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Meeting St. Paul You Never Knew
Our St. Matthew group is planning to watch this event on February 25th at 7 pm.
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Meeting the St. Paul You Never Knew ~ Single Webcast |
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Use of Beads as a Contemplative Practice
I found this website from the Institute for Contemplative Practice that have a section specifically with weekly meditations of Meditations Practices. Two weeks ago they start the section of the use of beads.
This is the link:
http://www.instituteforcontemplativepractice.org/Meditation/WeeklyReflections/tabid/63/Default.aspx
Spiritual Journey Stages by Richard Rohr
1. So many of our problems can be resolved if we understand that people are at different levels
2.Growth is going somewhere, and the trajectory is toward union: union with God, with the self (of mind, heart, and body), with others, and with the cosmos.
3. Stage One: My body and my self-image are who I am.
4. Stage Two: My external behavior is who I am.
5. Stage Three: My thoughts and feelings are who I am.
6. Without great love (and I mean great love) and great suffering, where there is a major defeat, major humiliation, major shock to the ego self, very few people move to Stage Four.
7. Stage Four: My deeper intuitions and felt knowledge
in my body are who I am.
8. Stage Five: My shadow self is who I am
9. Stage Six: I am empty and powerless.
10. Stage Seven: I am much more than who I thought
I was.
11. Stage Eight: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30)
12. Stage Nine: I am who I am.
Introduction to Centering Prayer Sep-Dec
Praying From The Heart at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church
Program
We will have special schedule during September-December 2013. Instead of our regular meetings on the second and the fourth Tuesdays of the month, we are planning to meet every Tuesdays beginning September 10 and ending December. Our goal is to offer some enrichment sessions so you are more comfortable on the initiation of your contemplative path.
Each session will be 2 hours. We will have the regular prayer session and have a break so people who cannot stay feel comfortable to go.
Day 1.
Prayer as Relationship
Be Still and Know 16 min (CP_dvd-2)
The Rest of the Story 15 min (CP_dvd-2)
Centering Prayer
The Four Basic Guidelines 16 min (CP_dvd-3)
Day 2
Thoughts and Use of The Sacred Word
The Power of the Return 15 min (CP_dvd-3)
Finding Freedom 11 min (CP_dvd-3)
Day 3
Centering Prayer
It All Begins Saying “Yes” 17 min (CP_dvd-5)
Deepening Your Relationship with God
The Fruits of Centering Prayer 15 min (CP_dvd-5)
The Two Armed Embrace 14 min (CP_dvd-5)
( I used DVD 4 about the Human Condition and watched 1. Return to the Source and 2. the Human Family)( This material covered the formation of the false self and the concept of false self)
Day 4
The Basic Core of Goodness 25 min (CP_dvd-6)
The Five Levels of Consciousness 8 min (IFG)
Day 5
Centering Prayer and Divine Therapy 6 min (IFG)
The Spiritual Staircase and The Pascal Mystery 14 min (IFG)
Day 6
The Great Banquet: All are Invited 16 min (IFG)
Inter-Religious Dialogue and
The Concept of God 17 min (IFG)
Day 7
A Transformed Life
Conference I. Shifting Perspectives 41 min (ATL_dvd-1)
Day 8
A Transformed Life
Conference II. Unmasking Distortions 43 min (ATL_dvd-1)
Day 9
A Transformed Life
Conference III. Growing Awareness 46 min (ATL_dvd-2)
Day 10
A Transformed Life
Conference IV. Discovering Truth 46 min (ATL_dvd-2)
Day 11
A Transformed Life
Conference V. Embracing Inner Freedom 43 min (ATL_dvd-3)
Day 12
A Transformed Life
Conference VI. Finding True Happiness. 47 min (ATL_dvd-3)
Material to be used comes from:
CP= “Centering Prayer: A Training Course for Opening to the Presence of God” featuring Fr. Thomas Keating , Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler and Fr. Carl Arico. Includes DVD’s, audio CD’s, workbook and prayer cards. 2009. Contemplative Outreach.
IFG= “Invitation from God” with Thomas Keating. A film by Marie Louise Lèfevre with an Introduction by Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler. Contemplative Outreach. 2007 Magic Hour Films.
ATL= “A Transormed Life” featuring Sister Maria Tasto, OSB. 2011 Sister of St. Benedict.
Stages of Spiritual Development. Program Initiation.
At the beginning of 2014, I was exposed to several articles and meditations that make me think and ponder about the concepts of kindness, love, unitive consciousness, Divine Life, True Self, “My True Self is Love, great love and suffering as gateway to transformation and growth, non-dual thinking. I would like to to go deeper on this material during this new year. The links I present are sample of the ones that stroke me the most. Fr. Richard Rhor is presenting a program through his daily meditations that will cover the stages of the spiritual journey. I am really interested to follow him through this year and offer my insights and experiences of my readings as way of enrichment.
My Religion Is Kindness
Mystical Experience or Unitive Seeing? by Cynthia Bourgeault
http://www.spiritualpaths.net/mystical-experience-or-unitive-seeing-by-cynthia-bourgeault/
Contemplation as Catalyst
A Primer for Living a Whole Life (Introduction of the Richard Rhor’s program)
Let Your God Love You
Be silent.
Be still.
Alone.
Empty.
Before your God.
Say nothing.
Ask nothing.
Be silent.
Be still.
Let your God, look upon you
That is all.
God knows.
God understands.
God loves you.
With enormous love.
And only wants
To look upon you
With that love.
Quiet.
Still.
Be.
Let you God-love you.
Edwina Gately and Jane Hammond-Clarke.
Whispers: Conversations with Edwina Gateley
Source Books, 2000
Heartfire
During my reading for today I was exposed to theme of Heart-fire and I would like to use for my two prayer groups today. The season of Advent give us a precise opportunity to rekindle that fire in our life and in our planet.
Lyrics:
If you will, if you will,if you will,if you will. You can become all flame, you can become all flame, you can become all flame, you can become all flame. You can become all flame: Become all flame.
Become All Flame. Darlene Franz, voice and harmonium. wisdomchant.bandcamp.com
http://wisdomchant.bandcamp.com/track/become-all-flame
<iframe style=”border: 0; width: 350px; height: 350px;” src=”http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/track=1313771182/size=large/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/” seamless><a href=”http://wisdomchant.bandcamp.com/track/become-all-flame”>Become All Flame by Darlene Franz, voice and harmonium</a></iframe>
Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can, I say my little office. I fast a little. I pray. I meditate. I live in peace and as far as I can. I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?”
Then the old man stood up, stretched his hands towards heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire, and he said to him,
“If you will, you can become all flame.”
–Sayings of the Desert Fathers (tr. Benedicta Ward)
The Body of Christ along the axis of awakening. Inner ground of transfiguration.
Last week, I was exposed to a wonderful material that I would like to share with you. It is a poem by Symeon the New Theologian (949-1022). Here, he ties the meaning of the Body of Christ along the axis of awakening. He set us down firmly upon inner ground of transfiguration.
We awaken in Christ’s body
as Christ awakens our bodies,
and my poor hand is Christ. He enters
my foot, and is infinitely me.
I move my hand, and wonderfully
my hand becomes Christ, becomes all of Him
(for God’s indivisibly
whole, seamless in his Godhood).
I move my foot, and at once
he appears like a flash of lighting.
Do my words seem blasphemous?– Then
open your heart to Him.
and let yourself receive the one
who is opening to you so deeply.
For if we genuinely love Him,
we wake up inside Christ’s body
where all our body, all over
every most hidden part of it,
is realized in joy as Him,
and He makes us utterly real,
and everything that is hurt, everything
that seemed to us dark, harsh, shameful,
maimed, ugly, irreparably
damaged, is in Him transformed
and recognized as whole, as lovely,
and radiant in His light.
We awaken as the Beloved
in every part of our body.
Symeon the New Theologian, “Awaken in Christ’s Body”, in The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry, ed Stephen Mitchell (New York: HarperCollins, 1993), p 38
The Ways of The Heart – Cynthia Bourheault
During my search of material related to the ICCD conference, I found this excellent material where Cynthia describe beautifully the ways of the heart. I am posting two presentations related to the interest of my blog : Praying From the Heart.
Cynthia Bourgeault leads a one-day retreat in the contemplative christian tradition,
“The Ways of the Heart: Kenosis, Abundance, Singleness”
September 3, 2011
Presentation Number two (of four) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdvHK-gyKiw