Sabbath Meditation — Remember: The First Half of Life; Rest: Visio Divina
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
"The First Half of Life Sabbath Meditation"
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Remember: The First Half of Life
The Hebrew Scriptures, in their development, reflect the development of human consciousness. (Sunday)
The task of the first half of life is to create a proper container for your life—not as an end in itself, but for the sake of your deeper and fullest life, which is yet to come. (Monday)
Prayer itself is simply receiving the ever-benevolent gaze of God, returning it in kind, mutually gazing, and finally recognizing that it is one single gaze received and bounced back.
(Tuesday)
First-half-of-life containers give us the necessary security, continuity, predictability, impulse control, and ego structure that we need, before the chaos of real life shows up. (Wednesday)
You ironically need a very strong ego structure to let go of your ego. (Thursday)
Once God and grace move us to the second half of life, religion becomes a mystical matter, rather than a moral matter. (Friday)
Rest: Visio Divina
In the Hindu tradition, darshan (or darsana) is to behold the Divine or to see with reverence and devotion. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, icons are windows into God’s heart; they are symbols of deeper than apparent wisdom. Approaching images with openness to God’s presence is also known as the practice of visio divina, sacred seeing.
Choose an image (painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artwork), perhaps the banner for this week’s meditations. Set aside some quiet time with this piece and begin with a prayer of intent to be open to God.
Look slowly at the image, taking in every detail without critique. Observe the colors, shapes, shadows, lines, empty spaces. Allow your unfiltered response to arise—feelings, memories, thoughts. Notice and welcome these reactions, without evaluation, whether they seem negative or pleasing.
How do these feelings, evoked by the image, connect with your life? What desires are stirring in you? How are you drawn to respond?
Take a few moments to reflect in writing, movement, or sound—whatever embodiment fits your expression. Finally, simply rest in God’s presence.
For further study:
Adult Christianity and How to Get There (MP3 download)
A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (CD)
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (book)
Loving the Two Halves of Life: The Further Journey (MP3 download)
The Two Major Tasks of the Spiritual Life (CD, MP3 download)
Gateway to Silence: Receive and reflect
Center for Action and Contemplation
1705 Five Points Rd SW
Albuquerque, NM 87105 United States (physical)
PO Box 12464
Albuquerque, NM 87195-2464 United States (mailing)
(505) 242-9588
cac.org
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