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Tag Archives: mystical hope

The Worst of Times (Maybe)

02 Monday Sep 2019

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Cynthia Bourgeault, Dorian, hope, mystical hope, Pope Francis, refuge, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, tragedy

In the morning I usually try not to read the news as a first activity. I’m much more concerned about inner meanings. This might sound like a “pollyanna” attitude, one that hides unpleasant or inexplicable truths because they are too difficult to absorb. That could be true of an optimist like myself but I prefer to look at it as self-protection that allows me to first blog without distraction. Sometimes, like today, that kind of avoidance is impossible. After having written about the concerns of Pope Francis on climate change yesterday it was impossible to avoid the news of Dorian, the worst hurricane the Bahamas have ever experienced, then the story about the latest shooting spree by a man in Texas yesterday who had just lost his job, the sad state of politics in our country and a man who had just died from a flesh-eating disease!

“What is happening to the world?” I ask myself. Things certainly seem to be devolving into chaos on many fronts. It is difficult to maintain any sense of hope even in the most banal of issues. (Today is Labor Day in the United States, the second largest picnic day of the year and a drenching rain will be with us until tomorrow.)

My only refuge today is in the small but powerful book by Cynthia Bourgeault called Mystical Hope. Cynthia’s definition of this virtue differs from “normal” hope in that mystical hope is not tied to a good outcome or to the future. “It lives a life of its own, seemingly without reference to external circumstances or conditions. It has something to do with presence,” she writes, and “rather than…from outward expectations being met,” it seems to bear fruit from within. (See p. 9-12 for complete explanation & examples.)

As I pause and listen to the steady rain outside, I know the truth of that concept. After the hurricane passes, people in our southern states and the islands already damaged by Dorian will grieve their losses – even losses of life – and begin at the same time to help each other to recover from tragedy. There is something in us that will not allow us to give up. Most often at times like this, people talk about God and grace. This kind of hope does not obviate the trials that are part of our lives but allows us to endure and help one another to go on to another day and then the day after that.

Tragedy, it seems, is one of the best motivators for community and community is what we need a lot of right now. May God bless our efforts today and throughout these crises. Amen!

Snippets

21 Wednesday Aug 2019

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Cynthia Bourgeault, Fr. Thomas Keating, mystical hope, ordinary awareness, spiritual awareness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It’s very dangerous to pull a couple of sentences out of a book without creating a context for what you want to impart to people. Once in awhile, however, it can seem imperative to do so because what you’re reading is powerful enough to take the chance that someone (at least) will hear it in a way that is worth the effort.

I was reading Chapter three of Cynthia Bourgeault’s book, Mystical Hope, last night. She was talking about Fr. Thomas Keating’s understanding of different levels of awareness – specifically of “ordinary awareness” and “spiritual awareness.” When I finished reading page 52, I wrote in the margin, “Read this aloud.” Please try doing so with what follows.

The only thing blocking the emergence of this whole and wondrous other way of knowing is your over-reliance on your ordinary thinking. If you can just turn that off for a while, then the other will begin to take shape in you, become a reality you can actually experience. And as it does, you will know, in a way you cannot presently know, your absolute belonging and place in the heart of God, and that you are part of this heart forever and cannot possibly fall out of it, no matter what may happen.

If you are even mildly moved by Cynthia’s words, I would urge you to read the book. About 13 years ago it set me on a course that included centering prayer and the hunger that it produced has changed my life. I know this path is not for everyone but I am, it seems, compelled this morning to share this. Therefore, if you’re so inclined, let me know how it goes for you in the next decade of your life.

The Quality of Mercy

18 Sunday Aug 2019

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Cynthia Bourgeault, mercy, mystical hope, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional

In our book club at the Sophia Center for Spirituality we’re reading Cynthia Bourgeault’s little book, Mystical Hope. (I think this is my fourth re-read!) This morning I opened to one of my favorite passages about mercy. I never tire of being reminded about the little fish swimming around in the ocean asking his mother where to find water. Here’s the whole paragraph – my offering for this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

So when we think of mercy, we should be thinking first and foremost of a bond, an infallible link of love that holds the created and uncreated realms together. The mercy of God does not come and go, granted to some and refused to others. Why? Because it is unconditional – always there, underlying everything. It is literally the force that holds everything in existence, the gravitational field in which we live and move and have our being. Just like that little fish swimming desperately search of water, we, too – in the words of Psalm 103 – “swim in mercy as in an endless sea.” Mercy is God’s innermost being turned outward to sustain the visible and created world in unbreakable love. (p.25)

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The Light of Hope

03 Saturday Nov 2018

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communion, Cynthia Bourgeault, hope, light, mystical hope, prayer, presence, present, sharing, silence, spirit, spiritual life, the body of hope, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wisdom

thelightofhopeToday I am privileged to spend the morning in reflection with seven people considering the topic of hope. Self-selected and always seeking to deepen their spiritual lives, these people are all known to me although not to one another. I never know exactly what will transpire at these brief encounters (just 3 hours of prayer, silence and sharing) but I am never disappointed. That is not to say that I do not have a carefully crafted agenda, but once I have prepared, I let go and see where the Spirit will take us. I smile when I think of that truth because it has not always been that way. Needing success eventually gives way to simply being present and trusting the willingness of the participants to hear something of merit and to offer their wisdom to the group.

Today I am certain such wisdom will shine throughout our time together as we speak of what Cynthia Bourgeault calls “mystical hope.” Cynthia describes one of the characteristics of such hope as follows. “It has something to do with presence – not a future good outcome, but the immediate experience of being met, held in communion, by something intimately at hand.”

I trust that will be true not only in the topical presentation but at the heart of our gathering itself. Why not join us in Spirit for this event? Your prayer, your silence and/or your good wishes – even after the event – could add to the power of presence in what Cynthia calls “the body of hope!” We welcome all comers!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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