For the past two weeks we have been immersing ourselves in the experience of listening as a spiritual practice. We are learning to attune to ourselves, to one another, and most importantly, to God. Much is being harvested in silence. As we engage in listening as a spiritual practice, our curriculum is our present day stories. Listening to one another in community, we are learning to use listening guidelines that help us to invite souls out of hiding. We are using selected pieces of Listen to My Life as a tool to facilitate our learning.
Last night we used the My Life Now map from the Listen to My Life portfolio. We pondered our lingering questions for God and had time to share and listen to one another deeply in community.
What we are doing in The Practice and in this summer experience is affecting how we live and how we are able to recognize and respond to God in the midst of our stories.
Feel free to join us for one or both of the last two weeks as we use the Reviewing My Days map to help us engage in the spiritual practice of the Examen. We will continue to create space for deep sharing and listening.
“Our challenge is to unmask the divine in the natural and name the presence of God in our lives.” (David Benner, The Gift of Being Yourself)
We’d love to hear about how this experience is going for you!
Sincerely,
Lori Shoults
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A couple resources to keep diving in…
article: “The Wisdom of Recognizing and Responding to God in My Story” by Sharon Swing
book: Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer
website: One Life Maps
Great experience. The visual map and directed questions in this exercise were a fresh alternative to regular journalling. I personally added one more question to the mix, after completing the ones provided. The question: What patterns do I see emerging out of everything I have recorded on the map? VERY interesting and insightful results. Several of the other participants found my question and my answers to it to be helpful to them in thinking about their own maps. Also, for the Lectio Divina portion, I looked up the verse in a comparison study Bible, and I discovered that a sentence had been (intentionally) left off of the end of the verse (as it was quoted on the map). For the Lectio Divina time with the group, I read through the verse as it was printed on the map. However, at the very end of Lectio Divina, as we were transitioning into the opening discussion time, I read the verse once more, this time adding the missing sentence. It had quite an impact on the group, as it did on me when I discovered it.