely to go back to sleep as my mind had begun ticking off things on an already-made list and things that I needed to add for completion in the next few days. I gave up trying and, in a rare move, got up to read what was left of our “assignment” for the book club meeting tomorrow. I smiled at God’s sense of humor as I read the chapter heading: Intention: Slow Down. Sprinkled throughout the chapters of this book (Life Is A Verb by Patti Digh) there are activities which the author calls challenges. What I read before I was finally able to go back to sleep for two more hours certainly fell under that title. There were two parts to the challenge. I was happy to see the first part because I have recently begun such a practice – at least while I eat – but the second will, I think, be the more difficult process for me. Here is what Patti recommended.

  1. Today, for one hour, imagine that you can only do one thing at a time. If you are drinking coffee, you can’t check e-mail. If you are talking to your neighbor, you can’t be folding laundry. If you are walking to get your mail, you can’t be talking on your cell phone. If you are eating, you can’t be reading. One. Thing. At. A. Time. Try it.
  2. Write for five minutes without stopping in answer to this question: What is on my to-do list today? List every single thing you need to do today, those things that are past due, and those things that are coming up. Stop. Now write for five minutes on this question: What must I do or I shall die? Using your answer to the question, What must I do or I shall die, practice different ways to say no. For the next 37 days, when you are asked to add something to your to-do list, if it doesn’t match your do-or-die-list, say no.

How outrageous these thoughts are to someone with an overactive sense of responsibility! They did not, however, keep me awake. As a matter of fact, I went back to sleep rather quickly, so perhaps there is something in these “challenges” that I am called to consider. It can’t hurt…and might help considerably! I can only try…

 

 

 

 

 

Does Size Matter?

17 Tuesday Oct 2017

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deep listening, deeper meanings, experiences, gathering, group of women, intention, letting go, letting God, silence, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transitions, trust

496065AX.TIFI got a phone call yesterday from the convener of a group of women that I am scheduled to address on Saturday of this week. She called to tell me that the registration is now up to 39 people! I asked her if someone was paying the women to come since she originally told me that there would probably be about twenty registrants. As we laughed and discussed things like room set-up and schedule, I began to rethink how I might restructure the day so that all the women would have a chance to be heard in such a large gathering. I was happy when the convener began to speak of tables of six because most people are comfortable speaking in a group of that size. I will want to speak in the beginning of the importance of deep listening without judgment as we tend to jump on one another’s thoughts and interrupt each other when our experiences seem to mirror that of the person speaking. In that way we lose something of the sacredness of the exchange. Sporadic moments of silence to remind ourselves will be essential.

With those thoughts I was reminded of the experience of this past Saturday when I met with five other women in a small circle to spend time considering transitions in our lives. We began talking about the change of seasons, considering how we felt about each of the four seasons, what we like and dislike about each and even naming musical selections that included or indicated characteristics of each. (Everyone listed “Autumn Leaves” in their list; we were all of “a certain age!”) That conversation gave way easily to deeper subjects and by the end of the day these women who did not even know each other’s names at the beginning shared an empathy and reverence for one another that I could only name (and did) as “miraculous!” It was a holy exchange fueled by deep listening.

Is that kind of experience possible with a crowd of forty women? Perhaps. I believe it depends on intention and trust – the willingness to say what is often left hidden inside us because we do not feel articulate or as knowledgeable as others. Establishing an environment of curiosity and willingness to trust will be essential and will be the job of each person in the group. As I write I begin to build my initial approach and my trust quotient of “letting go and letting God” which is the only way that the miraculous dance of the Spirit will take place. I have great confidence in the energy of such a group of women but it will take some shepherding, I think, to harness the energy and make space for the deeper meanings to come through. I look forward to the challenge and hope for the best.

Wish me luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selfless Love

11 Friday Aug 2017

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Assisi, Christ, Church of San Damiano, compassionate love, God, holiness, imitation, intention, love, motivation, prayer, simple life, St. Clare, St. Francis of Assisi, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, vessels

asandomianoSome years ago I had the privilege of visiting the town of Assisi in Italy. The visit was brief and the focus was, as one might think, the holy places associated with St. Francis. It was an extraordinary six hours, and I often long to return for a longer visit. One of my most vivid memories, however, was not of the places and stories of Francis alone – although those remain as well – but of walking down the path to the Church of San Damiano. Somehow, the olive trees that lined the path seemed to shimmer in the sunlight as if they were saying to me, “Pay attention, for this place you are approaching is extraordinarily holy.” San Damiano became the home of St. Clare and her followers in 1212 and she never left but died there on August 11, 1253. The intense holiness of the saint and her Sisters, who lived a poor and very simple life of prayer, can be felt in the walls of the refectory, in the oratory where they prayed and the dormitory where a cross marks the spot of Clare’s death. What, one wonders, creates such a living vibration in a place where life was so “daily?” Intention and motivation, I suspect. A famous quote of St. Clare gives a hint of an answer.

We become what we love, she says, and what we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.

 

 

 

 

 

Here Comes July!

01 Saturday Jul 2017

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A Deep Breath of Life, A Way Without Words, Alan Cohen, cycle of growth, divine expression, incentive, independence, intention, learn, love, new projects, purpose, renewed, serve, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

abutterflyThree impressions opened before me a moment ago that were like steps to a conclusion. Here was the order: 1. As I turned on my computer I thought: “July first. New month, new incentive.” 2. My eye fell on the title of a book that someone had recently given me for our library. It’s called A Way Without Words and is subtitled A Guide for Spiritually Emerging Adults. 3. I read the prayer and affirmation for July first in Alan Cohen’s book, A Deep Breath of Life. Taken together those two said, “Help me remember my purpose and live the highest life possible. I honor my purpose of divine expression. I am here to love, learn and serve.

I’d say that’s a good start for the month that holds our country’s celebration of  independence, traditional vacation time for many, the fullness of nature’s cycle of growth and so much more. It’s a good day to renew myself, to begin where new projects appear on the horizon or begin again to put energy into intentions that have lost their verve. May we all be renewed physically and spiritually as we accept this day, the half-way point of 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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