How to meet God in nature, art, books, other people, and those who have walked well before us-living and dead. Those were Henri Nouwen’s ways of meeting Him. Good to consider. Merton, his mentor, also added meeting God through current events. More challenging these days, but still possible!

Covered most of the bases, and made me think of my friend St Patrick’s words. A recent practice for me has been to try to only meet Christ in whatever I’m doing-to find where He’s already talking and join in.

It’s a fun and challenging practice. Christ in taking out trash, Christ in listening well to others, Christ in walking dog, Christ in cities, Christ in travel and sitting still, Christ in dream, and waking life…etc forever. Been trying to practice that lately. Not easy, but fun trying…keeps the conversation alive! Really trying to stay where God is in each situation, something like Patrick’s way!

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me

What I want this year for my birthday:

What I want this year
is to not be hurried through life,
scurried along…in the rat race of becoming;
to savor each encounter more,
until i Know Love better. Just to sit with it
Until i move in, and from that slower, older
Tone of knowing.

This year, Im writing birthday poems again! Watch out….here’s one i wrote today:
Birthday poem:
And we all are also secretly grieving-
the seasons themselves require us to.
just being here is also sad
We somehow know that
all of us are widows
and royalty
And yet, with time
we learn to turn
always in thanks
as sunflowers tilt towards The Sun
and can’t forget to trace somehow magnetically, it’s inner warmth;
despite having birthed such yellows
from the dark places of earth
We too, little golems in the womb
waiting to burst out in yellow screams
from the Unseen. The baby gasps
at the first sight of light; that shocked thankful scream goes on throughout life
and is recalled each year;
we too, joy cry even when making love.
the angels all cry and rejoice at once. the Love dove descends to ascend
this is always going on around us, and within.
we grieve to know
until we are more fully seen
that’s just our birth ache
even on our birthdays
we cry to celebrate
life’s unbroken banquet
which we secretly know
has already begun!
And as that sunflower,
we bow and follow
til the end.
We learn to grieve well
in already yellowed thanks.

Thinking about telling the difference between true spirituality and mere religion today!

Three signs of a living spirituality versus a dead religion: creativity, humility and humor!
These three fruits indicate a living relationship, and spirituality of encounter, transformation and aliveness. Even in people’s art, you can tell if they genuinely met God! There is always humility humor and creativity!
Where the Spirit is, there is freedom, creativity and humor! At least those three characteristics are good indicators in discerning the difference between a true spirituality and just a system of religion.
Even in studying religious art, you want to look for or overhear moments where the artist actually encountered God; paintings where God was recently there! That will indicate a living spirituality, an I-Thou moment! Love considering how to discern the difference between real spirituality and just religion. Most people won’t take the time to do so, even in their own cultural traditions. It’s really worth it. You want to judge by those who have actually lived out the faith—and they always are creative, humble and often funny!
Look for the ones actually living the true spirituality of that faith, before judging the entire religion! As my mentor always said! Those three fruits should always be present! Fun meditation today, towards an article on religious art, and how to tell the differences between spirituality and religion! Fun study!

Soil, sight and skin are still the three I’m working on, and today again. How we relate to the earth, how we relate to imagination and how we relate to our physical bodies. Been working on those for at lest thirty years. Let you know what I’ve found, if you’re interested. These three areas are still “hot” conversations i think! And needed. We need a clear view of each, to move in wisdom, i think!

Living in an enormous Art House! Prayer is art, art is life!
My home is where art and spirituality meet; where creativity and Kingdom intersect; where our imaginations are baptized into His. Where our image becomes more His Image!
If, as st Paul taught, we are being brought into alignment with His Image, and His Image is the exact copy or symbol or representation of His Father’s (Colossians). Conformed to His Image of Himself! Then life is about being “formed into the model and shape of His Image”. The “sanctification process is from image to Image! The whole of life is that creative process of spiritual formation. He is the exact symbol of God, and we are being wrought into that image according to Paul.
Creativity and being human are synonyms in other words. It’s one enormous art house!
This intersection between creativity and true spirituality is always where I’ve felt at home, anyway. We are God’s art projects, and His method is to carve and sculpt us towards and into The IMAGE of His Son who is the precise symbol of Himself. Life is art, in other words! Creativity implies a living spirituality! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is art!
So in school, i studied the relationship between art and religion—it was the closest i could get to where i felt I “met” God. Dreams, art and visions have always been our “tabernacle of meeting” since i was young.
In His Imagination, and His expression through religion. I am, therefore I create….true of God, true of us! Just a thought about art and faith your way today friends—working towards an article on the topic again!
Creativity implies freedom, because where the Spirit is, there is freedom. I like living in freedom, so decided the best way was to live a creative life! So far, it’s worked!
Creativity is also a weapon against legalism and religion without God. Creativity implies actually spiritually awake living. I’ll stick with it, as a way.
Interestingly, creativity is also where prayer occurs! Prayer is creative collaboration–we make art with The Spirit, as we pray, we groan and see alongside! When we pray, we see and hear and sense, new options in the situation. Prayer is a creative act! And we are told to pray without ceasing! Prayer is to art non-stop!

Things i learn from my dog: (meditation on the end of Romans 8 and our relationship with Nature!)

My dog was howling today at the coming of early Spring today!
It reminded me that all of creation is howling, and we with it, as those helping to midwife its redemption and healing! The earth moans, we come along side and groan in His Spirit for her eventually release. That is part of our role, to pray for and with all of creation! Good teaching my dog reminded me of today! There is this holy ache to be whole in us all. Once we have gotten the first fruits of healing, we turn and start interceding for the whole and wholeness of all creation! We are midwives with His Spirit for His Creation! (Romans 8)!
I’m glad dogs make this inner howling or sighing overt! They are good at that!!!
The earth was subject to decay or frustration. We howl with her, until she too is redeemed. That’s part of what it means to pray and be first fruits. May the Sons and daughters be revealed and turn and intercede for the creation! Amen. My dog sermon today! Love being a midwife for the creatures! Groaning along with; howling us towards Oneness!
Since my L’abri days, many moons ago, I’ve always sought a real theology of Nature and our relationship to it. Romans 8 and Genesis and my dog’s howling are all good starting points! Prayer is part of stewardship of His Creation!
Prayer for not worship of, but more like midwifing with, is where I’ve come with my understanding at least of how to relate to the Creation. We enter that birthing pain! We know that HOWL—for all the earth is howling!!!

Last night, i fell into a great conversation with a local friend about meaning….
Talking to a friend about finding meaning in life…first step, realize you need meaning and step towards it. Going on pilgrimage. Head towards The Pearl. So many stories start with a hunger, thirst, a “setting out”…

We spoke about world mythology and patterns, and then i took it back to the parables of Christ, for centering. I love speaking from all culture’s stories, but do have my favorites! A treasure in a field, a pearl of great cost etc…am I walking towards that Pearl? Have I sold everything else!! Spiritual growth in Christ is my Pearl. He gives me meaning. Great talk about what causes people to set out towards meaning!

But, i realized midway through our conversation, that we were just two brothers trying to name what helps us wake up each day. The location of Hope in our lives, trying to see “The Path prepared beforehand to be our way!”.

Meaning becomes more important as you age. Success and making our marks fade as motivations, but meaning and purpose seem to remain! The ones who could endure great suffering, saw their suffering as meaningful, as part of a longer story—as Victor Frankl noted!

Speaking in other’s spiritual Love languages, and more in our own!

I was talking to someone this week, about my own spirituality, and where it’s grounded. I was using Jewish and Christian metaphors, when she stopped and asked me, if i could speak what I’ve learned in more personal language, one more “straight from my heart”. Good challenge.

Can you speak about God in another language which any person could understand, rather than in a traditional religious language? So another person can encounter whatever you have learned. Art and stories, are my preferred medium! More like telling the parables of your life! What Pearls you’ve found, what treasures to use a couple of Jesus’ metaphors.

I studied world religions and art in school, and have a heart to translate what I’ve learned of true spirituality into a more universal, but deeply authentic, language. Van Gogh says more of (and perhaps from) God, than many preachers!

Often, i find myself talking about what makes life meaningful, purposeful. How do we love and live better. All the great religions ask and attempt to answer these questions. I think it’s useful to be able to be able to speak your spiritual story in an authentic voice. For me, that includes spiritual traditions and art, especially Christianity.

But my own experience was with Christ before with Christian culture. We met in dreams and real life, and i was impressed; so we began a life long friendship. He’s still my closest friend.

But He likes all people of all cultures, so I do too. And He even likes His Church, which is not easy at times.

I liked this challenging question though. Can we speak about our faith or spirituality in an authentic way not just in our religious tradition’s language systems, but in a human way, which is true to what we have experienced from life thus far. My dad was also an anthropologist, in addition to a pastor. I think i inherited his love of other, and speaking what he’d learned in their languages!

Can we speak our story through art, for instance, which in some ways is more direct. Or, if it is authentic to speak from the language of your tradition, can you do so without borrowing, but truly “make it your own”. The idea even if your Christian, is to make sure the Stumbling Block is actually Christ, and not our language system, or way of representing Him. Learning to speak of His Life in a living authentic way, interest me. We are not converting people to Christian tradition, but introducing them to Christ Himself, as my mentor put it!
Since we are all human, we have common spiritual needs, and inner questions. So we are free to dialogue with one another on that basic human level about the things of The Spirit!

Good reminder this week. Authentic spirituality can converse in Love! And Love’s listening heart’s ear! Can we speak our heart’s songs in a living way, which can converse with the rest of our family?! Good challenge.

Of course, how we live might say more than, what we say or how we say it. Still, i like linguistic challenges in life! The parables are all about using common things to speak about and help people enter The Uncommon!

This package arrived from France today, just as I was thinking of my art mentor Julio who passed many moons ago. Even at the end, when he was making abstract art from images of his own brain tumor, he wore a beret!

My old art father and Jewish mentor in the arts and life, always wore a beret. Just got one from France today in honor of him. I hope I wear it as nobly as he wore his! Great artist, teacher and friend along the way….his family fled from Poland to Argentina back in the day, and he ended up becoming a well known artist/teacher in America. I lived under his roof during my college years in a makeshift art community!

He affirmed my creativity as well as spirituality though they were different than his own. And he taught me that art and faith should live under the same roof! We got along! He was a good spiritual art dad, which i now also aspire to be!

He, a Rabbi’s son and me, a Preacher’s kid. Makes sense in the end that we were brought together (on stage in an improv class originally; and later co-faciliating creative workshops using masks and costumes and movement!).

This one’s for him. Look forward to seeing him in the future above! In the meantime, his sculptures, replete with his teachings, are up and down the east coast down here, and in Argentina, if you ever care to look. Thanks Julio! I’ve been blessed with good art fathers along the way!

Julio was also the one who informed me that at that stage of my life, I had too much balloon and not enough potatoes! I thank him for that, and hope I’ve balanced things out a bit more by now! Maybe i live on a balloon still, but i have many bags of potatoes to keep me grounded! And now a hat to keep my head together and covered! Thanks for clearing a path in the creative forest for me friend! See ya again! Mentors matter! And this one was funny (had that Jewish gift of humor as overcoming!), as I suppose you’d have to be to mentor me!

He also taught me to see art in everything! Still do! Hope this hat reminds me so! This is a rare photo of him without his beret! Maybe it flew off, and i’m getting to wear it today! Maybe we don’t need that kind of head covering in heaven! But it’s useful down here!