Remember:
Levels of Spiritual Development (Part One)
So many of our problems can be resolved if we understand that people are at different levels. (Sunday)
Growth is going somewhere, and the trajectory is toward union: union with God, with the self (of mind, heart, and body), with others, and with the cosmos. (Monday)
Stage One: My body and my self-image are who I am. (Tuesday)
Stage Two: My external behavior is who I am. (Wednesday)
Stage Three: My thoughts and feelings are who I am. (Thursday)
Without great love (and I mean great love) and great suffering, where there is a major defeat, major humiliation, major shock to the ego self, very few people move to Stage Four. (Friday)
Rest: Ecstatic Dance
Choose a favorite or new piece of music—classical, world, contemporary; anything that calls you to move!—and find a place in which you can listen and move uninhibitedly, barefooted if possible.
Allow your body to lead, following the invitation of the music. Let mind take a back seat and tune in to the sensations of each part of your body. Feel your feet connect with the ground. Limbs and joints turn and bend as they will. Swing and sway head, shoulders, hips. Sink deep into your body, remembering what it is to be a human animal.
Dance until you are pleasantly tired and gradually slow your movements, perhaps to another musical tempo. Continue moving in smaller, gentler ways: breathe deeply, stretch arms and legs, roll head. Come to a seated position and rest in stillness.
For further study:
The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of St. Francis, disc 5 (CD)
Where You Are is Where I'll Meet You: A Guide for Spiritual Directors, disc 1
(CD,
MP3 Download)
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, pp. 163-164
Gateway to Silence:
Open me to wholeness
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