our Pilgrimage resource

Transcription

Blessed
are the man and the woman
who have grown beyond their greed
and have put an end to their hatred
and no longer nourish illusions.
But
they delight in the way things are
and keep their hearts open, day and night.
They
are like trees planted near flowing rivers,
which bear fruit when they are ready.
Their leaves will not fall
Everything they do will
Psalms One
adapted by
or wither.
succeed.
Stephen Mitchell
in
A Book
of
Psalms
pilgrimage
setting out for this present moment by journeying inward 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Some Initial Thoughts
Retreat Schedule
The Gathering Schedule / Conversations
House Church Schedule / Questions
Practices
Identifying Attachments Moment by Moment
Visual Field Gaze
The Jesus Prayer
Ah-ha Realization and Awareness
Breathing Prayer
Centering / Identifying Your Thoughts
Centering Prayer
Lectio Divina
Justice Themed Imaginative Meditation
KIDS: Centering Prayer
Exercises
Art Reflections
Lyrics for Undamned by Over the Rhine
Untitled by Catherine Hennessey
Being in the Moment by Heloise Crista
Madonna di Loreto by Caravaggio
Gabi’s World by Chad Beroth
Drift by Catherine Hennessey / music by Dubh
Writing/Sketch Journal
Resources
3
SOME INITIAL THOUGHTS
Breadcrumbs: moments of awareness
Recently, I came across a 2009 blog post by author L.L. Barkat (lovenotestoyahweh.com) that got me thinking about pilgrimage. “When you go on pilgrimage, you’re supposed to start walking. Somewhere. The truly faithful might even journey on
their knees. So what does it mean when you go on pilgrimage, but you have no particular destination? No map, per se? Just a
sense of ‘this is it’ and a few stray bread crumbs thrown into the path by life, or God, pain or dream, hope or confusion?”
Lately, I’ve had a growing sense of “this is it” when it comes to life with God. I’m not saying I have THE ANSWER - but
like Barkat, I’m discovering some breadcrumbs that are drawing me out on a pilgrimage. What are these breadcrumbs?
They are moments, hints, evidences that there is something deeper going on. For me, the breadcrumbs have included:
* the sense that separation from God isn’t what is reality (it’s more about eyes open to God’s ever present nearness)
* the sense that the chaos and chatter in my head is a distraction from real life (silence is needed)
* the suspicion that things won’t actually just change (hope for transformation is an inward journey)
* the awareness that this moment is all that it can be (and that is enough)
* the frustration that I am stuck in the same unending patterns of guilt, anger, self-focus, people pleasing, insecurity
Pilgrimage: God is our Homeland
“We must fly to our beloved homeland. There the Father is, and there is everything.” St. Augustine
“We are built for contemplation.” Martin Laird
I have spent most of my life at the starting point that we are all messed up--we are all fallen--we are all distant from God.
While I am unwilling to throw this perspective out entirely becuase Scripture does make a case for our distance. I think
this is not the starting place or the entire picture for humanity. The big story of God is that all things were created good.
Humankind was created ‘very good’ and as the very ikon of God (imago dei). What happens when we start here? Well, I
think it helps us see the world through a different lens.
Augustine writes, “You were within me and I was outside myself.” I think this is a much different take than just seeing
everyone as worms. It’s a starting place for us--it’s a path set before us to become who we are meant to be. What if we saw
each other/ourselves as not quite home? What if our lens was that we aren’t home within our skin, yet. It’s a pilgrimage to
God. It’s a pilgrimage to our Homeland.
In the Silent Land, Martin Laird writes of Augustine’s words, “This sense of separation from God and from one another,
this profound ignorance of our innermost depths, presents a singularly convincing case. This is the human condition,
and we have all eaten of this fruit. But this is a lie. It is a lie spun largely out of inner noise and mental clutter. It is the inner video that plays again and again and again and steals our attention so that we overlook the simplest of truths: we are
already one with God. The Christian contemplative tradition addresses this very problem by exposing the He and introducing stillness to the mental chatter.”
pilgrimage
Pilgrimage: Setting out for this moment, not another out there
Another pattern of my life (and probably yours) has been attempting to arrive at markers I have set. It’s natural for us,
right? We focus on getting through school, building that special relationship, having our first (or next) child, making the
next promotion, starting the next business, moving to the next location. Over and over, we set our sites on something out
there - beyond this moment. It becomes more than setting goals and pursuing them--the mindset of out there takes hold of
us in ways that we begin believing we will have peace once we get there.
This pursuit for things out there isn’t just external achievement, but also a hope of becoming something more. More loving.
More Christlike. More generous. More at peace. One day I’ll be more . . . we say (or silently hope). Our value becomes
what we want to be--not what we are--in fact, we are likely completely oblivious to who we really are, our authentic true self.
The ways in which I set my sites on the out there have changed over the years--they are more subtle in nature--more
internal, but they are just as distracting to living in the present moment as ever. Life is now. Life isn’t one day--in fact,
I’m pretty sure that every time I’ve put my focus on the out there---once it arrives I don’t see it--because I’ve now pushed
out again for the next out there. Ron Martoia poses the question, “What if every moment is poised as a sacrament if we are
present enough to enjoy and experience the divine life inherent in that moment?” What if I was missing life--by never being
present? What if I began to see this moment, whatever it may bring, as the moment worth living into--over the world in
my head of what is out there?
Pilgrimage: follow the breadcrumbs
Over the next several weeks, as a community, we’ll work through the theme of Pilgrimage: Setting Out for this Present
Moment by Journeying Inward. My hope for our community is that we reflect on the “breadcrumbs” in our own life--that
we each listen to other’s stories of pilgrimage--and we, together, will explore what it might mean for us to live present--live
deeply--and find God in each moment.
Questions the Pilgrimage Conversation will address:
What are you ultimately looking for in life?
How does what you are looking in life change throughout your life?
How important is it to be present?
Was part of Jesus’ mission to lead us to become more present?
If this does matter, how can we be present?
What if I’m not much of a prayer kind of person?
Consider the Present Implications in the ‘Our Father’
Our Father, Who is in heaven, Holy is Your Name; Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us
this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us; and lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil. Amen.
5
RETREAT SCHEDULE
Friday
“Listen to your life. Listen to what happens to you, because it is through what happens to you that God speaks. Its in language
that’s not always easy to decipher, but it’s there, powerfully, memorably, unforgettably.” -- Frederick Buechner
9:00pm - welcome / snacks
An introduction to the Pilgrimage theme. An overview of practices, schedule, and a few words to transition into retreat.
9:20pm - media / discussion
Saturday
“Because our attention is so completely riveted to what’s playing on the big screen of our thinking mind, we can live completely
unaware of the deeper ground of the heart that already communes with God, that knows only communion, as branches know
deeply the vine.” - Martin Laird
7:30 breakfast
8:00-9:00 group time + practice
10:00-11:15 mass with the monks
11:30 lunch
12:00 silence & solitude
5:30 dinner
7:30-9:30 group time + sharing
How did you encounter God today? What were you present in today?
Sunday
“The more we journey towards the Center the closer we are both to God and to each other. The problem of feeling isolated
from both God and others is overcome in the experience of the Center. This journey into God and the profound meeting of
others in the inner ground of silence is a single movement.” - Martin Laird
8:15 breakfast
8:45-10:00 group time + practice
10:00 clean up
10:30 packup + peace out to the monks
pilgrimage
THE GATHERING SCHEDULE
nov06
pilgrimage: getting the lay of the land (inside us) - mt20
nov13
pilgrimage: embarking on the path - mt06
nov20
community meal (rethread)
nov27
pilgrimage: no sleeping at the wheel - mt25 // advent 01
dec04
pilgrimage: the path you are now on - jn01 // saint nicholas day (12/6) advent 02
dec11
pilgrimage: a pilgrimage anthology // advent 03
dec18
community meal / advent 04
dec24
christmas eve gathering
dec25
christmas - no gathering
jan01
tba
jan08
my year in review
7
conversation * nov 06
PILGRIMAGE: getting the lay of the land (inside us)
mt20
“God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on
a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. 3-5”Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around
the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went.
“He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o’clock. At five o’clock he went back and found still others standing around.
He said, ‘Why are you standing around all day doing nothing?’
“They said, ‘Because no one hired us.’
“He told them to go to work in his vineyard.
“When the day’s work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, ‘Call the workers in and pay them their
wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.’
“Those hired at five o’clock came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed
they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, ‘These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching
sun.’
“He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So
take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are
you going to get stingy because I am generous?’
“Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first.”
song for reflection: Undamned by Over the Rhine
practice: The Jesus Prayer
exercise: Sewing Together What Has Been Divided
questions:
What is your greatest resistance to letting go of judgement?
How much does judging affect your everyday life?
What does it mean for true authenticity and grace-giving to be an inside job?
pilgrimage
Conversation * nov13
PILGRIMAGE: embarking on the path
“you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee” Isaiah 26:3
Inside Out
by Pauline Matarasso
I look towards silence.
It is not, as I had heard,
a peak with natural footholds and the crampons left by better climbers
Contrary to what they say there is no map (they may be speaking of another place)
there is only surrender
mt06
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not
life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap
or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you
by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They
do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God
clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O
you of little faith?
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all
these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each
day has enough trouble of its own.”
art for reflection: Untitled by Catherine Hennessey
practice: Centering / Thought Observation
exercise: Ode to the Process
questions:
In what ways do you live in the world of yesterday/tomorrow?
How might peace be hindered by living in the world of yesterday/tomorrow?
What does it mean to you for transformation to be in this present moment?
9
conversation * nov27 * Advent01
PILGRIMAGE: no sleeping at the wheel
Paul writes, “Awaken Oh Sleeper!”
mt25
“God’s kingdom is like ten young virgins who took oil lamps and went out to greet the bridegroom. Five were silly and five
were smart. The silly virgins took lamps, but no extra oil. The smart virgins took jars of oil to feed their lamps. The bridegroom didn’t show up when they expected him, and they all fell asleep.
“In the middle of the night someone yelled out, ‘He’s here! The bridegroom’s here! Go out and greet him!’
“The ten virgins got up and got their lamps ready. The silly virgins said to the smart ones, ‘Our lamps are going out; lend us
some of your oil.’
“They answered, ‘There might not be enough to go around; go buy your own.’
“They did, but while they were out buying oil, the bridegroom arrived. When everyone who was there to greet him had gone
into the wedding feast, the door was locked.
“Much later, the other virgins, the silly ones, showed up and knocked on the door, saying, ‘Master, we’re here. Let us in.’
“He answered, ‘Do I know you? I don’t think I know you.’
“So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.
imaginative meditation: what does it look like to engage the inward life? art reflection: Being in the Moment by Heloise Crista
questions:
What does it mean for you to engage the inward journey?
Why are words about prayer, action, experience so much safer than engaging these?
What is the present realities about your life that you are hesitant to deal with?
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Conversation * dec 4 * Advent02
PILGRIMAGE: the path you are now on // advent2
“reality converts us” - Richard Rohr
“God comes to you disguised as your life.” Paula D’Arcy
John 1
The Word was first,
the Word present to God,
God present to the Word.
The Word was God,
in readiness for God from day one.
Everything was created through him; nothing—not one thing!—came into being without him. What came into existence was
Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out.
There once was a man, his name John, sent by God to point out the way to the Life-Light. He came to show everyone where to
look, who to believe in. John was not himself the Light; he was there to show the way to the Light.
The Life-Light was the real thing: Every person entering Life he brings into Light. He was in the world, the world was there
through him, and yet the world didn’t even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn’t want him. But whoever did
want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-ofGod selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten.
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind
glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
Colossians
Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a
horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness
comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.
art reflection: Pilgrimage to Madonna by Caravaggio
questions:
Why is this present moment so important to live within?
If this present moment is where God is shaping us - why do we so readily live in tomorrow?
How does living within false realities distract us from seeing God?
11
Conversation * dec11 * Advent03
PILGRIMAGE: an anthology
reading: (share what has most resonated with you)
art reflection: (bring what you have created)
consider: the community implications our pilgrimage in the words of martin
laird, “The more we journey towards the center the closer we are both to God and to each other. The problem of feeling
isolated from both God and others is overcome in the experience of the Center. The journey into God and the profound
meeting of others in the inner ground of silence is a single movement.”
questions:
Which of the following questions do you feel like you engaged most during the Pilgrimage conversation?
- What are you ultimately looking for in life?
- How does what you are looking in life change throughout your life?
- How important is it to be present?
- Was part of Jesus’ mission to lead us to become more present?
- If this does matter, how can we be present?
- What if I’m not much of a prayer kind of person?
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HOUSE CHURCH SCHEDULE
The schedule is meant to spur continued conversation around the theme of setting out on the inward journey. Please
find the weekly exercises, questions, and quotes as suggestive of what you can do. More than covering the exact schedule
is engaging in meaningful moments within the house church to grow in relationship and shared responsibility for each
other--and for the needs God opens our eyes to around us. Please be sensitive to God and group members as you consider
working through the content.
You will also notice a section for each week called relational redistribution - this is a section for us to
begin to build back into our house churches some intentionality toward solidarity, generosity, and awareness of social/
economic/relationship responsibility toward others. Please note the Relational Redistribution page, which provides a brief
description, following the House Church Schedule pages.
date: nov
discuss:
1st
week
Ask if someone would be willing to share something meaningful from their retreat experience.
Discuss among the group.
Ask if someone would be willing to read a quote/excerpt from something that resonated with them recently.
Discuss among the group.
Ask if someone would be willing to share their understanding of the Pilgrimage conversation that is beginning on
Sunday (nov6). Discuss among the group.
relational redistribution: Read the Relational Redistribution Page as a group.
appealing about the description?
What do you find most
13
date: nov
exercise:
2nd
week
Give the group a chance to share anything that has resonated about the “Sewing Together What Has Been Divided.”
discuss:
Choose one or all of the following questions to discuss over dinner.
What is your greatest resistance to letting go of judgement?
How much does judging affect your everyday life?
What does it mean for true authenticity and grace-giving to be an inside job?
read:
“Our false self is who we think we are. It is our mental self-image and social agreement, which most people spend
their whole lives living up to-or down to.” - James Martin, Becoming Who You Are
What about this description of false self do you identify with?
How could our house church - and the way we build friendships make room for authenticity?
relational redistribution: The parable of the landowner brings about a new perspective of grace and
equality in the face of what we naturally see as unfair. How has your own experience in a privileged position (whatever
that might look like in your life) cloud your lens toward others in need?
date: nov
date: nov
3rd
4th
week
week
date: nov
5th
week
discuss:
-
nov16 guys/girls night
no house church due to
Thanksgiving
What does it mean for you to engage the inward journey?
Why are words about prayer, action, experience so much safer than engaging these?
What are the present realities in your life that you are hesitant to deal with? What are you putting off?
read:
“Christ is the bread seeking hunger.” Augustine
How does this simple statement resonate with you?
relational redistribution: Read Galatians 3:28 - “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave
nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all on in Christ Jesus.” Paul writes in a way to set the tone for a
nationless, classless, genderless ethic for relationship. How do we intentionally (or unintentionally) exclude and reinforce
these barriers? What is the importance of this alternative relational ethic that God is imparting to the world?
pilgrimage
date: dec
discuss:
1st
week
Why is this present moment so important to live within?
If this present moment is where God is shaping us - why do we so readily live in tomorrow?
How does living within false realities distract us from seeing God?
read: “As a perfectionist, you think of perfection as a state. As you clean your kitchen or your car or your desk, you
fantasize about preserving the state of perfection that you have accomplished. If you can only get it right, then it’ll remain
perfect from then on. You believe that by tinkering with what is, by tweaking the reality, you can engineer a perfect or nearperfect state of reality that will enable lasting happiness and well-being. But remodeling reality is a frustrating prospect
because reality isn’t a state. Reality is change, a process, a constant flux. As a perfectionist, you reject this impermanence and
yearn for a perfect status quo. This state view of perfection is an emotional setup: even when you achieve that momentarily
perfect state, reality doesn’t pause to allow you to enjoy it.” - Somov, Present Perfect
How do you see the “perfectionist” who tries to control reality and the statement by Rohr, “Reality converts us.” in
contrast from one another?
relational redistribution: How is our life and this group ‘living the reality’ (incarnational) of God’s Good
News to those who are being cutoff (marginalized) from a sense of equality?
date: dec
share:
2nd
week
Would anyone like to share artwork that you worked on through the theme of Pilgrimage?discuss: Discuss over dinner
‘What was shared that impacted you the most on Sunday night?’
‘Which of the following questions do you feel like you engaged most during the Pilgrimage conversation?’
- What are you ultimately looking for in life?
- How does what you are looking in life change throughout your life?
- How important is it to be present?
- Was part of Jesus’ mission to lead us to become more present?
- If this does matter, how can we be present?
- What if I’m not much of a prayer kind of person?
relational redistribution: We’ve been building on this idea that because we often see ourselves as separate
from others we act in ways that separate. What areas of life do you need to be rescued from your self-sufficiency? What
does being rescued require from you?
date: dec
date: dec
3rd
4th
week
week
-
christmas plans tba
christmas plans tba
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RELATIONAL REDISTRIBUTION
House Church Reading
Relational Redistribution is the idea that we can create a network of relationships to share financial resources and burdens.
It encourages us to think of those in need in ways that promote us to live well and in solidarity with our local and global
neighbors. Since economic and relational poverty are both realities, alternative economic structures are needed within our
world to ensure that the poor among us are cared for.
A great tragedy of the American church is not that rich Christians do
not care about the poor but that we do not know the poor. We who
are financially secure are too often estranged from the dispossessed—
insulated within our vehicles, the neighborhoods in which we choose
to live, the churches we attend, the places where we shop and eat. So the
poor become depersonalized, our responsibility to them often reduced
to a line item in our monthly budget or to a heartfelt prayer for those in
need. We speak of poverty in abstracts, not in concretes. We discuss the
utility of one social program over another; we debate whether social
justice is trumping other theological essentials. Important questions,
but questions that become alarmingly bourgeois when divorced from
real relationship with the marginalized.
Relational Redistribution is rooted in an idea that is both new and ancient—the economy of “enough.” This is a different
sort of economy, in which personal enrichment takes a backseat to the needs of the community. Possibly what most makes
Relational Redistribution unique is that value is found less in the money/resources given and more in the relationships that
are built. This is not an organization offering services as much as a community offering community and friendship. Within
the context of friendship and a common commitment to overcome barriers that tend to keep us isolated from our neighbor, we
share a portion of our income for need-meeting.
Instead of simply brokering resources through macro-charity, both the giver and receiver are relationally connected,
facilitating the reallocation of resources in a way that seeks to dismantle inequality through intimate sharing. To that
end, individuals contribute a portion of their financial resources and combine it with a handful of others’ resources; they
commit to surfacing and bringing the needs of their neighbors, family, and friends before the group to present and discuss
the opportunity for the group to meet the needs of those with whom they are in relationship.
It is our desire to make resource reallocation more accessible to both those who have much and those who have little. Just as
many hands make for light work, many friends make burdens, including financial burdens, lighter.
pilgrimage
PRACTICES
Identifying Attachments Moment by Moment
by Ron Martoia (www.tttribe.com)
As we develop in our spiritual life we slowly find our practice integrates more deeply into life. We will still have set daily
times of practices but we will find out we more fully do practices and make observations in real time and in real momentby-moment circumstances. This is what it means to move into generative living. This is such a practice… in real time, on
the fly! One of the characteristics of our ego, our “meaning maker,” is to constantly evaluate, compare and measure. Enormous amounts of pain, discontent, competition, jealousy, etc… come from the stories we manufacture in our heads about
what it would be like…
If I only had…
If they would only…
If I could have…
These stories can pop up at anytime. But they most frequently occur in circumstances of comparison, evaluation, or judgment. Do this as a practice throughout your day. In fact as you integrate this more and more deeply into your self-awareness it can become the most important transformational practice you can engage.
1. First reflect on the times, situations, circumstances or relational interactions where you can feel
anything negative. “Feel” is the critical word here. The negativity could be jealousy, comparison,
not measuring up, being critical, feeling judged etc…
2. Feelings come from the way we story the situation or the way we allow others to story the situation. What is the story fueling those feelings? Why do you feel jealousy right now? Why do you feel
judged right now? What is it you are telling yourself right now that makes you feel you are entitled
to __________ but they are not?
3. Know the story in your head is part of the ego’s meaning making attempts. Also know a story
yielding negative feelings has got some attachments in it.
4. What are those attachments you can identify, own, and lay aside?
5. What would living from the image of God in you feel like? What would be different?
If the evidence/feelings/fruit of living from the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, gentleness and self-control, can you start to use these as indicators you are living from a deeper truer self? The
first time you do this, it will probably be a reflection on your day where these things happened. But quickly you will realize,
with “practice,” that you can integrate this into your moment-by-moment awareness.
17
PRACTICES
Visual Field Gaze
This is a letting go exercise that let’s us begin to approach a non-dual experience. What is that? It is our slow letting go of
our ego/self sense that enables us to become more deeply connected to God, his creation and to others around us. It is a
slow dawning and recognition that we are really one with and deeply connected to the world around us, and that we can
live in a oneness that Jesus wanted for us.
Go to an outdoor setting or gaze through a window if weather doesn’t permit being outside.
Find as natural a setting as possible to focus on. It might be trees, rocks, water, mountains, or if you
are in an urban area simply the sky and clouds.
The goal of this awareness exercise is to allow your gaze to take in the field of your full visual and bodily awareness. The
goal is NOT to look at one thing and focus but to gaze on the entire visual field and allow any thoughts or analysis that
creep in to just dissolve in surrender. In other words, this is an eyes open, experience-the-presence-of-God in his creation,
kataphatic practice. Allow the visual field to draw back your attention if you find your mind wander off.
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PRACTICES
The Jesus Prayer
(this description is by Martin Laird in his book, The Silent Land)
The Jesus Prayer is an ancient way of praying that disposes the one who prays to the open depths within by drawing to stillness the wandering mind that flits and skitters all over the place.
Normally our attention finds it difficult to be still; it is forever chasing the myriad thoughts with the result that there is a
great deal of chatter going on in our heads.
The Jesus Prayer, indeed any contemplative discipline, tries to interrupt this chatter. Instead of allowing the attention to be
stolen yet again by our inner chatter.
Instead of yielding to the inner chatter, take a moment to slow down, sit, and quietly repeat, such as the Jesus Prayer:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me” or quite simply the word “Jesus.”
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PRACTICES
Self Observation is reflection on how you have navigated decisions and interactions in the past. The ah-ha realization
moment is awareness that you are in the middle of a moment of decision and have options in front of you and not just the
well-worn habit patterns you have engaged in the past.
Take a journal or piece of paper each day and begin jotting down the areas that come to mind where
you feel you typically walk down the trail of habit and want to become more open to other options.
Pick only one area each day to record. The areas where this applies are as infinite as your imagination. Is it in food addiction? Is the area of relationships at the forefront of your mind? What about personal time discipline?
Jot down not only the one area you want to see changed but begin noting the events, feelings, and
circumstances that arise as you head into the autopilot habit response.
Example: I want to work on my food issues. I notice that when I randomly or compulsively eat I am often alone and lonely.
That lonely feeling is one of emptiness along with a craving for something that will fill that emptiness. I am realizing that food
isn’t actually what I am craving and that there are other options available to me when I start to fill this empty loneliness...
Do you see what we are doing here?
We are trying to map the texture of the situation so that as it arises in real time we will be able to identify the shape and feel
of the circumstances so we can have self-generative choices. In other words we are getting familiar with how we move into
your well habituated response.
Record an area each day you want to work on with all the texture, color and surrounding circumstances you can. This is a
powerful awareness practice and as you do it a couple times you will find yourself automatically engaging it as you choose
to make a change in your life down more self-generative paths.
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PRACTICES
Breathing Prayer
(by Tilden Edwards)
Breathing is fundamental to our physical being. In Scripture it is a symbol of life from Genesis through Revelation. (Gen. 2:7
/ Revelation 11:11) More specifically it becomes a symbol of God’s life, God’s Spirit, God’s holy Wind inspiring life.
We can open our lives to God through our breathing . . . Breathing Open
Lightly notice the speediness of your breath and thoughts.
Remember your desire for God in the form of a prayer or wordless feeling.
Begin breathing slowly deep down into your diaphragm-stomach area. You can put your hands on this area and feel it
swell out with your in-breath. Gradually fill your lungs from this bottom point inward.
Hold the breath briefly, but without closing your throat.
Release your breath very slowly, twice as slowly as you breathed in. Pause at the bottom of your breath briefly with a very
still mind.
Continue this rhythm of breathing for a few minutes or longer, but now with the specific intent of breathing in all that is
of God, and breathing out all in your body and mind that is not. You need not think of anything in terms of content; just
retain a naked intent to be filled from head to toe with all that is of God, and to release whatever may come between you
and God. In the process let your body and mind sink beneath the crowded, surface tension to that more spacious and free
place where you are confidently grounded in God.
Less exaggerated than the above practice, this kind of breathing can become your normal way of breathing most of the
time, even with many forms of physical exercise. Such breathing then can become a regular means of heading off or releasing those grabby tensions and speediness of mind and body that easily take our awareness away from God. Breathing
becomes a fundamental spiritual practices that is available all the time.
Reflecting on the Practice
Did the slow breathing seem to make any difference to your presence for God?
Can you think of ways that your breathing habits and mental associations with breathing have drawn you toward or away
from presence for God?
How did this breathing practice AWAKEN you to God and the world around you?
What implications might this exercise have for your daily living?
21
PRACTICES
Centering / Identify Your Thoughts
by Ron Martoia (www.tttribel.com)
Begin your time of Centering by sitting and come into your body, into your breath, and then come to interior silence as you
do for centering prayer. As a thought arises, instead of instantly letting it go (often probably through you using your sacred
word) note the content of the thought. Was it about lunch, was it the meeting this am, was it anger over an unresolved fight
from yesterday, was it a random thought with emotion tied to it that seemed unusual. The goal here isn’t analysis but quick
notation. Note the thought and emotion attached to it then let it go.
Again, set the timer for 20 minutes. At the end of the 20 minutes allow your intuition to identify any patterns in the
thoughts of the last 20 minutes. Don’t over analyze here, intuit the connections. None may come, some might. As you do it
you WILL start to see things you haven’t seen before. Try this for the next seven days. If we intuit connections this might be
telling us about some things we are deeply processing but might not be conscious of.
Thought Observations - Dealing with Distractions
Close your eyes, or leave them half open if you find that more helpful.
Observe every thought that comes into your mind. There are two ways of dealing with thoughts. One is to follow them around as a puppy in the streets will follow any pair of legs it find in motion, no matter in what direction they
are moving. The other is to observe them as a man stationed at his window watches passers by on the street. Try to observe
your thoughts this latter way.
After you have done this for a while, become aware that you are thinking. You may even say to yourself I
am thinking... I am thinking... Or more briefly thinking... thinking... to keep yourself aware of the thinking process that is going on within you.
If there are no thoughts in your mind and your mind is blank, wait for the next thought to make its
appearance. Be on the alert and, as soon as the thought appears, become aware of the fact that you are thinking.
Keep up this exercise for three or four minutes.
Have you become aware of the fact that thinking does stop? Here is a simple way of dealing with a wandering mind. Pause
for a while and turn to the fact that you are thinking and this thinking will cease temporarily.
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PRACTICES
Centering Prayer
(excerpts from Thomas Keating’s teachings on Centering Prayer)
A. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
1. The sacred word expresses our intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
2. The sacred word is chosen during a brief period of prayer to the Holy Spirit. Use a word of one or two syllables, such
as: God, Jesus, Abba, Father, Mother, Mary, Amen. Other possibilities include: Love, Listen, Peace, Mercy, Let Go, Silence, Stillness, Faith, Trust.
B. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
1. “Sitting comfortably” means relatively comfortably so as not to encourage sleep during the time of prayer.
2. Whatever sitting position we choose, we keep the back straight.
3. We close our eyes as a symbol of letting go of what is going on around and within us.
4. We introduce the sacred word inwardly as gently as laying a feather on a piece of absorbent cotton.
5. Should we fall asleep upon awakening we continue the prayer.
C.When engaged with your thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
1. “Thoughts” is an umbrella term for every perception, including body sensations, sense perceptions, feelings, images,
memories, plans, reflections, concepts, commentaries, and spiritual experiences.
2. Thoughts are an inevitable, integral and normal part of Centering Prayer.
3. By “returning ever-so-gently to the sacred word” a minimum of effort is indicated. This is the only activity we initiate
during the time of Centering Prayer.
4. During the course of Centering Prayer, the sacred word may become vague or disappear.
D. At the end of the prayer period,remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
1. The additional 2 minutes enables us to bring the atmosphere of silence into everyday life.
2. If this prayer is done in a group, the leader may slowly recite a prayer such as the Lord’s Prayer, while the others listen.
3. Instead of a sacred word, a simple inward glance toward the Divine Presence, or noticing one’s breath may be more
suitable for some persons. The same guidelines apply to these symbols as to the sacred word.
4. The sacred word is sacred not because of its inherent meaning, but because of the meaning we give it as the expression
of our intention to consent.
5. Having chosen a sacred word, we do not change it during the prayer period because that would be engaging thoughts.
23
PRACTICES
Lectio Divina
‘Lectio Divina’ (pronounced lex-ee-o; dih-vee-nah) means “divine reading”. It is classic approach to drawing near to God
through meditating, praying, slowly and deliberately reading Scripture. This ancient practice has been kept alive in the
Christian monastic tradition and has been described as one of the “precious treasures of the Benedictine monastics”.
Begin with a prayer of humble expectation. We may often come to the Scriptures as it is just any other book (textbook, novel, history, proverb, news, etc), but we must
develop a humility when opening Scripture. When humility is present, we are acknowledging that “our thoughts are not
God’s thoughts” and “our ways are not God’s ways”. So, when we are humble, we are ready to hear from God---hearing
Him in such a way that will allow God to do all that He desires within us. “I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray
from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you . . . I meditate on your precepts
and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Lectio: slowly and deliberately read the Scripture passage aloud. Again, our approach to Scripture must be altogether different from the other reading we may do with the newspaper, an
internet article, or an email. There is something about reading slowly and aloud that sets our focus more deeply on the text
at hand.
meditation: be aware of the word or phrase that stands out. The “shimmering word” or phrase is described by the Benedictines as something that “beckons you, address you . . . something that stirs, unnerves, disturbs, grabs, or touches you.” Mary, the mother of Jesus, is described in Luke 2 as “pondering in her heart” all that happened in Jesus’ birth and life. This is very similar to the action we take in Lectio Divina---it is
meditating or becoming aware of the Word of God. Included in our meditation of the word or phrase that “shimmers” is
our questions of “what ideas, feelings, images, come to mind when meditating on this word, phrase, or reading?”
prayer: communion with God Lectio Divina is prayer from beginning to end. But this is more focused prayer as a dialogue with God. In this prayer we
allow the Word that we have taken in, and on which we are meditating, to touch and change ourselves deeply. The moments we spend in prayer with God it is He that touches us most deeply, not the words spoken. We may be tempted for
Lectio to produce something. We must remember that we should not bring to Lectio our agenda but find God’s work
within us. Often the work that He may be doing in our time quietly before the Word will find the most meaning not in
information but relationally, us and Christ.
contemplation: taking it with you Until this point, we may be tempted to simply practice reading and praying with no implication upon our living. It is in the
final moments of this spiritual practice that we allow the time to set deeply within us, asking God to remind us and essentially carry Him with us throughout our day. When we end our time in Lectio Divina, we must not exit our life of prayer
and awareness of God, but we should allow it to move us to a life of “pray(er) without ceasing”, essentially, living out a life
of awareness and tenderness to God.
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PRACTICES
Justice Meditation - engaging Jesus
People and communities who easily cross over the line from insulation and self-obsession to solidarity, empathy and
compassion with those violated by the lack of justice will fuel true justice in our world. Jesus spoke about coming to the
broken, lived among the broken, and identified with those cast aside. Do we see these themes in Scripture? When is the
last time you looked soberly at the words and actions of Christ among those hungry, sick, dying, alientated, and homeless. You are encouraged to interact with a few of these select passages. You may want to refer to the Contemplative section to
familiarize yourself with imaginative and prayerful ways to read these stories (Imaginative Meditation and Lectio Divina),.
The hope in interacting with these stories is that we would be shaped by the overwhelming love, compassion, and care
given to those who had been pushed out away from their access to God. In the new testament culture being sick, disabled,
and unclean meant no temple access. The temple, in those days, was the equivalent of being with God. Jesus’ actions to
restore health by touch, being present in the “marginalized” circles was saying something big about the Kingdom of God. He was saying in every action and encounter – that those who have been treated as last and less valuable are the ones who
are closest to the open doors to God.
What people, what cultures, what individuals, what lifestyles, what circumstances – have left people with the feeling that
they could have no access to God? See, in these meditations, the way God is available – even identifying uniquely with
them.
STORIES
* GETTING ACCESS TO GOD, CREATIVELY [Luke 5:17-26]
* JESUS EMBODIES THE KINGDOM [Luke 4:16-22]
* CHRIST IN THE SHOES OF THE MOST BROKEN [Matthew 25:31-46]
* REACHING UP TO EXEC [Luke 19:1-10]
* A PARTY FOR CROOKS, WHORES, AND THEIVES [Matthew 9:9-13]
* THE CARING OUTCAST [Luke 10:30-37]
* JESUS AS BARTENDER? [John 2:1-11]
* THE BETHESDA HEALINGS [John 5:1-9]
* THE CRAZY MAN IN THE GRAVEYARD [Mark 5:1-20]
* DIRT IN YOUR EYE [John 9:1-12]
* HANDS ON HEALING [Mark 7:31=37]
* FEEDING, BECAUSE THEY ARE HUNGRY [Mark 8:1-21]
QUESTIONS TO ASK OF THE STORIES
* Who was found in need in this passage? * What needs did you see?
* How did Jesus approach the need? * How did you perceive Jesus’ reaction to the need?
* How have you been present to people in need/needs around you? * Who in our community is stirred by similar needs/people in need?
* How have you been present toward the action you are to take? What people, what cultures, what individuals, what lifestyles, what circumstances – have left
people with the feeling that they could have no access to God? 25
PRACTICES
kids: Centering Prayer
(excerpt from Journey to the Heart: Centering Prayer for Children by Frank X. Jelenek If you chose to use this with your children, we encourage you to order the book, it’s full of wonderful illustrations and more content than what is shown below.)
We are off to take a journey to the center of ourselves . . . the deepest part of your heart.
In every heart there is God’s kingdom. Your sould is the home of God inside you, a holy place to pray each and every day.
(To take this journey to the deepest part of your heart) you need a special, secret, sacred word. A holy word that is a key. A
secret way to know, a sacred key to unlock, the center of your heart.
You can choose your own word – secret between God and you. Some special words may be: Father, Savior, Jesus, hope,
faith, love, grace, Holy Spirit, Creator. You may find another word in your bible. But remember, keep it safe and secret in
your heart and mind, even though you may change it from time to time. Your key word will always work, will open every
lock and door, when it is spoken fromt the heart—we know that for sure. Do you have your word? Whisper it silently in
your heart.
STEP 1 ::
Choose your secret-sacred word.
STEP 2 ::
Place your chairs in a circle if others join you to pray. If you’re praying all by yourself, that’s okay. Parents or
adults may light a candle, just for as long as they stay.
STEP 3 ::
Be still. Be silent. Eyes closed. Closed door. Feet on the floor. Lips sealed. STEP 4 ::
Silently say your secret word in your heart. Rest within. Sit and wait. God is there inside you, in the quiet.
STEP 5 ::
When you find yourself thinking of something else, it’s okay. Just say the secret word again, silently and slowly in
your heart. Then . . . Let those other thoughts float right out of your head.
STEP 6 ::
Six minutes of silence. A journey to the center of you with God. That is the time the journey will take you.
STEP 7 ::
Six minutes later you may open your eyes, and say out loud the ‘Our Father’ prayer.
In your heart and soul God speaks in silence, where words cannot be found, out loud. But know and trust that God will
hear you, even when you don’t speak a word. His ear is right next to your heart.
“Knock, knock, knock! Secret, sacred word! Here I am, God. I want to spend time with You. Come pray within my heart.”
God whispers back – in your heart – “I LOVE YOU!”
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EXERCISES
EXERCISE: SEWING TOGETHER WHAT HAS BEEN DIVIDED
Grab a ream of paper, a pair of scissors, and some tape. Take a sheet of paper, turn it sideways, and divide it into a top half
and bottom half by drawing a line through the middle. Write down a duality. For example: “my car is affordable (which is
good), but it is sluggish (which is bad).” Write the good part above the line and the bad part below the line, with the word
“but” right across the dividing line. This is the total reality of this car. The good part (the cost of the car) is related to the
bad part (its performance). After all, if you want “the ultimate driving machine,” you’ll have to dish out more dough. But
you chose not to; thus, you are where you are. That is the total situation. Now, take the scissors and cut this total situation
in half, right along the “but” line. What you just did physically is what you tend to do psychologically as a perfectionist: you
take a total situation and you cut it in half, dismissing a part of a whole. Now, let’s put the reality back together—let’s sew
the halves. Tape the split halves of the paper back together. Write the word “and” over the word “but.” What you have now
is a position of acceptance: “My car is affordable and somewhat sluggish.” Do this once a day to re-integrate what you have
perfectionistically split off. “I am doing the best I can right now and I can still try to do better the next time.” “My partner is
dependable and inflexible.” “My work is meaningful and stressful.” “I both dig the idea of this exercise and hate the hassle of
it.” - Pavel Somov, Present Perfect
EXERCISE: AN ODE TO PROCESS
Get a sheet of paper, a pencil, and an eraser. Write a poem about the inevitable process of change. Put your heart into it.
Then slowly, line after line, erase it. Throw away the paper. Not sure what the point is? It’s the experience that matters: experience the perfection of the process and the impermanence of the outcome. This poem you wrote is an ode to the perfection of the process of living. Still not sure about the point? The point is that perfection is a line of process, not just the final
product. Write another ode to perfection and repeat this process until you feel an understanding that process is the point.
- Pavel Somov, Present Perfect
EXERCISE: LANGUAGE FAST
Live a day in suchness: isolate yourself for a day, kill the TV, keep mum, and avoid reading or writing. Live a day in this
spacious wordlessness. Notice how all the comparative notions of perfection and excellence phase out. Decide in advance
that you will not be journaling about this experience. Otherwise you’ll try to “save” it; you’ll start encoding it in words,
cluttering your mind with descriptions. When there is no audience and nobody to narrate for, the narrator goes away and
the experiencer steps in. Be patient. Your mind has been talking for years. It won’t stop on a dime. Give it time: maybe a
few hours, maybe a whole weekend. A meeting with perfection is worth the wait. In the state of wordless awareness, you’ll
discover that there is nothing to prove or disprove. Instead of craving existence, you will notice that you already exist.
Instead of chasing ideals, you will notice the reality. Speechless, you’ll be in awe of nothing more than what just is. - Pavel
Somov, Present Perfect
27
EXERCISE: THE VICIOUS CIRCLE OF DICHOTOMOUS LABELING
Draw a circle clockwise. Keep going for a few rounds. As you keep going, notice how moving the pen right also means
moving the pen left. As you draw from right to left, you are simultaneously drawing from left to right. Keep going around
clockwise as you meditate on this. Change the direction, drawing counterclockwise. Meditate on the fact that as you are
moving the pen left you are simultaneously moving it right. Think about how the change of direction changed nothing.
Appreciate the confusion of this: as you try to establish for yourself whether you are moving right or left, notice how this
fundamental dichotomy of left and right fails you. You are not moving either left or right, but moving both left and right.
And that, of course, goes against the either/or rule of dichotomy: what’s left isn’t right. But here it is! Meditate on this for a
few minutes to appreciate the inability of any given dichotomy to express the entire complexity of reality. And then ponder
the all-too-familiar dichotomy of perfect/imperfect: if you did your practical best but still failed at a given task, are you
perfect, imperfect, both, or neither? - Pavel Somov, Present Perfect
EXERCISE: PULL UP THE ANCHOR OF EXPECTATION
By insisting on reality being a certain way, we get stuck. To get unstuck, downgrade your expectations to preferences.
Whereas an expectation is an unwarranted entitlement, a demand that reality comply with your vision of how it should
be, a preference is just a wish. Instead of expecting traffic to be light, allow a passing wish for traffic to be light and then go
with the flow of what is. Instead of waiting for that perfect warm weather to go out for a walk, acknowledge your wish for
the preferred weather, then layer up and go out anyway. Instead of waiting for the perfect wind, pull up the anchor of your
expectations and sail the wind that exists. Practice expecting nothing and flowing with what is. - Pavel Somov, Present
Perfect
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ART FOR REFLECTION
making room for mystery
It is through the eyes, the thoughts, the voice, the rhythm, the words, and the movement of the creative that we are pushed
to explore the mystery of life. When we view a painting, hear a the words of a poet, and see the movement of a dance we
are being exposed to another’s expression of an experience of life. And it’s often in the words, the movement, the music
that we feel more deeply our own life--or the life of others. It’s also within creative expression that we are challenged to live
without conclusion, without answers. Unlike science and reason--the creative world asks questions, but isn’t compelled to
conclude--most often. It’s within the world of art that we may be most challenged to identify the mystery of God. In theology we like to categorize and classify--we like to research and conclude. While this can be a healthy process for us to grow
in our understanding of life and God--it’s not the only area we need to nurture. We must grow more comfortable with the
unanswerable--with the wordless--with feeling deeply--with silence.
Art moves us to grow more accustom to the mystery of God.
Consider the following work and let it “speak” without the pressure coming up with answers.
Just “be present” before the work - not thinking of how to explain it - but letting it work on you.
What about this artwork resonates with you?
In the space given with each piece - journal what your thoughts.
exploring pilgrimage creatively
At the gathering on December 11th we will be offering a chance for you to share any creative expression around Pilgrimage that you have worked on during the weeks of this conversation. Please consider any medium that you feel comfortable
While it is never comfortable to
share--you are encouraged to participate in this evening--get creative with what you will bring!
with (or challenged by) to express what you are working through during this time.
29
ART FOR REFLECTION
UNDAMNED by Over the Rhine
Sometimes all we believe
Turns out to be just a scam
Just trying to get my world
Get it undamned
It’s been my lifelong song
Who’ll take me Just As I Am
Help me to get my world
Get it undamned
I’ve got a thousand lost songs
(Far too many they just got away)
I’ve done a thousand things wrong
(Far too many for me to name)
But I’m not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me
Don’t count me out just yet
I’m not your little lost lamb
God might still get my world
Get it undamned
To fall
Headlong
To fall
Headlong
To fall
Headlong…
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UNTITLED by Catherine Hennessey
What initially impacts you about this artwork?
What do you see in the two-faces? Is this meaningful to you? In what way?
Can you consider the two-faces in conflict with being present?
How does this conflict lead you back to Jesus’ words?
Read the following from James’ letter. “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” Think of “purify” not as a moral/sexual purity but as a “unmixed” or
single-minded.
Now, view the artwork again keeping the words of James and the parable of Jesus (mt06) in mind. How do you see these
two-faces now?
How does this artwork express your own journey toward being present?
31
Being In the Moment by Heloise Crista
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MADONNA DI LORETO (pilgrimage to Madonna) by Caravaggio (c.1604-1606)
33
What immediately connects (or why doesn’t it) with you about this artwork?
What do you observe about Gabi’s world?
What feelings/thoughts are evoked when observing the world around Gabi?
What feelings/thoughts are evoked when observing the world within Gabi?
Consider Paul’s words in 2 Corinithians 10:5 “we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” - What
about this painting leads you to believe Gabi is (or isn’t) at peace and present?
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DRIFT by Catherine Hennessey
Consider this artwork while listening to “DRIFT” by dubh (www.convergenceokc.org/resources/audio/dubh_drift.mp3)
What immediately connects-resonates with you?
Or if you are having trouble connecting with this work--why do you think it isn’t connecting?
What emotions are evoked in you from the artwork?
What might be the significance of the color darkening the further away from the center of the image?
What do you think the artist is referring to with the title “Drift”?
How might this painting express your own “drift” in your thoughts from this present moment?
35
JOURNAL PAGES
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JOURNAL PAGES
37
JOURNAL PAGES
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RESOURCES
Writings / Practices
Transformational Trek Tribe by Ron Martoia (www.tttribe.com - consider a monthly membership)
Books
A Book of Psalms, Stephen Mitchell
The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith, Janet O. Hagberg and Robert A. Guelich
The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message, Cynthia Bourgeault
Present Perfect: A Mindfulness Approach to Letting God of Perfectionism and the Need for Control, Pavel Somov
Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation, Martin Laird
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, Richard Rohr
Becoming Who You Are: Insights on the True Self from Thomas Merton and Other Saints, James Martin
Economic Conspiracy, Claudio Oliver (Relational Tithe Resource)
Artwork / Music
Undamned by Over the Rhine
Being in the Moment by Heloise Crista
Drift by Catherine Hennessey
Untitled by Catherine Hennessey
Madonna di Loreto by Caravaggio (1604-1606)
Drift by Dubh
39

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