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Welcome to OneLife Ministries. This site is designed to lead you prayerfully into a heart experience of Divine Presence, Who is Love. While it focuses on Christian teaching, I hope persons of varied faiths will find inspiration here. Indeed, "God" can be whatever image helps us trust in the Sacred, by whatever means Grace touches us each. Please share this ministry with others, and please return soon. There is a new offering daily. And to be placed on the daily OneLife email list, to request notifications of new writings or submit prayer requests, write to briankwilcox@yahoo.com .
Blessings,
Brian Kenneth Wilcox MDiv, MFT, PhD
Interspiritual Pastor-Teacher, Author, Workshop Leader,
Spiritual Counselor, and Chaplain.
Quote
“Rest” is a musical term, a tiny breather built into the melodic structure, giving the beauty of the melody a little space to expand in consciousness. “Rest” is also a spiritual term. We are told to “rest in our faith,” “rest in our Christ consciousness,” “rest in the loving arms of the Lord.” We usually take such admonitions to be metaphorical. We hear them as though they said “focus.” We are accustomed to thinking of spirituality as hard work, and the idea that it might not be is foreign to us.
*Julia Cameron. Some People Say ...“GOD IS NO LAUGHING MATTER. “Rest.”
Scripture
When the Eternal One began creating, that One fashioned the sky and earth. … The Eternal One looked at all the One had fashioned and, look, all of it was good.
*Genesis 1.1, 31 (Author's Translation)
Spiritual Teaching
One of my favorite scriptures pertains to resting. I have often rested in Quiet, meditating on this verse. The passage, the beginning of Psalm 37.7, reads: “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him.”
Last night I got little sleep. When I got to sleep, I awakened ill, and I did not get but about two more hours sleep. I was exhausted, but determined to go on an early morning bike ride. Then, I did morning devotions, and went to work.
When I returned home, and did some outside errands, including caring for my doggies, I read some and went into meditation. I could not focus much, but remembered Cameron's writing on rest – where she mentions: “Stop giving God your attention. Let God give you some attention. Receive.” So, I let myself quit trying to meditate, and I surrendered to the fatigue and was simply present – though I went into sleep and back out more than once.
Was I praying, meditating? Yes. I was doing restful prayer, doing what Cameron speaks of. I was letting go and doing nothing except resting in silent, exhausted openness. Oddly, this turned out to be one of my most enjoyable and blissful meditations in a long time.
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Why do we tend to turn spirituality into another big project? I think it is partly for our spiritual practice reflects what the rest of our life does – we struggle to rest in God for we have not come to trusts enough that rest in the LORD is enough, that is prayer, that is Loving, and that God gives Godself to us in a mysterious way when we let go and let be, and relax in a gentle and glad relaxation.
Imagine two persons dearly in romantic love with each other. One says, “Just rest your head against me.” Would that be enough? She is saying, “Do not try, simply lean against me, and let me love you by giving you a place to be, nothing more. My presence is enough for you.” Now, how would she feel if the man spoke, “Oh, honey, that is too simple! Please, let me work at leaning against you”? We know in human sexuality, for example, too much effort blocks the flow of energy. Relaxation is a key to sexual enjoyment and expression. By letting go, the expression and mingling of erotic energy is enhanced. Now, is this not true of our learning to let go and resting in the LORD, too?
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Certainly, there is a spectrum of spiritual practices. Some require more effort than others. What I am saying is that to “rest” means not to over-exert in any of them. There should be an element of resting in all prayer, for example, from the most ardent vocal to quiet, silent contemplation in which no words or images or thoughts are held in mind.
I do believe some persons are called to a more intense spiritual life. I am one of those. But, regardless, no one needs to take spirituality too seriously. Lightening up some time is something I find I have to do to get a breather from the ardency I invest in spiritual activities.
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Rest can include an interval of cessation from a particular action or focus. This week, I plan to enjoy some Blues music and a glass of wine with a clergy friend. She and I have talked seriously about spirituality in a more narrow sense – we clergy spend a lot of time focusing on that, or we ought to. But going with her to enjoy Blues and wine is a good rest from that, and is spiritual. Spirituality is about all life – about drinking wine with a friend and sitting in silent solitude meditating, about listening to Blues and to hymns – one can enjoy the spirituality of listening to say, the Beatles, as much as to someone like Michael W. Smith.
No, I am not saying all things are equally beneficial spiritually. I am saying all creation used rightly is spiritual. I get more inspiration to fulfill my spiritual intents from Micheal W. Smith music, but, still, the Beatles music can be a spiritual experience, too.
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The creation story in Genesis 1.1 and following sets the scene for the Sacred. What is that environment of the Sacred, of sacredness? Everything. Birds. Oceans. Rivers. Wind. Sunshine. Men. Women. Dirt. Smiles. Sweat. Fruit. … In its place and time, anything rightly used can be a part of the rests that need to share in making our lives a melody, and sometimes rest spiritually is simply that – resting.
Responding
1. The following experiment comes from Cameron. Try it out, and see if it speaks to you of the joy of rests and resting as part of a healthy spiritual life. Adapt it to fit your needs and desires.
Ours is a busy and driven world. Spirituality can easily become one more agenda. Being “spiritual” can be an attribute to list in the personals. We try so hard that it's trying. This week, expand your notion of what is spiritual to include a little more breathing room. Listen to a great Broadway show instead of a chant album. Go to a comedy instead of a politically correct art movie. Read a great mystery instead of a self-help book … . Instead of getting up an hour earlier, go to bed an hour earlier. Instead of tackling more, try tackling less. Let God work on you instead of you working on God. You will notice there is no official exercise, except to consciously choose something and record the result [Or do not record anything].
2. List ten things you can do with a spiritual mindfulness and openness of heart, thus it being a spiritual practice, that most persons would not consider spiritual. Remember, spirituality is not chiefly what you do, but the intent and awareness you bring to what you do. Some persons can sit in the same worship service on a Sunday morning, and one be doing nothing but motions and sounds, and the other can be engaging in worship as spiritual practice – both same place, same time, but different attitudes and awareness.
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*OneLife Ministries is a ministry of Brian Kenneth Wilcox, SW Florida. Brian lives a vowed life and with his two dogs, Bandit Ty and St. Francis, with friends and under a vow of simplicity. Brian is an ecumenical-interspiritual leader, who chooses not to identify with any group, and renounces all titles of sacredness that some would apply to him, but seeks to be open to how Christ manifests in the diversity of Christian denominations and varied religious-spiritual traditions. He affirms that all spiritual paths lead ultimately back to Jesus Christ. He is Senior Chaplain for the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, Punta Gorda, FL.
*Brian welcomes responses to his writings or submission of prayer requests at briankwilcox@yahoo.com . Also, Brian is on Facebook: search Brian Kenneth Wilcox.
*Contact the above email to book Brian for preaching, Spiritual Direction, retreats, workshops, animal blessing services, house blessings, or other spiritual requests. You can order his book An Ache for Union from major booksellers.
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