Being our own authority.

"When you are awake to the integrity of your inner power, then you are your own authority. The word "authority" signifies your authorship of your ideas and actions."

John O'Donohue
"Anam Cara"

Photo: Pasqueflower, with the sun setting over Horsetooth Rock, Horsetooth Mountain Park, Larimer County, CO, March 24, 2015

The soul is a shy presence.

"The secret and the sacred are sisters. Our times suffer from such a loss of the sacred because our respect for the secret has completely vanished. We need to shelter that which is deep and reserved within us. That is why there is such hunger in modern life for the language of the soul. The soul is a shy presence. Maybe one of the ways to reconnect with your deeper soul-life is to recover a sense of the soul's shyness. Though it may be personally difficult to be shy, it is an attractive quality in a person. In an unexpected piece of advice, Nietzsche says one of the best ways to make someone interested in you is to blush. The value of shyness, its mystery and reserve, is alien to the brash immediacy of many modern encounters. If we are to connect with our inner life, we need to learn not to grasp at the soul in a direct or confrontational way. In other words, the neon consciousness of much modern psychology and spirituality will always leave us in soul poverty."

John O'Donohue
"Anam Cara"

Photo: Limber Pine bark "blush," with Long's Peak in the background, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, March 16, 2015

One of the tasks of true friendship is to listen compassionately and creatively to the hidden silences.

"Silence is the sister of the Divine. One of the tasks of true friendship is to listen compassionately and creatively to the hidden silences. Often secrets are not revealed in words; they lie concealed in the silence between the words or in the depth of what is unsayable between two people. In modern life there is an immense rush to expression. But sometimes the quality of what is expressed is superficial and immensely repetitive . . .

"The perspective of solitude and silence purifies and intensifies the encounter of two people in the anam cara [soul-friend] experience."

John O'Donohue
"Anam Cara"

Photos: Blue ice on Lake Haiyaha, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, March 16, 2015

We are capable of loving and belonging because the soul holds the echo of a primal intimacy.

"We are capable of loving and belonging because the soul holds the echo of a primal intimacy. This original echo whispers within every heart. The soul did not invent itself. It is a presence from the divine world, where intimacy has no limit or barrier. People who lead solitary lives often stumble upon this great wellspring of love within the heart. This is not a question of forcing yourself to love yourself. It is more a question of exercising reserve, of inviting the wellspring of love that is, after all, your deepest nature to flow through your life . . . The infinity that haunts everyone and which no one can finally quell is the infinity of one's own interiority. You feel that you are being looked at from the strangeness of the eternal. The infinity gazing out at you from within is from an ancient time."

John O'Donohue
"Anam Cara"

Photo: A blue ice cavern opens up on Lake Haiyaha, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, March 16, 2015

We are dying inside because we fail to value the mystery and hiddenness of the soul.

"In our times, the language of psychology is used to approach the soul. Psychology is a wonderful science, but in our culture of sensate immediacy, much psychology has abandoned the fecundity and reverence of myth and stands under the strain of neon consciousness, powerless to retrieve or open the depth and density of the world of soul. Celtic mysticism recognizes that rather than trying to expose the soul or offer it our fragile care, we should let the soul find us and care for us. Celtic mysticism is tender and devoid of spiritual aggression . . . 

"Ironically, our false sense of familiarity often militates against our homecoming to our soul. When we are familiar with something, we lose the energy, edge, and excitement of it. Hegel said, 'Generally, the familiar, precisely because it is familiar, is not known.' This is a powerful sentence. People have difficulty awakening to their inner world especially when their lives have become overly familiar to them. They find it hard to discover something new, interesting, or adventurous in their numbed lives. Consequently, there is great strangeness in the shadowed light of our soul world. We should become more conversant with our reserved soul-light. The first step in awakening to your inner life and to the depth and promise of your solitude would be to consider yourself for a little while as a stranger to your own deepest depths. To decide to view yourself as a complete stranger, someone who has just stepped ashore in your life, is a liberating exercise. This meditation helps to break the numbing stranglehold of complacency and familiarity. Gradually, you begin to sense the mystery and magic of yourself."

John O'Donohue,
"Anam Cara"

Photos: Blue ice caverns on Lake Haiyaha, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, March 16, 2015

The Celtic mind loves the secret world of the soul.

"The Celtic mind avoided ways of seeing and being that seek satisfaction in certainty. Patience with mystery and reserve is one of the profound recognitions of the Celtic mind. The world of the soul is secret. The secret and the sacred are sisters. When the secret is not respected, the sacred vanishes. Consequently, reflection should not shine too severe or aggressive a light in on the world of the soul. The light in Celtic consciousness is a penumbral light . . . One of the damaging aspects of the current spiritual hunger is the way it sees everything in such a severe and insistent light. The light of modern consciousness is not gentle or reverent; it lacks graciousness in the presence of mystery; it wants to unriddle and control the unknown. Modern consciousness is similar to the harsh and brilliant white light of a hospital operating room. This neon light is too direct and clear to befriend the shadowed world of the soul. It is not hospitable to what is reserved and hidden. The Celtic mind had a wonderful respect for the mystery and depth of the individual soul . . . It is interesting that the world 'revelation' comes from 're-valere,' literally, 'to veil again.' The world of the soul is glimpsed through the opening in a veil that closes again. There is no direct, permanent, or public access to the divine. The glimpse is sufficient."

John O'Donohue
"Anam Cara"

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Photo: Blue ice on Lake Haiyaha, with Hallett Peak in the background, Rocky Mountain National Park, March 16, 2015

Within us is a music through which the ancient longing of the earth finds a voice.

"There is a voice within you that no one, not even you, has ever heard. Give yourself the opportunity of silence and begin to develop your listening in order to hear, deep within yourself, the music of your own spirit. When you really listen to this music, you begin to hear the beautiful way it constellates and textures the silence, how it brings out the hidden mystery of silence. Long before humans arrived on earth, there was an ancient music here. In the great music [of the heart], the ancient longing of the earth finds a voice."

John O'Dononue,
"Anam Cara" 

Photos: Wind-carved snow patterns on Montgomery Pass, Rawah Range, CO, February 9, 2015

If our style of looking becomes beautiful, then beauty will become visible and shine forth for us.

"There is an uncanny symmetry between the inner and the outer world . . . Each of us is responsible for how we see, and how we see determines what we see . . . We have often heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is usually taken to mean that the sense of beauty is utterly subjective; there is no accounting for taste because each person’s taste is different. The statement has another, more subtle meaning: if our style of looking becomes beautiful, then beauty will become visible and shine forth for us. We will be surprised to discover beauty in unsuspected places where the ungraceful eye would never linger . . .

 [B]eauty waits until the patience and depth of a gaze are refined enough to engage and discover it. In this sense, beauty is not a quality externally present in something. It emerges at that threshold where reverence of mind engages the subtle presence of the other person, place or object. The hidden heart of beauty offers itself only when it is approached in a rhythm worthy of its trust and showings. Only if there is beauty in us can we recognize beauty elsewhere: beauty knows beauty. In this way, beauty can be a mirror that manifests our own beauty . . . There is a profound balancing within beauty."

John O'Donohue

Photos: (Top and Middle) Alpenglow sunset on Long's Peak; (Bottom) Ice patterns on Dream Lake, with Hallett Peak in the background. All three photos were taken in Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, on January 9, 2015

There are times when beauty is shy and hesitates until it can trust the worthiness of the beholder.

"There are times when beauty reveals itself slowly. There are times when beauty is shy and hesitates until it can trust the worthiness of the beholder . . .

"Beauty waits until the patience and depth of a gaze are refined enough to engage and discover it. The hidden heart of beauty offers itself only when it is approached in a rhythm worthy of its trust and showings."

John O'Donohue

Photos: Rime-covered trees, Lory State Park, January 7, 2015

True Spirituality is Innately Spontaneous

 

The wind these past several days has been incredibly intense. During my retreat last weekend at St. Benedict's Monastery, there were periods of strong wind as well, serving as a backdrop for one of my most important realizations. While at the monastery, I attended one of the liturgies, as is my custom whenever I visit. While I enjoyed very much the Eucharist, and the sense that God is truly present within matter itself (represented by the bread and wine), I had even more difficulty than usual enduring the formality of the surrounding ceremony. In my tradition - that of the Invisible Church of the Contemplative Spiritual wing of the Radical Reformation - each moment of the day and each encounter with the people and landscapes we meet throughout the day is itself regarded as a "liturgy." I therefore have extreme difficulty with formal ritual ceremonies that were designed millennia ago and which are still carried on in basically the same manner as they always have. In my tradition, spontaneity is of utmost importance. It was therefore with quite a bit of interest that I read the following passage by John O'Donohue in a book that I bought at the monastery bookstore:

"One of the most exciting metaphors for the Holy Spirit in the New Testament is that the Holy Spirit is like the wind that blows where it will. This is a radical insight into a Judaic world that [during Jesus' time] was bowed down under the weight of rampant legalism. There were hundreds of rules which wearied the conduct of life. Without this perspective on the society in which Jesus worked, we will fail to appreciate how subversive his vision and presence actually were. It would be like coming to live in a society run by the ultra right who bring their cold metallic concern to bear on issues. They have the tendency to rigidify all natural things ; the attempt to turn that which is instinctive into that which is deliberate. One of the terrible deficiencies of most fundamentalisms is that the actuality and spontaneity become frozen. The flow and risk of life get totally managed and programed into categories . . . But 'The Spirit blows where it wills' is a kind of hymn to spontaneity. The Spontaneous is a vital spiritual force. There could be a new theology written from the perspective of spontaneity. The spontaneous has a secret kinship with the unknown; like the unknown it lacks predictability and is surprising . . . At this depth there can be no ideology or program."

From "The Four Elements: Reflections on Nature," in the chapter on 'Wind.'

I'm not claiming that the Catholic Mass is in any way fundamentalistic. However, I realized this past weekend that I am indeed most interested, in the words of Jean Pierre de Caussade, in "the sacrament of the present moment." And that moment is - and always will be - innately spontaneous.

Photo: Hallett Peak in a windstorm; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; April 7, 2014

Let us not allow our inner lives to be colonized by the promises of gurus and systems outside ourselves!

One of the things I realized while on retreat at the monastery this past weekend was the fact that ultimately, my own spiritual path is unlike that of anyone else. It contains elements that are completely unique, ones that not everyone else may understand or accept. This fact is, of course, true as well of every other person on the spiritual journey. While reading a book called "Four Elements" by Celtic writer John O'Donohue (which I picked up at the monastery bookstore), I was reminded that allowing ourselves to care too much about what other people - including spiritual mentors and teachers - think about us is every bit as serious as being an indigenous person whose land and culture have been colonized by outside forces. Accordingly, O'Donohue writes:

"Sometimes we are misled by the promises of gurus and systems outside ourselves. We believe that salvation can only come from outside. This is the great falsity of all colonization, be it territorial or spiritual. It robs the native land, or native soul, of the sense of its own indigenous treasures and resources. Against all attempts at programs and methods, the great art of holiness is to let oneself be. To be natural is to be holy. But to be natural is not easy in our technological and distanced world. We need to re-discover and re-awaken our sense of instinct and the ancient rhythm that still sleeps inside our souls."

Photo: This solitary mountain appeared through the mist as I was waiting yesterday on I 70 for the Eisenhower Tunnel to reopen after an accident; near Silverthorne, CO; April 28, 2014

Beauty reveals itself only to the beauty of a patient gaze.

"If our style of looking becomes beautiful, then beauty will become visible and shine forth for us . . . When we approach with reverence great things decide to approach us.  Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty in things.  When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us . . . There are times when beauty reveals itself slowly.  There are times when beauty is shy and hesitates until it can trust the worthiness of the beholder . . . Beauty waits until the patience and depth of a gaze are refined enough to engage and discover it.  In this sense, beauty is not a quality externally present in something.  It emerges at that threshold where reverence of mind engages the subtle presence of the other person, place or object.  The hidden heart of beauty offers itself only when it is approached in a rhythm worthy of its trust and showings.  Only if there is beauty in us [in our loving gaze] can we recognize beauty elsewhere: beauty knows beauty . . . There is a profound balancing within beauty."

John O'Donohue

Yesterday I went looking for the Purple Lady's Slipper Orchid and found several dozen plants in a small section of the spruce-fir zone of our mountains.  Because the flowers are nodding and because the four petals tend to curl over and shroud the "moccasin" part of the flower, I had to get down on the ground, tilt the flower upward, and bend the petals a bit to get a full view.  The entire flower is only about a half-inch across, and most people wouldn't even notice it as they pass by on the trail.  For me, the secretive quality of this Lady's Slipper hints at the attitude of mindfulness that is necessary to become aware of many of the beautiful things in life.

Photo: Purple Lady's Slipper Orchid is very rare and is considered endangered.  I found these on the Fern Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park (CO) on July 1, 2013

When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us.

"There is an uncanny symmetry between the inner and the outer world . . . Each of us is responsible for HOW we see, and how we see determines WHAT we see . . . We have often heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  This is usually taken to mean that the sense of beauty is utterly subjective; there is no accounting for taste because each person's taste is different.  The statement has another, more subtle meaning: if our style of looking becomes beautiful, then beauty will become visible and shine forth for us. . . . When we beautify our gaze, the grace of hidden beauty becomes our joy and our sanctuary . . . [W]hat you encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach . . . When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us.  Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty in things.  When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us."

John O'Donohue

Photo: Rosy Paintbrush blooming on the trail up Paintbrush Divide; Grand Teton National Park, WY; July 5, 2012

Only a Beautiful Way of Seeing Can Uncover a Beautiful World

 

"There is an uncanny symmetry between the inner and the outer world . . . Each of us is responsible for how we see, and how we see determines what we see . . . We have often heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  This is usually taken to mean that the sense of beauty is utterly subjective . . . However, the statement has another, more subtle meaning: if our style of looking becomes beautiful, then beauty will become visible and shine forth for us.  We will be surprised to discover beauty in unsuspected places where the ungraceful eye would never linger. . . . When we beautify our gaze, the grace of hidden beauty becomes our joy and our sanctuary.  What you encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach . . . When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us.  Our real life comes to the surface and its light awakens the concealed beauty in things.  When we walk on the earth with reverence, beauty will decide to trust us."

(John O'Donohue)

Photo: The beautiful "eye" of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, WY, September 3, 2011