Contemplative author and clinical psychotherapist James Finley recently shared a marvelous insight: The essential never imposes itself on us, while the unessential is constantly imposing itself on us. Many of us are used to thinking about God as patient and waiting for invitation to enter into our lives, but we rarely consider the contrapositive notion: that which is impatient or comes into us uninvited is not God (to be clear, this is not to say that such things are wrong or bad – just that they are not God).
How interesting then, that perhaps the chief struggle of contemplative practice, especially in the early stages of cultivating a habit of practice, is precisely the imposing nature of thoughts! In this imposition, thoughts reveal themselves to be unessential, which helps explain the guidance to “Retain no thought” – even the best of thoughts can distract from the truly essential, the presence and action of God within us. The spiritual life is not always a struggle between good and evil, but often about gaining the wisdom to discern the Supreme Good among the many goods of life. Contemplative practice is the conscious, intentional choosing of the Supreme Good among all other things, even other goods.
“Come And Be” with the MMOC Contemplative Core Team ([email protected]) on August 3 from 10:30-11:30am in classrooms 1 & 2 – Share insights from your life of prayer in fellowship with others, and help us chart a course for our future! And don’t forget to take our survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CM9F62J, or find copies in the vestibule.