Rochelle Blumenfeld, Breaking Through, 2013Jesus said to his apostles:
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up their cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.”
- Matthew 10:37-41
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God, the Infinite Everything, knows no boundaries.
Let go of what you know. Let the known diffuse; allow the boundaries to dissolve, the roles to fade. Notice resistance, notice dislike, notice aversion, notice judgement, notice clinging. God the Everything does not stop where you stop. On the narrow way found by few, these attitudes and constrictions don’t fit through the passage. You won’t get off the ground clinging to these heavy weights. The baggage must be dropped, left behind, before you can enter and pass through. Mythic membership consciousness, the over-identification with and loyalty to family, group, country, religion, etc., is too small, too closed, too “othering.” A love too small excludes the whole of me, says Everything. Whoever loves receives. Whoever receives everything receives Everything.
Meditations
“There is nothing wrong with identifying with such groups. The problems come when we over-identify with them. When we over-identify with a group, we give them unquestioning loyalty, whether or not their system of values is moral or not. Well established groups often resist change because their members over-identify with the group and as a result they often stagnate or even become dangerous, since anyone who questions the group’s principles can be accused of being a traitor. … Once we get a bit older, we need to be able to re-assess the values we have been taught, as they may not always be healthy for us. The sometimes-erroneous values of others must not stand in the way of true growth. Knowing that something is wrong may call for withdrawing from a group or from friends, but this is essential if we are to grow.”
- Murchadh O Madagain, Centering Prayer and the Healing of the Unconscious
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“God knows no political or religious boundaries. The old maps … are not relevant in this new kingdom. In the kingdom that Jesus is preaching, there are no rigid barriers between insiders and outsiders … the former, universally accepted and unquestioned social and religious boundaries are swept away. … [T]he kingdom of God is open to everyone. …
“… The abba whom Jesus revealed is the God of the human race as a family. Everyone must be concerned about everyone else. Unconditional love is the name of the game.”
- Thomas Keating, Meditations on the Parables of Jesus
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“When you are truly awake spiritually, you realize you are caged. You wake up and realize that you can hardly move in there. You’re constantly hitting the limits of your comfort zone. …
“When you approach the edges you feel insecurity, jealousy, fear or self-consciousness. You pull back and if you are like most people, you stop trying. … Spirituality is the commitment to go beyond, no matter what it takes. It’s an infinite journey based upon going beyond yourself every minute of every day for the rest of your life. …
“Would you like to go beyond? Would you like to feel no edges? Imagine a comfort zone that is so expanded that it can easily fit the entire day, no matter what happens. The day unfolds and the mind doesn’t say anything. You simply interact with the day with a peaceful, fully inspired heart. If your edges happen to get hit, the mind doesn’t complain. It all just passes through. This is how great beings live. When you are trained, like a great athlete, to immediately relax through your edges when they get hit, then it’s all over. You realize that you will always be fine. Nothing can ever bother you except your edges, and now you know what to do with them. You end up loving your edges because they point your way to freedom. All you have to do is constantly relax and lean into them. Then one day, when you least expect it, you fall through into the infinite. That is what it means to go beyond.”
- Michael Singer, The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
To Practice
Watch this short video segment (2+ minutes) excerpted from the Spiritual Journey series where Thomas Keating outlines mythic membership consciousness and the importance of awakening to its limitations.
Awaken to and explore your edges. Practice the Welcoming Prayer, noticing and sinking into any sensations of resistance, resentment or triggered emotions, and let them go. If you have a history of trauma, a “sandwich” practice is good; welcome the pleasant, welcome the unpleasant, and then welcome the pleasant again. Practice only as long as it brings more ease rather than intensity; many people mistake intensity for healing.
Cynthia Bourgeault writes, “Centering Prayer is basically kenosis in meditation form. The practice is entirely about self-emptying … not simply ‘emptying the mind,’ but a radical donation of one’s entire will and spirit” (quoted in Thomas Keating, The Making of a Modern Christian Mystic). A regular practice of Centering Prayer exercises this muscle of letting go, of detachment to attitudes, preferences, old stories, fear. Eventually the practice bears fruit off the cushion in the sacred pilgrimage of everyday life. Each prayer period, recommit to your intention to consent to God’s presence and action and return to your sacred symbol when all manner of thoughts and distractions arise.
You may wish to pray this prayer from Nicholas of Flue before or after your time in Centering Prayer. You can also find this prayer in the Centering Prayer mobile app under “Other Prayers”:
“My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you.
My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you.
My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.” Amen.
You may listen to the audio recording of today’s reflection here (about 13 minutes long).
Please share your reflections and comments, or you can “like” using the heart icon. Post prayer requests here. By clicking on the Subscribe link, you can receive email notifications when someone posts a prayer request.
There is still time to register for the “The Transformation of Suffering”, an e-course offered by Contemplative Outreach in partnership with Spirituality & Practice. Go here to read more and register. 6 CEUs for chaplains are available, as are scholarships.
There are three live Word of the Week prayer groups meeting weekly to support your journey. Each prayer group has a slightly different reflection excerpt, therefore some participants attend more than one. You can use this time zone converter to assist in calculating the prayer groups in your local time.
Tuesday, 9:00-10:00 AM Eastern (New York) Time (UTC/GMT offset -5 hours)
Wednesday, 6:00-7:00 PM Eastern (New York) Time (UTC/GMT offset -5 hours)
For these two groups, use this link to join OR click-on “join meeting,” and enter meeting ID 445 909 4698. When prompted for a passcode, use COL.
Thursday, 8:00-9:00 AM Eastern (New York) Time (UTC/GMT offset -5 hours). This groups meets on Meditation Chapel in the Wisdom Chapel. Use this link to join the group. Be sure to register with Meditation Chapel here if you are not already.
Additional opportunities to support your silent prayer practice and spiritual journey are offered in The Meditation Chapel, a Zoom-enabled, worldwide meditation community. All groups are free and open to all. Read more about groups on The Meditation Chapel here.
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