{"id":3672,"date":"2012-11-15T18:00:09","date_gmt":"2012-11-15T18:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/?p=3672"},"modified":"2012-11-15T18:00:09","modified_gmt":"2012-11-15T18:00:09","slug":"the-flow-a-meditation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Flow: A Meditation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
\u00a0
\n<\/span>\n
\n
\n
\n
One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume where water ran in the rainy season.\u00a0\u00a0Halfway down the driveway, Kai stopped, fascinated by a little waterfall in the flume.\u00a0The water poured, steady, smooth, and shining, over a crack in the cement.\u00a0\u00a0Kai tried to grab it with his teeth and play with it.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>He could not accept that it was not a solid chew-toy.\u00a0\u00a0Every time he put his teeth around it, all he got was wet.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
I was fascinated by Kai\u2019s comical perception of the solidity of the flowing water.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But my observation of Kai led me to reflect on my own perception.\u00a0\u00a0The little waterfall was not a solid object: \u00a0neither Kai or myself could chew it.\u00a0\u00a0But what was it?\u00a0\u00a0What was I seeing?\u00a0I didn\u2019t see the individual water molecules pouring over the cement.\u00a0\u00a0All I could see was the slightly-wavering reflection of light from the surface of the otherwise invisible water.\u00a0\u00a0I saw the secondary effects of a flow, without fully perceiving what was flowing.<\/span><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
I lead a meditation group for students at the University of Southern California every Wednesday at noon.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>My meditation practice is simple but challenging.\u00a0\u00a0I try to watch my thoughts and feelings as they arise and fade, without judging or directing them.\u00a0\u00a0I try to observe carefully what I am experiencing, with love and acceptance.\u00a0\u00a0Today as we sat in our circle in silence, the memory of that moment with Kai (whose name means \u201cwater\u201d in Hawaiian) came to me. \u00a0I realized that my\u00a0emotions and sensations are not isolated, discrete things. \u00a0They are constantly changing and inter-relating.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>If I try to grasp any particular thought or feeling, it has already begun to move on or into something else.\u00a0\u00a0I can wrap neither my teeth nor my brain around these experiences as they move through my mind.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0At most, I can\u00a0<\/span>observe the shimmering signs of the flow.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Meditation is much like watching a stream tumble over rocks. \u00a0It\u2019s an awakening to the inter-related nature of all things, the lack of tidy boundaries between now and then, the fundamental lack of predictability in the cosmos. \u00a0In contemplation, we see signs of reality more than we see reality itself. \u00a0But being left with mere hints of what is, rather than certainties, points to the very nature of reality. \u00a0Meditative practice gets us closer to the raw root of things, as it liberates us from our assumptions. \u00a0It\u2019s okay that we can\u2019t get a handle on reality. \u00a0Knowing that we can\u2019t is as close as we can get to chewing on a waterfall. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
Falling water is a beautiful mystery for humans and dogs alike. \u00a0So the flow of the mind is an alluring mystery to appreciate in prayerful silence, whether or not we ever can apprehend its contents.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
JIM BURKLO<\/span>
\n<\/span>Website:\u00a0JIMBURKLO.COM<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Weblog:\u00a0MUSINGS<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
\n<\/span><\/span>See my\u00a0GUIDE<\/a>\u00a0to my books, \u201cmusings\u201d, and other writings<\/span>
\nAssociate Dean of Religious Life<\/a>, University of Southern California<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume where water ran in the rainy season.\u00a0\u00a0Halfway down the driveway, Kai stopped, fascinated by a little waterfall in the flume.\u00a0The water poured, steady, smooth, and shining, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":287,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Flow: A Meditation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u00a0 One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Flow: A Meditation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Forward\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-15T18:00:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Burklo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Burklo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/\",\"name\":\"The Flow: A Meditation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-11-15T18:00:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-11-15T18:00:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#\/schema\/person\/2b75dde76faa862099b5028e450f5ffc\"},\"description\":\"\u00a0 One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Flow: A Meditation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Forward\",\"description\":\"Voices from the Mainline, Progressive and Emerging Church\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#\/schema\/person\/2b75dde76faa862099b5028e450f5ffc\",\"name\":\"Jim Burklo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a2441e90eaae1f79f92e84518102f6c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a2441e90eaae1f79f92e84518102f6c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Burklo\"},\"description\":\"Rev. Jim Burklo is the Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. An ordained United Church of Christ pastor, he is the author of three books in print, OPEN CHRISTIANITY (2000), BIRDLIKE AND BARNLESS (2008), and HITCH-HIKING TO ALASKA: THE WAY OF SOULFUL SERVICE (2013). See more about him at jimburklo.com .\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.tcpc.blogs.com\/musings\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/author\/jimburklo\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Flow: A Meditation","description":"\u00a0 One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Flow: A Meditation","og_description":"\u00a0 One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/","og_site_name":"Faith Forward","article_published_time":"2012-11-15T18:00:09+00:00","author":"Jim Burklo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim Burklo","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/","name":"The Flow: A Meditation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-11-15T18:00:09+00:00","dateModified":"2012-11-15T18:00:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#\/schema\/person\/2b75dde76faa862099b5028e450f5ffc"},"description":"\u00a0 One day, several years ago, I took our dog Kai for a walk.\u00a0\u00a0Just outside our home in Mill Valley, California, next to our steep driveway, was a flume","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/2012\/11\/the-flow-a-meditation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Flow: A Meditation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/","name":"Faith Forward","description":"Voices from the Mainline, Progressive and Emerging Church","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#\/schema\/person\/2b75dde76faa862099b5028e450f5ffc","name":"Jim Burklo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a2441e90eaae1f79f92e84518102f6c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a2441e90eaae1f79f92e84518102f6c?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Jim Burklo"},"description":"Rev. Jim Burklo is the Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. An ordained United Church of Christ pastor, he is the author of three books in print, OPEN CHRISTIANITY (2000), BIRDLIKE AND BARNLESS (2008), and HITCH-HIKING TO ALASKA: THE WAY OF SOULFUL SERVICE (2013). See more about him at jimburklo.com .","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.tcpc.blogs.com\/musings"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/author\/jimburklo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/287"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3672\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithforward\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}