The Listening Ear

Rescued by technology

I got up this morning and picked up my iPod Touch to turn off the alarm I had set on it. Then I got dressed, ate breakfast and went of to attend to local Optimists meeting. When I sat down at the meeting, I realized I didn’t have my Touch any longer. I couldn’t imagine where it might have gone.

I went home and searched for it, looking every place i could think of. I just couldn’t imagine where I had left it. It was such a short time since I between the time I had had it and when I realized it was missing.

After much searching and feeling just sick about losing it, I thought of using the location services I have with my MobileMe account. I sent a message to the Touch that caused it to play a sound for two minutes. Wanda heard the sound and found the Touch in the sleeve of my robe. I don’t know exactly how it got there, but I was glad that I had really ‘lost my Touch’ for good!

Paying Attention to the Inner Light-3

In Minding the Light Brent Bill explores that ways that we encounter God’s light in creation. He encourages us to really pay attention to the things we see in the world around us in order to perceive God’s light revealed in those things.

Bill draws on his experiences with photography which taught him to look at the way different types of light affect how a photo turns out. Photography helped him notice the various forms of beauty that are found in the world. Bill says, “...I began to think of direct light as God at work in us, reflected light as God in the people around me, and alternative light as things like the Bible, works of good art, poetry, literature and more.”

Such seeing is a spiritual discipline and one of the joys that comes from this kind of seeing is from noticing something previously unnoticed, beholding the brilliance of love blazing in the world around us.

How do we put this into practice? One way is to simply take time to really look at things. We can’t rush it, but need to take time to really take in the beauty of a tree or the delight of a small child playing. We can ask ourselves, how can I see God in every place?

Paying Attention to the Inner Light-2

In Mind the Light Brent Bill urges us to see God’s light both around us and inside us. Just as all living beings need light, our souls crave the light of God’s presence. After all, “God is light; in God there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5).

Bill contends that we will experience God’s presence when we learn to see deeply, to behold, using our senses to be sure, but also seeking to see beyond the surface of things. He teaches us that we will see hints of God’s activity, God’s guidance and God’s grace when we learn to look at the world and our lives in this way.

It is important to note that God remains sovereign in this process. The Spirit will reveal himself to us when and in the way that the Spirit chooses. Nevertheless, we can learn to be looking for the ways that God shows himself to us. That’s what it means to mind the light.

Paying Attention to the Inner Light

I have just finished working through another book by J. Brent Bill called Mind the Light: Learning to See with Spiritual Eyes. I’ve written preciously about another of his books, The Sacred Compass. Brent Bill writes from a Quaker perspective and in this book he focuses on the Quaker notion of ‘inner light.’ 

Minding the Light involves paying attention to the light of God’s presence in our lives. It is a way of deep seeing that tries to discern the ways that God is involved in our inner and our outer lives. It has taken me a while to make my way through this book. 

The primary reason that I’ve taken my time with this book is that it offers a rather extensive series of ‘Illuminating Moments.’ These brief exercises are intended to help the reader pay attention to the divine light in our lives. As I read through the book, I frequently used these exercises as an opportunity to reflect in my journal on what I was reading in the book. 

In the next posts, I’ll comment on some of the concepts in the book. If you find the concepts to be helpful, I’d encourage you to pick up a copy of the book so that you can work through the ‘Illuminating Moments.’ They will help you apply the concepts to your own life.

All Soul's Parade

Last night Seth, Flower, Anea and I went to the All Soul’s parade in downtown Tucson. The more popular name for this celebration is ‘Day of the Dead.’ It is a celebration that is especially popular among Hispanics, although in Tucson it isn’t limited to one ethic group. There were more Anglos than any other group among the participants. 

There were literally 1000’s of people who put on costumes and makeup to march in the parade. People just show up and at the appointed time, they start down the parade route. It took 30-40 minutes at least for the procession, filling the street from curb to curb, to pass by the spot where we were watching. 

 Most of the costumes and makeup were variations on skeleton theme. And the variations seemed endless. There were skeleton puppets, banners, and 1000’s faces made up in white and black makeup to look like human skulls. 

I wondered how 3 year old Anea would react to all this and was prepared for the possibility of a quick and early departure. Instead of being frightened, she was transfixed by all the marchers and really enjoyed the parade. I am still sorting out my thoughts and feelings regarding this event. 

I found that watching all those skeletons pass by was weird, a bit creepy, but also strangely impressive. My take on this celebration is it is a time to honor those who have died before us. It also serves as a reminder that death is something that awaits us all and that we ought to savor life while it lasts. The Day of the Dead is a celebration of life despite the reality of death. 

Some of the marchers carried pictures of loved ones who had died. There was also a group that made their own witness in this sea of mortality symbols. They carried a large sign that read, “Jesus is the resurrection and the life who died for the sins of the world.” That is the hope that Christians cling to in the face of death. 

 Here are some pictures from the parade:

 

Wanda's brother Greg and his friend Charlie.

Faces in the Procession

 

The Grim Reaper and his Wife