Christmas is for Contemplation

St. Francis in Ecstasy
1483
by Giovanni Bellini
 
"What we plant in the soil of contemplation,
we shall reap in the harvest of action."
~Meister Eckhart~

I had the luxury of a mid-day walk today. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the squirrels were fat. They'd make a great stew. Ahhh....what an absolute gift to have some quiet time.

As I walked, I listened to a CBC Tapestry Podcast featuring Richard Rohr, a Franciscan Priest.  Saint Francis of Assisi, according to Father Rohr has the longest biography of anyone in the Library of Congress. Why? Because Saint Francis was so loved.

As I have written before, I have recently been spending time taking Dharma classes at a local Buddhist temple. I have learned much about the religion, and even more about how our religions can lead us to spiritual practice in our daily interactions.

This is what is most important to me. More often than not now, in situations that used to bait me relentlessly I find myself saying, "Breathe", "Don't bite the hook", "Breathe, breathe, breathe".

 

I realized today that I constantly think in terms of good/bad, me/them. Rarely am I naturally a non-dualistic thinker. It has not been part of our modern western culture. Am I ready to give up the familiar confines of singledom and enter the unfamiliar halls of coupledom? What happens if I fail again? My ego kinda likes being distinguished, even if it's with that "single" adjective. Today part of the discussion was about being in relationship, how your ego, when fully engaged in friendship, marriage or parenting, our own ego has to downsize in order to make room for the "other".

How does this relationship work? Is it good or bad? Right or wrong? Black and white thinking is comfortable and simple. Maybe too simple.

I was born into a protestant Christian family, studied modern western Christianity in University, along with a smattering of other religions, and have attended church sporadically throughout my life.  I love the ritual of the Roman Catholic faith, and although I don't know that I could ever "convert", I find much peace in attending their services - especially funeral masses. I also find comfort in the rhythm and ritual of my own church, but I think that the fundamental institutional structure of the church today has lost it's connection with the conduct of every day living.  The reasons why are many and long, and at least another three blogs worth.

Part of the discussion in the podcast I was listening to today as I strolled around the lake, was about the great number of people who go to confession and confess they have not been to mass. To summarize Father Rohr, this is not the intention of confession. Confession is meant to serve a higher functioning consciousness within us that regards love (agape and eros as well) as a high ethic. Our confession is about about how well we have been able to serve our "god" (our god"self" and that of others).

Oddly enough, today my cousin Dave's blog was about honouring the Sabbath. The Sabbath being the one day a week set aside for spiritual pursuit.

Father Rohr discussed the idea of contemplation today. Of quiet contemplation; no television, radio, internet or conversation. In our last staff spiritual reflection, our Spiritual Care Coordinator led us through a reflection about  capital M, "Mystery" as written by Rachel Remen in her book, My Grandfather's Blessings.

Contemplation is an ancient practice that somehow has become lost in the increasing business of humanity throughout the centuries and meillenia.  I believe, more than attending services, this loss of quiet time for contemplation is significant.  It leads us away from meaningful day-to-day interaction.  As much as we need knowledge of scripture, tradition and ritual, we need to expose our mundane interactions to our spiritual selves.

Non-duality, a term I became familiar with through my study of Buddhism is a concept rooted deeply in all great religions.  Contemplation can lend itself to thinking in a non-dualistic way. In other words, not thinking in opposites. Some of the examples used in the conversation today were tall vs. short, ugly vs. beautiful, good vs. bad. Mystery lies between somewhere, in that black hole where good and bad merge. 

Thinking non-dualistically allows contemplation at a higher level, where notions and ideas are what they are, and not pinned against an opposite in order to be assigned their value.  We are often taught that a thing, event or situation is "good" or "bad", one or the other.  The idea of holding the positive and negative at the same time is not something we have been taught to do or cherish. It's one or the other. Keep this, discard that. We have left little room for mystery.

Just as my sight is limited, I know that there is something beyond the rise of the hill at the foot of the lake. Perhaps this life, this existence goes beyond our being, we just don't have the far-sightedness, so to speak to empirically prove it. This is mystery.

The discussion of contemplation and mystery moved on to ego. I first really learned about "ego" in university as I studied psychology, reglion and great works of literature. Non-dualistic thinking diminishes the ego. When the ego is diminished, we are able to see things more clearly, accept them as they are, even make room for mystery to sit with us and make itself at home. That's where all loving begins, at the beginning of the end of the ego.

One of the catch phrases of the year seems to be, "It is what it is". I've heard it spoken by more advanced students at the temple, by my own clients, and by Father Rohr today.  Acceptance, not needing to act, to be in the moment is a very powerful tool.

Boy oh boy do I wish you could walk right in to Home Depot and purchase that one! Although you can't pull it off a shelf somewhere, this non-duality can be cultivated by each and every one of us. Whichever of the great faiths you associate yourself with, and even if you don't connect with a faith group and even if you consider yourself the greatest of atheists or existentialists, you can apply the idea of non-duality to your life and relationships.

So, while I'm on holidays, after I do some needlework, read a couple of  books on my to-read list, maybe I'll reach for Father Rohr's book, The Naked Now. Or, maybe I'll take some more quiet time, just to sit quietly, to contemplate, to meditate, and to  let the mystery that surrounds us at Christmas time settle in.