Written in writing group, Monday, July 3<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been reading Cynthia Bourgeault\u2019s book called The Wisdom Way of Knowing<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>She describes a retreat on an island in Maine with about 12 people.\u00a0 <\/span>Their day was divided into chanting and praying, intellectual discussion, and physical labor.\u00a0 <\/span>The physical labor was simple and rhythmic, such as stacking logs.\u00a0 <\/span>The point was to activate 3 centers, the body, the mind, and the heart.\u00a0 <\/span>By \u201cheart\u201d they didn\u2019t mean an emotional center, the heart was considered \u201can organ for the perception of divine purpose and beauty.\u201d p34\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>The idea was that using those three centers in a balanced way would raise our ability to understand.\u00a0 <\/span>She said that as a group they found themselves interacting at a higher level than usual.<\/p>\n In connection with the three centers, she told a story of a young man who was having trouble experiencing his faith and devotion as strongly as he wanted to.\u00a0 <\/span>This was in the Russian Orthodox Church.\u00a0 <\/span>The abbot thought for a moment, and then told him to make 100 prostrations a day for a month and then come back.\u00a0 <\/span>A month later he came back, his face glowing, his faith restored to something living.<\/p>\n I remember doing prostrations as part of Zen training.\u00a0 <\/span>You bow with hands in gassho \u2014 prayer position, then go down on the floor, completely stretched out, arms over head, and you lift your hands briefly, then lay them down and get back up.\u00a0 <\/span>I remember feeling very odd at first, not liking the idea of worshiping anybody, or bowing down to an idol.\u00a0 <\/span>But I quickly discovered that a prostration gave me a sense of relief, of letting go of all of my troubles.\u00a0 <\/span>I have no idea what an Eastern Orthodox prostration looks like, but it\u2019s probably similar.\u00a0 <\/span>Anyway, I started doing two prostrations, sometimes more than once a day.\u00a0 <\/span>Not easy with an old body, but the same lovely feeling of letting go.<\/p>\n I know that I\u2019ve really missed Sacred Circle Dance, and so I\u2019ve added a couple of dances to the prostrations.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019ve done the Cantique de Jean Racine<\/a>, Caravan, Loda alla Montagna<\/a>, and Dreams of Harmony<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/span>It really lifts my spirits.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m so grateful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Written in writing group, Monday, July 3 I\u2019ve been reading Cynthia Bourgeault\u2019s book called The Wisdom Way of Knowing.\u00a0 She describes a retreat on an island in Maine with about 12 people.\u00a0 Their day was divided into chanting and praying, … Continue reading