Contemplative Haven

Jul 30 2007

Dissolving Our “No”

Published by gabrielle at 2:10 am under Abandonment, Detachment, False Self, Present Moment

“Therefore, be attentive to time and the way you spend it. Nothing is more precious…God, the master of time, never gives the future. He gives only the present, moment by moment, for this is the law of the created order, and God will not contradict himself in his creation.” (The Cloud of Unknowing, Anonymous)

“For at each moment our hearts are at peace in God and completely abandoned to all creation. Therefore each of these moments contains all things.” (Abandonment to Divine Providence, Jean-Pierre de Caussade)

The Momentum of “No” (Eckhart Tolle)

The direct link to YouTube for this video is Here .

5 responses so far

5 Responses to “Dissolving Our “No””

# Owenon 30 Jul 2007 at 2:36 pm

So, um, there was this other guru who said we should let our Yes be Yes and our No be no. I don’t know, I’d have to take that guru over this one even though the one I’m talking about will never have his book selected by the diva of daytime pop psychology. However, my personal disclaimer is that I have not attained enlightenment…yet, so take what I say with a grain of no.
# Annon 30 Jul 2007 at 4:06 pm

This is interesting, and thought- provoking. I’ve just come across a reference to Abandonment To The Divine Will on another site today and in another post on the same site there is a quotation re. the sacrament of the moment.
Time is one of the greatest gifts God has given us, and we for the most part guard it jealously to the detriment of others. For instance we can find ourselves wasting time trying to come up with excuses for not spending time with others. We can make a quick phonecall, we can send a card, we’ll call in on a quick visit on our way to do something else, but the last thing we’ll do willingly is give our precious time – the very thing God has given us in abundance. And when it comes to God.. how many excuses can we come up with then for not praying,..it’s endless, isn’t it? He sees through us that’s for sure, and if anyone would wish for the dissolving of our no, it is surely God who exhorts us to love our neighbour as ourseves…and we can’t do that if we can barely give him the time of day.
# gabrielleon 30 Jul 2007 at 11:39 pm

Owen, I truly do not see anything in this video that Catholic contemplatives would not agree with, even though it is not set within a Catholic context.

Ann, yes, the sacramental present moment and abandonment to God’s Will have been themes in Catholic contemplative writing for centuries. I only selected two authors, but there are so many other examples. Personally, I have found it to be the most difficult area in my spiritual life.
# Owenon 01 Aug 2007 at 6:04 pm

Truth is truth where we find it and if it is truth it is God’s truth. I am not a closed Catholic and was really trying to have a bit of fun. It seems inappropriate now and I apologize.
# gabrielleon 01 Aug 2007 at 7:31 pm

That’s okay, Owen. You jogged me into thinking about something I should have been thinking about more carefully. I’ll comment more to you in the combox of the next post, though.