Making Room for Wisdom

Wisdom, part 2.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,

who orders all things mightily:

To us the path of knowledge show

and lead us in her ways to go.

Rejoice!

I don’t know about you, but there are times when I seem to be all filled up with “mind stuff: ” Things I’ve learned, things I think I have figured out, my continually rehashing of things from my past and constant predictions about what the future will bring (which are almost always nothing more than fantasies). In addition to this, of course, I have my own attitudes, opinions, attractions and distractions to deal with minute by minute and moment by moment.

This is a serious problem. If my mind is already full of stuff, how can I possibly expect Wisdom to come to me, to show me where true knowledge lies, and to lead me in a wise and holy path?

We’ve got to make room for Wisdom. In order to do that, we’ve got to do some serious housecleaning, some serious letting go. We’ve got to put our thoughts on “hold” and silence the constant internal chatter so that we can begin to hear the voice of Wisdom prompting us to a new way of life.

This is where and when meditation, or Centering Prayer or mindfulness  becomes so important. It doesn’t matter what you call the process or technique: the process is always the same.

If you’ve never meditated before, do a search for one of the methods I’ve named above or seek out one of the many excellent books on the subject. But, for what it is worth, here is meditation in a nutshell:

Sit quietly and focus you attention on your breathing. Notice the breath as it goes in and out of your body. If possible, count the breaths up to 10 and then begin again. Keep your attention on your breath (or on some phrase such as ”Come, Lord Jesus.” You mind will begin to wander and thoughts and feelings will arise that take your attention away from your breath or your phrase. When you notice this happening, gently return to your meditation. This will continue to happen, and each time it does, return to the basic meditation.

After a time, you will come to realize that you are the “space” through which thoughts and feelings move. You are not your thoughts; you are not your feelings. You are the one who has thoughts and feelings passing by in an endless parade. Let them pass through.

If you do this on a regular basis (15-20 minutes is good), you will begin to discover and realize many things that you have not realized before. Perhaps this is the voice of Wisdom speaking to you . . .

Blessed Advent to you.

Conversation about not judging

I had a conversation yesterday with a student about my recent reflections and I’d like to share it with you here. Happy Sunday!

B: Were the reflections about contemplation and mindfulness helpful to you?

S. Yes. I like the thought of letting things be as themselves. Undisturbed existence without classification or association.

B. Good. I’m glad you grasped them. Now the trick is to do the same thing with people.

S. That’s difficult, especially on campus. I always label people by what they are associated with. I feel like associations and entanglements with people really characterize them.

B. Well, I wonder what would happen if every once in a while you caught yourself doing that and put your assessment on hold? It’s very difficult. It takes a lot of self-awareness.

S. That would certainly be a start. I don’t think I could immediately drop all assumptions. I would definitely have to ease into it. I’m very externally aware but often I lose touch with myself.

B. It’s a life-long process. Just this morning I caught myself doing the same thing. A was at a meeting and someone said something that I didn’t agree with. My immediate reaction was to “label” the speaker in a negative way (what a jerk!). But then I set that aside and ended up with a completely different outlook about things and how he was actually making an important contribution to the discussion.

S. It is very very difficult and sometimes I reflect my personality based upon this association or assumption.

B. Most people do that all the time. They never get to see things as they really are. But once you realize that process you move to a higher state of relationship with what’s around you. And you have already begun!

Mindfulness practice

Contemplation practice. Also known as mindfulness practice.

I suggest you print this out and keep it with you until you have the time and space to complete the exercise. It will be of no help to you if you simply read it. What you need to do is experience it.

Wherever you are, look around.

Notice something you have not noticed before.

Let it be.

                Just as it is. Simply IS.

                No classification, no evaluation, no competition

                                                                                      with any other object in the universe.

And you? What thoughts are moving through your mind?

                                Let them move on. Don’t engage them.

Let the object remain naked.

Don’t go trying to clothe it with something coming from your mind.

Remove anything that has been added to the object

   since you first gazed on it.

Simply let it be.

                Respect it.

                Appreciate it.

                Savor it.

                Celebrate it.

                Take joy in it.

Once you are filled with that joy, let your eyes move to something else.

Begin again. This time the process will take less time.