Center for Action and Contemplation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States - Father Richard Rohr's Meditation "Sabbath -- I Am Who I Am; Training for the "Third Eye"" for Saturday, 20 December 2014 - Much of the early work of contemplation is discovering a way to observe yourself from a distance and learning how to return there in moments of emotional turmoil (positive as much as negative), until you can eventually live more and more of your life from this awareness.
“Toreador Fresco” (bull-leaping scene), Great Palace at Knossos, Crete, c. 1500 BC
Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation
Saturday, 20 December 2014
Remember:
We no longer have anything to prove or protect, so we can let go and surrender to Reality/God, which are now experienced as the same thing. (Sunday)
St. Francis faced his broken self and it was precisely there that he met the most unconditional of loves. (Monday)
God has accepted me in my most naked being, and I can now give it all back to God exactly as it is with conscious loving trust that it will be received. (Tuesday)
My true identity and my deepest freedom comes from God’s infinite love of me, not from what people think of me or say about me. (Wednesday)
God took on all human nature and said “yes” to it forever! In varying degree and with infinite qualities, God took on everything physical, material, and natural as himself. That is the full meaning of the Incarnation. (Thursday)
Once you find this compassion toward your own little I am, tiny and broken and poor as it is, then you’re able to share compassion with everyone and everything. (Friday)
Rest: Training for the “Third Eye”
The lamp of the body is the eye.[Matthew 6:22]
The ego self is the unobserved self. If you do not find an objective standing point from which to look back at yourself, you will almost always be egocentric—identified with yourself instead of in relationship with yourself. Ego is not bad; it is just what takes over when you do not see truthfully and completely.
Much of the early work of contemplation is discovering a way to observe yourself from a distance and learning how to return there in moments of emotional turmoil (positive as much as negative), until you can eventually live more and more of your life from this awareness. You will find yourself smiling, sighing, and “weeping” at yourself, more than either hating or congratulating yourself (both of which are ego needs).
This knowing of self must be compassionate and calmly objective. It names the moment for what it is, without need to praise or blame my reaction to it. This takes away my reaction’s addictive and self-serving character so that it no longer possesses me. Now I have a feeling instead of a feeling having me. It gives me a strong sense of “I,” because there is now no need to eliminate or deny the negative. (My full self is accepted.) Ironically, the truly destructive part of the negative is exposed and falls away now as unnecessary. To see the negative is to defeat it, for evil relies upon denial and disguise.
The Christian name for this stable witness is the Holy Spirit. One only needs to connect with the deepest level of desiring where “The Spirit bears common witness with our spirit that we are indeed children of God” (Romans 8:16). It is a common knowing, a participative event, and it feels like you are being “known through” with total acceptance and forgiveness. This will change your life! You will then “know as fully as you are known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Adapted from The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, pages 166-168
Gateway to Silence: I am who I am in the eyes of God, nothing more and nothing less.
For Further Study:
The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of Saint Francis (CD)
Francis: Turning the World on Its Head: Subverting the Honor/Shame System (CD, MP3 download)
Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self
In the Footsteps of Francis: Awakening to Creation (CD, MP3 download)
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See
True Self/False Self (CD)
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I Am Who I Am
"Sabbath Meditation"Saturday, 20 December 2014
Remember:
We no longer have anything to prove or protect, so we can let go and surrender to Reality/God, which are now experienced as the same thing. (Sunday)
St. Francis faced his broken self and it was precisely there that he met the most unconditional of loves. (Monday)
God has accepted me in my most naked being, and I can now give it all back to God exactly as it is with conscious loving trust that it will be received. (Tuesday)
My true identity and my deepest freedom comes from God’s infinite love of me, not from what people think of me or say about me. (Wednesday)
God took on all human nature and said “yes” to it forever! In varying degree and with infinite qualities, God took on everything physical, material, and natural as himself. That is the full meaning of the Incarnation. (Thursday)
Once you find this compassion toward your own little I am, tiny and broken and poor as it is, then you’re able to share compassion with everyone and everything. (Friday)
Rest: Training for the “Third Eye”
The lamp of the body is the eye.[Matthew 6:22]
The ego self is the unobserved self. If you do not find an objective standing point from which to look back at yourself, you will almost always be egocentric—identified with yourself instead of in relationship with yourself. Ego is not bad; it is just what takes over when you do not see truthfully and completely.
Much of the early work of contemplation is discovering a way to observe yourself from a distance and learning how to return there in moments of emotional turmoil (positive as much as negative), until you can eventually live more and more of your life from this awareness. You will find yourself smiling, sighing, and “weeping” at yourself, more than either hating or congratulating yourself (both of which are ego needs).
This knowing of self must be compassionate and calmly objective. It names the moment for what it is, without need to praise or blame my reaction to it. This takes away my reaction’s addictive and self-serving character so that it no longer possesses me. Now I have a feeling instead of a feeling having me. It gives me a strong sense of “I,” because there is now no need to eliminate or deny the negative. (My full self is accepted.) Ironically, the truly destructive part of the negative is exposed and falls away now as unnecessary. To see the negative is to defeat it, for evil relies upon denial and disguise.
The Christian name for this stable witness is the Holy Spirit. One only needs to connect with the deepest level of desiring where “The Spirit bears common witness with our spirit that we are indeed children of God” (Romans 8:16). It is a common knowing, a participative event, and it feels like you are being “known through” with total acceptance and forgiveness. This will change your life! You will then “know as fully as you are known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Adapted from The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, pages 166-168
Gateway to Silence: I am who I am in the eyes of God, nothing more and nothing less.
For Further Study:
The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of Saint Francis (CD)
Francis: Turning the World on Its Head: Subverting the Honor/Shame System (CD, MP3 download)
Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self
In the Footsteps of Francis: Awakening to Creation (CD, MP3 download)
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See
True Self/False Self (CD)
_____________________________
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cac.org
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