Spiritual Life in Desperate Times I believe each one of us, sooner or later, experiences our own desperate times. Many of us bear the weight of responsibilities or expectations other people place on us, or we take on ourselves. We are afraid of disappointing people, including ourselves. The struggle of carrying these burdens can lead us into desperate times. Some of us deal with intense physical and emotional pain. There may be loved ones we miss. We may lose hope... Read more
Just One More Step Each Day We began the year with the best intentions. Choosing our resolutions thoughtfully and with care we set out to make this year an improvement on last year. Some of us wanted to make significant changes in essential areas of our lives. We had a plan and meaningful, measurable steps to take each day. Our attention was focused on changing our lives in positive ways. Now, little more than a week since the beginning of... Read more
Our Natural Stillness Many of us lead lives in which it is challenging to experience natural stillness. We surround ourselves with the sounds of other people and other things. Some of us cannot remember the last time we heard natural stillness. We fill our nights with artificial light and our lives with artificial noise. I know people who spend all their waking hours with a soundtrack of background music. They surround themselves with walls of music and words, never listening... Read more
What is Epiphany, Anyway? Sometimes it seems like spiritual life is all about waiting and hoping for insight, for an epiphany. We believe contemplative practices help us get out of our own way and hear the wisdom of spiritual life. As we take time to breathe deeply and listen to sacred stillness we allow ourselves to hear deep truths. Some of us are convinced our thinking is primary to spiritual life. We read and research and work to reason our... Read more
Walking Gently in the World Some of us resolve to make this year different from last year. We promise ourselves we will regularly take time to listen to sacred stillness this year. Our organized schedules include appointments dedicated to listening to sacred stillness. There is time in our calendars to pause, take a breath, and listen amid the distractions which fill our lives. It helps us to be focused and intentional about listening. These structured times of stillness, surrounded by... Read more
Always, We Begin Again Each moment, each hour, each day, each week, each month, each year, we begin again. It is almost as if we are poised at the starting line of our race. All our preparation and training leads us to the moment we begin again. Each time we race our effort trains us for beginning again. We do not start over because we want everything to be perfect this time. We do not continue beginning again to demonstrate... Read more
There is Stillness in the Air This is a week for listening to sacred stillness. The air has been filled with advertising and carols for as long as we can remember. Now there is stillness in the air. After rushing for months we have a little time this week to watch the sunset. I remember when 2018 was a bright and shining new year. It seems like only yesterday this year was bursting out of its box eager to get... Read more
Only Three More Days There are only three more days until Christmas. Some of us are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Christmas. We have already been waiting for months and we have only three more days until one of our favorite days every year. There are people who can hardly wait each year until the waves of holiday music and movies begin reaching us. They may have specific experiences or particular flavors which spark Christmas for them. There are others... Read more
Christmas Book Flood A few years ago I read about a Christmas practice in Iceland called Jolabokaflod, or Christmas book flood. Iceland separated from Denmark in 1918 and did not become a fully autonomous republic until 1944. During the Great Depression Iceland enacted an intricate system of import restrictions. Many of those policies continued even after the Second World War. High inflation and strict rationing made it challenging for people in Iceland to buy most imported goods. The one imported... Read more
Silent Night, Holy Night We forget stillness is at the heart of our holidays. It is easy for us to glance at our calendars and realize we have only seven more days to get ready. We load up our schedules with shopping and events, parties and expectations. Some of us stay up late into the night preparing for what we hope will be “the best Christmas ever.” We are busy buying and wrapping, planning and plotting, remembering which secrets to... Read more
Strategic Monk
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