Contemplative Haven

Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.
[Norman Vincent Peale]

He who binds to himself a Joy
Doth the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the Joy as it flies
Lives in Eternity’s sunrise.
[He Who Binds to Himself, by William Blake]

Yes, it’s what I want.  We’ve talked here often of contemplative prayer and its peeling away the layers of the false self.  We’ve talked of Holy Detachment.  Along with the question I placed in the previous post, another line from the video spoke to me:  “…nothing should ever be placed in such a way that [...]

Ikebana, with Alexandra Shenpen.

 
 
 
 
 
 
“What actually is not needed, in order to see what is essential?” 

 [From:  The Call, by Oriah Mountain Dreamer]
“…I see and am with the fears that hook me into wanting things to be different from the way they are, fears that pull me into the belief that a different location or situation – a more creative job, a home in a more natural setting, more money or time [...]

“Give freely of thy spirit and judge not; be longsuffering and patient, for when you are kind with the kindness of the spirit to those who are unregenerate, the act frees your own unregeneracy as well.  Blessed is he that sees and understands and forgives.”
* * * * * * * * * * * [...]

Addiction.  Everywhere we look, wherever we turn our gaze, outward or inward, we are apt to find it.  My prayer for 2008 is for people to be set free. Whether we are speaking of heavy, urgent addictions, persistent venial sin, or the clingings and attachments that are part-and-parcel of our human weakness and frailty, let this be the [...]

[Excerpt from "Heart of the World", by Hans Urs von Balthasar]
Or I can postpone guilt until tomorrow.  The eye that looks at me fixedly always says “today.”  “It is now that I want to be loved.”  But I lower my eyes and say:  “I will love you tomorrow.  Tomorrow you’ll see what I’m capable of [...]

Excerpt from:  Abandonment to Divine Providence (Jean-Pierre de Caussade)
“It is true that a canvas simply and blindly offered to the brush feels at each moment only the stroke of the brush.  It is the same with a lump of stone.  Each blow from the hammering of the sculptor’s chisel makes it feel – if it [...]

I have absolutely no interest in pop psychology, nor the latest “gurus” being touted by the media.  I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen even a segment of Oprah’s show, for instance.
What I am interested in, and desire to share, is anything that can bring the truth and the teachings of [...]