Practicing nonjudgment

Nonjudgment is the intentional ceding to God the sole role of judge; we refuse to take God's judgment into human hands. Nonjudgment lives in submission to Jesus' explicit teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

Nonjudgment is a "paying forward" of the grace a mercy received by the sinner from Christ; by practicing nonjudgmental we preach the gospel (John 20.23). Improvising on this text, the Desert Fathers say: "When we cover a brother's sin, God covers our sin; when we tell people about our brother's guilt, God does the same with ours."

This is the strange logic of the gospel--the opposite way.

We refuse to judge just as we refuse to engage in violence--so that we are vanguards, heralds, the New Adam/Eve of a wholly new way on earth and refuse to perpetuate what tearing us apart.

The power of words: architects of the new creation

Every word, a meditation. No word spoken carelessly. Let the vocal chords, the lips, tongue, and teeth connect to your heart and soul---to express the reverence, joy, love, and truthfulness dwelling there. Words are sounds that create. Every word, then, heart deep.

Slow down until you learn reverence. Listen to each word until you hear the new creation in each syllable.

Words, according to the lower standard are merely a communication tool. But words, from the higher view and when spoken from eternity, are for creation. As God spoke and brought all things into being, we, God's prophets, speak and in his name remake the world. Adam followed God's example in the Garden, and the New Adam, Jesus Christ, calls us to follow him in speaking the world toward its new and everlasting springtime.

TOMORROW! "The Art of Spiritual Friendship" :: an urban retreat

Friday and Saturday, February 18-19, 2011 University Presbyterian Church, Fresno, California

Click here for a link to our PDF file of the brochure.

Living an alert spiritual life is demanding; no one can go it alone.  And in today's world, we are hungry for meaningful personal intimacy.  Friendships not only provide us with companionship, they keep us grounded, and give us guidance along the way.  This year's conference will focus on St. Aelred of Rievaulx and will explore biblical and historical witnesses to the gift friendship can be to the spirit.  David and Jonathan, Mary and Elizabeth, and nearer our time, JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis show us ways of joining together as soul friends as we walk the way of Christ in challenging times.

Led by Dr. Robert Hale of the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, Dr. Steve Varvis, interim provost and historian at Fresno Pacific University, and Dr. Chris Erdman.

• Begins Friday evening the 18th, 7pm

• Saturday morning through mid-afternoon the 19th

• $35 includes lunch; please pre-register to help us plan for lunch ($45 fee at the door). Mail your check by February 15th to University Presbyterian Church, 1776 E. Roberts Ave. Fresno, CA  93710.

• Contact the church office at 559.439.8807 for more information and to register.

• Monastery Bookstore with books, candles, icons, and other handcrafts from around the world.

• Click here for a link to our PDF file of the brochure.  Please forward to friends!

This conference is open to all, so please invite a friend and spread the word.

Toward a better relationship with time: the Pomodoro Technique

I'm trying out a new way to experience time.  I can get a bit manic at times . . . so engrossed in a project that I don't take breaks.  There's something spiritually deadening about that no matter how charged up I am by the work.  To be more spiritually aware and disciplined about my relationship with time and projects I hope this will help me focus and also to set boundaries . . . and live a little more fully while making space for things like . . . a glass of wine, a walk, my loved ones (!) Here's the scoop on the Pomodoro Technique--

The basic unit of work in the Pomodoro Technique™ can be split in five simple steps:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished

2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)

3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper

4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)

5, Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

How do you shape your relationship to time?  Is it working?  Have you tried the Pomodoro Technique?

Never give up

Here's a lovely example of contemplative living---awakening to the Voice of God speaking through the most ordinary events. Mary shows how remaining attentive to what comes, even through a little child, can be revelation and an awareness to all of life as sacred.  Mary writes:

. . . As I write this, I realize that I’ll never give up, as my darling girl so emphatically advised me. But the thing that I won’t give up on is me. I’ll never give up on me, no matter what might happen in my world and along the journey that comprises my life. Although there will be things I never complete, things I might falter on, things that might cause me to fall---and OH, trust me, there will be those things---the core that binds me here, strong to the universe, is one which will never let go of its grip. So long as I have a warm, pulsing hand to clasp. So long as I have an eye to the smoldering, triumphant sun.

Love that last sentence: "So long as I have an eye to the smoldering, triumphant sun."