A prayer
May every word i write, every thought i have
every photo i take, every poem i write, every person i
truly see today, every city i pray for, every great conversation i have, every
project i do, every coffee I drink,
every party i attend, every ending and
beginning, every book i write, every art gallery i start, every breath i take
lead me and others deeper into You God.
That will be enough for me. For
everything leads into You in the end,
my Friend. There are two directions for everything-towards and away from God.
So may even these scribbles on facebook
lead us, or magnetize us deeper into God. So,
let everything i do, lead to You Lord, my Lover
My best Friend, My God! (A modern monks prayer)

On overcoming a “pornographic vision” of life from a favorite spiritually enlightened art writer:

“God made every beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. Reflect on Him, when you see something beautiful—that’s the job of true aesthetics. To develop appreciation and thanks. Beauty is meant to lead us into a thankful encounter with God.

Conversely, porn (or a pornographic vision of things) uses beauty, and makes it about us, true aesthetics draws us towards and into it’s Source, and makes it about Him! Beauty is a witness about Him. When you see something beautiful, trace it into God, that keeps vision pure.”

Like the idea of beauty as a witness and something which is meant to draw us into God. Nice theological aesthetics!

When you look at a person, try to see them as a little kid and as an elderly person. It helps to tune into them where they are now at in their journey. Identity is a journey, a series of chapters in a longer novel. To counsel, you need to think of their whole story. To help people you need to at least glance at their trajectory, and consider your own. We get to help one another better pronounce each chapter of our lives!

Let Him Occupy, possess, and then cultivate the lands we are, and are becoming!
The prophetic teaching from the book of Joshua about patterns of spiritual growth: occupy, possess, cultivate. In each of us, He must first occupy, posses, and then cultivate us in each area of our lives, for us to become fruitful. The map set out in the book of Joshua is one towards wholeness and unity. There are battles for each city or part of self, but in the end, we are meant to be whole and fruitful. Prayer and priesthood comes first, then we get a map of spiritual formation to live out!

This year, let’s sing new songs as we dance….
Singing a new song requires us to collaborate in creativity-ie open freedom. This year I’ve been meditating on Psalm 149. The most basic idea in this poem is we are called to create new frames and mid-air tabernacles of meeting God through our artful praises. God will inhabit people’s praises, of course. But there is a call to make new songs here this year, as in many places in the Psaltery. New songs, imply creating them. Creativity is birthed in thankful Joy! That’s the tone of this year—playful creative thankful Joy. It’s a collaborative new song year! How ironic of God to ask that of us this year, given the bleak times, and yet. And yet….let’s sing and be new songs this year friends! Let’s speed things up by our improvisational pliability and readiness in Peace to collaborate with Our Creator this year! Here is comes, regardless; but we can be dance partners with God, if we are ready and willing this year! I can already see Him stringing the disco lights for us to get into it! Let’s dance! Let’s improv with God this year; He’s looking for some readied partners to dance with! The boots of Peace are also dance shoes!

Stillness in times of restlessness is underrated. Maybe that’s one of Winter’s teachings. Be still, and know….snow knows silence.

And we are just little explorers of the mysteries down here. Tiny scuba divers trying to wonder enough to know, in Love and awe!

Models for spiritual identity and growth from st Paul:

What is the apex of christian spirituality? What’s christianity’s Nirvana? A friend asked yesterday.

After some thought, I said, becoming a matured child caught up in the intimacy union between The Son and His Father. The metaphor Paul offered was a family metaphor. We are daddy’s kids. We incarnationally, but slowly, come to realize we are also God’s kids! Adored by a loving Father.

St Paul’s model was entering into the intimate Sonship of Jesus with His Loving daddy. Some people know this I am space as their home. Jesus was always praying and being in that beloved space of intimacy with his dad. That’s what we are invited to enter in true Christianity. That loving relational bond between them is our home.

We are growing up into The Son, who is the perfect child of the Father. So, it’s an adult child model we are looking at in Christian spirituality.

St Paul calls it being adopted into His Sonship. We enter into the intimacy between Son and Father. That’s our new home as we mature as children. Adult childhood is christianity’s nirvana. We enter His Sonship then grow up in it. That’s the metaphor given by St Paul for spiritual growth. We enter the Sonship relationship Jesus has with His dad. And we do so more and more deeply as we grow.

From slavery to the adoption as sons and daughters into heirship were St Paul’s metaphors for spiritual growth. Still feels true to me.

Reading the old monks again today!

“Our doing is meant to come from our being. I-Am precedes I-do. We are, therefore we do. We often get the two out of order especially in cultures which value do, above be. When doing is divorced from being, we strive into spiritual tiredness.

Those who have an I-am spirituality are easy to spot. They already know they are adored, accepted loved, and welcomed. So, free to give that friendship space to others.

When they do things, it is always flowing from that knowing union space with God’s Sabbath with Himself. What St Paul called being caught up in the Sonship of Christ. We are meant to be diligent in entering that intimate rest space between the Son and his Dad.”

An “I-Am” firstly, third century monk who obviously had a fatherhood friendship spirituality.

When people are in that deep Rest of knowing symbolized and lived out by and in Sabbath (that is, Father’s rest in Himself), it’s obvious by its fruits of Peace and concern without worry.

Love people who have an “I-am” spirituality! They are always the most authentic because they are resting in that knowing of Love which gently calls our secret names forth-both being loved and free to love others. They are truly helpful in shaky times.

I-Am into I do still makes sense to me in terms of the basics of spiritual practice. Does it to you? We are, therefore we do. Not the other way around. Let’s be diligent to enter that space of Restful knowing.

Talking to another comedian/artist minister (i.e. servant) friend yesterday about coming on and off stage ( both sides of life!): I think it’s similar with ministers and comedians and artists. I like both the onstage and backstage lives of stars! Those meant to give the gift of shine, shimmer or glory to others!

“When i step off stage, i am walking on air for a while, then the normalcy of life hits me. The letters to open, the bills to pay, my health. But on stage i am practicing to be an angel; then suddenly i fall to earth again. How to do this balancing act? Some artist just stay high all the time, and crash in silence.

I wanted to integrate my on and off stage selves! I found the secret was to keep serving with your star power, once you step off stage!
To use that hightenedness to bless others. To bring the tight rope down to the people.

And yet…however in what people call “real life”, I was never prepared for so much normalcy. Alas.

Life has always been a heightened event for me—breathing in the rarified oxygen of The Spirit. When i left the circus, the supermarket made no sense. The common worries of each day. And yet, i have found the circus again within them by now. I’m not bored, because i now serve up the circus to others wherever i am. In the tax line, at the post office, i juggle and do trapeze! I now serve the circus for and to the people.”

That’s a reasonable response to living a heightened life as a gift to others! Nice to be in a friendship spirituality with my friend, and to glean his experiential wisdom, as we go…the backstage, wisdom, still helps!!!