Contemplation - Like Boats on a River

Richard Rohr's Saturday summary of the week included the following spiritual practice: contemplation. In describing contemplation he uses the metaphor of a sitting on a river bank watching boats go by. As this blog is for folks with boats, I thought you might enjoy it, too.

In this case, this is also part of the weekly summery in which Rohr has been reflecting upon Jesus' call to live nonviolently.

When I was instructed in contemplation one of the images used was that of tools. We struggle to hold a hammer, screw driver, chisel, nails, wedges, and clamps  (we could easily add other tools) all at the same time. In order to work effectively, we need to learn to let them go, to set then down on the work bench. We can always pick them up again.

I like Rohr's metaphor. I can see myself even waving "hello" at the various boats passing by.

Blessed be,
Joel

Practice: Boats on a River
Most people have never actually met themselves. At every moment, all our lives long, we identify with our thoughts, our self-image, or our feelings. We have to find a way to get behind this view of ourselves to discover the face we had before we were born. We must discover who we are in God, who we’ve always been—long before we did anything right or anything wrong. This is the first goal of contemplation.
Imagine you are sitting on the bank of a river. Boats and ships—thoughts, feelings, and sensations—are sailing past. While the stream flows by your inner eye, name each of these vessels. For example, one of the boats could be called “my anxiety about tomorrow.” Or along comes the ship “objections to my husband” or the boat “I don’t do that well.” Every judgment that you pass is one of those boats. Take the time to give each one of them a name, and then let them move on down the river.
This can be a difficult exercise because you’re used to jumping aboard the boats—your thoughts—immediately. As soon as you own a boat and identify with it, it picks up energy. This is a practice in un-possessing, detaching, letting go. With every idea, with every image that comes into your head, say, “No, I’m not that; I don’t need that; that’s not me.”
Sometimes, a boat turns around and heads back upstream to demand your attention again. Habitual thoughts are hard to not be hooked by. Sometimes you feel the need to torpedo your boats. But don’t attack them. Don’t hate them or condemn them. This is also an exercise in nonviolence. The point is to recognize your thoughts, which are not you, and to say, “That’s not necessary; I don’t need that.” But do it very amiably. If you learn to handle your own soul tenderly and lovingly, you’ll be able to carry this same loving wisdom out into the world.

***
From Richard Rohr's Email Meditations, Nonviolence - Summary: Sunday, October 9-Friday, October 14, 2016, Saturday: Oct, 15, 2016.

If you would like to recieve his meditations, you can sign up here. The Center for Action and Contemplation sends these free meditations as an email with frequency options of daily, weekly, or monthly arrivals.

All God's Beloved Children

While growing up in the church, I was taught to value everyone. The church  emphasized Scripture to bring this home: how each of us was created in the image of God; how in Christ there is no longer any Jew or Gentle, free or slave, male or female, but all of us are one in Christ Jesus. But it wasn't just Scripture, my parents' actions (and the actions of other adults) also brought home these lessons. No matter who the person was, they were treated with the respect they deserved for simply being a child of God; even if this was a person perpetuating institutional racism or sexism.

While attending college, this was again emphasized though classes and lectures. By no means were any of us naive, we'd seen too much, and were continuing to see institutionalized sexism and racism perpetuated. But the emphasis was upon working together to help create a better world.

Naturally, with this kind of background, I've been concerned watching US politics, not just with this election cycle, but in the years leading up to it. However, it is my strong conviction to not tell others how they should or shouldn't vote. I respect each of you too much for that.

However, when a presidential candidate is recorded bragging about sexual assaults on women, and when women have come forward stating experiences of just such cases have occurred to them, I feel compelled to say something.

But what to say, and how to say it? "That is so grossly inappropriate and sickening", while summing it up, doesn't seem to be enough. It doesn't seem to be enough when put together it starts to show patterns of predatory behavior.

When added to this are the many racist and misogynist comments in general that this election cycle has brought to the forefront,  I'm left wondering about what kind of progress we as a people of faith have made in seeing others (as truly seeing others) as beloved children of God. 

The problem I've had is that I cannot stop thinking about what this shows. When I  look at the young people I interact with, I wonder what messages they are learning? Who guides them to see others as God's Beloved children?

Again, how to respond? Do I have anything of value to add to what is already being said? Does my silence come across as a rural "I'm not going to comment so that you have the opportunity to pull your own foot out of your stomach" or does my silence mean I agree? (I hope for the first, but fear the second).

So let me go on record as saying that I find this candidate's actions (let alone his comments) as sickly, gross, inappropriate, predatory, ... in a word, wrong.

And then someone pointed me to Michelle Obama's speech given this past week in New Hampshire. Yes, there are some politics here. But she also (and I think mainly) responds out of her leadership position as the President's Spouse. I trust you can tell the difference between party politics and the necessity of needing to respond.

Looking forward to a world in which all God's beloved children can shine,
Joel

***
From Evan Halper's Los Angeles Times Article

A Sense of Calling

I've been impressed with the local high school. The staff continue to ask the kids what their 13th year plan is. What do you want to do the year after you graduate? Great question to get kids to start planning and thinking about what they want to do.
With all of our children in High School this year, I've found myself reflecting upon call and vocation. I don't believe that call only applies to ministry, not that pastors are they only ones with this sense of call. All people have it. It's following ones passions.
Every Monday night we have dinner with some dear friends of ours. It is a great opportunity to have an intergenerational gathering. One of our "hosts" is a retired engineer, who consistently speaks of his work as a calling he received at a young age. I also received a call at a relatively young age. But I'm not sure age has anything to do with when one receives a sense of call. I think it more closely corresponds to figuring out what one can't not do.
But I also think that call changes (or has the potential to change) over time. Life isn't static.
I was first drawn to reading Paul Sellers blog because of a work bench I wanted to know more about. But it was his writing that caught my attention. Woodworking is his calling, but so is teaching others (passing down the knowledge). You might enjoy reading, too.
When one is young with lots of interests and passions, thinking about your 13th kor beyond) plan can be a challenge. How do we encourage openness for exploration and dreaming?
Blessed be
Joel

Rohr's Power of Love

Richard Rohr had a new book coming out - the publisher is accepting pre-orders. What follows is from one of his daily meditations  (receiving them is a simple as signing up). I found this meditation thought provoking on many levels. There was a bit of an "aha" moment as to why the desert mothers and fathers went into the desert. There was a bit of, yes, boosting can be an equalizer (we all enjoy the same sunsets, weather, etc. no matter the size of our boats). And the is something about being out in "wildness" that helps me be a bit more reflective.

Enjoy and blessed be, 

Joel

The Power of Love 

Sunday, September 25, 2016

I think it’s foolish to presume we can understand Jesus if we don’t first of all understand Trinity. We will continually misinterpret and misuse Jesus if we don’t first participate in the circle dance of mutuality and communion within which he participated. We instead make Jesus into “Christ the King,” a title he rejected in his lifetime (John 18:37), and we operate as if God’s interest in creation or humanity only began 2000 years ago. Did the first fourteen billion years mean nothing?
Humans are more comfortable with a divine monarch at the top of pyramidal reality. So we quickly made the one who described himself as “meek and humble of heart” (Matthew 11:29) into an imperial God, both in western Rome and eastern Constantinople. This isn’t the naked, self-emptying Jesus on the cross. This isn’t a vulnerable, relational one, who knows how to be a brother to all creation. The Greek Zeus became the Latin Deus; and we no longer knew Jesus in any meaningful sense that the soul could naturally relate to (which was the main point of the Incarnation!).
Circles are much more threatening than pyramids are, at least to empires, the wealthy, or any patriarchal system. What if we actually surrendered to the inner Trinitarian flow and let it be our primary teacher? Even our notion of society, politics, and authority—which is still top-down and outside-in—would utterly change. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit” (2 Corinthians 13:13) should be our circular and all-inclusive ecology. From the very beginning of creation we see this pattern: God the Father, Christ the Word, and the Holy Spirit as a mighty wind (see Genesis 1:1-3).
It’s no surprise that the Western political notion of the divine right of kings held for so many centuries. We still see that most people are utterly fascinated by those they think are “important” or “powerful,” whether athletes, politicians, spiritual leaders, or celebrities. It’s as if they have a unique power or energy flowing from “out there” or “up there” instead of anything in here. I don’t think we would operate in this out-of-body way if we were in vital connection with the Trinity and the Indwelling Spirit.
Trinitarian theology says that spiritual power is more circular or spiral, and not so much hierarchical. It’s here; it’s within us. It’s shared and shareable; it’s already entirely for us and grounded within us. What hope this gives us! “[A]nd hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). God’s Spirit is planted within each of us and operating as each of us! Let’s not keep looking to the top of the pyramid. Let’s stop idolizing the so-called “One Percent.” There’s nothing worthwhile up there that is not also down here. Worst of all, it has given ninety-nine percent of the world an unnecessary and tragic inferiority complex.
Trinity shows that God’s power is not domination, threat, or coercion. If the Father does not dominate the Son, and the Son does not dominate the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit does not dominate the Father or the Son, then there’s no domination in God. All divine power is shared power and the letting go of autonomous power.
There’s no seeking of power over in the Trinity, but only power with—a giving away, a sharing, a letting go, and thus an infinity of trust and mutuality. This should have changed all Christian relationships: in marriage, in culture, and even in international relations. Isaiah tried to teach such servanthood to Israel in the classic four “servant songs.” [1] He was training them in being “light to all nations” (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6), but Hebrew history preceded what Christianity repeated: we both preferred kings, wars, and empires instead of suffering servanthood or leveling love.
We all already have all the power (dynamis) we need both within us and between us—in fact, Jesus assures us that we are already “clothed” in it “from on high” (see Luke 24:49)!
Gateway to Silence:
Dance with Us.

References:
[1] See Isaiah 42:1–9; 49:1–13; 50:4–9; 52:13–53:12.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Shape of God: Deepening the Mystery of the Trinity (CAC: 2005), disc 5 (CD, DVD, MP3 download); and
Richard Rohr with Mike Morrell, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation (Whitaker House: 2016), 95-96. This book is available for pre-order at thedivinedance.org.

3 Interesting Videos For You

The following videos I stumbled across by following a reference to the sailing ship Vega and the humanitarian with the ships volunteer crew does each year. You might want to check them out and follow them on Facebook. I'll post a bit more about them from their Facebook page after introducing the videos.

The first video is of a rope-walk (where they make rope). As fancy synthetics like dyneema and/or spectra are replacing wire, sailboats are once again reminded how much line goes into making sails go. I thought it was an interesting little video.

The next two show how chain (as in anchor chain) is made. The first the hand made way, the second the modern way. Again, enjoy.

The Hand Made Way:

The Machine Made Way:

About Vega:
The following is from their website (www.sailvega.com - fb: www.facebook.com/Historic-Vessel-Vega-125068434229063/). It sounds like they are doing some really great wok.

Every year the 120 years old Norwegian build historic vessel VEGA and her volunteer crew sail about 7,000 miles to collect and deliver between 15 and 20 tons of donated tools, educational and medical supplies. Those supplies are loaded on board in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore then delivered to East Timor and remote islands in Eastern Indonesia. Those supplies help support local level community development, health, and educational services. Supplies are also collected in Australia by VEGA supporters and shipped to Dili on board the yachts in the yearly Darwin to Dili Regatta.
We also provide advanced training for traditional midwives and teaching aids for rural teachers. Every year a fully qualified Indonesian doctor travels with us providing medical services on the remote islands and holding workshops or training seminars for traditional midwives.

Blessed be, 

Joel 

Frank Dye and Bill Brockbank's 1964 Summer Cruise

I suppose it was the "dinghy" and "capsize" in Roger Barnes' video titles that triggered YouTube to recommend the following video (movie really) from Frank Dye. The movie recounts the epic voyage of Bill Brockbank and Frank Dye from northern Scotland to Norway via the Faroes in Frank's Wander, a Wayfarer 16 foot dinghy. I believe that Frank Dye wrote a book about this voyage. And this Wanderer, (the Dyes have owned several of the same name) is now in the British Maritime Museum.  I've written about Frank Dye and his voyaging before. This movie definitely gives a different perspective on what happened to Roger Barnes, while bringing to light how much worse it could have been.
Enjoy this piece of small boat sailing history.
Blessed be,
Joel

Learning From Our Experiences

It has been said that adults learn from their experiences. But I remember a continuing education instructor correcting this as follows: Adults learn from reflecting upon their mistakes.

Last week's "presentation" by Ira Glass related to this. We only become better by doing, and then reflecting (admitting, dare I add?) upon how we've done.

Personally, I've been thankful to learn from reflecting upon my own mistakes as well as listening/reading others reflect on their own. I do think there is something about a healthy community that let's us do this - to share in this way.

So it is with gratitude that I share the following videos from Roger Barnes. He has sailed extensively in his own boat. But it finally happened, he capsized while making a passage at sea. He and Avel Dro are fine. The first video below is a reflection from, I believe, the next morning.

Did you notice what he said regarding acceptance of help? Once you've accepted help (which maybe the most prudent action/choice) you've given up some decision masking ability.

This second video was taken a week or so later, once he was back home. He continues to reflect and learn from his experience.

I found both of these videos great examples of learning and reflecting.

At the same time, I can continue to sense his excitement to keep exploring by am open boat cruiser (or a sail-and-oar boat).

Enjoy and blessed be,
Joel