Welcoming Every Moment

"The duties of each moment are the shadows beneath which hides the divine operation." 

Jean-Pierre De Caussade 

 

Many of our lives have become a bit more ordinary in these past few months. I don't know about you but for me - many of the moments have been hard to welcome and even imagine that God is working in them. After the initial shock of the COVID disruption, I realized I was cleaning more, cooking more, and maybe if I would let myself - just sitting and soaking in a moment or two. My own soul has been unwinding a little. I am understanding at a deeper level what the above quote means. I don't have my usual go to distractions. A practice called the Welcoming Prayer has helped much when the moment is particularly uncomfortable. It is a practice of letting go into the present. When I am bored, anxious, angry, or afraid my knee jerk reaction is to get away from these feelings and corresponding body sensations. If my desire is to be close to God however, I need to breathe and stay present.

 

WELCOMING PRAYER AS DEVELOPED THROUGH CONTEMPLATIVE OUTREACH 

At any particular moment when you feel "triggered" by an outer event, there will be a corresponding bodily sensation associated with it. Maybe it is a tightening in your chest or butterflies in your stomach. The fight or flight instinct will take over. You will often do whatever it takes to get rid of that feeling. Instead of doing that try the following steps: 1) Feel and sink into whatever you are experiencing in your body. Do not resist it - just experience the energy. Scan your body for any uneasiness - just follow it. All experiences are carried in every cell of your body. 2) "Welcome" is the sacred word, the symbol of our consent to the presence and action of the Indwelling Spirit. What you welcome is not the anxiety or whatever feeling you may have but you are welcoming God's activity in it. Instead of running from the feeling, you will breath and sink into it. 3) After we welcome whatever is going on you say the "Letting Go" phrase. "I let go of my desire for security, affection, control and embrace the moment as it is." When we let go, we pass through whatever we are feeling instead of running from it. Some call this prayer a healthy pause. I invite you to try this practice. If you would like to explore it more with me I would certainly welcome that. I am finding that it is a transformational practice of praying while on the go. God's peace to all as we grow together in this new year.