There are any number of ways to train our awareness which is why we are so big on centering prayer and the sources that can fund that practice like John Cassian’s Conferences, The Cloud of Unknowing, St Bonaventure’s Soul’s Journey to God, Thomas Keating’s work, Cynthia Borgeault, and Murchadh O’Madagain (Bourgeault’s Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening and O’Madagain’s Centering Prayer and the Healing of the Unconcious are the two best places to start if you are new to the practice.) [read more...]
Sunday I will speak in Cape Town to a large group that forms the core of a church plant that is a genuine attempt to think and be in different ways. The services are more facilitated conversations than preaching events, web 2.0 technology is increasingly informing the conversation creating a church 2.0 environment. I love their willing spirit and drive to be Jesus in the worlds in which they live in.
Here is the video to open the 2 week conversation I will be doing on doubt.
One of the most powerful spiritual mentoring times I have experienced was when I got to spend a week retreat where David Steindl-Rast was present. I only had a couple hour long sessions with him for spiritual direction, but his input has been indelible.
His simple message is that gratefulness as a pattern and practice is life transforming. That is it. Nothing deeper, nothing more insightful.
His coaching to me… “Ron gratefulness is always a reflection on something, someone, some event, and usually something transformative. The way we keep that memory transformative and those events potent is for gratefulness to bring them into the present. This is the big loss in our times. We don’t keep bringing important moments from the past forward.”
Today is a day designed for just this… pull the past into the present. Practice gratefulness. For some more help from Father David take a look here.
The Fall-Redemption story is part of the story, but it is really an abbreviated lo-cal excerpt of the fuller version. And here is the problem; to start the conversation with the Fall is to start talking about God’s Story at Genesis 3. Starting the conversation here and omitting the opening salvos of the first two chapters has locked us into having only one conversation about God: the 2nd person conversation. I would like to suggest when we start the conversation with a fall-redemption paradigm we only can talk about God in 2nd person. In other words the only way we can view God is as “Other” as “out there” as another person. While that is totally true about God our inability to see God from a couple other perspectives may be debilitating us. [read more...]
Transformation – a shift in the way we see and make meaning of ourselves, others and the world. I keep saying this but will again, this is different than a changed point of view or of being open to others opinions.
This definition requires us to include meaning making as part of our formational definition. The way a 7 year old makes sense of the world is different than a 15 year olds which is different still at 21 years old. We consider these shift crucial to health and well being. If a 15 or 21 year old still thought there were boogey monsters under their bed like they did at 5 we would consider something wrong. [read more...]
I am a Armstrong fan and this is no disappointment. Two of the churches I work with are either reading this as a formal staff read and discussion time monthly or are individually reading it to fund their theological sharpness. Good call for sure.
Memes is a pretty simple concept but many of us haven’t been exposed to it. Spiral Dynamics uses it and so does Brodie with a slightly different focus. If you’ve ever wondered how and why people get caught in their head space by advertising, religion, sexual fantasy, and cults, Brodie’s handling of memes explains it. It’s all because of “mind viruses,” or “memes,” and those who understand how to plant them into other’s minds that we have these issues. Being conformed to this world is the spiritual connection you might be looking for. I think this has incredible power to help us think about our thinking. The instructional grist here is well worth tapping.
Ok people are pissed off at Samir. When you read the comments on the youtube vid clips he is taking heat. But you really need to read this. How do we deal with this issue of pluralism? How do we address this very complex issue we all face everyday. Agree or disagree it opens the conversation to what I think are some helpful angles.
Memorizing the bible, going to church, growing in the knowledge of Jesus or even living more like Jesus. But THESE are many of the things we are told spirituality is all about. Spirituality is about seeing. Pure and simple Jesus walked around the earth inviting his followers into a new awareness, a new seeing and new way of connecting to real full life.
Repeatedly he invited the disciples to note weeds, trees, wells, water, seeds, soils, birds and… a zillion other things. Why? He was bringing them into a heightened awareness an awareness that would click them off autopilot so they could be awake. Jesus DID NOT do Torah bible studies with the disciples (though he did do readings in the temple). He didn’t ask the disciples to live according to the current rule set established by the religious leaders of the day. He didn’t ask them to memorize or buy into even one doctrinal position to follow him. He didn’t check to make sure they complied with a “lifestyle statement,” alcohol consumption clause or tobacco usage policy.
Author of numerous periodical articles, Ron Martoia’s first book project was entitled Morph!, a volume to help leaders do good self leadership as they foster creative and compelling environments. From creating ethos to staff chemistry, from ergonomic spirituality to ideaography, Morph is helping churches come to grips with the need for creative engagement with our shifting culture. [read more...]
What is the crux? We all want to experience a deep joy, sense of purpose and a deeply moored sense of wholeness. I think this is the essence of the life Jesus said he came to bring. I have come that you might have more and better life (perissos zoe) than you ever dreamed… John 10.10.
If the crux of the matter is we all crave this sort of deep life, how do we experience it? Well once you connect to Jesus, once you allow your narrative to be re-shaped and re-molded by his (this is the essence of conversion) then the process of engaging a new sort of life begins. This is the essence of the word we so often throw around called transformation.
I rarely see afternoon TV, but recently hit a twenty-minute segment and wow – was it compelling. Through sobbing and tears, person after person began recounting how after watching a TV show one month earlier their lives had instantly and forever changed. “Instantly” and “forever” definitely caught my attention. They went on to talk about how they were now in charge of their lives, bringing to themselves any outcomes they chose. The teachers of the phenomenon made it clear it was all because “you create your own reality, and that as a spiritual being you bring your spirit to bear on the circumstances of life.” I paused long enough to take in the details because of the confessed monumental change it brought. This was my introduction to The Secret, the most recent craze to hit American culture and propelled to cult status by current spiritual and philanthropy diva, Oprah.
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The Case for God – Karen Armstrong
Virus of the Mind – Richard Brodie 
It’s Really All About God – Samir Selmanovic
