Streams of Grace Spiritual Direction
Spiritual Direction for all Seeking Connection to the Sacred
Upcoming Event–Lenten Guided Meditation: Peter Denies Knowing Jesus
Join us as together we explore an Ignatian Guided Meditation on the Scripture from Mark 14, Peter Denies knowing Jesus. Thursday, February 27, 2020. 7 – 8:30 p.m. at Wheatland Salem UMC. Naperville Campus. Learn more and register at http://wheatlandsalem.org/events/2020/2/27/lenten-guided-meditation
The Gift: A Guided Visualization of Epiphany for a New Year
Ask the Spirit of the Beloved to open your being, to quiet you…
Picture the scene of Three Wise Ones coming to offer homage and gifts to the Christ, the One sent by the Beloved…
See yourself as one of the Wise Ones…
You come to offer a gift…
There is a wonderfully wrapped gift in your hands…
Inside the gift are aspects and qualities of your life that you most enjoy and appreciate. Reflect upon these aspects and qualities…
Which are especially meaningful to you?
Which have been most apparent in the past year?
Which have seemed hidden or absent in the past year?
Gather these qualities into your gift…
Visualize yourself coming and presenting your gift-wrapped package…
As you offer this gift of yourself, see the love, joy, delight with which your gift is received…
Now, visualize a gift being offered to you. It too is beautifully wrapped…
There is a note card on it with a special message from the Beloved to you…
Imagine what is written on the note card…
Receive the gift, open it, and ponder its meaning for your life…
Offer thanks to the Beloved for this gift of the new year…
(Source: Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems and Reflections for Every Season by Joyce Rupp.)
Please email me at laura.lies@streamsgrace.com to discuss the possibility of working together in Spiritual Direction.
The Holiness of the Dark: A Longest Night Reflection
“In the beginning…
In the Genesis creation story, all was dark. And then God creates light. The darkness exists but was not created, perhaps it was original. Eastern Orthodox tradition suggests that all that is not created IS God. Perhaps God embodies the darkness.”
“There is a tendency for us to flee from the wild silence and the wild dark, to pack up our gods and hunker down behind city walls, to turn the gods into idols, to kowtow before them and approach their precincts only in the official robes of office. And when we are in the Temples, then who will hear the voice crying in the wilderness? Who will hear the reed shaken by the wind?” –Chet Raymo, The Soul of The Night
“She who wishes to be sure of the road she treads on; she must close her eyes and learn to walk in the dark.” St. John of the Cross
“To go deep, under the ‘known world.’ To where our Shadow lives. That part of us that has been exiled. Things we have not dealt with that grow into dragons. What if we choose to seek out our dragon, to befriend her? To ride the dragon up and out of the under-world. To welcome the dark and wild parts of ourselves and integrate them into relationship with ourselves. To offer radical hospitality to our whole self.”
“What wants to emerge from your shadow, to help you become more whole? What parts of your personality do you not accept? How can you befriend them in order to learn more about your life? Whatever stands in the light casts a shadow.” (Joyce Rupp, The Cup of our Life.)
“I will give you treasures of darkness,
riches hidden away,
That you may know I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who calls you by name.” (Isaiah 45:3 NABRE)
“Darkness draws out our deep-down depths. And, in the northern hemisphere, December’s darkness invites us inward. A lesson in wonder, an elegy for light, and a call to pay attention for the unbroken darkness of a December night.”
The ancient wisdom of Advent: The Dark is not an end but the way a new beginning comes.
Resources for Further Reflection:
Exploring the Sacred Wild in Winter – Journey to Solstice webinar from SDI
Learning to Walk in the Dark: Because God often shows up at night. By Barbara Brown Taylor
The Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage. By Chet Raymo
All Creation Waits: The Advent Mystery of New Beginnings. By Gayle Boss.
https://pullupachair.org/2014/12/21/longest-night-the-blessing-of-decembers-darkness/
Memories of a Pilgrim Heart: A Thanksgiving Meditation*
Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life. (Deuteronomy 4:9)
Look over your past year with “Exodus eyes,” the eyes of a pilgrim, one who is always on the way. What do you find there amid the joys and sorrows? For what can you give thanks?
I Re-Member:
…my Egypt situations of unfreedom that I have been able to leave behind,
…my burning bush moments when my faith was affirmed and my work renewed,
…my parting of the sea when I made it through difficulties and challenges,
…my companions who aided me in my wilderness times of doubt and confusion,
…my manna and quail that sustained my desert hunger and nourished me,
…my fire and cloud of other’s steady fidelity that assured me of God’s nearness,
…my hope in reaching the promised land of deeper peace, newfound joy, and a renewed sense of purpose.
Reflect upon where you are now on your pilgrimage. How has your Divine Companion been with you? Write a prayer of Thanksgiving to your Divine Companion.
(From Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for Every Season. By Joyce Rupp.)
*See Exodus 3:1-6:13; 13:1-18:27; 40:34-37
Special Speaking Engagement for Laura in Santa Fe at the Spiritual Directors International Global Conference–Making Good Decisions: Practicing using the Ignatian Discernment Framework
Join us in the sacred land of Sante Fe next April 2020 during the Spiritual Directors International 30 Anniversary Conference, “Spiritual Companionship for our Times.” Laura is honored to be giving a workshop “Making Good Decisions: Practicing using the Ignatian Discernment Framework.” Learn more here
Can’t make it all the way to Santa Fe? No worries. Check out this great article from my website about the Discernment process.
https://streamsgrace.com/2018/05/02/how-can-i-clearly-discern-gods-will-for-me/
Want to chat further about a decision that you are currently discerning? Email me about scheduling a brief phone chat to see about working together one on one.
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