by Doug Hammack
We’re spending these days looking at some ancient spiritual practice that challenge the tyranny of desire. This week we continue looking at how to effectively challenge the power of ego-desire, specifically by using the power of our imagination.
We’re looking at elements of life that buy us inner peace
• Ways of thinking/ acting that make Xn spirituality healthy once again
Last week we started talking about some wild horses that thrash about in our souls: we called them ego-desires
• These ego desires are powerful determinants in how we live
• The desires for self-validation: this will drive our lives!
• Desires to succeed to prove to So-and-So that we are such and so
• Desires to defend ourselves from bad interpretations
• Desires to be the go-to guy at our job
• Desires to please and gain approval of people important to us
• Desires to be secure ourselves on the job, in the bank account
These powerful ego desires thrash out w/in us w/ an insistent urgency that determines how we respond to life’s situations
• Determine how we plan our careers
• Determine how we live out our relationships
• the emotional reactions we have with people and in situations
• in fact, these ego-desires determine our very experience of life
They are powerful forces inside us…
And though they are forcefully deterministic in our lives…
Most of these desires were ill-conceived
• Often, they are formed, merely as reactions to hurts we’ve sustained along way
• We saw how Scarlett O’Hara’s vow never to be hungry again steadily diminished the vitality of her life
• Stole away her decency, her kindness, and her experience of love
• So often, the life-essence of joy and goodness are stolen away by these unbridled, untamed, and ill-conceived ego-desires
Art and I were talking this week…
He’s coming to perspective on life that echoes wisdom of sacred texts
• Life is a vapor, it’s over so quickly
• Jack Nicklaus had his heyday, and now he’s passing off the scene
• Tiger Woods is having his heyday, but soon he’ll pass off the scene
• This life is a vapor, here for a moment then gone
• This life is like the grass that sprouts in the morning, but by day’s end, is withered and blown away
And this wisp of a lifetime we get…
This moment of being that we are given…
Is so short, so impermanent
• and yet, so many of those few, precious moments are sucked up by these raging, frenzied, agitated ego-desires
• that push us, drive us, impel us, and maneuver us
and if those ego-desires are not tamed…
• if they are not quieted and put in their place…
• we will come to the end of our few short days having never truly lived our lives
• we will come to the end of our days only having served these demanding and noisy but ultimately unimportant demands
and the battle to live these few moments on earth well…
• is fought on lots of little battlefields of desire
• little battlefields of ego-demands
• the battle to either quiet them, or to be ruled by them
Listen to the words of Jesus (Mt. 11:29)
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart
The word “gentle” used to be translated “meek.”
• In Greek it is praus. It means “calm” or “with tamed passions”
• The word comes from the practice of training draft animals
• the wild and dissipated energies of the draft animal are tamed…
• and wild and dissipated energies of desire are tamed
come join a yoke with me, Jesus is saying…
• for I am at peace, and my passions are tamed
now this was the training practice
• when a farmer had an unruly or high-spirited animal, he’d put it in a double yoke with a quieted, tamed animal
• yoked together, the unruly one would gradually calm down and over time, the animal’s “soul” is quieted
so, Jesus is saying, get in a yoke w/ me
• those unruly desires inside you will be calmed and quieted
• and picking up on this text, the early spiritual directors created a spiritual path for us to follow
• a path that in a way yokes our unruly, untamed desires with Another
• and in the yoking, helps bring these desires to heel
so they coined phrase, “yoked with Jesus” (or “yoke-fellows w/ Jesus)
• the practice they introduced was called “discursive meditation”
• however the word “meditation” is like the word “gay”
• what it meant once, it no longer means
• so in today’s language, the practice could be called “disciplined imagination”
• I’ll describe it in detail in a moment
to understand their term “being yoked w/ Jesus,” let me introduce a phenomenon from the realm of science
• it is the phenomenon called “entraining”
• Entraining is the phenomenon of two rhythmic things gradually finding their way into a shared rhythm
• It is an observable phenomenon that happens all around us
First observed in 17th century by Dutch scientist: Christian Huygens
• Two oscillating bodies, when placed close to one another, lock into phase, and move in harmony
• He first noticed it by hanging clocks on a wall together
• Starting the pendulums swinging at different times/rates, he saw that next day, they would be swinging in sync
• They both had a mutual influence on one another
Over time scientists noticed that this synchronization is universal
• Happens in chemistry, biology, psychology, astronomy
• Eg. heart muscle cells from different hearts, when brought close together, they will eventually begin to pulse in sync
• Eg. chirping or blinking insects
• Human speech rhythms sync up when close to one another
• Women who live together find their hormonal cycles syncing up
(God help the poor men who live w/ these women)
This “entrainment” principle is observed in so many areas, the oldest spiritual teachers picked up on it
• Saw in it a way we could tame our unruly ego-desires
• Their thinking was that if we put ourselves in close proximity to Jesus, who uniquely expressed the life of the Divine…
• That we would begin to oscillate with the same frequency as Jesus
• That we too would begin to express the life of the Divine
• That our ego desires would be tamed as Jesus’ were
• That we ourselves, as this text says, would become gentle, Gk. “praus” or calmed, quieted, tamed passions
• And in that, our truest self-desires would be unleashed
And we’d be delivered from the tyranny of the lesser, ego-desires
So… put ourselves in proximity to Jesus…
• And what we think about…
• what we tend to become…
• will be like Jesus
if we fill our minds w/ the life-rhythm of Jesus,
• our unruly desires and insistent inner demands will quiet down
• we will absorb the peacefulness of Jesus
• we will take on the tamed soul of Jesus
• we will live the freedom of Jesus
• and reflect the oneness with God that Jesus did
Our desires will change
• Our life-style will change
• Our tastes and pleasures will change
• And the change will be for the better
But there’s a problem…
Jesus has left the earth
Jesus doesn’t live here anymore…
And it’s pretty hard to get that “entrainment” thing going
Especially if it requires close proximity
• Sure, the Sprit of Jesus is present and among us
• But walking w/ Jesus, eating w/ Jesus, talking w/ Jesus…
• This isn’t as easy as putting clocks or heart cells close to one another
So, these early spiritual teachers suggested…
• To hammer out a rough equivalent of being close to Jesus…
• To draw the benefits of entrainment…
• Let’s tap into the power of human imagination
Through imagination, they suggested…
We can put ourselves close enough to Jesus
• That our souls will relax
• And the influence of Jesus’ life and presence will work on us
• And as we do, gradually the rhythm and reality of his being will begin to engulf us
• And thus, our hearts will begin to beat in unison with his
Now, before we dismiss this ancient wisdom as quaint but out of date
We should take a closer look at the power of imagination
In the late 1800’s a man named Emile Coue started a new wing of psychotherapy
• It was called optimistic autosuggestion
• He made phrase famous: you may of heard it w/o hearing of him
“every day in every way, I’m getting better and better”
Anyway, this guy said this…
• Whenever there is a conflict between the will and the imagination, imagination wins. It is an absolute rule that admits no exceptions. We only cease to be puppets when we have learned to guide our imaginations. Every one of our thoughts, good or bad, becomes concrete, materializes and becomes, in short, a reality.
What he’s saying is this…
• You may try by sheer willpower to do something or to resist something…
• but if you are not able to convert your will into imagination…
• you will probably not attain what you have willed
Imagination is much more powerful than we give it credit for
• We demote it to being a plaything for children
• But it is much, much more than that
Just think about psychosomatic phenomena
We can get sick or get healed by the use of our imagination
• reports from faraway places of people brought into hospitals, obviously dying w/ nothing medically wrong with them
• it comes out that someone has cursed or put hex on them
• they believe in the power of the hex, and their imagination takes over from there
• medical science is usually unable to counter strength of the imagination and these people die
now some medical doctors have decide to fight fire with fire and they create rituals that get people unhexed
• as soon as they believe the un-hexing can happen…
• as soon as their imaginations are convinced that the curse is lifted, they promptly get well
imagination is a powerful thing
also, most of us are pretty familiar w/ the placebo effect
• if a patient’s and a physician’s imagination is convinced that a therapy will help, it helps
• even if no active ingredient in it causes healing
Several studies have shown if a teacher believes that their students are bright, by years end, they will have bright student scores
• If teacher believes students dull, they also perform accordingly
also, people in social classes who are looked down on by some other social class lose their sense of self-confidence
• Their talents and competences are not as released as a class who believes they are at the top of the heap
imagination is a powerful thing
therefore, imagination is an important thing
• we live out of our imaginations
• we may wish we lived out of our intellect and will, but not so
consequently, it is important for us to cultivate imagination
• take care of it
• feed it properly, protect it, discipline it, train it
• well, most people simply let their imaginations run wild
• and because we do, our desires also get to run wild
• and that sets our lives for us
imagination leads desire
• and most of us grow up never having been trained to give our imagination any serious attention
• we train our intellects with scholarship
• we train our wills with morality
• we train our feelings through socialization
• and we even train our artistic abilities
• but everyday imagination??? No training at all
images run through our minds each day unchallenged
• images that govern how we see people and things
• images that determine what we’re prejudiced against/fond of
• images that tell us what to expect of other people
• images that determine how valuable we are personally
…for these we are given no training at all
But given how powerfully deterministic our imagination is, and what a critical role it plays in everyday life…
• these early spiritual teachers taught us to spend a considerable energy looking on it
• they taught us we needed to see imagination’s power…
• that we needed to observe the fantasies we play out in our minds
• and then that we needed to channel this powerful force w/in us
when we let our imaginations run with free-wheeling autonomy…
• they accumulate perceptions and interpretations
• and then we build on those perceptions and interpretations until we have constructed a whole world to live in
• and the power of this constructed world in us, is that our minds rarely distinguish this imagined world from any real world
ILLUSTRATION: someone speaks to us in a sharp tone
• maybe it was frustration bleeding out of some problem at home
• but we interpret it as an unfriendly reaction to ourselves
• and immediately our imagination goes to work
• we begin to give that person a life: someone who doesn’t like us
• and once we’ve given them that life, we go on a hunt for evidence of their not liking us
• and naturally, what we look for, we find
• our imagination is now ready to interpret everything that happens through the lens of their hostility toward us
• and so, we begin to show distrust/ unfriendliness toward them
• and naturally, our actions have an effect on that other person
• and our relationship is hindered or destroyed
Now in this scenario, our imagination developed a whole atmosphere of mistrust and hostility
• and it was completely false and unnecessary
• began from something quite accidental or unrelated to us
and that happens to people all the time!!!
but we can turn that around and see it work just the other way
• if our imagination determines that a person is a good person…
• we begin to think well of them
• we overlook their weaknesses as trivial
• we accentuate their strong points as significant
• we are always looking out for good traits in them, and find them
• we imagine them to be pleasant and agreeable
• and we imagine them to be well-disposed toward ourselves
• and as we do, we begin to behave in a naturally friendly way
• this, in turn, this elicits friendly responses from them
• and it all began w/ how we imagined them
and again, this happens all the time
• and it happens w/ our imagination of ourselves
• our imagination about jobs, careers, people, family…
• has a powerful determining force
but instead of channeling this power of imagination
• we assume it is an entity of its own
• with an intrinsic life of its own
• and we become subjected to it, instead of subjecting it
our lives are determined by this powerful human trait
we are enriched or impoverished on the basis of its power over us…
but we never consider the importance of taming, training, directing, it
one of the perennial problems we face: self-image…
• this is rooted in imagination
our experience of happiness or unhappiness: rooted in imagination
• we like to attribute our depressed feelings to circumstances
• and there are circumstances that are enough to depress anyone
• but we also know that people can make themselves happy in neutral and even negative circumstances
so it behooves us to guard our imaginations
it behooves us to train our imaginations
it behooves us to encourage them
to feed them on inspiring and hopeful and truthful fare
• Philippians: ‘Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things”
This is a very important part of training our ego-desires…
• idle ramblings in our minds in the odd corners of the day have a very important role to play in our experience of life
• if we are to be free of the tyranny of desire, cultivating our imaginations is absolutely necessary
so these early spiritual trainers taught us another practice to help us
• they taught us the ancient art of reflection or consideration
• they taught us to use scripture and imagination together
• they taught us to mull, deliberate, and ponder things in our hearts
they taught us to train our imagination faculty
• to give attention and energy to the images, feelings, ideas, that are rolling around inside of us
they taught us to train ourselves…
• to apply discipline and adherence to a practice
• to learn, to grow, to improve in this art
• because, this is surprising difficult to do
• even seasoned practitioners need help one another stay on track
so they taught to do something they called discursive meditation
• it’s a practice of dramatic visualization
• it’s a practice w/ intentional reflection in it
• it has to do with continuing to think about a subject for a while
the how to of discursive meditation (disciplined imagination)
• begin with a gospel scene in which Jesus interacts with someone
• imagine the scene vividly so the event saturates into you
• perhaps write a series of questions to help you w/ imagination
• and then play this scene out in your imagination as if you were standing right there watching it unfold
• asking yourself this series of questions
• how did it feel?
• how does it look?
• what kind of day is it?
• What are the feelings involved?
• What are the tensions involved?
• Who’s upset w/ who? Why?
And after you’ve imagined the scene from one person’s POV..
move your vantage point to another person
• see scene again, this time from the other perspective
• and from each of these vantage points, imagine how time feels, how emotions feel, how a sense of self feels in the scene
• what does the Pharisee feel when Jesus heals?
• What does the disciple feel when Jesus doesn’t heal?
• What motivates the players to say what they do?
• What images are coming into their minds?
• What instincts kick in and why?
• And what about me? If I was there, what about these questions?
And then be quiet a while… (shouldn’t be surprised)
So this is the practice of discursive meditation
And what the ancients told us happens when we practice this regularly
…we would bring our imagination under control
…through imagination, we would be proximate to Jesus
…proximate enough that the entraining phenomenon happens to us
Those who practice this discursive meditation/disciplined imagination…
• begin to move in the same cadence Jesus did
• begin to move w/ the same rhythm Jesus did
• begin to feel the same feelings Jesus did
• ego-desires take the same 2nd place they did in Jesus
• souls are as freed from the tyranny of desire as Jesus soul was
And we are free
And we are alive
And we begin to live… truly live
And the few moments we get to live on this earth
The precious little vapor of days we get on this earth…
Instead of being sucked up by lesser, ill-conceived, insistent demands
Are lived savoring beauty, sucking the marrow out of life
Are spent seeing Truth, absorbing Life
Savoring love, immersed in peace
And our souls are at rest
And our lives are lived significantly
And the inner peace necessary for spiritual transformation begins to inform our prayer-praying
• Begins to awaken our scripture-reading
• Begins to enliven service-doing
So…
As I did with voluntary silence
I now do with disciplined imagination
• I invite you to this ancient spiritual path
• I invite you to live in the stories of Jesus for a while
• To yoke yourself to Jesus for a while
• To discipline your imagination to live with Jesus for a summer
And to find the Inner Peace that is our heritage.