Sunday January 21: Getting Out of Your Squirrel Cage

To Practice

– Pay attention this week to your reactions to people and events.  Even what seems like a justifiable reaction of anger or resentment can be felt and let go of.  Use the Welcoming Prayer as a way to do this. Or you may ask yourself: “What direction was I looking in for happiness?”

– Journal these experiences, even if you just pick one a day.  Use your journaling as a source of Lectio Divina and allow it to take you to prayer, because it is part of the scripture of your life.

You may re-read Sunday’s full email reflection here: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/word-of-the-week-jan21

Recently I have been journaling again. This led me to the practice of “Lectio On Life”. ( The Transforming Power– of Lectio Divina- Maria Tasto). Praying and reflecting on an incident from my life helped me to strengthen my practice of praying with scripture AND bringing it into my life; my own particular circumstances.

In doing this I became more aware that my spiritual community here gives me guidance toward a more mature, more skillful practice. On my own, I would  have a very strong tendency to remain in the comfort zone of my own little cage.

Thanks to all who make this Word of The Week possible.

Peace,

Frank Pendola

Powerful readings today. I loved the abstract painting capturing the darkness of the “squirrel cage.” Amazingly the sunlight coming through my window today formed a similar abstract but in sunlight reminding me how  the squirrel cage can turn from darkness to sunlight. I took a picture of it, but don’t see a way of attaching it here. Last week God picks the apostles for Jesus. This week He calls the fishers of Mankind. All the voices of God come in silence. Not so those that God sends into our lives, like Fr. Thomas Keating. One has to love his comment of fasting monks under the table instead of drinking our buddies under the table. The switch from a dark cage to a cage opened with sunlight. Jonah is tested. We are all tested. Even the Marines tested me to my physical limits.  The spiritual limits go beyond whatever the Marines could think up for me. It takes a long time to find the silence that God is looking for. Jonah like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane asks for this bitter cup to pass. But no it has to be done. We all have these extremely painful moments in life when God is forming us or redirecting our lives for the better. It only happens in silence, alone with God as Jonah and Jesus moments. And look at the results! Wow!

 

Wonderful messages in Word of the Week. Thank you to all!

This week the words reveal to me an invitation to pay attention in the sacredness of the stillness. In the silence, I let go of the security of the known. In the stillness, I let go and let God…

Love and peace,

Maria

Paying attention to my reactions to people and events was first intentional  then became spontaneous as this week unfolded. New awareness of the gift of the human mind as separate from thoughts/feelings, then, new awareness of the reaction of the false self and my true self. On one occasion my spontaneous reaction one of compassion in a situation of being overlooked with great inconvenience. My ego self at peace. Much of the week unfolded with happenings intersperced with spontaneous Welcome Prayer-ing, including awakening from a dream where the Welcome prayer was a fitting response. I am amazed, grateful, humbled.

I did have the opportunity to experience an emotional trigger with comments of love and support to a friend that went unheeded…until a perfect stranger to her told her and it was a new revelation. I was frustrated she didn’t believe me. Then I realized all I have control over is sending out edifying energies and God will do the delivering of the message. <3 linda

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