River Flows in You

Music connects with something deep within us.  It awakens us spiritually. Here's my 19 year old son, interpreting a song by Yiruma.  He's added a bridge he wrote, but it fits in so well I can't tell what's his and what's Yiruma.  And that's as it should be when the river flows in you.  Josh started playing the piano this past year.  But it connects deeply within him.  This video reveals the way he's letting his body inhabit the music.  Rather than just playing notes, he's beginning to yield; whenever we yield the the Spirit we're no longer playing at something, we're being played.

Okay, so I'm a proud father.  But Josh's playing illustrates the path of spiritual awakening, the yielding that's necessary for prayer.  There comes a point when we must lose our heads and inhabit prayer itself, until we're no longer conscious of praying, but find ourselves being prayed.

Josh is still a beginner and probably making some mistakes.  But he doesn't care; he's already letting go.

So, if you're beginning at prayer, don't let your need to get your praying right dam up the river that wants to flow in you (John 7.38).

1. Make some mistakes.

2. Try new things.

3. Feel.

4. And let the Spirit pray in you.

Spiritual Recovery Takes Guts

Dr. Michael Gershon has spent his career studying the gut. He calls the bowel the "second brain." Your core, your physiological center, the heart of your being holds as many nerve endings as that organ that sits on top of your neck--your brain. The two brains, the one at the top of your body and the one at the center, must work together if we're to live well. If they don't, well . . . you know what kind of misery and mess come your way when your gut is out of whack.

What's true physiologically is also true spiritually. If we live in our heads we neglect our hearts, our core, our center . . . the second brain. And the result is, well, you know . . . a miserable mess.

Most Americans experience some kind of gut trouble each day, and half of all Americans say their digestive problems affect their daily lives.

The basic point is this: take care of your gut, honor your second brain . . . or suffer. Too many people choose to suffer. We don't eat well. We don't relax well. We let our thoughts drive us relentlessly as if they command the helm of our lives.

It's little wonder, then, that our spiritual lives are out of whack.

The road to recovery runs through the center of us, and it'll take some real guts.

The first step is simply to acknowledge that you seek peace deep in the bowels of your being.

Dry Heave Spirituality

I was at a church board meeting the other night. What's worse, I led it (I'll tell you what that means in a moment). Here's a circle of busy, competent people, who, because they are busy and competent get asked to do just about everything. And as churches do (and just about every other volunteer organization), we found ways of asking them to do more. We needed a few volunteers for another task force, and few others for a weekend volunteer activity. Those that didn't dive into their calendars to try to find some legitimate way to say "no" simple stared at the papers in front of them.

They are all good people who want our congregation to do good things and know that requires involvement. When they have to say "no" they feel guilty. When they say "yes" they feel the draining weight of yet one more thing to attend.

This creates what I call "dry heave spirituality."

Not a pretty term, I know. But maybe it's shock value will awaken us to what we do to ourselves...to each other.

And here's what I meant by "what's worse, I led it." There comes a point when someone's got to say "enough." It would be nice if leaders like me could recognize in others the tell-tale signs of "dry heave spirituality". But we get blinded by the needs of an organization that require human resources.

Learning to speak a good "no" or "yes" means learning to stay near the center spiritually so that you and I know in our guts when we simply can't do another thing because to do it would violate something sacred within us. When we choose to act from the center there's a wholly/holy different experience.

This takes poise. Internal clarity. Conviction. Courage. We must breath. Seriously. By breathing, we slow down and come back into our bodies, aware of what's going on inside. And our breathing becomes a prayer that unites us with God who's within each of us.

It takes this kind of attentiveness to our lives from the inside-out so we can learn to sense when we're getting spiritually sick.

This kind of awareness can empower:

1. us to say "no" when we must not say "yes"

2. us to say "yes" when we can do so with wind at our backs

3. us who, like me, lead organizations to look out and see signs of dry heave spirituality in others even if they can't recognize it yet themselves.

Improvise on These Five Ways and Find Time for Prayer

Much of my life I've felt simply too busy to pray.  I crave God, and know that periods of stillness before God are essential for developing the intimacy that is life giving.  But--and here's the rub--there's just too much to do. Over the last few years I've shifted.  It's not that making time for prayer is easy; it's still a struggle.  But I've reframed the way I view what I do.  Desperation (as I've written about before) is a marvelous motivator.  Desperation forced me to change my diet and habits half a dozen years ago when my health dropped through the floor.  And part of that change meant a shift in my daily practices.  Prayer--contemplative stillness before the Source of All--is simply not an option.  It is life.  To be driven along in the garbage and clutter of a chaotic life was never appealing, but I felt powerless against it.

Here's a link to a great article that offers five ways to carve out time for renovating a chaotic life and making time for exercise.

Yeah, make those changes--stubbornly, doggedly--and live better.  But I can't help but wonder what transformations we'd know if we got exercised about the sacred and made similar changes so we could plop down before the Holy for awhile each day.   I think our life depends on it.

Whether it's because we're unorganized, unmotivated, or simply over-tasked, we’re all too busy. If I were to ask you to dedicate an extra hour each day for something, you'd laugh and call me crazy. However, what if I asked for a fraction of that? What if I wanted 30 minutes of your day and promised that the time investment would actually increase your productivity each day? Not only that, but you'd potentially live longer, perhaps be happier, and definitely have more energy.

That doesn't sound like a bad deal. A little prep work, a small time investment, and loads of new attitudes and productivity gains. Where is the catch?

Those who think they have no time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.

Many today are finding that the body and soul were never meant to be disconnected.  Joining exercise and prayer is the path not only to healing, but to better attitudes and greater productivity.  But we will have to choose to make changes and swim against the stream.