Tag Archives: ancient spiritual paths
The Clutch of Death (part 6)
One of the ancient spiritual paths goes by an old name…
“mortification.”
It means to put to death. Once we see that our false narratives, our faulty Life-Stories are strangling the life out of us, we want to turn the tables and put that clutching instinct to death itself. Historically, spiritual people have done that by killing off the passions they associate with those attachments.
The traditional use of the practice is always voluntary. But what about those times when we are involuntarily forced into being without this thing, that person, or the other circumstance that we have come to believe we cannot be happy without? Can we apply this ancient practice to an involuntary season of “Lent?”
Have a listen,
I’ll talk about a friend of mine who has involuntarily been forced into a “vow of poverty” by an extended season of unemployment. Can he benefit from involuntary mortification, just as the ancients tell us we can from a voluntary one? Continue reading
The Clutch of Death (part 3)
Today we continue our lesson “The Clutch of Death.” We’ve seen how we tend to clutch at people, things, and circumstances at the expense of our freedom and connecting to our truest, Divine selves.
We do this because our “Life-Stories,” the narratives that drive our instincts, actions and reactions are faulty. They drive us, compel us, but don’t purchase us freedom.
At the core of the “ultimacy” stories, is what we believe about God. Even if we don’t believe there is a God, God (or the absence of God) figures heavily in our framing narratives about “The Way Things Are.”
If our view of God was rooted in a childhood world of magic, or parents… if our view of God is tainted by an absent father, a demanding coach, or some other faulty projection, we pollute our Stories, and our freedom, our peace, our well-being is stolen away.
So…
In this lesson, I ask you to spend some time thinking about what you think about God. What do you believe about God? What instincts kick in when you try and access God? Continue reading
The Clutch of Death (part 2)
How does one begin the journey from a Life-Story that breeds stress, anxiety, pressure, and “the clutch of death,” to a Life-Story that breeds peace, freedom, Life and Light?
The ancients designed a practice just for that. It’s called “detachment.” It’s the practice of willingly laying down some attachment, some pleasure, some desire that has taken up an inordinate ranking in our values. We lay it down for the purpose of having our spiritual sight reconditioned to be able to see what we would otherwise miss… to find the Truth that affords us freedom.
Lent is traditionally a time when people practice detachment. Continue reading
Reconsidering Prayer (conclusion)
We conclude this lesson on prayer today. We’ve been looking at prayer from a different starting point. Instead of beseeching God to do things for us (even good, noble, selfless things), our starting point has been Jesus’ teaching about Truth setting us free.
From that starting point, our prayer practices look different, and the results in our lives are different. Today we conclude by considering the benefits that accrue to us as we take on this different kind of prayer practice. Continue reading
Posted in Reconsidering Prayer
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, forgiveness, Jan Johnson, prayer, transformation, virtue
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Reconsidering Prayer (part 6)
In this second-to-last week of this lesson reconsidered prayer we talk about what happens to us when we take on the soul-quieting, truth-seeking, freedom-finding, prayer practices we’ve been talking about.
And sure enough…
our souls find increased freedom….
we see and respond to the world around us differently.
We finish up with the practical pointer of finding a way of this different kind of prayer that is a fit for the unique fingerprint of each of our souls. Continue reading
Posted in Reconsidering Prayer
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, Augustine Ichiro Okumura, Jan Johnson, Marsha Sinetar, prayer, waiting on God
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Reconsidering Prayer (part 5)
“The discipline of casualness…”
That sounds contradictory doesn’t it?
But it’s the very foundation of this different kind of prayer we’ve been talking about. Continue reading
Reconsidering Prayer (part 4)
Today, as we continue our lesson rethinking prayer, we come to the mindset necessary for this “seeking-Truth” way of praying.
Self-discipline is necessary to this new way, but that term falls on hard times for many Christians. We’ve tried and tried to be disciplined with our prayer practices, but they returned so little to our souls.
This lesson talks about applying discipline in such a way that it returns an elevated understanding of Truth, awakens us to the Divine Presence that is always in and around us, and answers to the yearning to see the Divine in our daily lives.
Abhishiktananda, a French Benedictine monk who lived in India, said it this way…
Truly there is nothing in the created universe, in all time and space, which does not manifest God and reveal his glory to mankind. In creating us God made us us able to recognize his manifestation in the world and in events, so that we might respond to it in love. Continue reading
July 4th, 2010
Yes, we’re in the middle of a lesson on rethinking prayer, but the 4th of July calls for some appropriate remarks. We’re staying on the theme that will expand our understanding of prayer, but doing it in a 4th-of-July kind of way.
God bless you. Continue reading
Posted in Individual Lesson
Tagged 4th of July, ancient spiritual paths, freedom, liberty
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Reconsidering Prayer (part 1)
I thought about titling this message “Don’t Waste Your Time Praying” (since I just did a lesson titled “Don’t Waste Your Time Going To Church”), but that’s not exactly what this lesson is about.
When our images of God change as we progress on the spiritual journey, our ways of praying have to morph as well. I’ve noted that for many Christians, as this metamorphosis happens in their souls, they simply stop praying. I’m hoping that this lesson will restore to us, lives of prayer that are relevant, useful, and helpful. Continue reading
Posted in Reconsidering Prayer
Tagged ancient spiritual paths, images of God, knowledge, prayer, truth
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