Dealing with
spirituality is something like a good meal.
There are various parts to both of them.
When we sit down to a good meal, there are different kinds of foods. There may be a salad to start. Then comes the major part of the meal. But again, there probably is diversity. There may be the proverbial “meat and
potatoes.” There could very well be a
vegetable. Often there is some form of
bread. And if we are lucky, the meal is
topped off with a tasty dessert.
Spirituality
has analogous parts to it. Without
trying to match one part of spirituality to one part of the meal, let me
identify what I consider to be the “meat and potatoes” for spirituality. That would be the spiritual disciplines. They are the basics of spirituality. Without them, there is no “main spiritual
meal.”
In my
experience it is not unusual for people to try to be spiritual without actually
practicing any of the disciplines.
Spiritual discipline is like any other form of discipline, i.e. sports,
music, etc. Discipline calls for us to
practice in order to get better and to grow.
But they take time and require effort.
That’s why it is so easy not to be disciplined.
But if we opt
not to be disciplined, it seems to me we are hoping to be lucky! Without spiritual discipline, we apparently
are hoping that God will engage us and develop us in some kind of magical
way. In a way we are saying, “Oh, I am
giving no effort to my spiritual life. I
am waiting and expecting God to grace me and grow me into the spiritual sage I
hope to become.” Good luck!
But if we opt
to begin practicing some form of spiritual discipline, I would suggest we are
beginning to open ourselves to a predictable form of spiritual growth and
development. We are preparing for the
“greening” of our souls. We are taking
steps to be present to the Presence, which is God.
I don’t do as
well with the disciplines as I would like to do. But I continue to try. At least trying does not mean I am hoping to
be lucky. I do hope, however, that God
might grace my efforts with more Presence than I might deserve. Thank God!
I am
encouraged by the words of Roger Walsh, as he reflects on the effect of
spiritual disciplines. Walsh assures us
that “Over time, spiritual practices work their transformative wonders on our
hearts, minds, and lives.” Unfortunately,
this is not a quick fix. “Over time” is
a phrase that many don’t want to hear.
We are used to immediacy. We get
mad at the internet when it is too slow.
Americans can be an impatient, surly group when something takes too much
time.
However,
spiritual discipline and practice take time.
Who gets ready to run a marathon with only a week’s practice and a few
miles? Our spiritual life is more like
the marathon than the sprint. We need to
get in shape. There is a long haul
ahead. But take heart. This spiritual marathon---called life---will
yield transformative wonders. That truly
is good news.
The
disciplines will work transformative wonders on our hearts, minds, and
lives. That is great news. Walsh proceeds to tell us a little more. He says, “As the heart opens and the mind
clears, we see further and further into the boundless depths of the mind.” That is alluring. I am intrigued that discipline can open our
hearts. It is easy to imagine what we
are capable of with open hearts. We
probably will become caring, even compassionate, people. We will become servants of God.
We also will
experience the clearing of our minds when we practice the spiritual
disciplines. I like the image of a clear
mind. A clear mind is able to see things
as they really are. A clear mind is the
opposite of a confused or muddled mind.
It is hard to imagine the clear-minded person saying, “I just can’t make
up my mind!” A spiritually clear mind is
a mind centered in the Mind of the Divine One.
We are “of one mind.”
This sets us
up for a neat ending. Walsh affirms the
spiritual disciplines engage us in an amazing process. He articulates it this way. “As the heart opens and the mind clears, we
see further and further into the boundless depths of the mind.” To see this as a process is ok with me. Walsh
does not say, when the heart is “opened.”
Instead he talks about it this way: “as the heart opens…” It is a process---probably a life-long
process.
The same way
describes the clearing of the mind. We
might get a clear mind in the moment, but it is always a
process. To live life is to live in a
mind-clearing process. I don’t see this
as drudgery. I see it as the fascinating
way life unfolds. What I see today may
not be as clear tomorrow and I re-engage through spiritual discipline the
clearing of my mind.
But the whole
process enables me and you “to see further and further into the boundless
depths of the mind.” The depths of the
mind suggest to me the unfathomable depths of Divinity. It is exciting, not exasperating to plumb
those depths. It must be a bit like
falling into an ocean of Love (which is God).
The depths are so immense we will never grasp it all. But it will be so wonderful, we could never
imagine wanting to be any other place.
Just think:
you get there by discipline. You get to
the depths of the mind.
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