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24453 |
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Date: August 31, 2023 at 08:21:47
From: Nevada, [DNS_Address]
Subject: “Find your contemplative practice and practice it.” |
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Find Your Practice and Practice It
For people looking to nurture a contemplative way of
life, James Finley counsels “Find your contemplative
practice and practice it.”
A contemplative practice is any act, habitually entered
into with your whole heart, as a way of awakening,
deepening, and sustaining a contemplative experience of
the inherent holiness of the present moment. Your
practice might be some form of meditation, such as
sitting motionless in silence, attentive and awake to
the abyss-like nature of each breath. Your practice
might be simple, heartfelt prayer, slowly reading the
scriptures, gardening, baking bread, writing or reading
poetry, drawing or painting, or perhaps running or
taking long, slow walks to no place in particular. Your
practice may be to be alone, really alone, without any
addictive props and diversions. Or your practice may be
that of being with that person in whose presence you
are called to a deeper place. The critical factor is
not so much what the practice is in its externals as
the extent to which the practice incarnates an utterly
sincere stance of awakening and surrendering to the
Godly nature of the present moment.
At any given time we are likely to have not a single
practice but rather a constellation of practices, often
with one of them as our primary practice. Others may
surround it, each carrying its own special place in our
life…. As the months and years go by the constellation
changes. New practices emerge. Practices that have been
present for years fall out of the picture….
We discover by experience that if we are faithful to
our contemplative practices our practices faithfully
lead us in the direction of a more daily, abiding
awareness of the divinity of the life we are living.
Finley stresses the importance of prioritizing
intentional presence on a daily basis, while
encouraging us to do what we can within the limitations
of our lives.
Remaining faithful to our contemplative practices calls
for the integrity of remaining faithful to a commitment
that nobody sees; it consists of giving ourselves over
with all our heart to simple acts which, on the
surface, seem to be but the incidental passage of time.
But if we are faithful to this unassuming path of
fidelity to our daily contemplative practices, the
subtle awareness of the depths to which they grant
access begins to permeate the very texture of our daily
experience of living. Slowly, almost imperceptibly at
first, fidelity to our contemplative practices evolves
into an habitual awareness that does not miss the
surprise appearance of God showing up in something as
immediate and simple as the sunlight that suddenly
fills a room on a cloudy day.
Finding your contemplative practice is then an event
that occurs in each and every granting of contemplative
experience in which the divinity of the present moment
is realized.… By such fidelities [to practice] you,
without your knowing how, are led along the path of
your transformation into the depths of divinity that
your daily living manifests.
"My" take on contemplative practice: I used to think
contemplative practice was confined to the art of deep
meditation, something I usually found elusive. More
recently I discovered that physically demanding work
could often lead to the same contemplative "place". I
moved "tons" of rock, sculpted views and perspectives,
and eventually created a place that was not only
"contemplative but also became the home to a multitude
of "critters" that seemed to enjoy and "respect" my
labors and my goals.
I used to think "goals" were something one found much
further down the path of life, more recently I come to
appreciate that they were always within "arms reach"
just waiting to be shared with the rest of the world.
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Responses:
[24460] [24461] [24464] [24478] |
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24460 |
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Date: August 31, 2023 at 23:07:53
From: Kat, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: “Find your contemplative practice and practice it.” |
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You have done it Lee! I posted to the group that if only humans could find
a way to compromise with an open mind. We all could really share so
much more & spread the peace! As in respect the other’s posts.
Real conversations. No matter what level & no talking down to anything
shared.
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Responses:
[24461] [24464] [24478] |
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24461 |
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Date: September 01, 2023 at 07:47:28
From: Nevada, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: “Find your contemplative practice and practice it.” |
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...learning to get along, respect, share, and inspire
gets us to our spiritual goals much quicker than one
upmanship and getting back at those that see the beauty
of life differently.
"Mentors" tend to add more to life than detractors and
yet the detractors seem determined to carry the day.
So many wonderful moments still waiting for us in life
if the petty stuff doesn't distract us.
I'm betting the Christ knew that.
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Responses:
[24464] [24478] |
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24464 |
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Date: September 02, 2023 at 22:47:38
From: Kat, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: “Find your contemplative practice and practice it.” |
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Responses:
[24478] |
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24478 |
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Date: September 07, 2023 at 21:08:21
From: Kat, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: “Find your contemplative practice and practice it.” |
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A time in our life we had one car so I had to take husband to work- it was
dark- on the trip back I’d see the daylight change so many times each
day- it felt like taking very deep breaths & how Blessed I was to see &
start my day. Truly it’s the small moments that make the difference in life.
IMO
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Responses:
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