Active Meditation

Just to update you, we are re-formatting our Contemplative Time. We are going to move away from the Contemplative Group format and move towards a more individualistic time for everyone to come and sit, listen to music in candlelight, and reflect on your spiritual path. Moving towards a more individualistic time of meditation does mean we are moving away from one of our goals to foster active meditation. Rather, we are hoping to make this time of silence more accessible for all of us to relax, refresh, and renew our spirits. We hope it will be a time of peace for us in a hectic world.

I believe Richard Rohr discusses active meditation better than I can, so I will quote him at length. Please focus on his words and incorporate them into your own spiritual life as you see fit. At the Selah Center, we are always attempting to practice an intentional spiritual walk that includes service to our community. I hope this helps in your journey:

"I believe that there are two necessary paths enabling us to move toward wisdom: a radical journey inward and a radical journey outward. For far too long we've confined people to a sort of security zone, a safe midpoint. We've called them neither to a radical path inward, in other words, to contemplation, nor to a radical journey outward, that is, to commitment on the social issues of our time...

There is no perfect theology, there are no perfect explanations, there is no perfect road leading to psychic health. We are forced to live in a world that contains both life and death. The Reign of God is already here, but it's not yet whole. Faith means standing in this position and holding on to paradox at the same time. If we take the contemplative path, then we see the shadow side and the inconsistency of our own souls. If we take the path outward, then we encounter the place where the victims are. If we try to get to the truth by arguing, we will find good arguments on both sides. At some point we must risk the dangerous decision for faith, which means always standing on the side of the weak, always on the side of the poor, always on the side of the victims."

Richard Rohr - Simplicity: The Freedom of Letting Go

Wherever you are on your spiritual path, you are welcome in this space. We hope you will join us when you can....

Contemplative Group

This week, we re-visited the importance of discipline for spiritual formation. We noted that the weekly practice of our group is important to the overall growth of the individual's spiritual growth. The intentional practice of setting aside a time each week devoted to spiritual growth and renewal is something many of us have lost in our busy lives, but it is vitally important for a fresh encounter with our own spiritual paths...to experience "the more" of life.

For further contemplation: "Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant gratification is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people...The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life call us to move beyond surface living into the depths. They invite us to explore the inner caverns of the spiritual realm. They urge us to be the answer to a hollow world."

Richard J. Foster - Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth