I take pen in hand today with a bit of trepidation, because this piece feels important, beyond me. For reassurance I invoke Meister Eckhart’s wisdom, “The preacher must beg the word of God from the people,” and I ask for guidance to see and speak truth with inner eyes.
The seed was planted as I read from the memoir of Jacques Lusseyran, And There Was Light: The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II. Lusseyran tells the story of the accident which blinded him as a boy and how he adjusted to the disability and thrived because of it. He formed a resistance group in World War II and survived imprisonment in the Buchenwald concentration Camp. In the following quote Jacques Lusseyran describes how he used his sense of touch:
“Touching the tomatoes in the garden….is more than seeing them, it is tuning in on them and allowing the current they hold to connect with one’s own, like electricity. To put it differently, this means an end of living in front of things and a beginning of living with them. Never mind if the word sounds shocking, for this is love. You cannot keep your hands from loving what they have really felt”
And There Was Light: The Extraordinary Memoir of a Blind Hero of the French Resistance in World War II by Lusseyran, Jacques
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I9KUTHW
This “more than seeing,” the “turning in on” and “connecting” moved me deeply. I immediately recognized it as the most profound description of contemplation I have ever read. If we can touch one another this way we will have re-discovered fire (paraphrase of Teilhard de Chardin).
It’s all about listening. Really listening, as if we cannot hear with our ears, so we must hear with our souls. Contemplative listening touches the soul of the other with our presence. We enter that place of sacred presence in ourselves by recognizing the difference between our ego needs and desires and the true self divested of ego. Abiding in that place, even if for just a moment, we are free to connect with the other in his or her place of sacred presence, and sparks of spiritual energy ignite and transform.
Contemplation does not only happen between our ears as we sit alone in meditation. Cultivate sacred listening.
photo credit a href=httpswww.flickr.comphotoszen13555854zena via a href=httpphotopin.comphotopina a href=httpcreativecommons.orglicensesby-nc-sa2.0cca edited
As I look closely at the featured photo of the green and golden leaf I can actually feel the raised veins. Try it. I highly recommend this book.
Spirituality Without Borders: Reflections on Spiritual Practice 
Thanks for this new post. I, however, am about ready to leave to go to Colton/Uniontown for my sister-in-laws burial and then meetings to talk about transitioning to managing the corporation without her. I pray for both wisdom as well as compassion so I can attend to the various parties various concerns. Please pray for me. And happy New Year. Love, Polly
From: Spirituality Without Borders: Reflections on Spiritual Practice To: pjdruffel@yahoo.com Sent: Thursday, January 1, 2015 12:04 PM Subject: [New post] Sacred Listening #yiv8819199039 a:hover {color:red;}#yiv8819199039 a {text-decoration:none;color:#0088cc;}#yiv8819199039 a.yiv8819199039primaryactionlink:link, #yiv8819199039 a.yiv8819199039primaryactionlink:visited {background-color:#2585B2;color:#fff;}#yiv8819199039 a.yiv8819199039primaryactionlink:hover, #yiv8819199039 a.yiv8819199039primaryactionlink:active {background-color:#11729E;color:#fff;}#yiv8819199039 WordPress.com | rita kowats posted: “I take pen in hand today with a bit of trepidation, because this piece feels important, beyond me. For reassurance I invoke Meister Eckhart’s wisdom, “The preacher must beg the word of God from the people,” and I ask for guidance to see and speak tru” | |
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I trust that all will be well, Polly, and will send loving energy. Thank you.
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Love this, Rita; thank you! Good thoughts to start the new year. Have a happy 2015! Love, Sonja
Sent from my iPad
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Happy New Year to you as well, Sonja..one of the sacred listeners.
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beautiful post!
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Thank you so much. Thanks for stopping by.
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“Contemplation does not only happen between our ears as we sit alone in meditation.” This is so relevant to me now, thank you! Learning how to find the sacred amidst the mundane, the every day and the domestic, how to hear the divine amidst a toddlers shouts and a babies cry, how to recognise peace inside though the world around me seem chaotic… These are profoundly transformative practices, and more challenging to me than any retreat into silence and solitude. Though I know there will be a place and time for that again too, sacred listening and active loving connection to the world is my current path – so all insights that help are much appreciated! Happy new year Rita, may 2015 bring you peace and joy!
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Happy New Year, Amy! Thank you for your perspective as a parent. Motherhood would have given me tools to learn this kind of unconditional contemplation; I’m happy to learn it from you.
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