![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2020\/03\/15871768_10154334462825914_8226763644214757698_n-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a> \u201cEverything was beautiful and nothing hurt.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 The words are from Kurt Vonnegut, the art is that of a tagger on a hidden wall in Boulder, the city I used to live in. It aptly conveys the anxious end of an idyllic \u2013 though illusory \u2013 season in the lives of the white elite, including mine. This photo I took of it fits what I\u2019m about to say.<\/p>\nWe in the West are facing something unlike most any of us under 100 years of age have faced in our lives<\/strong>. A global pandemic in the midst of an economic upheaval. Many of us are living paycheck to paycheck and we\u2019re concerned about ourselves, and our friends and loved ones. This is true for even the most privileged of people living in the most privileged of cities in the U.S. The coronavirus and the economic upheaval we\u2019re experiencing are not respecters of persons.<\/strong> We\u2019re all screwed here. And even as we socially distance, we\u2019re all in this together.<\/strong> People we each know and love will die and\/or go bankrupt<\/a>. People we know and love won\u2019t be able to pay their rent or mortgages. Theologically speaking, we\u2019re all losing our collective and individual shit. <\/strong>Reckon that explains the unanticipated hoarding of toilet paper.<\/p>\n Our Buddhist<\/a> friends tell a story about the era of the violent warlords in Japan. A feared warlord was mercilessly plundering and pillaging his way across the land when he entered a village that had vacated before he arrived. He and his troops marched in, then entered a temple where he found one man, a zen master, sitting on the stone floor with his eyes closed. Insulted, the warlord shouts \u201cDon\u2019t you know who I am?! I\u2019m the one who can run a blade through you without batting an eye!\u201d To which the priest calmly responds, \u201cAh, but I\u2019m the one you can run a blade through without batting an eye.\u201d<\/p>\n Buddhists don\u2019t have a monopoly on equanimity in the face of crisis. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Christian movement was en route from England to his failed missionary trip to the British colony of Georgia. The ship got caught in a severe storm the likes the captain and crew had never seen. Everyone was scrambling around in panic \u2013 everyone except for a small group of Moravian Christians. They were calmly singing hymns and quietly praying. John Wesley was awestruck by their calm demeanor in the midst of chaos<\/a>. He wanted what they had \u2013 and he knew it might be possible for him some day \u2013 as they were living proof.<\/p>\n * Jesus was born in barn. Okay, if not exactly a proper barn, in the side entry\/cave to a home where they kept the livestock \u2013 and the literal crap that goes with them. According to our story, God somehow become incarnate with us by meeting us right where we tend to be \u2013 in states of crap and chaos.<\/strong> Through remembering that messy birth (no matter how high or low your Christology) we remember that God is with us through whatever we face.<\/p>\n * Few of the early Christians lived long lives. Most of the original disciples were executed. Thousands of Christians were persecuted, burned as torches, and\/or thrown to lions. They knew they were called to be faithful \u2013 not to have long lives.<\/strong> The apostle Paul didn\u2019t minimize anything when he wrote:<\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. \u2026 <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span>We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.<\/span> \u2026 We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit [her]self intercedes for us through wordless groans. A<\/span>nd God who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God\u2019s people in accordance with the will of God. ..<\/span>Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in<\/a>all these things we are more than conquerors through God who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d<\/em> [excerpts from Romans 8]<\/span><\/p>\n Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. echoed this in the last speech he gave \u2013 the night before he was killed.\u201cWell, I don\u2019t know what will happen now. We\u2019ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn\u2019t matter with me now. Because I\u2019ve been to the mountaintop. And I don\u2019t mind. Like any man, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I\u2019m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God\u2019s will. And He\u2019s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I\u2019ve looked over. And I\u2019ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I\u2019m happy, tonight. I\u2019m not worried about anything. I\u2019m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.\u201d <\/em>Memphis, April 3, 1968<\/p>\n We can take heart knowing that fellow humans are capable of prioritizing faith and embracing that life is fleeting and that we\u2019re called to be faithful, not \u201csuccessful.\u201d<\/p>\n *<\/strong> Ironically, the needed work involved here \u2013 is mostly a matter of just being.<\/strong> As Psalm 46:10 reminds us, we\u2019re called to \u201cbe still and know that God is God.\u201d We\u2019re called to be human beings<\/em> \u2013 not human <\/strong>doings<\/strong>.<\/em> Sure, we need to roll up our sleeves here and there to provide for ourselves and others, but who we really are isn\u2019t our doings, it\u2019s our being. Who we really are is our souls. Who we really are is love.<\/strong> How we sense this is through practices such as centering prayer.<\/p>\n There are helpful practices such as prayer journals, listing what we\u2019re grateful for, breath work, yoga, etc, which can help, and one practice that I find to be particularly helpful is centering prayer<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Centering Prayer is a contemplative spiritual practice which is essentially spending quality time with God. You can do it anywhere. It is practice being a human BEing \u2013 instead of a human DOing. Sometimes referred to as \u201cChristian meditation,\u201d centering prayer is an ancient Christian practice based upon practices of the \u201cDesert Fathers and Mothers.\u201d Centering Prayer isn\u2019t meant to be the only form of prayer a person engages in. It does not replace intercessory or petitionary prayer, etc. The practice is intended to help us have a balanced, full, and connected prayer life and life in general. It helps us to be present to Presence.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n * Sit still, close your eyes, and just BE with God.<\/p>\n * Don\u2019t think of things to say or ask, just sit in God\u2019s presence and enjoy each other\u2019s company.<\/p>\n * When your mind starts to wander or become distracted, acknowledge the distraction, then gently say your prayer word in your mind to invite your deep self to come back to your intention to being centered and present to and with Presence.<\/p>\n * Just \u2013 \u201cbe still and know that I am God.\u201d (Psalm 46:10)<\/p>\n * At the end of the 10-45 minutes, slowly say a prayer under your breath (maybe the Lord\u2019s Prayer, etc.) to bring yourself back your \u201cnormal\u201d present \u2013 (but your normal will gradually transform due to the practice of centering prayer!).<\/p>\n You are a beautiful child of God and God wants to bless and enjoy you just as you are. And who you are isn\u2019t someone needing to maintain privilege in an unjust world.<\/strong> You\u2019re someone who can shed it, embrace vulnerability, celebrate diversity \u2013 and your humble place within it \u2013 and who can live a meaningful life that is blessed \u2013 whether or not it happens to be a long one or involve much the way of wealth. Who you are is someone who can hold your shit and be with whatever comes your way \u2013 being present to Presence.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Blessings to us all as we do our work to Be more, to be still and know, be still, be \u00a0 \u2026and be there for each other. XX \u2013 Roger<\/strong><\/em> Rev. Roger Wolsey is a certified Spiritual Director, ordained United Methodist pastor, and author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don\u2019t like christianity\u00a0 <\/strong><\/a><\/em>He\u2019s currently working on his next book: Discovering Fire: Enlivening Fuel for Religious & Non-Religious Hearts & Souls.<\/em><\/p>\n Click here for the Kissing Fish Facebook page<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>Roger\u2019s other blogs on Patheos<\/a> <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Roger\u2019s Website<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>*If you would like to become a Patron<\/a> of Roger\u2019s work<\/strong> as a spiritual writer, Click Here<\/strong><\/a> *<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cEverything was beautiful and nothing hurt.\u201d\u00a0 The words are from Kurt Vonnegut, the art is that of a tagger on a hidden wall in Boulder, the city I used to live in. It aptly conveys the anxious end of an idyllic \u2013 though illusory \u2013 season in the lives of the white elite, including mine. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":259,"featured_media":8534,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[358,1302,5,1305,353,9,352,690,1296,1218,1313,82,386,46,264,265,1299,102,384,607,30,1308,379,524,89,1310,70,103,4],"class_list":["post-8514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anxiety","tag-anxious","tag-blog","tag-calm","tag-centering-prayer","tag-christianity","tag-contemplative","tag-contemplative-spirituality","tag-coronavirus","tag-crisis","tag-equanimity","tag-faith","tag-holy-kiss","tag-methodist","tag-mystic","tag-mysticism","tag-nonanxious","tag-patheos","tag-prayer","tag-progressive-christian","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-serene","tag-sojourners","tag-spiritual","tag-spirituality","tag-tranquility","tag-umc","tag-united-methodist","tag-wolsey"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2020\/03\/IMG_4570-300x213.jpg\")
<\/a>I wrote a piece awhile back, \u201cO We of Little Faith<\/a>,\u201d that holds a mirror up to our actual<\/em> state of fear<\/em> \u2013 despite our claims to be people of faith. I\u2019d written an earlier one<\/a> pointing out how many of us put our actual faith in guns<\/a> instead of God. But, we don\u2019t have to be prisoners of our historic patterns and tendencies. We don\u2019t have to manifest Thomas Hobbes\u2019 hunch about humanity in a state of Nature, as \u201cnasty, brutish, and short.\u201d Indeed, who we might actually be in nature, being who we really<\/em> are, may well be rather the opposite<\/em> of all of that \u2013 or at least the opposite of those first two.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2020\/03\/FullSizeRender-300x213.jpeg\")
<\/a>Even though our society has conditioned us to be in a constant stress state of having to perform, strive, scurry, hurry, hustle, and hoard, there are some things we can do to reset, reorient, repent, and reclaim who and Whose we really are. Here are some reminders that may be helpful to us:<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2020\/03\/13882177_10153788044422546_3360339718649548567_n-300x300.jpg\")
<\/a>* We can be less anxious. We\u2019re called to be people of faith, not people of fear<\/strong>. The late French theologian Henri Nouwen invites us to work toward becoming a non-anxious presence in the world. Note the words \u201cwork\u201d and \u201ctoward\u201d \u2013 it involves intention, discipline, and practice \u2013 and we may never become perfectly non-anxious.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2020\/03\/27654437_10155399828800914_4616430211442296820_n-300x225.jpg\")
<\/a>The Centering Prayer method in a nutshell:
\n* Set aside 10-45 minutes in a quiet place. It can be in a gorgeous national park, in your car, at work, in your kitchen, on a bus, or in a plastic booth at McDonalds. (During this time of social isolation \u2013 practicing this at home is ideal!)<\/em><\/strong> Sit comfortably with your back straight. Choose a \u201cprayer word\u201d and gently say it in your mind to invite your awareness to God\u2019s presence (e.g. \u201cSpirit,\u201d \u201cPeace\u201d, \u201cGrace\u201d, \u201cLove,\u201d \u201cAbba,\u201d \u201cAma,\u201d \u201cGod,\u201d etc.).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/396\/2020\/03\/IMG_7232-240x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Here\u2019s a VIDEO<\/a><\/strong> I live-streamed on Facebook the other day describing centering prayer which I offer as a \u201csmall drop of presence\u201d into our collective pond: \u00a0 VIDEO<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
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