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Making Boundless Space and Taking Back our Minds

Technology is incontrovertibly persuasive – intentionally so. Mobile applications have fine-tuned – ever perfecting – the classic incentive-reward feedback loop that classically entraps addictive behaviors. The neuropathways are created and then sealed by the neurochemicals that promote a sense of pleasure. It is like providing the paraphernalia needed to consume a drug and following you around to learn how best to keep you toking – better. And researchers don’t have access to enough data to really see the effects constant smart phone use is having on us and the developing brains of the young people growing up with tech in hand.

But Facebook does. Every digital trace left by each interaction (a “like,” a click) is caught and then sold through “microtargeted access to advertisers, political campaigns and others.”

Anyone in the app-creating business wants people to use their app. The user experience is specifically designed to orchestrate our behavior, incentives and rewards designed to the nanosecond to hook us. There are classes and seminars that outline the process and teach methodologies that promote the reward-seeking behavior. Every buzz and ding of our “smart” devices is encoded to keep our eyes or attention glued to this device that goes with us everywhere.

Yet this same data that can help social scientists research the impact of tech use is unavailable to them because it is “proprietary.” Facebook has made a few tweaks to remedy some of the exploitation of the data they collect. Yet I am bewildered by the fact that this colossal database yields programming that has enormous control over what we see – and even “choose” – and will give access to this data to those willing to pay enough for it – who will, in turn, use their tech to brandish control over our thoughts and behavior . . . but does not open their coffers to scientists who can learn from it to help us all understand it better . . . so we can make better decisions – autonomous ones. Decisions not coerced by Instagram or candy crush. Or “fake news.” Or . . . name your poison.

Boundless Mind, co-founded by neuroscientists, Ramsay Brown and T. Dalton Combs, addresses the reality of smartphone dependency and addiction by using the technology to its advantage. It is clear that, while sometimes initially helpful, wellness apps and centering tools don’t even approach the core of what makes this tech so powerfully habit-forming. Boundless Mind integrates AI into programs and apps that are designed to make this world better – make us better.

For instance, AppliedVR created virtual reality tech as therapy to assist patients with chronic severe pain. Boundless Mind applies its program to AppliedVR’s interface to “learn from patients’ past behavior in order to personalize the interface, making it uniquely rewarding for each user.”

But they are selective about whom they will accept as customers. Their team first debates the ethics behind the tech and how it will be used around consistent questions, keeping in place accountability to each other, and to the welfare of society, in general. Doing the “right thing” takes precedence over making a lucrative sale.

I absolutely recommend downloading Boundless Mind’s app, Space – beautifully named, Space is a little hack that helps to break the incentive-reward chain, if even a little. At the same time, it disturbs me to consider how much my reaction and responses to activity on my phone is targeted and designed with incredible precision to keep me looking, scrolling, clicking . . . . Yes, let’s start with something that is designed exclusively to break the addiction cycle. Then, can we please find ways to put our devices down? Just put them down.

and look.

and listen.

pay attention.

What will you do today to replace one of your tech habits? Choose an action you will do one time today – the first time you want to check that facebook or instagram notification. Break the addiction. Be present. Be in that space where the sound ends and the silence begins – that space where you might hear the voice of God.

You can find links to boundless mind’s website and the Space app, and a transcript of this podcast on my website, eirenicole.com

And today, may you walk freely at the pace of grace.

Music: Bye Bye 2010 (ft. SmoJos), 2011 Pitx Licensed to the public under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Verify at http://ccmixter.org/files/Pitx/29923

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The Mother Gene? (not to be confused with mom jeans)

My daughter and I recently submitted a vial of our saliva to the ancestry and health research site, 23andme.com. I’ve learned quite a bit about genetics since beginning this project, such as the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is present in all human beings, and can only be passed to children by their mothers. The types of mitochondrial DNA variants that are shared delineate a maternal haplogroup, and are a powerful tool for tracing lineage. While I share roughly 50% of my father’s DNA, I do not carry the Y chromosome, so do not have a paternal haplogroup. It is not as easy to trace paternal lines because the Y chromosome skips the information-sharing step – excepting for a tiny segment on its tip.

I find it interesting that mtDNA contains 37 of its own genes and provides energy and functioning proteins to every cell – and is only found on the X chromosome. Mothers provide the growing space, nutrition – inside and out – and contribute to the functioning of growing human beings from the very smallest portion of our DNA to their graduation and beyond. None of this can occur, of course, without that person who carries the Y chromosome. And I do not mean to insinuate that one is inherently stronger or better than the other. And not everyone who possess to Xs can or do make new human beings, or are inclined or well suited to do so.

Still. Interesting.

Also interesting? My daughter made the observation that in the majority of Disney so-called fairytales the mother is absent and the evil force is a distorted, malevolent woman. Curious that. Many of us have a complicated relationship with our mother. Some of us consider her our closest friend, and others of us are estranged from our mother. Still some lost our mother too early. Whatever the case, all of us exist because our mother walked the earth.

Julian of Norwich said, “Thanking is a true inward knowing, gratitude, a true understanding of who we really are. With awe we orient ourselves toward God, enjoying and thanking with our real selves.”

Mother’s Day is about recognizing those who nurtured and continue to nurture us. It is about being thankful for that which we have, and for some, about grieving that which we don’t.

So I’d like to offer up a time to be mindful of both. To enter grief and follow through with gratitude to understand our true selves – that aspect of being that is Divine, God-like, the inner strength that is truly human because we all posses an X chromosome irrespective of whether we can or do pass another one on. That mitochondrial DNA that provides energy and life to us down to the infinitesimal cell.

Take a breath. Breathe in the oxygen that is carried to the cells and metabolized by your mtDNA.

Breathe out the excess and used up bits that threaten to be toxic to your system.

Breathe

Consider the disappointment you experienced at the hand of your mother. Or perhaps it was true abuse, or maybe a mother figure was not present. Look at that loss. See it for what it is – lost. Notice your reaction. How do you feel? Welcome this grief until it is ready to leave for a time. [you may pause this recording if you need more time to sit with your grief.]

When you are ready, think of the person who seemed to always be there for you, care for you, nurture you. How do you feel remembering her? Perhaps it is a sense of security, of love, of joy? Welcome that joy.

Name the pieces of love, the bits of joy. Layer them.

Relish them.

Be grateful.

Notice how, with each thanksgiving, you are moved toward an inner sense of truth, of right-ness. Examine the Divine in it, in you.

How do you respond to God in it all?

How do you respond to your true self in your gratitude?

Be thankful. Be you.

You may find a transcript of this podcast on my website eirenicole.com.

Today may you walk at the pace of grace in gratitude.

Music: Clark Snyder and the 7th-8th-grade Jefferson/Washington Middle School band, May 2018.

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Last weekend, my sister-in-law, Rachel, suggested we watch The Greatest Showman. And how grateful I am she did! The film is not a documentary about the life of Phineas Taylor Barnum, the founder of what became the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. It is however, a wonderful story loosely based on P.T. Barnum’s life; it is about living fully into who you are most truly, recognizing the divine in all people, and an exquisite account of profound grace: beautiful imperfection.

Howie and our two boys and I, fully absorbed in the story, watched as our 17-yr-old Lysander was overcome by tears during a scene toward the end of the movie. [spoiler alert] Barnum grew in fame and was gaining traction with his enterprises when he hosted an elite gathering to promote his latest venture, the singer, Jenny Lind, and barred entrance to the performers of the circus out of evident embarrassment. Later, after the circus building burned to the ground and Barnum appeared to have lost nearly everything, we find him wallowing in misery at a local bar. The circus performers eventually trickle in, and begin reminding him who he is and what they became because he saw beauty in their deformities – they go to him and welcome him back after he shut the door on them.

Grace and mercy.

“‘hide away,’ they say, ‘we don’t want your broken parts,’” Keala Settle sings as the Bearded Lady. Yet decides, “I am brave, I am bruised, I am who I’m meant to be. This is me.” Each performer, paraded out because of their deformities are given the opportunity to recognize their humanity, their true worth because someone recognized their true beauty – the spark of the divine. Barnum briefly lost sight of that, blinded by fame and greed, but they shone the light back on him.

Profound grace.

Last weekend was also Confirmation Sunday. Ten of Howie’s eighth-graders stood in front of the church to confirm, “this is me. This is what I believe, what I’m empowered to do.” Because others saw the divine spark in each of them and helped them notice God’s own image within, they had courage to stand in front of an audience and reflect that light back on us.

Confirmation means to me . . . [Listen, to hear the voices of ten eighth-graders shine God’s light onto you in beautiful imperfection]

Take a few moments to bring mindful attention to who you are.

Quiet your thoughts. Your body. Slow your breathing.

Breathe in through your nose. Breathe out through your mouth.

Are you bruised?

Do you feel alone? Shut out? Deformed? Unworthy?

Who in your life sees you for who you are – loves you no matter what?

How do you feel under their gaze?

Do you sense the gaze of Jesus – the profound grace of pure, unrelenting love for you?

Allow that light to fill your mind, your soul, your body.

Now, consider who, in your day, you might turn your gaze on – to shine that light back on.

Maybe it’s an eighth-grader coming into her own, trying to figure out who he is, struggling to find meaning.

How might you be community to that person – that is necessary, that is human, that is divine? Because it has never been more urgent that we intentionally be community to these young people. because, to be able to recognize and say, “this is me” is only possible when they also know, “this is we.”

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1Jn4:7,8)

And today, may you walk at the pace of profound grace.

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I Am: Mindful Poetry

My youngest son, Clark, who is 12 years old at the time of this recording, was given the task of writing a poem for his 7th grade language arts class. Each of three stanzas repeat the opening line that begins, “I am . . .” each student to follow with what state of mind or sense of how they are currently feeling. In between, the lines in each verse begin with a prompt that explores the nuances and factors that describe the initial “I am” statement.

Clark’s final product was quite insightful, so I asked him to read it for us today.

I am. By, Clark Snyder

I am stressed out

I wonder if there will ever be someone to help me up when the

world keeps pushing me down

I hear my friends laughing at my jokes

And I see my friends growing up around me

I want all of my worries to vanish

I am stressed out

I pretend i’m laid back so my friends don’t worry

I feel like people care too much about me

I touch the door to my house and know that i’m home

I worry about my friends a lot

I cry when someone dies

I am stressed out

I understand that nothing can just stop randomly

I say that it’s all gonna stop

I know that it ain’t though

I dream that everything is perfect and peaceful

I try to be funny because I know it makes other people happy

I hope the other people like me can get to live a good life

I am stressed out

My first response is to be saddened, and maybe a bit alarmed by my son’s stress and admission to pretense in the guise of humor. Clark is exceptionally gifted with intelligent wit, and he does, indeed, make us happy by making us laugh. At the same time, he also admits that he feels better, too, when people laugh and that the poem is a creative work, not entirely as grim as it might seem.

But I thought it is a very good mindfulness exercise to use the poetic prompts to consider either your own state of mind, body and soul – or observe someone else’s (your child, spouse, friend, co-worker).

Listen and consider as I provide some of the prompts. If you are able to write them down, please feel free to do so. If not, just listen to your own spirit and allow creativity (God’s very character impulse within) to shape and transform you in these moments.

I am . . .

I wonder . . .

I hear . . .

I want . . .

I am . . .

I pretend . . .

I feel . . .

I touch . . .

I worry . . .

I cry . . .

I am . . .

I understand . . .

I say . . .

I know . . .

I dream . . .

I try . . .

I hope . . .

I am . . .

You can find Clark’s poem and a transcript of this podcast on my website, eirenicole.com.

And today, may you walk at the pace of grace.

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Freedom is a nebulous concept, vague and imprecise, yet for all its deftness to evade definition, we (and N American’s in particular) assert our right to wholesale freedoms. Freedom protests.

This week begins Eastertide, the liturgical season that ponders and lives into the resurrection of Jesus. This week also marks the 50th anniversary of Marin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. On this momentous occasion, the Reverend Jesse Jackson remarks, “America loathes marches but loves martyrs,” speaks to the lived experience of any who call out injustice, challenge the status quo, makes people uncomfortable with being silent.

Jackson noticed that it was not Martin Luther King’s death that precipitated any change in our grossly imbalanced system, or make King’s protest against it valid. It was in the gatherings hosted and marches organized, the meetings with community leaders and national legislators – the persistent, active work he engaged to construct reform, a re-vision of a system predicated on freedom.

And he was hated and despised, resistance from even those who were among his community. Protest is uncomfortable. Protest is dangerous.

And I do not speak only to the persistence of a grossly imbalanced system. It is my own inner protest that is terrifying to face. Because, if I allow that inner voice to challenge my indifference to my fear of exposing my true self, I am faced with a dare: do I cower, reabsorbed into my depression around the inequitable structure that places exponential value on some jobs and dismisses the worth of others? Or do I march – come out of myself and live a freedom to continue the work I’m called to, made for . . . live a life that is truly free – redeemed.

Because I must heed first my inner protest before I can march on the outer injustices. Well, in the very least, continue the inner work alongside it. And there is a great need of the outer work.

In Ella Wheeler Wilcox’s 1914, Poems of Problems is her remarkably relevant poem, Protest. Listen. Center. Allow the words to penetrate. And ponder.

Protest

“To sin by silence, when we should protest,

Therefore I do protest against the boast

How does what I say witness the inner freedom redeemed, presumed by Eastertide?

How does what I do witness the relationship-made-right between God and me – what march will I join (or lead) to help make right that which is not in my world?

“Take heart. I have overcome the world.”[Jn16:33] And we are the body – overcoming.

Special thanks to Samantha Snyder for living out her freedoms in SE Asia and recording some life-giving North Indian street music!

You can find a transcript of this podcast on my website, eirenicole.com.

And today, may you walk at the pace of grace.

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The Black Panther’s True Power

“True power exists when you can’t tell where it comes from,” Chadwick Boseman, actor, the Black Panther. In sociological terms, this kind of power is referred to as “soft” power. It does not seek to dominate or crush; nor does it require obeisance or affirmations of its power. It is messy and seemingly out-of-control at times. But it more real, more true, a tangible influence on the community it leads.

This so-called soft power is so effective because it assumes the majority of the community has a stake in the growth of the community, that this majority has equal potential to lead it, and they, in turn, have buy-in over the decisions of the leadership.

Tyrants and dictators harm and kill and crush, and may control the people (sort of), but they do not have true power. Not really. Brute strength does not equal power.

The word “soft” is associated with femininity. It is often associated with weakness. And it is almost exclusively attributed to women rather than men. But one of the most compelling features of the Black Panther movie is the Dora Milaje, T’Challa’s all-female royal guard. There is no hint that this is remarkable. It is just as it is: T’Challa’s fierce, capable, amazingly well-trained and disciplined royal guard are all female.

Still more compelling is the scene that follows W’Kabi’s misplaced commitment to the brute-force power of Killmonger. When W’Kabi is faced with battling his lover, the Dora Milaje’s General Okoye (played by Danai Gurira), Gurira brilliantly takes a nano-second’s hesitation and then, in full strength, applies her skill against W’Kabi. There is no hint of angst or sense that she might be giving up some opportunity or burning some romantic bridge. She is altogether sure of her position and personhood and commitment to the protection of community, for the good of the community. Slay. Beautiful. Powerful.

And I could drone on about the young woman who is the chief technology engineer, T’Challa’s sister, Shuri. But that would be for another time.

Another compelling feature (ok, so really, the entire film is compelling) is this ritual whereby the heir to the throne offers to give space to a challenger. In order to make it a fair fight, the candidate gives up this internal superpower – a birthright, if you will. Any advantage the candidate to the throne has is set aside – willingly removed – to provide the possibility for a more qualified individual to demonstrate this merit. When, in the entire history of homo sapien sapien’s, has this been seen? Ever? Aside from, you know, the God-with-us-Jesus-thing. And this is only one symbolic act that reflects the entire Wakanda people.

Though the dominant dilemma the people face is whether to use their overwhelming power and Vibranium resource to enforce power over the oppressors, they have, in all this time, chosen to protect it and use the resources for productive technological advances—as a resource in the true sense of the word: a valuable asset or supply that can be used to augment and enrich the lives of the community.

This is no utopia (though, on the surface, nearly seems as much). There remains one of the five original tribes that set themselves apart from the whole, refusing to acknowledge the leadership of T’Challa’s tribe. In the end, this rogue tribe makes the decision to support T’Challa to preserve the character of the Wakanda and the integrity of its purposeful existence. They maintain a counsel (versus a dictatorship or monarchy) in which all tribes are represented and decisions made together. Not always agreeing. Far from it. But all voices are heard and there is a real sense of trust that what is decided is well-informed and with a majority support.

So, I suppose the most remarkable thing about this film is that it is an absolutely amazing story, and expertly told. It is also carried nearly entirely by those of Black African origin, while addressing the difficult position and issue of identity for African American’s. Co-writer and director Ryan Coogler is himself superhuman. Respectful of weighty disparate issues and lived realities, he holds fast to the larger story and the integrity of the message – and its position in this era and society in general.

These are the kinds of heroes I want to identify with. I’ve already written about the powerful beauty of the Wonder Woman story. And she certainly developed a community and maintained the integrity of her heritage, as well. At the same time, Wonder Woman does not hold the richness of a culture and people who are deeply rooted in a history and place. I know, I know, Wakanda isn’t a real African country. But it does represent a very real sense of African spirit and strength and beauty and resources and culture – community.

I am grateful to all who were involved in telling the story of T’Challa and Wakanda. As was highlighted from many dimensions during the Oscar awards last Sunday evening, film is a powerful medium through which we tell our stories. For the ninety years the Oscar award has been given, the stories were predominantly chosen and told by a single subset of humankind. It seems, as Gina Davis noted and Francis McDormand championed, the tide is really changing. No, really.

I have stories to tell. I have much to say. I have also been crushed and dismissed, sexually harassed and disrespected, #metoo; and I can be a coward. But, I will continue to write and speak and preach and podcast and counsel and be with people – as. I. am. Still, I cannot be this – be me, fully – powerfully – without others, #strongertogether. I want to have the character strength of Okoye, and the giddy confidence and intellect of Shuri, and the leadership integrity of Nakia, and the wisdom of Ramonda. And I want the willingness of T’Challa to give up the privilege I have by dint of where or to whom I was born – so that someone else who happened to be born without such advantage can be strengthened to fully be herself in this world, make it better – more – because she is in it.

Each of us bears God’s image. Each of us is unique. How can the Divine freely operate, fully Love in this world if some are trampled and discarded while others control and exploit? I am tired. I need support. What about you? Can we support each other?

My cousin, Matinga Ragatz, offered me a position, of sorts, a mechanism with which I might channel my expertise to help educators develop this other kind of power – “soft” power. Monday was my 3rd workshop, and I feel like I’m failing, that either I’m just really bad at teaching this or people are having a really hard time getting it – or both.

And I can’t seem to find a good platform, or the “right” people to promote my writing. Or maybe my writing is frivolous or just not very good. I often feel utterly useless.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Sure, a greater variety of voices are being heard. But only a few achieve notoriety. How, then, do we achieve anything, gain a sense of utility – life-giving value – a sense of being a part of this true power? Of course, the Source is the More Than, but the conduit is you and me, and only possible together.

May I tell your story? Will you tell mine? Can we be something like the Dora Milaje? Then, without anyone knowing precisely where it comes from, perhaps we can make a tangible impact on the community, together.

Please, tell me your thoughts, your ideas, your stories – on this page or via any of the other sharing tools listed here. The community needs you – I need you – so we can be conduits of peace, sharers in dispersing God’s Love – in all its power.

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Photography: Mindful Memory Making

When our first daughter was a baby we accumulated a few child-oriented cassette tapes (do you remember those?), one of which is a collection of Disney tunes that includes the song, “Makin’ Memories.”

“Long before the old model T, ‘round about the turn of the century (the last one, that is) Folks discovered a barrel of fun: Taking pictures by the light of the sun . . .

Catching little pieces of time, Making them your (and making the mine) . . .

Making memories, making memories, taking pictures is making memories . . . .”

It’s a catchy tune, but for some reason it also stayed with me as a constant reminder to use my camera in a more intentional way. I once heard someone tell a friend who was due to leave for vacation to go and “make some memories.” This, too, caught my attention in much the same way. That is, to be somewhere new I might easily forget or overlook my experience if I am not intentionally being present, noticing, processing my surroundings and experience – making a memory that will remain with me longer than my stay.

My husband Howie’s riding buddy, David Lasee, takes beautiful pictures when he goes on his bike rides. He has also listened to a few of my podcasts (God bless him) and mentioned to Howie that his picture taking is a mindfulness practice for him. And it is very evident in the resulting images! Instead of just letting the landscape breeze past as he peddles along a path in his high-tech Lycra and helmet, he notices . . . sees the shadows a bridge casts on the slope below, or between a banister’s posts; and recognizes the signs of the setting sun and its affects on winter’s detritus along the road.

So he stops for a few moments, positioning his bike in a way that suggests it has always been apart of this nature-art. Considers. Frames. Captures. And waits a few more moments for a word or phrase to come to mind so he can use it as caption when he posts the now-memory to Instagram.

My nephew, Ethan Oliver, is another brilliant photographer. To me, many of the images he posts are like poems. They are often of everyday sightings and real people doing everyday things (standing at a bus stop, sitting on a bench of the L, in the doorway of a local storefront) . . . and they are in black and white . . . and the way he captures a shadow or backlighting or silhouette communicates the colors of the moment in a way no color processing every could. He too takes an extra moment to consider a word or phrase or emoji that reflects his own meditation on the scene.

And when you take time with a picture and notice something you might not have noticed before, you feel something, you enter that scene and the perspective of the photographer, and become more in the viewing of it. In this way, Brooklyn photographer, Milissa Spitz, uses her camera to cope with, make sense of her mother’s mental illness, and perhaps bring beauty into the chaotic relationship.

Not all of us have this camerawork brilliance. Nearly all of us though, are using our phones, ones that usually contain a camera. A ministry associated with the United Methodist Church, ReThinkChurch.org, promotes a picture-a-day campaign during the seasons of Advent and Lent. They assign a word for each day around which individuals are encouraged to center and notice a scene that reflects a sense of that word, to take a picture of it and then post it to the community. Then everyone who visits the site can participate in a visual meditation, further enriched by seeing how others see the word in their lives, from their perspectives.

Today, as a Lenten practice, would you consider using your phone (or conventional camera!) mindfully with me?

Take a moment to breathe.

Settle.

Listen.

Center your heart and mind.

Consider the word “light.”

What is light to you?

Perhaps it is the opposite of dark? Or is it in the sense of not heavy? Perhaps something else entirely?

Where do you notice light?

If not now, consider it throughout the day and take a picture of something that makes you think of light to you in this way.

Allow the Spirit of God to speak to you in loving light.

If you are comfortable, please post your pictures on our Lenten Season FaceBook page or Eirenicole FaceBook page so we all might participate in your visual meditation and perspective of light.

As always, you may find resources and a transcript of, and links to the Instagram accounts of the photographers mentioned in this podcast on my website eirenicole.com.

And today may you walk at the pace of grace.

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I began this podcast with a 10-day mindfulness challenge. I thought the start of Lent a fitting time to return to it. I encourage you consider using these 10 episodes to begin or renew a habit of mindfulness practice for your Lenten season intention.

You might think that a podcast about mindfulness might begin with the mind. But I have found that the difficulty with being mindful is that I am so easily mindless throughout my day. Which is why the first episodes focused on noticing, attending our senses so that when automatic routines are paused for some reason, automatic reactions can be attended with grace. Because if I am on autopilot, any interruption is an opportunity to react – and, for me, it is usually with irritation. Our brains are made to accommodate new information and stimuli by allowing our bodies to do many things automatically. Our brains would literally overheat if we had to think about everything our bodies do.

At the same time, our current high-tech, over-connected existence blasts exceedingly full data bursts, the bulk of which is useless. So, intentionally separating from the sources of these data catapults is crucial to brain health – and the resultant body/soul health. When my mind is uncluttered, unrushed, un-attached . . . an interruption no longer registers as such, as an interruption.

In his First Principle and Foundation, Ignatius of Loyola talks about “making use of those things that help to bring us closer to God and leaving aside those things that don’t.” Fro Ignatius, this Holy Indifference is foundational to peace and right relationship with God and others.

Thomas Keating describes Holy Indifference this way: “Without thinking or feeling some emotion, there is just awareness. There is then no desire for bliss, enlightenment, or to teach others. Things are just as they are. In that so-called emptiness, enjoyment arises of itself. As soon as we try to enjoy, the enjoyment eases. Somehow at the bottom of emptiness (openness, pure awareness), there is enjoyment, fullness, presence and peace.”[1]

Holy indifference is an invitation to hold loosely a matter or item or opinion. So, think with me about a recent issue that is occupying your thoughts these days. Imagine how it affects your attitude toward that subject or about a person | imagine it as a physical object, placed in the palm of your hand. Hold it there. Wrap your fingers around it securely, keep it safe and secure. Next, imagine someone with a different view trying to pull a finger away, and the next finger, etc. but you hold on tighter, more firmly and the possibility for scratches or broken bone increases.

Imagine again that you hold this object in the palm of your extended hand, with your fingers loosely relaxed, open. Someone with a different view holds his hand in the same way. With both held loosely you both gently take each other’s object and create a larger one – one that you both can carry. You have not lost a part of you, the other hasn’t lost a part of him. Rather, you both have contributed to a larger view, a fuller perspective, an effective, healing potential.

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.

As you listen to the rest of this version of Leonard Cohen’s “Come Healing,” consider again a matter, an issue, or person that is occupying your thoughts. Perhaps you need to spend more time with the one you thought of earlier, or something else comes to mind. As you breathe. In. Out. Breathe. Hold the issue in your hand, make a fist. First, gently relax your thumb. Notice it slacken. Pay attention to how the other fingers cannot hold on quite as tightly. Loosen the forefinger. The remaining three loosening their grip still further. Slowly allow the rest to open out. See the issue for what it is. Take note of how you feel toward it. Turn it so your perspective is from another vantage. Acknowledge the impact it has had on you. Acknowledge that it does not define who you are. See it as part of your formation – as you are in the presence of God – this More Than who is in this situation with you – now. And leave it here in God’s presence.

This does not mean you won’t have to face it again. You likely will. And it will be another opportunity to practice Holy Indifference.

My grace is enough; it’s all you need.

As always, resources used in these episodes, along with the transcript can be found on my website: eirenicole.com And if this podcast has been helpful to you, please click a short review and share it with someone else you think might benefit. I am grateful to you for participating with me in mindfulness aimed at peace and reconciliation.

And today, may you walk at the pace of grace.

Come Healing

Leonard Cohen

Guitar and vocals: Howie Snyder

O gather up the brokenness

The splinters that you carry

And let the heavens hear it

Behold the gates of mercy

O solitude of longing

O see the darkness yielding

O troubled dust concealing

O let the heavens falter

O longing of the branches

And let the heavens hear it

O let the heavens hear it

[1] Thomas Keating, “Notes from a Deep Conversation,” Contemplative Outreach: Silence, Solitude, Solidarity, Service – News 31, no. 2 (2015): 1.

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I began this podcast with a 10-day mindfulness challenge. I thought the start of Lent a fitting time to return to it. I encourage you consider using these 10 episodes to begin or renew a habit of mindfulness practice for your Lenten season intention.

Traffic: We live in the Chicago area. Driving is not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of meditation. It would be a very long list before driving in Chicago might make it in relationship to meditation. Yet it is precisely in moments like driving in Chicago that mindfulness practice is essential.

“Can you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Matt6:27 God is there already. God is with you now.

When I consider chaos (Chicago traffic, for example) I am reminded of the genius artists apply to the chaos of media, of possibilities and expressing beauty, ascribing meaning through the chaotic elements. The technique I want to guide you through today is basically a Visio Divina (divine vision – art) meditation you can practice anytime but also apply to what you see while in traffic. This one refers to the Icon of the Madonna, and all of this will be on the website, eirenicole.com. By practicing visual prayer, meditation in sight, it becomes easier to see into the landscape no matter the contents, evidence of God’s presence.

So, one of the techniques used by iconographers is the use of compositional lines. The one gazing sees things from all angles, as God sees them. They give the impression that the vanishing point is in the heart of the viewer. Even lines of nature are painted as straight lines, lending “stillness and intensity to the figures. Brush strokes of pure white seem to flash out like lightning. According to a contemporary iconographer, ‘This quiet luminosity suggests the Holy Spirit within the subject, constantly renewing and creating life out of chaos.’”[1]

Imagine the glare of the sun off of the sea of windshields ahead as the “quiet luminosity of the Holy Spirit within the traffic – constantly renewing and creating life out of chaos.” Breathe.

Henri Nouwen reflects: “Acting, speaking and even reflective thinking may at times be too demanding, but we are forever seeing.” As one might use the icon as a guide gaze at the image with an inner eye to see what the iconographer is communicating, take in the side of the road or highway. With an inner eye, see: “All features…tell the story, but on different levels, and like the trees and mountains, bow down to the Lord.” So the highway paves the way to the space you will occupy, the people with whom God is already present. Breathe.

Though you are an individual in a vehicle amid countless other individuals in a vehicle, this trek is communal, all driving to somewhere with their own stories and dreams. The beginning of communal transformation starts with you and me just being, dwelling in that house of love, the temple of the Holy Trinity. Quiet your soul, make space as you drive for the Trinity to commune, be revealed in this car.

An icon is meant to exert a calming influence, to allow the viewer to step free for a moment from all the concerns of everyday life, to abide in awe-filled attention. “The large eyes, small mouths, and thin noses of Christ and His saints are common features in iconography and represent the refining of the senses away from a materialistic vision of the world towards a spiritual one.” Notice the lines of the cars, the variety of colors along the panels, gaze for a moment on the skyline of the city, or housetops of the neighborhood. Breathe.

As you are enclosed in this vehicle for a time, hear the words of Julian of Norwich: “When God was knitted to our body in the Virgin’s womb, God took our Sensuality and oned it to our Substance. Thus our Lady is our Mother in whom we are all enclosed and in Christ we are born of her. And Jesus is our true Mother in whom we are endlessly carried and out of whom we will never come.” Be grateful.

As always, resources used in these episodes, along with the transcript can be found on my website: eirenicole.com

And today, may you walk at the pace of grace.

Keating, Thomas. “Notes from a Deep Conversation.” Contemplative Outreach: Silence, Solitude, Solidarity, Service – News 31, no. 2 (2015).

Nouwen, Henri J. M. Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons. 1st rev. ed. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2007.

[1] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons, 1st rev. ed. (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 2007), 62.

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I began this podcast with a 10-day mindfulness challenge. I thought the start of Lent a fitting time to return to it. I encourage you consider using these 10 episodes to begin or renew a habit of mindfulness practice for your Lenten season intention.

Our bodies are complicated terrain. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with it, likely heavy on the hate end of the scale. There are more factors than any medical, psychological, sociological, anthropological, theological field can name for my occasional disdain for my body, but none are satisfying and none can really explain why perceived imperfections make me feel negatively toward my body. Because whatever I do not like about my body I internalize and ascribe a moral failure or deficiency to it. But why?

Cultures across the globe and spanning time, all the way back to fig leaf loin covers perceives beauty in unique ways. More fat on the body was indication that one is wealthy in many places and eras. Light skin is in many cultures historically indicates beauty and wealth, tanned skin the same in others. Curvy and slim figures represent equally fickle standards, as do the color of hair, etc. What does seem to be a common factor in determining such standards is where power lies, who controls the economy – in whatever forms that might take. And the power to take hold of ones own beauty, embrace the truth that beauty is so much more, seems to be taken out of our hands.

But it isn’t. Not really. I can choose to see beauty – in myself, in my environment, in others. It is a spiritual practice. It is mindfulness.

“Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells within you? . . . God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.” (1Cor3:16-7)

So, a body scan is typically paying attention, noticing each body part, starting at one end of the body and scanning to the other, relaxing, etc.. You can find guided body scans on most mindfulness meditation sites and apps that take the listener through this process. I’d like to do something different.

First, as always, begin by breathing. Notice your breath. Inhale, exhale, slow, unrushed. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Notice how your body feels. Is there somewhere that is in pain or uncomfortable. Spend a moment there and look at the pain – is it burning, aching? Does it ebb and flow? As you breath out, allow that area to loosen and the breath draw some of the pain out; feel the weight of it. Breathe in and notice, imagine the endorphins rushing around the area to soften the ache, heal the inflammation.

Now notice areas of your body that make you uncomfortable. Perhaps your nose is bigger than you’d like, maybe your belly is rounder than you think it ought to be. Maybe your ears stick out or your teeth are crooked. Notice those areas. Look in a mirror if you have one nearby. What characterizes that “imperfection”? By whose standard is it imperfect? Notice how it forms your own look – maybe your smile is distinct because of your teeth; or perhaps your larger nose draws the attention to your eyes that welcome and accept others, make them feel comfortable in your company. Notice. See the beauty of your shape, configured in a way that no one else’s is. Maybe you grew human beings in that belly! Or a child sits comfortably, safely on it – one round, warm, loving belly just for her.

Next, notice someone around you. Perhaps that person has an imperfection that you do not and have judged imperfect. Notice. How does that birthmark bring character to her face, accentuate the twinkle in her deep brown eyes? What story does that scar on her arm or on his cheek hold? See the beauty of that person, as an individual. What aspect of God’s character does the person, with that body contain? How has he shown love to someone by using those legs that carries a hitch? Notice. See beauty. See God. Be thankful.

Find a moment today to practice mindfulness toward your body by mindfully rubbing lotion on it – your hands, your arms, your legs. Rub the lotion into the areas that you haven’t liked and lovingly massage those areas. If there is someone around you might share this with, perhaps you might massage the back of another, or offer to rub lotion into the hands of someone with arthritis, etc.

As always, resources used in these episodes, along with the transcript can be found on my website: eirenicole.com

And today, may you walk at the pace of grace.

6-BodyScan1

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