On contemplative prayer
Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (Cynthia Bourgeault)
Everything Belongs (Richard Rohr)
Invitation to Love (Thomas Keating)
The Human Condition (Thomas Keating)
Listen to the Desert (Hugh Prather)
True Self, False Self (M. Basil Pennington)
“God is closer to you than you are to yourself.” -Augustine
“All difficulties in prayer can be traced to one cause: praying as if God were absent.” -Teresa of Avila
“There is in the soul a something in which God dwells, and there is in the soul a something in which the soul dwells in God.” Meister Eckhart
“Contemplative prayer is putting a stick in the spoke of thinking.” Thomas Keating
“Silence is the first language of God.” St. John of the Cross
Contemplative prayer is a “wordless opening of the self to the Divine presence.” -Cynthia Bourgeault
Further reading:
Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (Cynthia Bourgeault)
Everything Belongs (Richard Rohr)
Invitation to Love (Thomas Keating)
The Human Condition (Thomas Keating)
Listen to the Desert (Hugh Prather)
True Self, False Self (M. Basil Pennington)
listening to Tina Fey’s new book Bossypants
about to start Nurtureshock
reading Ivan Illich’s “learning webs” from his article Deschooling
a good start to the day
exercising first thing in the morning
a clean desk!
everyone waking up on the right side of the bed!
the sound of coffee brewing
the first signs of new growth of spring
time change where it stays light longer
thought provoking reading
thought provoking podcast
changing your life is hard. doing it by yourself is harder. —43things.com
Make Big Plans . . . that’s the best way to make big things happen. Write down your plans. Share them with trusted colleagues. Seek out team members and accomplices. —Seth Godin
Waking up next to the most wonderful person in the world
the first site of my boys in the morning when they come downstairs
Watching the boys having fun together as we travel to school in the morning
i first discovered this quote several years ago, but it’s worth revisiting:
“I hope you’re sitting somewhere with a lovely view and a warm summer breeze, pretending to read a book, while your mind sort of kanoodles around not thinking much of anything.
Or at least, that is my idea of a summer vacation. I think rest is an important part of ministry – ministry to self. The ancient creation legend says God needed a rest after a week of work. I wonder if not taking a rest time is a kind of heresy. When we do that (and yes, I plead guilty on lots of occasions) are we saying in effect that God may need a rest, but we don’t?
If God does self care, shouldn’t we?”
it was a quick visit on our way to the Taos Ski Valley, but we enjoyed our brief time in Santa Fe again. Also enjoyed the cute confusion of Max, our almost three year old, who asked, “Do you think Santa Fe will bring us presents?” :-)
recent moments with the boys include playing in the yard, visiting a playground, riding bikes, the delight at discovered bugs and rocks, playing chase with Carter, planting cactus, skiing together, and reading.
i’m way behind on this goal, but here are a few things over the past week that stand out in my mind
a road trip with my family
uncontrollable laughter of our two boys
peaceful quiet moments with ann, reading and drinking coffee
Max, my almost three year old, getting nose to nose to see if I’m awake and touching my face
Carter’s (almost eight year old) sense of accomplishment on our ski trip
Watching Max’s first ski lesson
The funny things Max says
The joy I get just from watching Ann when she doesn’t realize i’m staring at her
Playing in the yard with the boys
Eating outside together
Talking with Ann before we drift off to sleep
