Sometimes when I begin meditation my body and mind go: "Oh, I know what this is," and settle down right away. Sometimes I'm inundated with thoughts. It's normal for thoughts to float in and out of awareness when meditating. Centering Prayer is a great technique for dealing with them.
I'm increasinly become more and more aware of how thoughts influence emotions. The other day I started thinking about someone and a situation in my past and I felt my shoulders tighten, teeth clench and a shot of adrenaline causing my heart to race -- anger. Less than 10 minutes later I was thinking about my soul sister and that should she go to seminary I will really miss her. And I signed deeply, my chest sank with a heavy feeling, and my eyes got a little misty -- I felt sadness. That lead me to thinking about my childhood and moving every six months to two years. How I never was able to establish any long-term friendships. And my head sank low and I turned inward as if going into a shell -- I was feeling lonely.
Good thing I was in my meditation chair! I think the Spirit must have tapped (okay, maybe whacked!) me on the head, because I finally "woke up" to what was going on and realized my changing thoughts were shifting my emotions around -- all within a 10 to 15 minute span!!
I had an image of popcorn in a pan of oil, each kernel representing a thought. As a thought "popped" into my mind, I'd have a reaction (feeling). You know how popcorn popping speeds up the longer the kernels sit in the hot oil? Well, so it was for me once I'd stepped on the thought/emotion train. Each thought (and accompanying emotion) was leading to another and another, faster and faster. Anyway, that gentle tap on the head by the Spirit helped me get off the emotion train. And with intention and purposeful focus I redirected my thoughts to Simon, who was lying on the couch nearby. I thought about how much love I feel for this wonderful creature. And quickly I was able to calm myself, take a deep breath and enter into meditation.
There was a time in my life when I was rarely consciously aware of my thoughts and would simply experience wave after wave of emotions. One of the benefits mediation has brought into my life is a greater awareness of thoughts so that I've been able to lessen the power they hold over my emotions.
Thoughts do affect emotions. Thoughts do matter.
For a deeper look about the spiritual impact of thoughts in our life, I recommend Thoughts Matter by Mary Margaret Funk, O.S.B.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Friday, January 20, 2006
Many Hands Make Light Work
There have been many changes in our house lately. One sister is away for 6 weeks. One sister moved back to the city. One sister from the city moved up here. One candidate left the order. We were a house of seven. Now we're a house of five.
Another change has been in our schedule. We've added "Farm Chores" for 30 minutes in the morning after meditation and before breakfast and morning prayer.
This silent work in the morning reminds me of something the oldest member of our community said to me one of the first days I arrived: "Many hands make light work."
It's quite true. It's unfortunate that we've become a society that views independence as something to strive for rather than interdependence. It's a very god-like attitude to have: "I don't need you. I can and will do this by myself." It's an attitude that's gotten us into a mess socially and enviornmentally.
Although I am someone who has chosen to live a different lifestyle than the majority of people in this world, I clearly understand the challenges our present day culture presents to us. I lived under the suppression of a society controlled by corporations instead of citizens for the first 38 years of my life. But then, through a calling from my heart and the deepest part of my soul, I made the decision to change the way I interacted with the world. In essence I was taking back my personal power, and choosing to live sustainably in cooperation with the earth, all of creation and my fellow human beings (a very God-loving and spiritual way to live).
It seems people in the religioius life are often misunderstood as to the "work" we do. Yes, we do come together three or four times a day to chant our prayers. But we also carry on our prayers while engaging in responsibilities normal to most families in today's society: accounting/bookkeeping, doing the laundry, cooking meals, visiting our elderly sister in the nursing home three times a week, cleaning house, cleaning guest rooms, yard work, farm work, minor house repairs and painting, teaching in the school or after school programs, continuing our education, then taking care of the too occassional things that break down or go wrong. Day before yesterday it was chopping up a tree that had fallen in a very windy and wet storm. The laundry list goes on.
When we share with individuals that every week we make our own bread, tortillas and crakers, as well as grow much of our own food and cook all our meals from scratch, they usually reply something as follows: "I wish I had time to do all that. But there's no time. And I have (fill in a number) kids."
My reply? Of course one person cannot do all that by themselves! But we have gotten away from being a society that lives in extended families and communities. We have isolated ourselves from each other, not even connecting with our neighbors next door or down the street.
But can you consider the possibility of families coming together and sharing the responsibilities of child care, growing food, cooking?
You don't have to join a religious community to do that.
Check out this intentional community in Ithaca, NY: http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/
Continuing to try to get through life alone is as much a choice as choosing to live in community and in communion with all creation.
Many hands do make light work.
Another change has been in our schedule. We've added "Farm Chores" for 30 minutes in the morning after meditation and before breakfast and morning prayer.
This silent work in the morning reminds me of something the oldest member of our community said to me one of the first days I arrived: "Many hands make light work."
It's quite true. It's unfortunate that we've become a society that views independence as something to strive for rather than interdependence. It's a very god-like attitude to have: "I don't need you. I can and will do this by myself." It's an attitude that's gotten us into a mess socially and enviornmentally.
Although I am someone who has chosen to live a different lifestyle than the majority of people in this world, I clearly understand the challenges our present day culture presents to us. I lived under the suppression of a society controlled by corporations instead of citizens for the first 38 years of my life. But then, through a calling from my heart and the deepest part of my soul, I made the decision to change the way I interacted with the world. In essence I was taking back my personal power, and choosing to live sustainably in cooperation with the earth, all of creation and my fellow human beings (a very God-loving and spiritual way to live).
It seems people in the religioius life are often misunderstood as to the "work" we do. Yes, we do come together three or four times a day to chant our prayers. But we also carry on our prayers while engaging in responsibilities normal to most families in today's society: accounting/bookkeeping, doing the laundry, cooking meals, visiting our elderly sister in the nursing home three times a week, cleaning house, cleaning guest rooms, yard work, farm work, minor house repairs and painting, teaching in the school or after school programs, continuing our education, then taking care of the too occassional things that break down or go wrong. Day before yesterday it was chopping up a tree that had fallen in a very windy and wet storm. The laundry list goes on.
When we share with individuals that every week we make our own bread, tortillas and crakers, as well as grow much of our own food and cook all our meals from scratch, they usually reply something as follows: "I wish I had time to do all that. But there's no time. And I have (fill in a number) kids."
My reply? Of course one person cannot do all that by themselves! But we have gotten away from being a society that lives in extended families and communities. We have isolated ourselves from each other, not even connecting with our neighbors next door or down the street.
But can you consider the possibility of families coming together and sharing the responsibilities of child care, growing food, cooking?
You don't have to join a religious community to do that.
Check out this intentional community in Ithaca, NY: http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/
Continuing to try to get through life alone is as much a choice as choosing to live in community and in communion with all creation.
Many hands do make light work.
