Practicing the presence of God Archives - Page 14 of 16 - Lisa Colón DeLay

God's goldfinch

Maybe my eyes view the world differently than many people. I’m artistic, passionate, visual, creative, curious, perpetually pondering, and spiritually-geared. But, that’s not the only reason. It’s been my journey, and more so recently, to radically shift the paradigm of my perception of reality to comprehend and appreciate that ultimate reality is Reality. That is, reality is really the Creator, the Supreme Being, (some call God, Yahweh, or Trinity, etc.)

Really, this means I count experiences as spiritual many might consider ordinary, and I end up have many extra-ordinary experiences as a result, by anybody’s standards. For me, and often others I share them with, they are not just poignant, but deeply engaging, and also powerful interactions with Spirit God, the Lover of my soul.

Today, I encountered a baby bird, and we reckoned each other, and I was able to hold him, and connect with him as God’s beautiful creature, and a precious blessing. He was not afraid, and fell asleep in my palm. The love I showered to him that was overflowing in me, he gave back, in his creaturely way. I give a few details of the encounter at my personal blog

It’s amazing what happens when we awaken to all that is spiritual. God is all around, and filling his world abundantly.

Thank you for visiting.

Feel free to leave your comments…

How to: Change Dead Ends

Does your life feel like this image sometimes? Maybe now? Here is a road that is signaling both a Dead End, but also a No-U-Turn sign too. It’s a tough spot to be in, and we’ve all been there. That sinking feeling washes over us, and we start to think, “It might not get better.”

Maybe you’ve thought, “Is this all there is?” What do we do to resolve feelings or circumstances that seem just like the situation illustrated above?

Reframing. Reframing is pulling one’s self out of a situation, mentally, long enough to find a new perspective that changes how one will cope and adjust to the circumstance at hand. When it seems dire, one can always find a new way to see it. It’s a decision of the mind, not the feelings. Later, we find that our feelings will follow.

It’s like the story of the two children who were sent to clean rooms entirely filled with awful manure. One saw the mess, and all at once sank into despair, the other got to work happily, why? She said, “With all this poop, there has to be a pony around here somewhere!”

But what about a Dead End, No-U-Turn situation? Can something like reframing really help, when it seems that desperate? What then? Then, you tear down the signs. You challenge the very premise. Should the signs really be there? Who put up the signs? Was it you? Your parents? Someone else? Society? Was that proper, and should they come down? Who says it’s a true Dead End? Who says No-U-Turns?

Look for new options, unseen possibilities, and new ways to find hope, renewal, and paths to a better place. Treasure hunt for them. It may take time, help from others, concentration/prayer, sweat, and tears, but that’s how a person makes a game-changing move. That’s how you change the road on which you travel, and the scenery you are seeing.

How have you changed your scenery?
What would you like to change right now?

chime in : )

Hope

Hope-

It’s the fuel to get past the obstacles before us. If it didn’t exist, we’d have to make it up. Because it exists, we carry on, and we may do it well. Through it we know that our present condition is not all there is, and not all that is most important. Hope is not just joy (sturdy happiness) and courage to persevere for a better day, but for the perfect day. A day that we cannot truly wrap our brains around quite yet. But, it’s a state and circumstance ahead in which our hearts count on. We believe in this beautiful thing, and, in that way, we are more human, not less.

It is not futile to believe in something one can’t see, or to set one’s sights on a place one’s never been. Every great explorer journeyed somewhere they had never seen, and found a place they had never set foot on, that had once been myth to everyone else.

Have hope, never give it up.
Of the three enduring things -faith, hope, and love- the greatest is love, but faith and hope support it. Faith is trust. Hope is fuel for it all.
-lcd

Leave your comments about hope . . .

Ways of Examen for greater fulfillment

The practice of Examen (pronounced: EGGS-aye-men) brings our living and our growth into focus. It helps us see God, (and the Divine presence) in our day, and/or helps us see far more meaning in our day than we could by merely living without really noticing.

For me, the practice of Examen has sometimes turned self-critical, and produced guilt, instead of helped me see God and his encouragement. My spiritual director Lenoir Wible offered me her notes from her teacher, that are a more positive slant on the ways of Examen. It’s quite beneficial–even life-changing.

Remember God sings over you.

Give it a try for a week or so, and tell me if it’s helpful.
Have you ever tried the spiritual practice of Examen before?
(Chime in with your comments…)

Consciousness Examen

In the morning, upon awakening:
Ask The Divine, Light of the World, to walk with you throughout the day.In the evening, before sleep:
1. Briefly review your day.
2. Thank God for the specific gift of the day.
3. Celebrate God’s undefeated love at those moments of the day when you were loving or loved.
4. Celebrate God’s undefeated love at those moments when you were less than loving – and hear God say to you: “I know that and I love you!”
5. Ask yourself “What grace am I being invited to ask for?”
Ask!
“What would life look like were that grace given?
Sit with this and ponder the answer with prayerful thanksgiving

Humor as Spiritual

falljpg

For my very silly side, I have another blog. It mainly serves as a stress reliever to help me through the tension of taking 3 graduate classes at a time, and it includes the extra silly nonsense of Trevor the traveling gnome, and his adventures. (Just google him, if you care to see it).

It’s gotten me to wonder about God and humor, and what spirituality it all contains.

I have grown to understand nothing is UNspiritual. That is, all is spiritual. As C.S. Lewis said, “We don’t have a soul, We ARE a Soul. We have a body.” God is Spirit. He breathed the breath of Life into us–Spirit. So, I don’t image life could not be spiritual, unless we are simply trying to convince ourselves otherwise.

In studying what humor actually is, how we perceive it. (That is, the Science, and even the math, of humor.) It boils down to irony, which is essentially carried out in surprise. This has much to do with the ability to choose freely as humans as well. Also, on a side note, if we all knew what would happen it the future, nothing would be ironic. Controlling the punch-line means we can create an ironical effect.

If you take the simplest form of humor, slapstick, such as “the pratfall,” (like slipping on a banana peel) you’ll see what I mean. Simply put: A person falls down suddenly when you expect that they should remain standing. Many interpret this as humorous. It has to do with expectations, the set up and patterns built in, and then the sudden change. It has to do with ideals too. Yes, some don’t find humor in it. It’s perspective too. But, just about any humor involves irony of some kind, satire does too. Satire is a high form of humor which points out the truth to illicit change. It pokes fun, but in doing so, it pits what is happening to what should happen or ought to happen, so the difference stands out to us. What is most excellent or beneficial is the ideal that is not happening, so it is “on trial” in a sense, through humor. So, we understand it, and the process or “the human weakness on trial”, to be funny, especially if we agree with the comedian’s perspective.

Why might it all be spiritual? Humor, if you think about it has much to do with Ideals that point off the map–or what “ought to be”. Eternal truths reveal an Eternal Mind. In a positive light, when things don’t match up, they are ironic, and we find it amusing. So, we laugh. Imperfection of humanity is amusing. It lets us “off the hook” for not matching up to perfection. People without humor, are no fun, really, correct? They can’t laugh at their mistakes, and they take life and everything much too seriously. It’s hard for them to improve or grow, too. Laughing makes being human easier to bear. It’s gracious living. It’s good medicine to laugh, so it’s spiritual to laugh. It brings health and relief to the human Soul.

It’s also spiritual because it is a way to share with the Divine in Joy, which is a sturdy happiness, that points off the map of the tangible things of this world to the Divine. Joy exists (and may be felt) in a permanent sort of way through pain, sorrow, gladness, and the rest of normal life.

Leave your thoughts about humor, if you’d like.