Category Archives: Spiritual Practices

Spiritual ADD

Posted on by

Several days ago I happened to catch a TV program featuring Kerry Shook, senior pastor of a congregation in Texas. Kerry is an excellent communicator, but what grabbed my attention was his topic: “Spiritual ADD.” I do not recall that he spoke to that topic at any length – most of the sermon time was given to a very effective presentation by his wife, Chris – but Kerry’s topic sparked my imagination.

These days it would be hard to find anyone who doesn’t know that ADD means Attention Deficit Disorder or that key symptoms may include hyperactivity, impulsiveness, and inattentiveness. ADHD is another term used for it. In fact, the latest twist on the name is “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive (ADHD–PI).” I’m surprised anyone can pay attention long enough to get that entire name out! Depending on how broadly ADHD or ADD is defined, as much as 5% of the world population is believed to show symptoms of it.

Spiritual ADD likely affects a much higher percentage of the population. I would suggest that the key symptom is inattentiveness to one’s spiritual life. It would be easy to blame the technology available to us today and how devoted we all seem to be to keeping up with our electronic devices. But even though technological innovations surround us like never before, there is no greater reason now than ever to allow them to supplant the time and attention our spiritual lives require.

Unlike the usual types of ADD/ADHD, spiritual ADD has a cure. Spending a little time every day in silence, focused on your own inner self, inviting communion with the divine element within you is really all you need to do to resolve spiritual ADD. You can choose to use a zabuton cushion or a simple chair. You can choose to be indoors or outdoors. If you are really fortunate, you might even find a place like the one pictured here: a private bench at Meditation Mount near Ojai, California.

Make your spiritual life a priority; the rewards will astound you!

 

       

When Life Gets Away from You

Posted on by

On the first day of this month, my partner took a bad spill and ended up with a fractured radial bone in her left wrist. It took only one look at her arm to know that the break was a bad one and the bones would have to be set. We went immediately for X-rays, and the first doc who saw her was actually more concerned about the possibilities of concussion from the bump on the head than he was about the wrist. But the orthopedic surgeon could be dissuaded from surgery only when she learned about my partner’s five heart stents and the blood thinner she regularly takes.

So, purple was chosen for the cast color, and Christopher, who applied the cast, turned out also to be in charge of setting the broken bones. At the last possible minute before the cast turned to stone, he grasped the wrist and squeezed with all his might, expertly aligning the bones for healing.

Since then, I’ve been my partner’s left arm, helping with dressing, helping more with the dogs, doing more in the kitchen, doing her hair every morning and washing it every few days, etc. These may be labors of love, but they are labors nonetheless and they have pressed in on my available time for things like writing regular blog posts.

The question is: what do you do when life gets away from you. First, it’s a stretch to claim that my life has gotten away from me; I have simply become busier. But second, it’s been a good exercise in examining how to pursue everyday spirituality in situations like this one.

I’ve found that when patience seems to be in short supply, prayer is not. I am reminded every day that patience is Item #4 in the fruit of the Spirit [love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control] (Galatians 5:22-23). These nine gifts are our birthright when we choose to be children of God, and it helps to bring them to the surface in our lives when we repeat the verses over and over from memory or reading aloud from Scripture.

My everyday spirituality has also been enhanced by continuing my meditation practice. When I sink into the chair to begin the twenty minutes of absolute quiet, I know that I know that all is well in my world.

This has been a painful break for my partner, and it hurts to see her in pain, even after more than two weeks. The cast will be on a while yet and if the pain is lessening, it is doing so at a very slow pace. Meanwhile, I can make it part of my everyday spirituality to look for and find the ways to be helpful.

       

The Meaning of Life

Posted on by

Ha! Bet you laughed when you saw that heading! But two “meaning of life” inputs came to me on the same day, so I had to give it a second look.

First, if you’ve looked into Ecclesiastes lately, you’ve seen Solomon declare over and over that everything is meaningless. Purported to be among the wisest ever to live, he spells it out so there can be no mistaking what he is saying: “I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” (Ecc. 1:14)

This is the same book with the often-quoted section on “seasons”: “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity.” But as to the level of meaning available to humans, Solomon concludes that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work.

The Buddhists may be a little ahead here, because they have realized that all this doing and striving that occupy the minds of humankind will not lead to contentment and peace. So what will?

The second input on this subject was a video clip of Neil deGrasse Tyson (known as an astrophysicist and science communicator) speaking to a group on the meaning of life. Tyson came at the subject from a different angle, a much more practical, hands-on model. He said that the meaning of life is not something you find and put into yourself. Rather, the “healthier” way to think of it is “the meaning of life is what I give it.”  Expounding on what that means, he said: “Any day I’m alive, I want to make sure I know more today than I did yesterday. And in tandem with that, at some level, I want to lessen the suffering of others.”

I found that a profoundly useful perspective.

       

Good and Faithful Servant

Posted on by

I went to a memorial service today that was held in honor of the husband of a friend of mine. I didn’t actually know the gentleman (I attended in support of my friend), but I was surprised to hear a long list of generous and thoughtful activities he had pursued in his long life to aid other people, especially people “on the fringe.” These activities were sometimes in his own community, sometimes in other countries.

On the front of the service bulletin was a picture of a cross adorned with three verses (Matthew 25:21, Philippians 2:17, and Hebrews 6:10) run together so that the message read: Well done, good and faithful servant … your faithful service is an offering to God. He will not forget  … how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers.”

It was an artful reminder of the two great commandments given in Matthew 22, instructing that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourself. Today all of us attending the memorial service had the blessing of seeing how those commandments might look in an ordinary contemporary life. It made me spend some time considering how they should look in mine.

       

The Value of a Good Book

Posted on by

The monthly newsletter for Parkplace Books, Kirkland, Washington, featured a quote from Oscar Wilde that I want to share:  “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.”

Is that nothing more than a clever twisting of phrases? Or is there something worth thinking about here? I voted for the latter because of the inherent point about building character.

The various kinds of media engagement have impacts on who we are. Certainly films and songs and social media can affect us deeply, or can be simply passing entertainment. But generally a book requires a commitment of time, of living with one story or one point of view for some duration of time, and that is formative by nature. It subtly shapes the attitudes and outlook of the reader as it broadens his or her experience of life. This, in turn, alters who that person becomes.

There are all manner of books that we can choose to read, but what if we spend time every day (or at least very often) reading the Bible, even though we don’t have to? With no effort on the reader’s part, other than the simple act of reading, the messages, the themes, the guidance, the perspective, the promises of the Bible begin to shape who that person is, how that person thinks, and how that person reacts to life. Or as Oscar Wilde put it, it determines who that person will be when he or she can’t help it.

The next time you are choosing a book to read, maybe it would be wise to consider the kind of person you want to be.


       

Contemplation

Posted on by

After so many years of regular meditation, I can no longer imagine my life without it. On really busy mornings, it is the last thing I am likely to cut in order to get out the door on time. I have written before in these postings that of all the spiritual practices, this one has been the most vital and life-sustaining for me.

So, I was very interested in the Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Living Peace, a publication written and distributed by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, because the theme of the issue is “contemplative stance.” Contemplation is a form of meditation that focuses, usually, on the breath rather than on a mantra.

Of the articles in Living Peace, the one that most resonated with me was by Terrence J. Moran, CSJP-A. He wrote, “Contemplation is not another agenda item we add to an already overfull day. Rather, it is the wellspring that nourishes all our other activities. It is a choice we make to look at our life and our world in a particular way. It is a lens not a chore.” And in my experience, the nature of that wellspring is such profound peace that it changes the texture of everything else in your world.

Later Moran added: “The contemplative stance is not a matter of reading, workshops, ideas. It is a practice – daily, diligent, persevering even when results seem scanty.” This point is so important that I was surprised it was buried in the text rather than set off as a breakout quote. What makes meditation yield results is the dailyness of it, the regularity, the continuity of sitting in silence every day, regardless of whether you “go deep” or stay on the surface, whether your mind is beset with thoughts or as still as a frozen pond.

You could read about it, or go to a workshop to hear about it, or talk about it as an idea with someone else, but what makes contemplation work is actually doing it.

       

You Already Know More Than You Need to Know

Posted on by

Recently on Facebook, a friend posted this encapsulation of Biblical advice. It doesn’t have a title, but it includes several short lines that could serve: “It’s not rocket science” or “Just go do it.” I chose the final line because it’s a good reminder that we are all equipped and empowered for kindness and compassion. My friend who made the post is an ordained minister, but this advice is for all of us.

One of the most “Christian” individuals I have ever met described herself as an atheist. I met her on a trip years ago and no longer remember her name, but I remember the way she interacted with other people. Her mode of being was to be kind, to give of herself, to encourage others, to treat everyone with respect and courtesy, to constantly show love to the people she encountered.

You could reply that she was missing the important one “Worship God.” Matthew 22:37 says that Jesus emphasized two commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The John Ortberg quote above pretty well captures those two commandments in language anyone can understand.

It appeared to me that the young woman I met on the trip had figured out how to live the second commandment. That seems like an excellent avenue for finding the way to the first commandment.

       

A Day for Remembering

Posted on by

In the United States today is the federal holiday called Memorial Day. When I was growing up, my mother was just as likely to call it Decoration Day. It was her day to honor the family ancestors, whether they had passed recently or decades earlier.

We visited two or three graveyards, and she knew exactly where to go at each one to find the graves of relatives. At each site she placed flowers from her garden and took a few moments for private memorialization.

We were not a military family, though both my brothers served, so Mother’s focus for Memorial Day did not have the more-common military emphasis. It was simply her day to honor all the people she had once loved who were gone from life. She spent the whole day doing it. It was part of her spiritual practice.

I believe that this honoring of loved ones who had passed was part of what made my mother compassionate and tolerant toward those still living. This alone made it a worthy practice.

       

Why Do People Sign on for Spiritual Direction?

Posted on by

When you contact a spiritual director, you can expect that one of the first questions you will be asked is: “What are you looking for in spiritual direction?” Another way the question may be asked is: “What do you hope to accomplish in spiritual direction?”

In the past, my own answer to this question when I was the directee has probably been a little vague, which isn’t uncommon. So much of our spirituality isn’t really rational, so why would we think we would always have a reasoned, rational explanation for where we are spiritually? My answers have usually been along the lines of: “Guidance is a good thing, especially in something as important as my spirituality.” Sometimes people I’ve seen as directees have been a little more direct: “I’ve been feeling a little lost lately, and I think that spiritual direction will help me get more grounded.” One person said, “It’s time I did a little growing.”

After a hiatus of a few years, I recently resumed being a directee myself—in large part because I see directees on an ongoing basis and know that it is important to be in direction at the same time. This time when that question came addressed to me, an answer came readily to my lips, even though I had not thought about it ahead of time. “Because I need a place where I can be in conversation about spirituality.”

This is a new answer. I’m no longer looking for a one-directional situation, in which I am simply a receiver, whether a receiver of direction, advice, grounding, support, reinforcement, or whatever. Now I am looking for the mutual, two-directional situation. I want to talk with someone who speaks the same language, will understand what I am talking about, will know how to address the subjects that are important to me, and will be able to receive from me as much as I receive from her/him.

If you think you might be interested in spiritual direction, check out Spiritual Directors International (website: http://www.sdiworld.org/) to find out more about the practice. Especially look at the Seek and Find Guide to find spiritual directors in your area. Click on the tab “Find a Spiritual Director” to access the Guide.

       

Nudgings of God

Posted on by

My novel Dancing on the Whisper of God starts with a predawn “whisper” experienced by a choreographer in San Francisco one morning in 1993. Several people have asked me about this whisper: Was it supposed to be a actual, audible voice? Was it meant to be the voice of God? How believable is it that the Divine Spirit might actually “talk” to people?

This reminds me of something Wayne Dyer said once (and I think he may have been quoting Lilly Tomlin): “Why is it that when we talk to God, it’s called prayer, but when God talks to us, it’s called schizophrenia?”

Well, there’s no schizophrenia in my novel, but there is a fair amount of communication from God. Do I think that God talks to us in actual, audible voices? No. Was the whisper in the book meant to be the voice of God? Yes. How believable is it that the Divine Spirit actually talks to people? Very believable, but the vehicle of the communication can be any number of things.

All of us have had the experience, when something goes wrong, of saying, “I knew I wasn’t supposed to do that! Why didn’t I listen to my intuition?” Or maybe we are thinking of buying something, and there’s a peace we feel in our hearts about the decision. Or maybe someone calls you on the phone and as soon as you hear their idea, your belly gets uneasy. Or maybe it’s a flash of insight offering a resolution to a problem you’ve been having. Or maybe it’s a nudging one day when you’re going through your mail, and you’ve ignored a dozen different requests for charitable giving, but then comes one that you just feel compelled to respond to. Or maybe you have a dream that gives you, in symbol form, the exact answer you were seeking.

All of these, I would say, are “whispers” of God. The King James version of the Bible calls it a “still small voice” [I Kings 19:12]. The NIV calls it “a gentle whisper.”

Where in your life have you been receiving the gift of a nudging from God? Have you learned to pay attention?

If you are in or near Seattle, above is your invitation to a reading from Dancing on the Whisper of God set for April 30. I’d love to see you there! If the link at the top of this post isn’t working, visit: www.dancingonthewhisperofgod.com.