40 Days of Contemplative Ways
BEGINNING ON JANUARY 1ST, or any day you choose
You have reached the home of the blog entitled, 40 Days of Contemplative Ways! I am excited to have more then 10 guest blog posters who are willing to share their experiences of contemplative ways that they enjoy in their personal lives. You can interact with them, responding to what they have experienced, or comment on how it is for you as you newly explore a practice they have shared. You may even find yourself encouraged to begin an old favourite practice once again! I am honoured that you will be taking the time to join in our mutual adventure – it is an inspiring way to begin the new year.
Contemplative living seems to flow against our way of life today. It takes a commitment to go against the grain. This blog hopes to support your commitment to begin the year 2012 with a taste of contemplative ways. So what do we mean by contemplative ways? Our guest blog posters are going to be the ultimate demonstrators of what contemplative ways are, but I will begin here with a simplified explanation. Contemplative ways invite us to a deeper way of living, beyond the surface of our busyness, our competitive edge, the noise, and the electronic tyranny of our age. It is an invitation to come away into a deep attentiveness to the ways in which the creative presence of God makes itself known within ourselves and our lives. It is a way to create space for the recognition and relationship of God in our lives and make room for the possibility of gratitude and of transformation. It is about looking within, as we listen with our hearts, to a part of our beings that may have become a stranger to us. It is about cultivating and having compassion for community, to both give of our gifts and receive from others. It is about noticing and caring about nature and facilitating its flourishing. It is about recognizing, caring and living the gift of our work in a meaningful way. It is about attending to the rhythms and seasons of our lives, leaving space for rest and renewal.
There is no single way to engage in contemplative practices. Your uniqueness will determine what your favourite practice may become. In my studies in spiritual direction, we applied this ‘observation, consideration, or gazing attentively’ (a definition of the latin word contemplari) in such a variety of ways. These included sitting, standing, walking, and lying down; using attitudes of not doing; deep listening (from the heart), pondering, and questioning; guided imagery and active imagination, along with exercises using the body and artistic expression.
We invite you to share these contemplative ways with us. It may be helpful to journal this 40 day journey as you experience what our blog posters have come to know for themselves. As you interact with the material, may you transition towards what Soulstream has suggested; moving from studying to savouring, from explaining to experiencing, from probing to being probed, from mastering to being transformed. May you be wonderfully blessed by the experience!
Here is the Royal Roll of the blog posters who are participating. They are listed in alphabetical order. More information about who they are will be given as each of their posts are published:
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Brent Unrau
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Christopher Chiu
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Christine Valters Paintner
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Donelda Seymour
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Gwen Neufeld
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Lorie Martin
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Murray Dueck
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Paul Jones
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Pearl Nieuwenhuis
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Rob De Cotes
And more…
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