Mindfulness

Our World Needs Hands

/ Norwegian / 4 Comments

christmas-wallpaper-3120717_1280

I have been writing a lot of poetry lately, being in this really creative phase. Yet, I do think the world can’t heal from poetry alone, our suffering world needs hands and feet too. Partly, because a lot of people don’t read or enjoy poetry, and partly because there is no healthy contemplation without action too.

My blog is not political and divisive, but it hopes to be contemplative, unifying and inspiring. Inspiration for more contemplation, but also for a lot more action for the good and healing of this world. My attitude is that we know very little about an eternity after death, and what really counts is our living right now. So, let’s make our living true and worthwhile. With that I mean, a life without love for your neighbor, and even your “enemy” or stranger is not a real life, or not real, worthwhile living.

Watching the news it seems a lot of today’s leaders think the enemy is outside. There is a lot of terrifying projections going on. If only more and more people, and in particular people in high office, could realize that their real enemies are themselves, their own egos or false selves! Loving your enemy means really you need to start loving yourself deeply, facing your own enmity towards your own true light and even your own darkness.

When I say the world needs hands (and feet) I mean the world needs good deeds and action for the common good and for the ending of wars. The right and left blaming each other will not bring this about. Only a hard look into our own individual hearts will really be of help. First then when we face the “devil”, “sin” and shadow within us and when we integrate and grow into wholeness individually, can we also change and help the world.

The call for hands is not just a call for individual change, but also for structural changes in our world. We need to break the unhealthy structures that are not very helpful to us in general, no matter how much income they generate for the few and the elite. And by the way, the real elite, is the people waking up, and get on with the job healing their inner life so they can become healers to the world they live in.

Do you understand the message? Do you hear the call? Will the world be finding healing and help by your hands? World healing and actually a world individuation must start with us, and it starts with each and everyone’s integration, healthy selflove, and responsible action. Let’s keep becoming mystics, keep growing in self acceptance, integration and selflove – so this love can flow from within to the outside in desperate need for real and love inspired action. Right meditation does not end in non-action, but true contemplation and divine infusion can only lead to love for you neighbor, love for your sleeping enemy and love for the world gifted to us.

Finally, the “easy” keys are, you must grow in love and self acceptance, in order for us, the world at large, to grow and find peace. I believe in true world peace, but a lot need to balance itself out. The world today is in a very reactive and projected state. We need to integrate, find the balance and the union within, only then can we see how we can go about doing the right things in the world, a world deeply reactive and out of balance. I think Jung would have agreed that the world needs individuation too, integration and balance. But it must start with us, you and me, and the leaders of today. Please take a step, do you part!

Peace!

PS! I would love hearing from the readers how you go about living your life in ways that heal suffering and benefit the world for us all today. Please share. Start the talk, it may bring about the walk!

Do I Need Silence ?

/ Norwegian / Leave a comment

461562629_537513045314042_6211659290785645376_n

Today I will just share a short note about a spiritual practice that I truly recommend. The practice is called centering prayer. It has a long tradition, and can partly be traced back to a practice of silende explained in the mystical book Cloud of Unknowing. The form in which it is practiced among many contemplative seekers today has been clarified by the well-known munk Thomas Keating. His books come recommended too, and one which dives into the topic of centering prayer is Keating’s Open Mind, Open Heart.

For myself I practice this silent attitude or prayer once a month together with some contemplative friends. We meet in a local church, and after a short introduction by the one leading the practice we sit in a circle for 2o minutes. After that we join around the table again for a short voluntarily sharing.

Many mornings, regularly, I also try to sit down alone for at least 10 minutes, taking time for a shorter version. Even though the 20 minutes are truly recommended, I find that 10 minutes are much better than not doing the practice at all.

The main goal of the practice is to sit openly in silence saying a word in your mind every time you lose your silent focus, to redirect yourself back into the open silence. This is not called a mantra, yet it is a word of your choice to think when the monkey mind starts talking. Then the goal is not to empty your mind, but to give your focus to the open silence and quietness. For some this seems similar to some mindfulness practices, but it can be said to be a little different too.

In centering prayer it is not thought so much that you will experience any particular elevation, ecstasy or felt experience of God or Divine during the practice. At least that is not what we are seeking. We seek only to be open in silence, in a restful and upright, chaired position. You may close your eyes and open your hands on your lap, but really what counts is that you can sit comfortably and attentive in an open silence.

Since there is not much more to it than what I have explained simply here, and the goal is not a spiritual experience other than attentiveness, why practice it? For me it is a time of open focus where I think my heart and soul are working, even though the feeling of it is not important. And the results you may say, will come later. If you practice for some time you may experience a change in your daily life. This silence may become a strength and something beautiful to carry within you in your day. It may help you become less reactive and activated, and more responsive to the experiences in the real world.

I word of warning if you want to try it out, which I hope you do, is that as Keating explains in other words that the first period you try this your mind may go a little crazy, and start spinning and throwing a lot of thoughts at you. Since you are not used to being in silence like this, the mind is not used to it either. It also may be that the mind and feelings come at you with really important stuff too, that you need to bring your attention to after the time of practice. A lot of unconscious and repressed things, that you have tried not to see and acknowledge maybe in a very active and perhaps stressful daily life, now may come at you with full force. If this happens you must realize that you may need someone to talk to about hidden issues in your life that now want to surface. It is really Important that you go seriously about this, otherwise you may hit a wall. I could have said more about this aspect, but will leave it at that for now. If you want to dialogue about it, please comment, and we’ll start a discussion that can become fruitful.

Now, I just hope you learned a little bit about centering prayer. For me these days I combine this practice with dream work and dream interpretation which can be very interesting and learningful. More on that later. So, try it out, this silent practice of centering prayer – if you dare 😊 I dare you, you probably won’t regret it, at least if you take note of the words of warning too.

Blessings to you!

The Walk Already Prepared

/ Norwegian / Leave a comment

Walking shoes

For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10)

In earlier posts I have written quite a bit about surrender and I have meant to convey that a surrender to silence is also a surrender to God. Since God is something and someone beyond your thoughts and feelings, and someone spiritually living deep within you, a surrender to silence is a way to tune into and “listen” to the life of God in you.

It may sound so easy, but as many of you know, being silent is for most people very difficult. Not only is it difficult to actually sit down, stop doing anything and stop talking to become just quiet. It is also difficult to really experience true silence since our minds chatter non stop.

So, in order to tune into God’s life and the walk he has planned for us, we need to get serious about surrender and serious about silence. My opinion is that through an experience of non-action and silence outside and also within we may be able to connect to our deeper ground of being, which actually is God’s Spirit within us (or you might say, God’s image in us).

Through my novice experience surrender to complete silence is not so much about stopping your thoughts, something very few people are able to do for any significant time, but it is really more about how you deal with or live with your chattering mind. It is about truly accepting, but not dwelling on, the thoughts.

I actually believe Christians can learn something from mindfulness practitioners here, when it comes to how to tackle the monkey mind. One example is to acknowledge thoughts as they appear, but then visualize them as leaves floating away upon a creek, one bye one, then disappearing. I believe that by doing this until it almost becomes a routine, thoughts become less powerful and as a result the mind also becomes quieter.

This choice of silence is not a war on thoughts, but actually an acceptance of thoughts, and at the same time it is a choosing to give less power to them. If you want more information with a Christian perspective on how to become at peace with your thoughts and praying contemplatively you may read books by Thomas Keating (ex. The Way of Christian Contemplation).

Later I will write about a book I am now only mentioning. This is a book, that can be read no matter your spiritual or religious beliefs, that truly changed my life by altering the way I related to my mind. The book is called “The Unthethered Soul” and written by Michael A. Singer. More about this in a later post.

For now the message is: By choosing and practicing silence we may be able to connect deeper. By connecting deeper and getting in touch with the often very quiet or soft-speaking Spirit in our innermost being we will able to live from the inside out. We will be walking into the world coming from a different place so to speak, we become more and more able to walk a walk already divinely prepared. Our lives become a response to God’s life in us!

If you found that this blog post was somewhat inspiring and would like to be notified when further posts are out, please send your email address to: sveinboerge@hotmail.com and I will reply with an invitation link. Accepting the invitation involves registering for a WordPress account, but I hope you will not think of that as too much of an obstacle (maybe you will even discover other blogs that are worth following).

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.