One tradition of my faith community (Grain of Wheat Church-Community) is to have 3 or 4 Wednesday Night Conversations a year. It’s when someone leads a conversation, with whomever wants to comes, on a specific church related topic; i.e. atonement, sin, membership, Bible, or contemplative prayer. On Wednesday May 6/26 I was privileged to lead the “contemplative prayer” one. I wrote the following for our church announcements (edited for this blog).

Wednesday Night Conversation with God and Each Other

Albert Einstein was reported as saying “I want to know God’s thoughts, the rest are details.”  How about you? Do you want to know what God thinks about you and your life – guidance, encouragement or help in a particular situation or relationship? According to Isaiah in chapter 55, the Lord says “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” AND the Lord wants us to “Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” How do we do that – listen to what God thinks?

In the 6th century St. Benedict helped organize the desert mothers and fathers, early monastics, by giving written advice that is followed today by thousands of monks and sisters in most religious orders including oblates. In the opening of his Prologue of the Rule of St.Benedict he wrote: “Listen, my child to the precepts of your master, incline, the ear of your hearts.” 

I’m suggesting that one way to hear what God thinks is to “listen with the ear of your heart”. In the video from The MacRae Center, Joel has some reasons why it’s hard to hear God in the 21st century. We need contemplative spiritual practises that help us become quiet, so we can listen with the ear of our heart. Whatever that means.

At the next Wednesday Night Conversation we will be talking about how we can hear what God is thinking by listening with the ear of our heart. Come with your stories. I’ll share a few of mine and lead us in an experience of contemplative listening and who knows, you may hear God speak to you. We can’t force the Creator of the Universe to talk to us but according to Isaiah and others, Love is more than willing to share her wisdom, encouragement, guidance, hope, healing, whatever She knows you need. Join us on Wednesday, May 6 to discover what that could mean for you. 

As I meditated on this subject in prepartion for my leading the WNC, allowing Love to guide my thought process, I came across a few resources that I want to share with interested folk. The first one is the song I opened with: Born in Chains by a great Canadian who’s experiencing the blessing of the Name, Leonard Cohen. Here’s the link to the newsletter Joel produces as part of his job at MacRae Center called The Pause – well worth it and I’m not saying this just because Dr. Joel is our son. Links to the MacRae Center and Futuring Hub are in the newsletter. I also came across a presentation by a Benedictine Sister, Sr. Mary John Mananzan, OSB talking about very practical ways of responding to what you hear when you listen with the ear of your heart. Benedictines know how to put contemplation into action. 

I also want to acknowledge my use of Cynthia Bourgeault’s book, The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart and Kabir Helminski, Living Presence: A Sufi Way to  Mindfulness and the Essential Self – whom Bourgeault introduced me to. Bourgeault’s comment on page 34 – “The heart is not for personal expression, but for divine perception.” referring to the teachings of the Christian Desert Fathers and Mothers, guides my present understanding of the heart, much more than the common understanding that if you’re in touch with your emotions you’re in your heart more than your head. Chapter VII. Seeing with the Eye of the Heart is a wonderful rephrasing of St. Benedict’s “incline the ear of your heart’ and a concise introduction to Lectio Divina and a new insight for me about The Four Senses of Scripture. After checking out the Four Senses of Scripture on the internet, Wikipedia informed me that the Catholics had known about it from the 3rd century when the theologian Origen, formulated the principle of the three senses of Scripture (literal, moral, and spiritual) from the Jewish method of interpretation (midrash) used by Saint Paul in Epistle to the Galatians chapter 4, which Augustine of Hippo added one more sense to. I also realized Bourgeault had put her own spin on them so I’ll mention her labels: 1. Literal; 2. Christological / analogical; 3.  tropological and 4. unitive. You’ll have to get the book to flesh them out. She says that “theology” originally meant this unitive seeing: “not talking about God in linear, rational discourse but actually participating in the logos (or creative intelligence) of theo (God) as it shapes itself into new forms”. (p.95) Here’s a link to her website.

During the evening I also used a quote about “seeing with the eye of the heart” p.xi, from To Know As We are Known: A Spirituality of Education by Parker J. Palmer, to give folk a boarder understanding how the heart can assist us in hearing AND seeing what Love invites us to. You can learn more about Palmer and his Center for Courage and Renewal and a bunch of good stuff including Circles of Trust one of the best discernment tools I know, here.

After some conversation about listening to Love with the ear of the heart I lead the group in a Musica Divina or audio divina. We closed with more conversation about the first hour and concluded with a wonderful ritual that Tatiana had developed, concluding with singing together – Go Now in Peace. This is one of the ancient songs GoWC-C uses. Its by Gerald Derstine, 1974 version not the Besig/Price version in case you’re checking YouTube.

I believe a deep knowing (which includes listening and seeing with the heart) of the Holy / Love / God is possible and the only way to truly be a human fully alive. Blessings on us all as we find ways to listen to what God is thinking. I believe Einstein is getting an earful and loving every eternal minute of it.