Tags
face of God, Macrina Wiederkehr, Qur'an, seven sacred pauses, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
I just opened Macrina Wiederkehr’s encouraging book, Seven Sacred Pauses, that puts me in mind, somehow, of cheerleaders. My eye fell on a sentence that I remember from years ago when I first began chanting and the chants were brief so as not to strain the brain but rather to facilitate dropping into a deeper level of prayer. The quote is from The Qur’an. I was not familiar with the first half but am happy to now have it added to the prayer that says; (To God belongs the East and the West; and) wherever you turn, there is the face of God.
Think about that for a moment. Try standing and saying it (just the second half) as you close your eyes, do a quarter turn and say (or sing) it as you open your eyes. See what you see and repeat the process. Inside or out, it shouldn’t matter, although I always prefer to be out in nature. Whatever your eye falls on, let your imagination take you—not thinking, just seeing. Make up a tune to sing—one tone is probably best because you won’t have to think about it. See what happens…You’ll never know until you try…Wherever you turn, there is the face of God…Wherever you turn…
The Sophia Center for Spirituality 