Random Thoughts

Maybe you would like to think through these spirit journeys, too. My heart and my mind got together and formed these thoughts; I offer them to you.

Outside my window at the moment of this writing, a Dove sits in the small mesquite tree and she calls out her “Coo, Coo” sound again and again. Soft and soothing, a song in the air. In that same way, but at a great distance from my house, a Rooster sends his greeting to the morning. I hear it faintly: “cock-a-doodle-do.” It’s more like a sound than a song, but then songs differ, don’t they? The Dove and the Rooster brings gifts this morning. What is the Spirit trying to say to me? To you?

In a TV interview I saw last night, the deeply appreciated Fr. Richard Rohr, author and world renowned spiritual guide, talked about his personal prayer life. I paraphrase: My prayer life has evolved from words to what I would call Sacred Gazing. I find myself engaged with God by looking and seeing God in and through all things. It’s not pantheism, he added; I just stand amazed how I am absolutely surrounded, covered fully, embraced by the presence of the holy. End of paraphrase. What if, today, I intentionally looked upon the world with Sacred Gazing? What if I acted upon the basic belief that God is not elusive but engaging.

An illustration of what you just read in the paragraph above: as I was writing the last two sentences in the preceding paragraph, I heard a new song from the little mesquite tree. It was a strong, clear chirp, the kind of sound that breaks through thoughts and claims your attention. It was so lovely that I quietly opened the back door, phone in hand with a bird-sound identifying app, and I heard the song even more clearly. To my surprise, within moments of opening the door, the choir began to sing. The first strong voice was from a Brown-crested Flycatcher who was joined by a House Finch, a Verdin, a lesser Goldfinch, an Abert’s Towhee, and a Bell’s Vireo. Anthem! Gift! Presence! Sacred hearing, in this case.

One more: Back to Fr. Rohr and the TV interview. His comment: if you want to know about Jesus, his life and activities as a man, you can read the first three Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. If you want to know the Christ of God, read the Gospel of John. The first three about the life of the man among us, the last one about the resurrected presence within us. But, and this is my comment, not Fr. Rohr’s: don’t read to learn. Read to experience. Put yourself into each experience and event, become part of it as if you were physically present. Don’t investigate by reading; invest yourself through your spiritual imagination. Even this: in the believed that God is fully among us, allow the reading to be a springboard into the Presence. Let the reading open the door. Anthem awaits! Press on!