“When the soul wants to experience something, she throws out an image in front of her and steps into it.” Meister Eckhart

  Quilt by Nadine Meeker

The soul knows what she wants, even if our ego is confused.  She casts out invitations, and like stones cast on gentle water, they ripple out, and touch every aspect of our lives.

Images from the soul are spontaneous lights from the Godhead.  The soul casts them out, and stepping into the light, she waits until we are conscious enough to see and respond.  We can teach ourselves how to be aware of the invitations by fidelity to two spiritual practices.  First, we can view synchronous events as invitations from our soul, and daily ask for the grace to pay attention to them. With practice, we can learn to focus intentionally on our surroundings and interactions with people, staying open to the possibilities they “throw out.”  For example, one day I may have a dream about a one-time friend, in which he wrestles with strong emotions.  The next day I stumble upon an article about grieving that touches on my recent experience of loss, and I think again of the dream and become concerned about my friend with no apparent cause; however, I resist the urge to shrug it off with, “Oh, it’s ‘just’ a coincidence.”  I ask myself what images surround my friend when I think about him? What images surround me?  What feelings do these experiences evoke about him and about me?  I decide to inquire about his well-being from a mutual friend, and learn that his mother died at the same time as I lost a loved one.  The synchronistic event becomes an invitation cast out to me, and if I respond to its light, I grow.

We can develop our imaginations by devoting time to creative expression.  Time spent drawing, painting, writing, making music, dancing, etc., is liminal time…the space in between, in which the soul casts her sacred images.  If we work 9-5 and surround ourselves with people and frantic activity 24-7, there is no time to create, and we will miss the light.

Writing this reflection has been a good examin for myself.  May the soul’s images astound us.