Of Beams and Splinters

Tags

Guardian Angel, hypocrites, Jesus, Luke, spiritual blindness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center

I was lucky this past week during the retreat I was leading at the Spiritual Center where I live that quick action and skill avoided a serious accident. Participants were out in pairs pruning trees and observing how mindfully they could be in working together. Suddenly, a large branch that had been wind-tossed during a storm came down and left a small piece of bark in the eye of one of the participants. It was quickly removed (to my great relief) by another “guardian angel” in the group and the pruning continued.

You can, perhaps, guess that today’s gospel was the famous text from Luke 6 where Jesus uses hyperbole to make his point. He asks, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?” He sounds frustrated, even calling that kind of offender a hypocrite. “You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your own eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye!”

Even a speck of dust in my eye can be painful. I notice any such invasion right away. I should take note of that when I begin to speak about the failings of others that seem so offensive, and practice reminding myself each time I am rubbing my eye to see clearly that focusing on the gifts of others would be a better way to avoid spiritual blindness of any kind.

Inner and Outer Light

Tags

believe, conscious living, fan the flames, gratitude, imagination, inner fire, light, light worker, meditation, possibility, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center

Sometimes I “talk big” and really mean what I say but find at the end of the day that I haven’t come close to accomplishing what I had decided at the beginning I would be able to achieve. Such was the interim between this moment and what I wrote on Friday about diving in with vigor and making a new start. Events intervene and change the pattern of our days sometimes so all we can do is our best – sometimes starting over the next day. The key is not to get either discouraged or lazy so that nothing ever gets done. This morning I’m ready to try again. Here’s why.

1. Yesterday morning six of us sat around a blazing fire in the living room of the Sophia House considering three themes for reflection in this new year. Our wonderfully creative tech person at Sophia, Mary Pat, walked with us on a non-stressful – peaceful even – path, stopping at directional points of inner and outer light, conscious living and gratitude. Our sharing was simple and then grew as did the fire’s warmth so that, in the end, we had a sense of that fire as an ongoing potential for this year’s journey.
2. Last evening my three Sisters and I sat in our own living room and had what turned into a long, lively exchange of ideas about moving forward with the fulfillment of certain of our proposed projects at the Spiritual Center. It was another experience of how the inner fire in each of us was caught in the circle because of all of us together.
3. This morning lying in my bed after waking I began to consider my day and to wonder what might be accomplished. Suddenly a wave of light seemed to burst within me – not a tidal wave but a flicker of determination that seemed to say, “Fan the flame. Go within to catch the spirit of those light workers who can help you in this realm and beyond. Use your imagination. Get up! Believe in possibility!” Needless to say I did not go back to sleep.
4. As I sat with my coffee to relate these events and their effect on me, a strong wind began to blow through the tallest of the trees outside my window, cheering me on. It’s still waving at me – so I need to move to my meditation mat to solidify purpose and begin the day. Blessings abound!

Transfiguration

Tags

communion, Elijah, James, Jesus, John, light, Mark, Moses, Peter, spiritual practice, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center, transfiguration

At the retreat center where I am privileged to live, we are in the midst of our “high season.” Every weekend we welcome people of diverse beliefs and religious traditions who come seeking to deepen the spiritual content of their lives. Thus, the simple but appropriate name of this place: The Spiritual Center. It is not only those who come as participants to the programs we offer who are changed in some way or newly committed to spiritual practice. The presenters and we ourselves know the value of what is transacted here, most often in the brief space of a weekend.

The lectionary readings for today remind me of this power of the Spirit as we celebrate the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus into a being of light, an event witnessed by his closest apostles, Peter, James and John. It was not unusual for Jesus to seek the companionship of these three when he desired some restful prayer time away from the crowds. One wonders, however, whether he was aware of what was about to happen to him on that mountain (see MK 9:2-10). His spiritual power had likely been growing as his ministry broadened in response to the increasingly large and needy crowds seeking solace and healing from him. His need for communion with God must have been growing apace. Thus was the event observed (with fear and trembling) by his disciples as Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus in conversation and the voice of God was heard instructing them to listen to Jesus, the Beloved One.

Peter’s witness to this extraordinary event (2 PT 1:16-19) calls all hearers to pay attention, not only to what happened to them that day but also to what is possible for those willing to listen deeply to this “all together reliable” message.

You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

May it be so with us.

 

 

 

 

 

Tending the Fire

Tags

dance, enlighten, flame, Joyce Rupp, love, opportunities, Pentecost, Prayer Seeds, share, spirit, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center

Today we will have a meeting of the Sophia Center Advisory Board. It will be our semi-annual look back on where we have been since autumn to see how we think we’ve served the purpose for which we exist. It comes at the precise moment of gearing up for our new season at home – the Spiritual Center where I live – where we offer mostly weekend events during the six months of summer into fall. It’s a fortuitous dance of “changing partners” as the year unfolds. The purpose is the same: to afford opportunities for people who come to us seeking to touch more deeply into the spirit that keeps them on the path of their highest good with companions that share the journey with them.

It seems significant to me that this transition is coinciding this year with the feast of Pentecost. As we prepare at home for a sort of new beginning this weekend, an outpouring of what is always an exciting manifestation of Spirit, I will sit this afternoon in the small band who will share what we have known in similar, if not matching, Spirit-led experiences over the past several months at the Sophia Center.

Joyce Rupp has a prayer that reminds me of the need to remain constant in the desire to serve for the good of the world – even as our small corner of it has an effect on the whole. Pray it with me if you will for renewal of heart and hope.

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)

 

 

 

 

 

On Balance

Tags

cabins, creativity, games, group, happy memories, Matthew, outdoors, Peace, rest, summer camp, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center

Yesterday a trio of people came to visit and remember the days of their youth here in Windsor. Two of them had been campers here when the Spiritual Center was Big Island Camp, a summer camp for Jewish children and teens, and the third, a husband who had heard all the stories from that era and was a willing companion to the two who desired a return to “the old days.” It is less common now, after almost 40 years of the life of the Spiritual Center, for campers to come back to refresh their memories, but come they do and their conversations with each other as we tour the land and the buildings always reveal a fondness for their experiences here.

Yesterday was no exception and I was happy for the opportunity to be the “tour guide” with a window into their past and observer of their appreciation for what has become of their youthful home-away-from-home. Several times, someone remarked that those days were experienced as “simpler times” when campers lived in primitive cabins, played simple games and used their creativity to entertain themselves and each other with the carefree energy of summer. The follow-on line was always, “That couldn’t happen now…” and everyone agreed. Now there are security concerns everywhere and standards for everything like whether or not electronic devices are allowed in camp. (Well, we at least need our cell phones!!)

Nostalgia aside, it’s easy to admit at times like yesterday that we have lost something in the past half-century. We must admit, however, that there are some astounding advances that are beneficial to our world – and there are campers who are still learning to love the outdoors and experience the joy of diving into a lake or catching a fish or climbing a mountain – or being part of a group challenge in creating a game or making something silly out of clay. Moreover, even the sophistication of many camping experiences now can remain as peak moments in a person’s life as it is the relationships that form from those times that stay with us when all the specifics of the experiences dim.

This morning as I read the wisdom of the gospel text that says, “The kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old” (MT 13) I gave thanks for the happy memories embedded in this land and prayed that we would continue to enliven the people who come here for peace and rest and refreshment with an experience of reverence for all that has been and all that can be for those who share it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stairway to Heaven

Tags

dream, Genesis, Jacob, love, prom, pulse, sense of wonder, spiritual seekers, stairway to heaven, synergy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center

I smiled to myself just now while reading the story of Jacob’s dream of a stairway to heaven in chapter 28 of Genesis. When he awoke from sleep, he proclaimed, “Truly the Lord is in this spot although I didn’t know it!…it is the abode of God…the gateway to heaven!” My smile was evoked by long ago memories of junior proms (my own and those of classes when I was teaching) when school gyms were transformed into fairylands with themes like “Stairway to Heaven” – the most popular song of one of those years. Things were simpler “way back when” – in the days when parents were chauffeurs instead of the present-day need for limousines and “after prom parties” consisted of breakfast at Denny’s or just going home to dream of the event that had just taken place. Ah, for the simple life!

Juxtaposed with those images was the deeper sense of wonder at the weekend workshop just concluded at the Spiritual Center. Our land was blessed once again with a group of spiritual seekers who added their participatory energy to the peace that abides here to create an event that could rightly be called a little bit of heaven.

It seems silly, perhaps, to compare those two events but as I ponder the connection I can easily see that it is the energy of the people involved – individually and together – that makes the magic. For teenagers seeking a peak experience of their high school years, prom can be that as long as the goal lies in the pure joy of good relationships (which seems more difficult to achieve sometimes these days). Surely what happens in a weekend such as we just experienced here at our Center is quite different than the rush of teenage partying, but the depth of experience is dependent not only on what is offered to participants but also on the reception by them and the synergy among them in response to what is given. Love is the pulse of it all.

Jacob was so moved by what he knew upon awakening from his dream that he vowed to be faithful to the God he had met there and to make that place his home. May we all be blessed with such experiences of relatedness and a sense of “home” as we journey and recognize God’s presence in all the places where God can truly be found.

 

 

 

 

 

A New Day

Tags

community, connectedness, Joan Chittister, love, reconcile, spark, spiritual journey, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center, transformation, Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Wisdom School

Last evening we began our first “Wisdom School” of 2017 here at the Spiritual Center. It is different from past events in that at least half of the people came as strangers to us. Usually at least one of the three team leaders has met everyone. It was a wonderful gathering with lots of willingness on everyone’s part to participate. When we left the room two hours later to spend the night and early morning in silence, we were no longer strangers but companions on a search for deeper meaning. The next three days promise great blessings for the group. Even in this short time there is hope that we will begin in some small way to experience the truth of Joan Chittister’s words to me this morning. She writes:

In community we work out our connectedness to God, to one and other, and to ourselves…In human relationships I learn how to soften my hard spots and how to reconcile and how to care for someone else besides myself. In human relationships I learn that theory is no substitute for love. It is easy to talk about the love of God; it is another thing to practice it…Alone, I am what I am, but in community I have the chance to become everything that I can be. (Wisdom Distilled from the Daily p. 48-49)

I am not saying that major transformation will be achieved during this short sojourn together, but if my hunch is correct, something in each of us will be sparked into being and if we fan the flame, we will find ourselves a few steps further along on the spiritual journey. May it be so for each of us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the Student Is Ready

Tags

A Deep Breath of Life, Alan Cohen, conscious labor, deep listening, good, meditation, prayer, spirit, spiritual seekers, struggle, student, teacher, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center, Wisdom School, wisdom work

Yesterday Deborah and Bill, my two colleagues in the “Wisdom Work” we have been doing for four years now, arrived here at the Spiritual Center for a time of planning as we await a group of eleven participants to our first weekend “wisdom school” of the year. They will come late this afternoon so we still have time for prayer and preparation, including final details for the weekend. Many of the participants are unknown to us and have found us in various ways (God bless the internet!). This is a rather new phenomenon and excites us as it seems indicative of the growing desire for “more” among spiritual seekers popping up everywhere.

I smiled in recognition when I opened Alan Cohen’s book, A Deep Breath of Life, this morning to find that his title for reflection today was “When the Student Is Ready…” The second half of that quote, well-known now in spiritual circles is “…the teacher appears.” Cohen says, ” When Spirit wants to get through to you, It will find a way. We never need to struggle to connect with the right people or teachings. When the student is ready, the teacher appears…” He speaks of the need to connect energetically to the desire for our highest good by prayer, meditation and affirmation and then just be ready for life to unfold. Oh yes, and remaining alert to the happenings of every day is important.

I know that the participants will not be the only “students” on this weekend adventure. I have already learned a few lessons and had a few reminders of what I know in the brief time that our team has been together. We are clear on these weekends that we are all learners. Thus the balanced schedule we keep of meditation, deep listening as we read and ponder spiritual texts together, conscious labor that includes the physical, movement exercises that keep us in touch with our bodies, chanting that lifts our spirits and silence that creates a spaciousness necessary to reflection.

Cohen ends his thoughts with a prayer intention: I pray to attract my highest good easily, gently, and joyfully. He then adds an affirmation: I let go of struggle and allow Spirit to manifest my good. May it be so with us!

 

 

 

 

 

One Person’s Contribution

Tags

devastation, disaster, Flood, forest fire, guiding word, loss, love, pain, save the world, Sisters of St. Joseph, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center, truth

This morning I’ve been searching unsuccessfully in all my favorite sources for a way to express what I can only describe as the pain of the world – but not a universal pain. There is that, but the sadness/distress that washes over me now is closer to home, residing in Albany, New York, West Virginia and California. It is about fire and flood, the fire appearing on east and west coasts and the floods devastating so many lives in between. “We’ve lost everything” is the refrain from those whose homes are reduced to ash as well as people – young and old – who slog through mud still waiting for word of loved ones who may have been swept away by angry streams or rivers. One cannot help but weep for their pain. At the same time there are images of store and restaurant owners who open their larders to feed the people in their towns who have nothing. Groups form to shovel mud and fold donated clothes for the needy while others come to pray their grief and that of their neighbors.

I have watched news for months that tells of the devastation of a half-mile wide tornado or huge ice storm, but nothing has touched me as deeply as the past three days. Why is that? Are the losses greater or is it rather (or in addition) that a wider spaciousness for compassion is opening in me? Have the two brief reflections on mercy in which I participated during the last week sparked this response? Perhaps the energy shared at this weekend’s workshop here at the Spiritual Center, Windsor has had its effect on mine.

As I sit bathed in the beauty of a fresh breeze and peaceful greening outside, I hear inside a familiar guiding word from the founding documents of my religious community: The Sister of St. Joseph moves always toward profound love of God and love of neighbor, from whom she does not separate herself…Perhaps I am coming to understand that oneness in a deeper way now. I wonder, then, what is the call of that truth? “More love,” I hear in response. “So much love!” How that call will manifest remains to be seen but I know it does not happen in isolation. It is only together that we can, energetically at least, save the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Food to You

Tags

bread alone, food, Israelites, Jesus, manna, Matthew, Numbers, psalm 81, The Awakening Tales, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, the spiritual center, wisdom

Everything in today’s readings speaks of food. The Israelites in the desert grumble because instead of fish or meat to eat they have the manna sent from heaven. (NM 11:4-15). Jesus feeds a huge crowd with five loaves and two fish. (MT 14:13-21) Psalm 81 ends with the promise: I myself will feed you from the finest wheat. I will satisfy your longing for earth’s sweetest food, with honey I so carefully extracted from the rock. But it is the verse before the gospel that brings it all together with the lesson I will carry with me through the day. One does not live on bread alone, it says, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. (MT 4:4).

There is a lovely story* familiar to many of our friends and the people who come to our home, the Spiritual Center, for retreats or workshops. Set in a beautiful glen, inhabited by animals and a wise, kindly Wizard, it tells of the day a human comes to the Glen. He arrives just as some of the animals are sharing breakfast at the Crystal Pool. When Fawn approaches him with a greeting of “Good food to you!” the man retorts, “Strange way to say ‘Good morning.'” Fawn replies, “Mornings are always good. It’s food I wish for you, stranger.” Then follows a wonderful exercise where the animals show the man what they mean. At the Crystal Pool, Fawn and Joyhopper, the Rabbit, stand close to the water, first look into each other’s eyes and then into the Crystal Pool saying, “Good food of sweet grass to you, Fawn” and “Good food of young carrots to you, Joyhopper.” The wind stirs the water and miraculously a bunch of young carrots and a pile of sweet grass appear in front of the animals. The man, Alan Stuck, misunderstands the miracle and thinks that he has a way to obtain treasure, going to the pool and commanding, “Jewels!” (Nothing happens.) “Gold,” he yells. (Nothing.) “Steak with all the trimmings!” (No luck.) It takes a lesson from the Indigo Wizard for Alan to understand that it is in generosity and community that one receives the food necessary to live well.

So my wish today is for “Good Food to all.” May the God of wisdom grant us all that we need to make the world a better place.

*The book, The Awakening Tales (book one of The Tales of the Indigo Wizard) is available by writing to hrtcenter12@gmail.com for more information.