Tag: spiritual formation

Eps 70: Sexuality and Spiritual Formation, Guest Tara Owens

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Today, my guest is anam cara (soul friend), Tara Owens, of Anam Cara Ministries.

Tara’s ministry exists to provide a place dedicated to the practice of soul friendship and coming alongside others in order to facilitate healing, wholeness, holiness and spiritual formation.

• We cover topics about embodiment, sexuality, sensuality,  body shame, body and brain disconnect, fear, technology, the vow of “staying with”, spiritual direction, holy listening and attending to others, and using an adult coloring book as a spiritual practice.

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SHOW NOTES:

TARA OWENS
MIN 2:00
Conversations Journal – Spiritual Formation

4:00

In direction you receive the full attention of someone.

Holy listening and focused fully loving attention and being entirely listened to.

A long loving look at the real together.

5:30

Do homework to find a director that has the training to truly attend during your sessions.

The holy ground of the soul. Sacred space.

8:30

Who are the typical people who come for direction?

10:00

Working with Millenials

11:30

Crisis points in faith and needing a director.

Sexuality and Spiritual Formation

Embracing the Body: Finding God in our Flesh and Bones

part I Fears around the Body (we are our body)

part II Theology about the Body

part III Integrating our Body (shalom and the body)

God speaks to us in and through our body

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]-[Mistakenly] We relate to ourselves as “brains on sticks” -[/ictt-tweet-inline]

Our beliefs about God come to supersede our experiences of God

15:30

We can be taught that the body is the entry point of danger and sin. (Lisa) This is the opposite of true.

Male and Female bodies and brains.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]“Shame disintegrates us.”[/ictt-tweet-inline]

(we are separated from ourselves.)

“Our bodies can’t lie.” 

MIN 18

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]“Our bodies will tell us what we believe.”[/ictt-tweet-inline]

MIN 20 The brain and body disconnect. The silos we create.

MIN 21:30

Genesis 12

Vision and a word.

The fully-sensual nature and wholeness of being human and spiritual.

24:30

A walk being spiritual.

26:00

The Emmaus Walk and Prayer Walk

and other practices

Practicing really breathing

Attending to the “ruach” of God (Hebrew for breath)

We usually breath with just 20% of our lungs.

Blessing their body.

MIN 28:00

Body shame and self-loathing

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]“Being willing to look at yourself with kind eyes”[/ictt-tweet-inline]

we participate in a degradation of our bodies and seeing what is wrong.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””]We are conduits of God’s blessing.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

Bernard of Clairvaux

We are not a canal but a reservoir – give out of overflow after we have received from God

31:00

The truth about Selfies

[ictt-tweet-inline via=””][Selfies are] not vanity but a mask and fear.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

33:30

It is not good for humans to be alone.

35:00

Staying connected with people once it gets messy.

37:30

The tool of technology.

Skills for connection if you have gaps.

The vows of “staying with” and not leaving when it gets hard.

The discipline of stability.

39:00

The challenge of Embodiment.

Liturgy should involve: God, creation, and other people.

Communion is a tangible way to be physical and incarnate. (meals together)

No more tiny bits of Jesus.

43:30

Tara’s latest project:

At Play in God’s Creation:

Contemplative Prayer Coloring Book

96 pages!

anamcara.com

anamcaraministries

TWITTER:
anamcaraTO

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Eps 65: The Myth of the “Lone Genius” – CS Lewis expert Dr Diana Glyer

“The Inklings” were a group of authors who met together, up to twice a week, for 17 years and included the likes of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien.  Without the rigorous, encouraging, and collaborative nature of this group, great works like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia might not have made it to final form.

Dr Diana Glyer’s scholarly work into The Inklings took her over 20 years to compile and craft into her dissertation published asThe Company They Keep. Her scholarship altered the prevailing notion about the group and how it functioned. Her more recent general-audience book, based on that scholarship, called Bandersnatch includes the most interesting stories about CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien’s friendship and explains how we can learn from the way the Inklings worked together. Today we talk about how we can apply that wisdom into our own creative endeavors and collaborations.

Thank you for listening today! Please pass along this episode to others!

AND Scroll down for plenty of show note details on the books and people mentioned.

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dianaglyer
Dr Diana Glyer

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SHOW NOTES:

MIN 1:30

Diana’s first introduction into the world of Tolkien.

2:30

Wondering what the conversations of Lewis and Tolkien were like and how they influenced each other.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=”dianaglyer”]Our conversations become the spark for creative breakthrough.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

(That’s a cool quote from Diana and you can Tweet it just by clicking it. It’s like Elfin magic!)

3:30

No one had researched and written about their relationship of collaboration and influence from the inside–like a fly on the wall.

5:30

How we think about literary influence and collaboration. Process influence versus product influence.

The role of creative input and question-asking during the initial period of creative inspiration.

MIN 7:30

Looking at dairies and primary documents and drafts and the detective work of Diana’s book “The Company They Keep”.

8:30

Some examples of how Lewis and Tolkien made changes in their work because of the input of the Inklings writers group.

11:00

The myth of tortured artists and creative luminaries and how excellent creative work really happens (nearly always) by the people we admire most.

13:00

Having conversations and interactions about our creative work.

For creative geniuses and highly productive artists throughout the centuries it is NORMAL to be collaborative and interactive during the creative process.

[ictt-tweet-inline via=”dianaglyer”]The Hollywood construct of lone creative genius is highly abnormal and unhealthy.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

(That’s another cool quote from Diana and you can Tweet it just by clicking it.)

14:30

How Bandersnatch got written.

17:00

What do you do if you’re scared that your work stinks?

Inviting a bigger look at what collaboration means.

Involving others into every stage of the creative process.

21:00

Guidelines for critique:

First, know what you are looking for then…

Remember 2 things:

1. A good critique should not end up being discouraging but make you excited to go back and work on it and restless until you do.

2. Ask specifically what you need. Example (Is there too much description? Is it too wordy? Is it too formal? Is pacing okay?)

CS Lewis sent his work to friends with a note, “Is this worth working on some more? Or am I on a dead end?” The Chronicles of Narnia was almost never written because he was discouraged.

MIN 26:00

The huge importance of encouragement.

Be courageous in sharing our messy unfinished work.

MIN 27:30

The Company They Keep

Bandersnatch will be available in Fall 2016 as an Audio Book

IMPORTANT LINKS:

AUTHOR page: dianaglyer.com

(FACEBOOK page) Bandersnatchbook

BOOK PAGE: bandersnatchbook.com

• CS Lewis wikipedia page

• CS Lewis Foundation

• JRR Tolkien society website

THIS WEBSITE:
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Soul School – Lesson 21: A Test of Your Faith

Is this a time of testing in your life? That’s what the topic is about in this lesson today.

Welcome to Soul School, a weekly Wednesday installment for you. AND this time spread the word! The VIDEO class and worksheet, normally for Varsity Club members ONLY (people who sponsor the show on a monthly basis), is free and available to anyone, this week! Whooot.

SO-after you listen to the podcast, check it out: the video lesson that follows is here. Enjoy and share it if you know someone who’s going through a tough time of testing.

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Soul School – lesson 1

"Safe Neighborhood?" (creative commons photo by Josve05a Flickr)
(creative commons photo by Josve05a Flickr)

Here is something different.

It’s a short episode with a thought experiment, a kind of class in “soul school”.

Let me know what you think.

I’d like to intersperse short “lessons” with my typical interview episodes. I’ll do a few as a test and see where it goes.

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Episode 16 – It’s Apophatic, not Apathetic, Prayer

Shownotes Episode 16 – Apophatic prayer explained in a conversation with Dr. Laurie Mellinger.

LaurieMellinger

Laurie Mellinger, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Christian Theology
Dean of Academic Programs
B.A. Millersville University; M.A.R. Evangelical School of Theology; Ph.D. The Catholic University of America

Get your spiffy guide to the ancient Christian prayer practice of praying using Scripture called Lectio Divina (latin for “sacred reading”). It’s the perfect go-to reference and resource to get started with the four movements of Lectio that lead us to praying without words and listening to God.

A donation of 50¢ or more will get you this essential Lectio Divina resource.
Click HERE to download it now!

Encountering and examining Apophatic (contemplative) Prayer

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Conversation Notes

MINUTE 2:00 Apophatic not to be confused with apathetic

3:00

2 main ways of understanding God

Via Eminencia -The way of eminence

The highest of something we know as humans and elevating it. Power, strength “The most powerful”, omnipotent)

Via Negativa – The way of negation (Denying the limited or bad we can observe. God is Immortal (NOT mortal).

5:00

Katophatic (or cataphatic) vs. Apophatic Prayer

Katophatic  – What we can see and say in prayer.

Apophatic – We we cannot see and bri; and without our senses.

6:00 Meditation and how it relates to apophatic prayer

6:30 What is Lectio Divina

Reading scripture and prayer as we seek relationship with God

The four movements of this form of prayer.

12:00

Eastern vs. Western styles of Meditation

Experiencing vs. Word-driven forms

15:30

Contemplation 2 going definitions

1. To observe

2. Contemplative to look at with continued attention.

16:00

Contemplative vs. Discursive prayer

18:00

Breath prayer

21:00

Apophatic prayer as a way to pray without ceasing

22:00

Allowing God to be in every moment, even with every breath.

Laurie’s experience with the Jesus Prayer

Being carried along through pain knowing experiencing that God was with her.

Celebration of Discipline-Richard Foster

24:00

Prayer as a habit that changes you.

…Like holding hands as you walk…

25:00

What happens after the questions like: “I’m I allow to do this?”

The distractions and a flood of thoughts become the hardest part.

How to help that…

Examples: “eye floaters”, “balloons”

27:50

on being patience with yourself

28:00

Brian McClaren getting distracted and quoting from the dessert fathers.

28:30 Turning our face back to God

Patience

Persistence

Presence

29:30

The discipline of being attentive to God allows us to be more present and attentive with others as well. 

30:00

People crave presence and can even be (un)used to it.

31:00

Learning how to listen. Simone Weil.

Mindfulness

34:00

How we are over-stimulated. Children get overstimulated and need naps which means they get silence and solitude and lack of stimulation. Silence and solitude are restorative.

37:00

The demons we encounter in solitude or in the desert.

38:30

A clean and swept room, removed of clutter makes us more aware of new things that might be wrong.

39:00

New Testament Professor Douglas Buckwalter

41:00

Spiritual formation is not doing disciplines.

One kind of prayer isn’t better (per se), but God is forming and reform and transforms us back into the image of Christ. God must reform us. In God’s presence we will feel more loved and acceptance and he might put his finger on something to take care of.

Luke 11:24-26

24“When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25“And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. 26“Then it goes and takes alongseven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

43:30

on…The messy interior work needed to be more like Jesus.

Letting God dig around.

43:30

Helpful and practical advice for getting started with apophatic and contemplative prayer.

Practice reading the Bible and using the text to help you pray and wait.  (Lectio Divina)

“That waiting (in prayer) is the entry into apophatic prayer.”

Breath Prayer

Centering Prayer (using a word to focus)

“Be patience with yourself. Just do it and God will meet you there”

Using a candle to bring our attention back.

47:00

Good focus is ill-fitting at first until you commit to the process.

Leonard Sweet

(paraphrase) “If you are still counting the steps, you aren’t dancing yet. You are still learning to dance.”

47:30

Prayer can become flow.

48:30

Union with God – The traditional understand of the goal of apophatic prayer.

50:00

God invites us corporately and individually as human beings into that (triune) relational and our participation in that relationship is what I mean by union with God.”

Sensing the presence and love of God more fully, and more and more fully. This is union with God.

51:00

Western goal in Christianity is often understand (first) as Salvation in terms of Penal Atonement and payment for sin. It is a more judicial angle compared to what Eastern Christians do. It’s much more about relationship restored.