Minister's
Message
3
What practices are we “practicing” or experiencing?
Externally, prayer: out loud, alone, or with others in readings
or song. Internally: reading, journaling, meditation and art, with
visual and auditory symbols.
What new listening practices am I learning this Lent?
First, I have decided to sit in silence daily, read scripture and doodle or color— in my Bible. I have a new Journaling Bible, printed with two columns on each page. One half contains the text; the other half
is blank, to give me room to doodle, make notes,
write poetry and visually represent what I “hear” in the text and how it relates to my own life or “voice.”
What will you do? How will you practice actively
listening for God and for your own wisdom?
The second practice I am “taking up” this Lent is
to sit—to be in quiet meditation or to meditate while listening to music.
I recently had the experience of meditating in a circle of women as we listened to someone play glass “singing bowls.” The sounds bounced around us and seemingly through us as we sat in silence, actively listening. The experience left me feeling open and attuned to my own inner voice. As I focused on my own inner voice, I also felt my heart opening to the whispering voice of the divine.
Just as sitting in silence had earlier drawn me deeper and deeper into meditation and prayer, so did sitting surrounded by the sound waves from the singing bowls.
One of the most important aspects of Lent is the call to slow down, to open our spirits, our hearts and our listening.
This lent, we are exploring ways to stop being dulled by the white noise that can overwhelm our lives: TV, radio, traffic, carpool, sports, politics, stress, busyness, laundry, housework, and more. Instead of succumbing to the dullness, we are immersing ourselves in music, reading scripture, journaling or meditating— as ways to focus on active listening as a pathway to deeper relationship with ourselves and our God.
Blessings,
— Rev. Pam