Podcast Episode Ten: Contemplative Ecumenical

SEASON TWO - EPISODE TEN: CONTEMPLATIVE ECUMENICAL

In episode ten of The Why Behind the What, I seek to introduce you to a new language that, for a long time, I did not have words for. Much of this episode is based on a three-part blog series I wrote a little over a year ago entitled, On Being an Ecumenical.

My spiritual journey, which has led me to practice the contemplative and the ancient, has led me to discover and develop a new identity:

I am a Contemplative Ecumenical.

I see more and more people who once identified as Evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, or Christian, seeking and longing for something new. So, I think it’s time we find a new term and form a new type of community. And, lucky for you, this is what I’m trying to do with turning Ecumenical into a noun and claim it as our identity. 

I think Contemplative Ecumenical might be a great term that embodies the ancient spiritual practices we’ve been talking about and what the Jesus tradition is all about.

As an adjective, ecumenical means promoting unity and oneness among the world’s Christian churches. It seeks cooperation and better understanding among different Christian traditions. It values the beauty of diversity, names and embraces our differences, sees everyone as members of the same community, all the while not letting these things bring division. A lofty goal, for sure.

I think being an Ecumenical means viewing the Christian Tradition as a diamond. We acknowledge and appreciate every facet of the diamond, rather than thinking the unpolished parts need to be removed or only one facet gets to glean the brightest. 

What I want to do is hold this diamond in my hand, move it around, look at each facet, and be in awe of the facets that catch my eye, reflect the beauty of God’s Light, and impact my soul.

I don’t know how this sounds to you, but being a Contemplative Ecumenical it gives me a little more hope, speaks deeply to my soul, and I’m all in. I think it could be so cool to see a movement of Contemplative Ecumenicals who are living an ancient faith and experiencing glimpses of the Divine and being transformed by this God today.

Maybe you’ve come to the point where you can no longer identify as Protestant, Evangelical, or Catholic. Maybe there’s something better for all of us. Maybe, we’re all Contemplative Ecumenicals reading to join this mysterious, contemplative, and transformational way of life.

A few resources I reference are The Pocket Meister Eckhart and The Pocket Thomas Merton as well as my blog series, On Being an Ecumenical. Also, please leave a review of the podcast here.

As you live as Contemplative Ecumenicals, as you practice an ancient spirituality, and as you see glimpses of the Divine all around you, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

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Podcast Episode Nine: Digital Disconnect

SEASON TWO - EPISODE NINE: DIGITAL DISCONNECT

If you’ve followed my blog, you know I’ve been writing a lot about social media, technology, and disconnecting from our digital devices for the last couple of years. This has included the following posts: Attentive to Advent, Not Social Media; A Break to Declutter; and the three-part series: A Digital Declutter: Part 1; Part 2; Part 3.

In this ninth episode of The Why Behind the What, I share how disconnecting from social media and technological devices is essential to our spiritual transformation.

The more I have used social media, the more I have questions the value of social media.

It is impacting my spiritual life? Is it a barrier to connecting with God and other people? Is my time spent on it actually worth it? Does it significantly add value to my life? Is it keeping me from being productive in any other area? Am I a better human because of it? Am I aware of how social media makes me feel while I am using it? Or am I caught in a trap of mindless scrolling and numbing liking and retweeting?

These are actually ancient questions. For centuries, people of all faiths have been asking whether modern life and technologies of their time enhance or inhibit their spiriutal life.

In this episode, I share my journey and relationship with social media and technology, gives some examples of what I’ve done to log off from social media in order to be with people, and why I think we must disconnect from our digital devices to connect with the Divine.

The thing is, if God speaks using a still small voice, if the Ultimate Creator is known through Creation and Creations, if to hear the Divine we must be silent or embrace solitude, if what we’ve been talking about this entire season are actually tools to open ourselves up to the Presence of the Divine, then we MUST rethink and change our relationship with technology. 

If you’re interested in reading and learning more, I highly recommend the following: Digital Minimalism; iDisorder; The Distracted Mind; Reclaiming Conversation; Bored and Brilliant; Irresistible; The Shallows; 10 Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now; I Used to be a Human Being: An endless bombardment of news and gossip and images has rendered us manic information addicts. It broke me. It might break you, too; How to Break Up with Your Phone; 

 If you need a few new podcasts on this topic, I recommend: It’s Complicated; Note to Self; and Your Undivided Attention.

As you disconnect and become disentangled from social media and your phone, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

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This Quarantine Has Got Me Quarantired

I’ve always been the type of person whose to-do list is always longer than what is even remotely reasonable to complete. A couple of weekends ago, I made an incredible plan to mow the lawn, weed all the bushes around our house, AND dig up two tree stumps in our yard. Moreover, I planned to accomplish this all while my kids were napping. 

I know, a lofty yet completely unfeasible goal.

I started out strong, however. I raced to mow the lawn. I was under bushes ripping up a few vines as if my day depended on it. I started to wrestle that stump as good as anyone in the World Wrestling Federation. I miscalculated how long things would actually take. Relatively quickly, I was utterly exhausted. I went inside tired and defeated.

I’ve had similar experiences with other large projects, new workout routines, or a diet fad. Like that time I started a 30-day juicing diet...that lasted only one meal. By dinner I was so hungry I gave up juicing and handsomely indulged myself in a large meal. Then, I felt tired and defeated.

As we are now entering what seems like the 164th week of working remotely, I wonder if we are all starting to experience something similar. 

In my work, we started so strong. We did so much work to get our University ready for this transition. We responded quickly, discerned rightly, all the while caring for one another. There were meetings to host online, webinars to attend, phone calls with colleagues about how to do this work virtually, and Google documents and forms to create. 

But perhaps you are starting to feel tired and even defeated? Maybe your emotions are catching up with you or you’re starting to realize how stressful the last few weeks have been? Maybe you’re grieving the loss of what this semester would look like?

I think we are experiencing quarantine fatigue and have become a bit quarantired. 

I sense I’m not alone in this. Last week, I could not stay focused and was easily distracted. All week long I wanted to nap. Emotions bubbled up in me out of nowhere.  Reading the news became too overwhelming for me.

I began to wonder if I thought this was a sprint and ended up discovering it’s more of a marathon. I’m not a runner, so even this analogy makes me tired and defeated. 

This might be harder than we thought and longer than we hoped. This has added stress and anxiety to our lives and has been a blow to our morale. There is a magnitude to this historic season which we are living through. It’s ok to be tired, distracted, overwhelmed, and longing for a nap. The emotions we are feeling are ok, too.

Go easy on yourself. We are quarantired. 

So, rest, recoup, and re-energize. Take a nap and take breaks. Go for a walk or exercise. Play, laugh, and watch something that fills you with joy. Meditate, pray, or listen to your favorite music. Do that thing that brings life to your soul. 

All this is caring for your soul, your body, your mind, your self. Self-care is not a luxury, it’s not even selfish. It’s essential. Some might even say it’s a form of survival. It’s a remedy for exhaustion and burnout. It’s a way for humans to flourish. 

And, maybe it’s one way we end being quarantired during a quarantine.

Podcast Episode Eight: Fixed Hour Prayer & Liturgy

SEASON TWO - EPISODE EIGHT: FIXED HOUR PRAYER & LITURGY

In episode eight of the Why Behind the What, I introduce you to Fixed Hour Prayer and Liturgy; absolutely ancient and foundational practices in the history of the Christian tradition.

Fixed Hour Prayer is pausing to pray throughout our day at regular intervals- usually in the morning, around lunch, in the early evening, and before bed while utilzing a type of prayer book, such as the Common Book of Prayer. Liturgy, meanwhile, is the guiding and organizing principles of a church’s worship gathering; the rituals, traditions, and structure within the service.

When faith and church stopped working for me, when my prayer life seemed stagnant, when I didn’t know what to pray and felt pretty numb in a church service, it was Fixed Hour Prayer and the Liturgy that revived my soul.

They brought tears to my eyes, gave me the words I knew I needed to pray but didn’t have the words for, changed how I viewed and experienced church gatherings, and made me so much more appreciative of church history and global faith community.

Through prayer and liturgy, it was as if I was discovering and witnessing a language my soul knew how to speak all along. Through practicing them, I discovered depth, beauty, richness, and mystery; something I rarely found in other contemporary Christian traditions.

Fixed Hour Prayer and Liturgy are mysteriously mindful, refreshingly remarkable, strongly spiritual, and deeply theological.

They move me from not feeling it to saying, affirming, believing, and finally, living it.

They form me, mold me, and ultimately, transform me.

They are tools that open us up to the transforming presence of the Divine.

I don’t know about you, but I need the Liturgy and Fixed Hour Prayer, whether I’m feeling it or not and I’m convinced they are essential ancient practices for our continued transformation today. If interested, here are some great resources to start experiencing Fixed Hour Prayer: The Divine Hours (Volume One); The Divine Hours (Volume Two); The Divine Hours (Volume Three); The Divine Hours: Pocket Edition; Book of Common Prayer; The Online Book of Common Prayer; Hour by Hour.

As you experience the ancient contemplative practices of Fixed Hour Prayer and Liturgy, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

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Podcast Episode Seven: Lectio Divina

SEASON TWO - EPISODE SEVEN: LECTIO DIVINA

Many of us read ancient scriptures like we do a news article or a tweet; for information. Whether it’s a blog, Facebook post, tweet, or an online article, we read to gather information as quickly as possible. Then, we move onto the next post or article looking for facts, information, or understanding.

Yet, ancient scriptures aren’t simply meant to be skimmed for information, they are to read for transformation.

In this seventh episode of The Why Behind the What, I introduce you to Lectio Divina, or Divine Reading, which is by far my favorite way to read and listen to scripture. Without a doubt, this has been the most profound way I have come to read texts, hear the voice of the Divine, and be transformed by these ancient words.

Even better, though, in this episode, you might just learn Latin! Ok, ok, you won’t be fluent, but you might just learn four words, which will make you incredibly far from being even remotely an amateur. 

What is Lectio Divina? It is an ancient monastic practice of reading scripture through meditation and prayer with the purpose of union with the Divine and increasing one’s knowledge of Scripture. It teaches us to savor the ancient texts, to meditate upon it, ruminate on it, and respond to it.

Lectio Divina is an ancient contemplative practice that can transform our lives today.

It forces us to slow down, incorporates silence and stillness, and allows us to wait upon the Divine rather than rushing to read the next verse.

In this episode of the podcast, I will share some instructions and also lead you through Lectio Divina. The following is a summary of how I do Lectio Divina:

Number 1 - Lectio: Read the passage. Listen for a word of phrase. 

Number 2 - Meditatio: Read the passage. Define that word or phrase.

Number 3 - Oratio: Read the passage. Write a letter to yourself from God about that word or phrase.

Number 4 - Contemplatio: Read the passage. How do you need to respond? What needs to happen? 

If you’d like to read more, a couple of recommended books to begin with are: Sacred Rhythms, by Ruth Haley Barton; Invitation to a Journey, by Robert Mulholland.

As you listen, meditate, contemplate, and respond to ancient scriptures and the voice of the Divine, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

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Podcast Episode Six: Journaling

SEASON TWO - EPISODE SIX: JOURNALING

Dear Diary,

After forgetting about you for almost 20 years, I picked you up and decided to reread parts of you. Oh dear Lord in heaven. What was I thinking of writing all that stuff? It’s some of the most hysterical, embarrassing, vomit-inducing, fundamentalist stuff I have ever read.

It is epic. So, I have decided to read those parts to my podcast listeners.

Sincerely,

Nathan

It’s true. In the sixth episode of the Why Behind the What, I read from my first journal when I was quite the young and immature conservative evangelical. But ever since then, I have always kept a journal with me to write down thoughts, ideas, prayers, quotes, and over things I want to remember and reference. I have a row of them on my bookshelf.

Journaling is a powerful spiritual rhythm. It gives voice to our prayers, longings, and desires. It filters our prayers and thoughts to their core and can become a time capsule for our prayer life. It also can be a way to hear the still small voice of God. 

I’ve found journaling to be an incredible funnel for our deepest thoughts and desires. The more I write, the more I am able to filter out random thoughts and bring focus to my thoughts or desires I have been ignoring or too distracted to notice.

Some of the most famous and impactful spiritual books in church history are simply journal entries. Whether it’s Saint Augustine’s Confessions or Mother Teresa’s Come Be My Light or works by Henri Nouwen and Thomas Merton, these are all works by spiritual leaders who journaled their thoughts, desires, and spiritual journey.

Their words and prayers impact generations of people...while my words and prayers would be an embarrassment for generations of people.

In this episode, I also give a few tips on how to start journaling, so be sure to listen. My favorite journals are Moleskine. I have used them for years and I always have a handful lying around my office. A good resource I recommend is from a former professor of mine: Journaling as a Spiritual Practice: Encountering God through Attentive Writing.

As you start writing your thoughts and desires onto a page while listening for the Divine, may you have peace, may you have calm, may you have happiness.

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Podcast Episode Five: Centering Prayer

SEASON TWO - EPISODE FIVE: CENTERING PRAYER

Nothing can make me fall asleep quicker than being forced to do Centering Prayer for 20 minutes after lunch, during prime nap time, when you’re in graduate school and constantly exhausted. Yet, the first time I tried Centering Prayer, this is what happened. After 20 minutes, I awoke to drool streaming down my chin.

After this experience, I didn’t try this ancient practice again. It wasn’t until over a decade later that I tried Centering Prayer and this time I found it had become a profound practice for my soul that leads me into greater peace and calm, centers my soul, and allows me the space to listen for God. It’s been a game changer in my spiritual life. It was revived my soul and lead me into deeper awareness.

At it’s basic, Centering prayer is a type of silent prayer in which we center ourselves upon God’s presence.

This is why it is also one of the most difficult spiritual practices. It’s a practice where I can’t do anything, really. I don’t check things off my list. Instead, it forces me to be rather than to do. In Centering Prayer, I just am as I am. It’s just me and my thoughts, which can become quite noisy when sitting in silence.

But this is also why Centering Prayer is an essential practice.

Instead of me trying to achieve or do something, Centering Prayer becomes about me being present, as I am, to the Divine One who is always present to me. It becomes this centered place where I’m not working on my own soul, but God is working on my own soul. Through it, God does a transforming work in me and I am simply opening myself up to the One who does such good work.

Centering prayer allows us to be in union with God, to be aware of God, and to be as close to God as your very breath. It is a holy act, where we don't have to worry about doing, but instead settle into simply being.

Catholic Priest, Basil Pennington gives the following framework for Centering Prayer:

Be With God.

Stay With God.

Return to God.

In this episode, I share more about Centering Prayer, but I also give instructions on how to do a sit as well as end the episode with silence to experience Centering Prayer. As I mention in the podcast, a few resources I recommend are: Centering Prayer, by Basil Pennington; Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, by Cynthia Bourgeault; and Centering Prayer in Daily Life and Ministry.

As you learn to center yourself through silent prayer, as you learn to be with God, stay with God, and return to God, may you have peace, may you have calm, and may you have happiness.

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