We live in a sea of air that is so familiar to us that we remain totally oblivious to it. Similarly, we are oblivious to the sea of spirituality that surrounds us at all times.
*Aryeh Kaplan. Jewish Meditation.
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"Spirit" in Jewish and Christian Scripture means "wind, breath, spirit, Spirit." Each of these imply a dynamism, a movement, an unseen, often subtle and often missed due to the subtlety. This Energy can, however, appear very clearly, surprisingly, and even alarm us with Its Power. This is like the wind, which can be so quiet and subtle as to be unnoticed by us; yet, the same wind can be a devastating tornado. Our breathing, generally, is a quiet and unnoticed experience, but it can become strong and even loud under certain circumstances.
Last evening, during a conversation, at an important juncture, I sensed a benevolent Presence behind me. I sensed, as it were ~ for in Mystery "as it were" is how we speak of Presence ~ and a hand upon my back. I spoke of this to the other person, for this experience, for me, confirmed God was manifesting comfort and approval at that point in the discussion of great importance. Yet, without years of Silence I might have missed that subtle Touch and Comforting Manifestation of love.
Today, I went to the church sanctuary, worked, and had prayer. I returned down a road that gave privacy and time to slow down and pray ~ even stop in the road and pray. I prayed to Spirit about something I could not understand and was painful to me. I asked, essentially, that question, and in lament, "Why ...?" A passage of Scripture immediately arose to mind, one that I would not have related to the situation at all. The Scripture was a powerful confirmation and affirmation of approval. I, once more, without practicing years of Silence and Listening, might have not heard that subtle voice at all.
Recently, late one night ~ really, very early in the morning ~ I was left alone with a quandary. I almost called a dear friend, but felt it was too late. I went to sleep. Several hours later I called her. I told her, "God impressed on me to call two persons. You are one of them." She had words to frame my experience that I knew were from God; she helped me see my experience of the night before in a new way. Once more, ... What if I had not been sensitive to whom the Spirit wanted me to speak?
The above subtle movements of the Spirit are like ones that likely you have had from time to time. Spiritual practice is to make us more sensitive to ever-more subtle impressions of the Spirit. Rarely, if ever, does God "yell" at us to get our attention. The perceived "yell" is usually the sad consequence of our not discerning in the first place.
Continued... |
