"Welcoming" A Christian Wisdom Practice (part 3 of 3)
Cynthia Bourgeault credits "the Centering Prayer movement" with the creation of the "welcoming" practice during the 1980s; and credit is indeed due to the Cistercian Catholic Christiana who have bought these ancient practices back to us and given them new life. But i feel that the wise should state clearly what they well know: that all workable spiritual practices are based on universal principles that have universal application. Directing the teaching of these principles and applications too narrowly at a specific faith community, might cause other seekers to feel that these practices are "just for Christians," or "just for Buddhists," etc., etc. Even now i can sometimes feel "pushed away" by appeals to communities of which i am not connected, although i know this is the farthest think from the minds of the persons who are doing the "pushing."
Doctor Reverend Bourgeault is a wise woman, both within her own spiritual community and in the wider spiritual community shared, as a sufi might say, by all lovers, and when she quotes a Sufi in defense of her practice and gives as an exemplar of its mature manifestation a Buddhist monk, she is demonstrating her connection with that larger community of lovers.
It is, of course, my obligation as a seeker, not to allow the cultural and theological trappings of specific faiths to hold me back from exploring the the paths that have allowed the arhants, saints, sheiks, shamans, and sages to proceed along the path i want to travel.
From time to time, Dr. Bourggeault expects her readers to be surprised , for example that spirituality can be lateral as well as vertical, or that we should welcome our negative sensations. A Buddhist would find nothing surprising about either of those ideas. I personally was drawn to "welcoming" because it seemed aboriginal and so Taoist (and even something that the poet Kipling might advise).
I had hoped that by the time i finished this series, i would have been able to report on my success or failure in using this practice against the vissisitudes of my own inner turmoil. But aside from trying the little exercise at the beginning of Part 1 of this review a couple of times, i have never used the practice. I have not had occasion to do so. In the two months since i first picked up The Wisdom Jesus and read about "welcoming" practice for the first time, i have not had enough inner stress to require a "relaxation technique." No, my life has not suddenly become perfect, without problems or errors. I have not suddenly become a saint. The cumulative effect of the poets and teachers i have noticed in my journey seems to have gentled me, or at least my body. Fear and Anger seem like fading memories, and for pain i have Ibuprofen. Love and peace to all.
Doctor Reverend Bourgeault is a wise woman, both within her own spiritual community and in the wider spiritual community shared, as a sufi might say, by all lovers, and when she quotes a Sufi in defense of her practice and gives as an exemplar of its mature manifestation a Buddhist monk, she is demonstrating her connection with that larger community of lovers.
It is, of course, my obligation as a seeker, not to allow the cultural and theological trappings of specific faiths to hold me back from exploring the the paths that have allowed the arhants, saints, sheiks, shamans, and sages to proceed along the path i want to travel.
From time to time, Dr. Bourggeault expects her readers to be surprised , for example that spirituality can be lateral as well as vertical, or that we should welcome our negative sensations. A Buddhist would find nothing surprising about either of those ideas. I personally was drawn to "welcoming" because it seemed aboriginal and so Taoist (and even something that the poet Kipling might advise).
I had hoped that by the time i finished this series, i would have been able to report on my success or failure in using this practice against the vissisitudes of my own inner turmoil. But aside from trying the little exercise at the beginning of Part 1 of this review a couple of times, i have never used the practice. I have not had occasion to do so. In the two months since i first picked up The Wisdom Jesus and read about "welcoming" practice for the first time, i have not had enough inner stress to require a "relaxation technique." No, my life has not suddenly become perfect, without problems or errors. I have not suddenly become a saint. The cumulative effect of the poets and teachers i have noticed in my journey seems to have gentled me, or at least my body. Fear and Anger seem like fading memories, and for pain i have Ibuprofen. Love and peace to all.