Life Is God's Chess Game

What is the difference
Between your experience of Existence
And that of a saint?

The saint knows
That the spiritual path
Is a sublime chess game with God

And that the Beloved
Has just made such a Fantastic Move

That the saint is now continually
Tripping over Joy
And bursting out in Laughter
And saying, "I Surrender!"

Whereas, my dear,
I am afraid you still think

You have a thousand serious moves.
~Hafiz

Ladinsky, Daniel. I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz. Point Richmond, CA: Paris Printing, 1996. 127

Can Christianity Be Saved?

Huffington Post recently featured an article by Diana Butler Bass asking "Can Christianity Be Saved?"

Bass points to the decline of mainline churches, including Roman Catholic, in the USA, but she positively points out:

"Unexpectedly, liberal Christianity is--in some congregations at least--undergoing renewal. A grass-roots affair to be sure, sputtering along in local churches, prompted by good pastors doing hard work and theologians mostly unknown to the larger culture. Some local congregations are growing, having seriously re-engaged practices of theological reflection, hospitality, prayer, worship, doing justice, and Christian formation. A recent study from Hartford Institute for Religion Research discovered that liberal congregations actually display higher levels of spiritual vitality than do conservative ones, noting that these findings were "counter-intuitive" to the usual narrative of American church life. 

"There is more than a little historical irony in this. A quiet renewal is occurring, but the denominational structures have yet to adjust their institutions to the recovery of practical wisdom that is remaking local congregations. And the media continues to fixate on big pastors and big churches with conservative followings as the center-point of American religion, ignoring the passion and goodness of the old liberal tradition that is once again finding its heart. Yet, the accepted story of conservative growth and liberal decline is a twentieth century tale, at odds with what the surveys, data, and best research says what is happening now. Indeed, I think that the better story of contemporary Christianity is that of an awakening of a more open, more inclusive, more spiritually vital faith is roiling and I argue for that in my recent book, Christianity After Religion."

Death and the Mundane

I remember special days for departed loved ones. Today would have been my father's 91st birthday. However, he died 11 years ago a few months shy of his 80th. That brought home the truth that we should celebrate each day and not just "landmark" events, such as decades. I had always thought we would have a family celebration for his 80th birthday, but he had a stroke four months earlier and died two weeks after that.

Here is a poem that points to that:

Notice

This evening, the sturdy Levi's
I wore every day for over a year
& which seemed to the end
in perfect condition,
suddenly tore.
How or why I don't know,
but there it was: a big rip at the crotch.
A month ago my friend Nick
walked off a racquetball court,
showered,
got into his street clothes,
& halfway home collapsed & died.
Take heed, you who read this,
& drop to your knees now & again
like the poet Christopher Smart,
& kiss the earth & be joyful,
& make much of your time,
& be kindly to everyone,
even to those who do not deserve it.
For although you may not believe
it will happen,
you too will one day be gone,
I, whose Levi's ripped at the crotch
for no reason,
assure you that such is the case.
Pass it on.

~ Steve Kowit ~

And on to my very ordinary life:

•  I am trying to walk at our local shopping mall each morning, as it is too hot outside here in south Texas. (We are having a long stretch of breaking high temperature records of the high 90s F.) 
• The last time I regularly walked there was when MJ was a baby 22 years go, and I walked around the mall with her in a sling. She and I enjoyed her being in the sling, from the time she was a new baby into toddlerhood.
• Thanks to the conference last week, I am meditating every day, even though it is not always for 20 minutes. I am grateful to our former rector Sandy who taught that even a few minutes is enough in prayer as God will grow the prayer. It is God's prayer, after all.
• For a little over a week I have had a fuzziness in my left eye. Fortunately, my right eye overrules and I can see pretty clearly. However, this makes it more of a chore to read, which is something I usually enjoy doing at any time. This has spurred me on to make an appointment for an eye exam in two weeks, which is ten years overdue.
• I made corn cheese muffins tonight to take to a meeting, since it's always held during dinner time. Chuck complimented me by saying that we need grandchildren around, as he's missed the aroma of freshly baked breads. I used to bake muffins and bread frequently when I had young children at home, and one or another of them would help me. I hope I'll get the opportunity to do that with Avery someday.
• We are reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg in the Wisdom Class at my church, which meets every Tuesday morning (though we'll take the month of August off). It is a very interesting book with excellent research about such events as Rosa Parks becoming the civil rights icon as compared to others who resisted black oppression on buses. Why do we remember her?
• Chuck likes to play Spider Solitaire on my computer, so sometimes he is here and I am not.

Poetry Is Worship With Words

Even in temples

Where residents vow never to talk,

And silence is worshiped,

There is sound.

There are songs.

There is poetry.

Memories incarnated,

Lifetimes pulled through a thousand minds,

Cadences bearing time,

Rhymes connecting life,

Stanzas stacked like the generations.

Those who follow Tao write poetry.

Read poetry.

Live poetry.

And enter Tao through its lines.

~From:  "Everyday Tao:  Living With Balance and Harmony" by Deng Ming-Dao

With thanks to Marion who posted this at Dragonfly's Poetry and Prolixity.

Friday Five: Prayer

At the beginning of this past week, I attended a conference on contemplative prayer entitled "Turning to the Mystics" at the 2013 Summer Institute at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX. The speakers were James Finley, author and former novice of Thomas Merton; Mirabai Starr, author, translator, and speaker; and Father Ronald Rolheiser, author and president of OST. We were encouraged to regularly sit in quiet to come to realize our union with the Divine, who continually loves us into being.

So for this Friday Five, let us share about our prayer practices, whether silent or not:

1. How do you pray?
Little (flash) prayers throughout the day; prayers for loved ones and others at bedtime; silent prayer sometimes; breath prayers (repetitive short prayers).

2. How has your idea of prayer changed over time?
Like most people, my first idea of prayer was talking to God. There is nothing wrong with that, but in a relationship there needs to be listening, too. Learning about centering prayer through Thomas Keating brought me to try silent prayer which was furthered by reading, learning about Christ Centered Prayer and other forms of meditation.
I am coming to believe that feeling love for a person is a form of prayer, as is anything done in love.

3. Do you ever sit in silent prayer? How does it go?
I have an app on my Ipod and Iphone that is called "Equanimity" which is a timer for meditation which you can set yourself. It also keeps track of times of meditation. One time I had 93 straight days of continuous meditation, but I am rarely that consistent.

After attending that conference this week, I am nudged to meditate again each day. The ideal is twice a day, but my aim is at least once a day. I see that the encouragement of teachers, spiritual directors, prayer groups, and spiritual friends are essential for accountability and encouragement. 

4. Do you have any difficulties and/or pleasures in prayer?
Faithfulness is a problem for me. Monkey mind (many thoughts) plagues me.

Several things that James Finley told us at the conference help with those problems: 
We "abandon ourselves" when we stop the meditation, and we are "punitive" to ourselves when we say it wasn't good enough. And "Why do we treat ourselves like someone we don't want to be with?" Remember that "God loves us into being."

Pleasure: Facilitating and participating in a weekly lectio divina group for the past 15 years continues to reveal God's presence to me.


5. What is the best advice that helped you with prayer?
Sit for one minute faithfully, and God will grow the prayer.

Bonus: Share something about prayer or example of a prayer you like.

At the conference, Mary Earle who is an Episcopal Priest told us to to breath in thinking BREATHE and exhale IN ME.

Prayer

Ground of all being,
Mother of life,
Father of the universe,
Your name is sacred, beyond speaking.
May we know your presence,
May your longings be our longings
In heart and in action….—Casa del Sol prayer of Jesus

From Shalem Institute.

Appreciate Someone!

My daughter AE in Seattle sent me a link to an article by a mom about six important words to say to a child:

"I love to watch you ________________."

The author describes the feeling of love for another that is underneath our regard of others and how we should share that:

"When simply watching someone makes your heart feel as if it could explode right out of your chest, you really should let that person know."

This essay is about all people, not only children and their parents. I think this is important to read, so please go and read:

Six Words You Should Say Today!

I am glad I read this. It is from the blog Hands Free Mama.

Choosing One's Teachers. . . .

I am taking an online course on Dorothee Soelle with Jane Redmont this summer, which is just beginning. One of the books assigned is Soelle's autobiography Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian. I already had a copy and found that I had only read half the book long ago--which was in 1999, since Amazon could "tell" me when I purchased the book. So this past weekend I started reading this book from the first page, not remembering much at all.

Being a former elementary school teacher and someone who always wants to share what I learn, I was interested in Soelle's description of teachers in her chapter "Choosing One's Teachers. . . ."

". . . .I came to know what it means to have a teacher, an experience that appears to have become more and more rare. For what is a teacher? It is a human being who I myself have chosen. Initially, you do not become a teacher as a result of your knowledge and wisdom, but because someone has chosen you to be his or her teacher. The teacher who has been assigned to me must have something to teach, not just specific knowledge but also knowledge that transcends her or him personally. However, a teacher also needs more than a discerning mind, understanding, and knowledge: she must stand for something to testify something. From her/him it should be discernible what one ought to love and what one out to despise." (23)

Soelle, Dorothee. Against the Wind: Memoir of a Radical Christian. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999.

Life: "Mediocrity Edition"

This is too easy to do in retirement and sometimes during vacations:

The End of Our Tomatoes

Chuck planted tomatores, and we have been enjoying the harvest for several weeks. Each day we eat a cheese and tomato sandwich for lunch, which we both love. There have been enough tomatoes to give some to friends, but lately half-eaten ones have been found lying around.

This afternoon I got a picture of the brazen squirrel eating a tomato on the ledge to the bench in the backyard.

Maisie, our big yellow lab/hound, chased him off, but the tomato remains. The remaining green tomatoes have been gnawed upon, so the end of our luscious home-grown tomatoes is here.

Friday Five Fun

Here are a few fivers to get you ready for whatever is next in your day (or keep you procrastinating for awhile before you do what you need to do.)

1.  If you were a character in a children's storybook, which storybook would it be, or what character, and why?

One of my favorite picture books is Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney. When Miss Rumphius had many adventures when she was a young woman, but when she was older she became the crazy "Lupine Lady" by sowing lupine seeds wherever she walked. The flowers flourished and bloomed all over in the springtime each year. She did this because her grandfather always told her that she "must do something to make the world more beautiful." She eventually discovered this little way to bring beauty to the world. I would like to do that, too, but probably not with flowers.

I like to give this book to children 3-7 years old, especially when a new baby has arrived in his/her home.

2.  What is something you are looking forward to this weekend?
Most of all, I am looking forward to lunch today with my first friend in Corpus Christi, whom I met at a La Leche League meeting before our first children were born in 1979. Eventually, we both became La Leche League Leaders and have remained friends all these years. Sadly in recent years, we only see each other once a month or so, because Lisa returned to teaching when MJ was a little girl. In fact, my daughter MJ was in Lisa's 4 year old class and later in her first grade class!

Walking with a friend this Saturday morning, which has been a tradition since 1996. We didn't see each other last Saturday because I was in San Antonio and Austin.

3.  If you had an invisibility cloak for a day, how would you use it?
I am still thinking about this one!

4.  I "lose" my keys all the time.  In fact, sometimes I lose them several times a day.  It is so bad that a member of my congregation gave me "instantly remember where you left your keys intense memory-stimulating mint gum."  Is there something you misplace or lose often? 
Keys like you and my reading glasses! I have multiple pairs of reading glasses around the house, but always lose them. In contrast, my husband Chuck has three pairs which are kept in designated places, so he always finds a pair! (And I don't follow his example. . . . .)

5.  Use the following words in a sentence:   ladybug, rowing, diner, sloth, and knitting. 
The gray sloth was rowing by the diner on the dock when he saw that the ladybug was knitting a  life preserver.

Every Moment A Prayer

“It’s really quite simple. When we look at a tree, God is there. When we look at a flower, God is there. When we look at the sky, God is there. When we look at the earth, God is there. We can see God in the faces of people on the street, in the faces of our children, our friends, our partners, our colleagues, and our bosses. When we see God shining through the faces of all those around us—those like us and those unlike us—every moment becomes a prayer and the world becomes a different place to live in.”

n     Anne Wilson Schaef

The Church Doesn't Like People to Grow Up

John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopal bishop from Newark, N.J., interviewed by Keith Morrison on Dateline, NBC, 8-13-2006

My New Hair Cut

This was the first picture I took of myself with my new Iphone--after today's haircut. If you look down at the picture with Avery a few days ago, you can see how much shorter my hair is today.

Google and the Wild Rumpus!

Google celebrates Maurice Sendak's birthday today! Let the wild rumpus begin! I loved his books as a teacher, parent and hope to as a grandmother!

End of Austin Visit

Chuck, Avery and Jan (with eyes closed as usual)

Jesus Heals

Tuesday Trivia

I haven't done a silly post about what's going on in my very ordinary life for a long time, so I'll do it tonight:

• The Wisdom Class finally finished discussing The Immortal Diamond by Richard Rohr today. One long-time member said she would like to go on retreat and read the entire book over again, without interruptions. That is a great compliment.

• A few months ago a former member of the Wisdom Class sent me an email about a short conversation she had had with Fr. Richard Rohr. After attending a church in Albuquerque where he preached, she told him her church group in Corpus Christi, TX was reading his newest book. His humble response was, "I am honored." I am still touched by his answer.

• Our next Wisdom Class book is one that will be a change of pace: The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. Duhigg is a New York Times investigative reporter, which shows in his well-researched stories in this book.

• One new habit that I am trying to institute is walking at the mall five mornings a week. I didn't manage to have a regular schedule of walking outside while the weather was more pleasant here in south Texas. So now with daily temperatures in the 90s F. I find the air-conditioned areas of the mall more pleasant, even though the scenery is not. Plus, I get less sun exposure! Tomorrow will be the second time I walk and then go to the YWCA  for my deep water exercise class, having to change there before the class.

• Since my piano recital, I have suddenly reached a point of enjoying my time at the piano. And at today's piano lesson, my teacher told me I was having a "growth spurt" with my playing,which pleased me. I am trying to learn to play "Brahm's Lullaby," which I love.

•  Over the past six months, I have been slowly reducing one of the RA meds from 8 pills to 4 once a week, while still giving myself a bi-weekly shot. This was to determine the minimum amount of medication my body needs. Now I seem to have reached the stopping point, with a blip of RA returning in my hands and in fatigue. So I have gone back to 5 pills, which I am returning to this week. I hope that's that.

• This weekend youngest daughter MJ is flying to San Antonio from Salt Lake City where she is going to grad school. She is going to attend a friend's wedding near there. In between all the friends she wants to see, Chuck and I will take MJ to Austin on Saturday to see Avery and her parents. Just a quick trip for all of us.

My Dog, My Teacher

This is Baillie, our 17 year old blind and deaf cocker spaniel, although this picture was taken a year ago after she was groomed.

A couple weeks ago in our weekly Lectio Divina group, I had an insight about Baillie that is teaching me more about God and how to live.

The scripture we meditated upon was John16: 12-13:

16:12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

After sitting with this, the images that came to me were our two cocker spaniels. Both went blind and deaf as they aged. The first one was Bagel, whom we got a few months before our first child was born in 1979. About ten years later, she reached a point where she could not bear her life as a blind and deaf dog. She would sit in the kitchen, not moving, and crying. She was too afraid to move. Soon after that, she was put to sleep.

In contrast, Baillie is 17 and bumbles around. She sometimes circles and almost always bumps into things. She forgets to go outside, and we have to guide her out there. Sometimes Baillie startles when we touch her, but she never snaps or growls. She doesn't cry and does not act unhappy. She still goes outside and goes around the house, bumping into walls and furniture. Baillie has been been able to bear disabilities that Bagel could not, which does not diminish how wonderful a dog Bagel was. Somehow Baillie senses that she is safe and will be guided, even though she cannot see or hear.

I am seeing that Baillie is showing me that she feels safe and that she will be guided in her dark and silent life. She trusts that things will be okay. She shows me that I am safe in this life, with God always with me. Even if I cannot see what is ahead, if I take the steps toward the seeming "next" thing, I am safe. Trusting God's presence will always be with me in whatever I do or however I am is my lifework. Baillie is my example, as I must remember that Bagel also teaches me that there is no condemnation about what I cannot bear or what I cannot do.

As Julian of Norwich said, "All shall be well, all shall be well, all manner of things shall be well."

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