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On the Dying of Fr. Thomas Keating

Silence is God’s first language. Everything else is a poor translation. Fr. Thomas Keating

I first met Fr. Thomas Keating at a Diocese of Colorado Clergy Retreat in January of 1989 when I was Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Greeley, Colorado.

He gave us three days of teaching on Contemplative Centering Prayer.  I remember clearly when he said to us clergy: “Repentance means to change the direction in which you are looking for happiness. It must begin with you.”

Part of normal childhood development is to seek a degree of power and control, affection and esteem, and security and survival. The problem is that, in time, we over identify with these by way of compensating for that basic need which may have gone largely unmet in our childhood. Then our needs turn into unconscious compulsive motivations, creating a false self that can lead to falling asleep to our true selves.

Fr. Keating wisely showed us how the unconscious programs for happiness need to be healed by Contemplative Prayer, and how we can gradually dismantle the grip of the false self.

It has been almost thirty years since that memorable and deeply formative retreat. Centering Prayer remains an essential practice for my journey of following Christ and knowing the love and presence of God. It has been a joy to share it in the parishes I have served.

I give thanks to God for the opportunity to have encountered this remarkable spiritual guide and priest.

With you on the Journey,

Rob+

 

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Episode# 5 What Is Your Aim? The Sermon On The Mount

Dear Podcast Friends:

The Sermon on The Mount is concerned with the great theological and existential question of human flourishing. 

In this series of podcasts I will be looking at the key ideas of the sermon to highlight the most fruitful reading of the words of Jesus.

This episode is centered on what I believe is the key that unlocks Jesus teaching:  Seek first (make your aim) the Kingdom of God and its righteousness (goodness) and all these things will be added to you.”  –  Matthew 6:33

Dr. Jonathan Pennington in his book: The Sermon on The Mount and Human Flourishing makes this claim:  “In short, I think the Sermon is a piece of wisdom teaching from Jesus that invites people into true human flourishing through wholeness centered on God and his coming kingdom. Jesus’ Sermon invites us to see the world in a certain way and to be in the world in a certain way that accords with God’s nature, will, and coming reign upon the earth. It is a call to faith‐based discipleship in Jesus, the Son of God.” I agree.

It’s not a job to seek the Kingdom of God, but the greatest opportunity in human life! If it sounds dreary, that’s how badly we’ve missed the point. There is joy in seeking the kingdom.

Main points of Episode:

1. Why we need to have an aim. What would be the highest aim in human life that leads to flourishing? 

You aim at what you value. We only see what we aim at. Aim high and live in the present. Who do you want to be? Who are you becoming?

The surprising controversial work of Dr. Jordan Peterson and his book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. 

2. Grace is not opposed to effort. There is, of course, no question of doing this purely on our own. But we must act. Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort. And it is well-directed, decisive and sustained effort that is the key to the  the kingdom and to the life of restful flourishing. Taking responsibility for the gift of grace and life.

3. The Kingdom of God, is God acting here and now. 

Dallas Willard showed me that the kingdom of God is strong and unshakable, that a life lived interactively with God never fails.

Aim Up! 

With you on the Journey,

Rob+

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Coming Soon: The Sermon on The Mount and Human Flourishing 

Dear Podcast Friends: I am working on a new podcast series: The Sermon on The Mount and Human Flourishing. 

I share the conviction that the Sermon is Christianity’s answer to the greatest metaphysical question that humanity has always faced—How can we experience true human flourishing? What is happiness, blessedness, šālôm, and how does one obtain and sustain it?

The sermon is a piece of wisdom teaching from Jesus that invites people into true human flourishing through wholeness centered on God and his present, available, and coming reign and realm, i.e. his kingdom.

As prophet and sage, the complete and virtuous human and Son of God, Jesus is offering and inviting his hearers into the way of being in the world that will result in their true and full flourishing now and in the age to come.

Are you interested in living into this wisdom and flourishing?

Look for the first in this series which will be published this week titled:  What Is Your Aim?

With you on the Journey,

Rob+

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Reminders of Whose We Are

Fr. Henri Nouwen claimed that Self-rejection is the greatest temptation because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the beloved. And being the beloved is the core truth of our existence.

Spiritual practices train our heart to grow continually conscious of the core truth that we are beloved of God.

Our hearts actually can be trained to live with an ongoing awareness that we are loved by God. While this may sound rather abstract, it’s really very practical. We can live day to day with a real relational presence in our lives that will profoundly affect the way we travel through the world.

What practices might help you remember that you are loved by God?

–From Survival Guide For The Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in A World That Pressures Us To Achieve -by Ken Shigematsu.

With You On The Journey

Rob+

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Podcast Episode #4 Flourishing: Why It Is Good To Be You

To flourish in life, one must come to know and trust that it is good to be you. As Brian McLaren writes: “What we all want is pretty simple, really. We want to be alive. To feel alive. Not just to exist but to thrive….We want to be less lonely, less exhausted, less conflicted or afraid… more awake, more grateful, more energized and purposeful. We capture this kind of mindful, overbrimming life in terms like well-being, shalom, blessedness, wholeness, harmony, life to the full, and above all aliveness.

In other words: Flourishing.  In this episode I explore some of the meaning of these transforming words from Psalm 139: 13-14

“For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.”

In the quest for the true self, one begins to appreciate and accept one’s personality and one’s life as an essential way that God calls us to be ourselves. Everyone is called to sanctity in different ways— in often very different ways. It is Good To Be You!

2. A Transforming Tool: The Sacred Enneagram.  The Enneagram is a dynamic system for self-knowledge and spiritual transformation. It is a wonderful tool that can help us see and let go of the false self—which masks the image of God within us—and allow us to live from our True Self—the unique manifestation of Love that God intends us to be.

With you on the Journey!

Rob+

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What Story Are You Living In?

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In 1994 I attended my first course in my Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena California. It was on a two week retreat in Colorado Springs where I first met James Bryan Smith and Dallas Willard. I have been following both of them ever since.

Smith was mentored by two great Christian writers, Richard J. Foster and Dallas Willard.  Smith co-taught a course for Fuller Seminary titled “Spirituality and Ministry” with Dallas Willard for ten years.

That course was a profound experience that changed my whole understanding of Christianity.

This book is a vibrant and thrilling expression of the Magnificent Story we have been invited to participate in now and always.

If you were to ask me how I understand the Good News of God in Jesus, this book would be a very good summary!

With you on the Journey,

Rob+

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Thought For The Day

If we experience a longing for God, Truth, Beauty, Happiness, the Peace and Silence that have no opposite, then we have in some hidden way known God, and for this hidden knowledge to have taken place, God must first have known us in some hidden way. Our very longing for God is a response to having already been touched and embraced by God. 

Martin Laird

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One Of My Favorite Books On Contemplative Prayer

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Of the many books I have read on the subject of Contemplative Prayer this has been one of the most illuminating and helpful.

Laird’s book is not like the many presentations for beginners. While useful for those just starting out, this book serves especially as a guide for those who desire to journey yet deeper into the silence of God.

Martin Laird, O.S.A., is Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University. He has studied patristics in Rome, London, and Oxford, and has extensive training in contemplative disciplines and gives retreats throughout the United States and Great Britain.

From time to time I will share more of my favorite books!

With you on the Journey,

Rob+

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Podcast Episode #3 – The Gifts And Necessity of Solitude

Mark 6: 30-32 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

In this podcast episode I share some thoughts about the gifts and necessity of practicing solitude. With this invitation Jesus was calling his friends out of their busyness to a place of rest beyond the demands of their engagement and action.

What about us?

Fr. Henri Nouwen claims that “without solitude it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life.” That is because the practice of solitude centers us in our own hearts and enables us to be “securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life.”

Does my life naturally lean outward (without enough inward grounding), or does it naturally lean inward (without enough outward engagement)? What is one practice I could add to bring a fuller both/ and balance?

The contemplative practice of solitude brings three gifts: Clarity, Presence, and Joy. These gifts are a necessity for a more flourishing life.

Hope you enjoy!

With you on the Journey,
Rob+

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Where Is Your Mind Set Today?

Set your mind on things above, not on the earth…Colossians 3:2

Eibsee: a lake in Bavaria, Germany.

A Flourishing Mindset chooses to be aware and conscious and reflective about the goodness, greatness, and generosity of the Eternal Relationship, The Eternal Flow of Love: Father, Son, Holy Spirit and you!

So for today, set your mind on these things:

+Wake up in the morning and become a researcher of the good and the amazing. Why?  “Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.” Psalm 97:11

+Say to yourself: “I am a child of God, one in whom Christ dwells, and I am living in the unshakable kingdom of God.”  Why? Here I have no lack, I have no fear, for you are with me. Psalm 23.

+Be passionate and grateful about your life in this world that God loves. Offer yourself to the world, your energies, your gifts, your visions, your spirit, with openhearted gratitude. Do not worry about outcomes. Why? The soul thrives on gratitude. We feel better when we are grateful because the fundamental mind-set of the life of the soul is gratitude. 

“And whatever you do, whether in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him.” Colossians 3:17

With you on the Journey!
Rob+

P.S. Next week I will publish a new episode of my podcast titled: Solitude – Returning to the Source of Joy. Look for it!