(S:2, E:7) Gift – To: You, From: Jesus

This is a special episode for me (Tony) as I get to share a meditation exercise that had a profound impact on my own spiritual journey and relationship with Jesus. Years ago, early in my spiritual journey, I was led through this visualization practice in the same way that I will share it with you in this episode. The practice is actually quite simple – yet, the impact it had on me years ago was profound, personal, and moving. I learned, through this practice for the first time, that “prayer” was far deeper and more mysterious than I had known. I learned that prayer wasn’t just an activity that I was supposed to do – it is an experience where my soul and God’s Spirit resonate together.

I look forward to sharing this exercise with you now. I hope and pray that God meets you in it as God did for me – but in a way that is a reflection of your own unique, special, precious identity in Jesus. I pray the Spirit blesses you in vivid, authentic ways.

This episode is written, hosted and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

Learn more about Urban Mystics by:

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire. Use of this copyrighted material is not allowed without consent. Learn more about ReWire at www.rewireteam.org

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We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

Father – A Prodigal Son Lectio Divina w/Dan

We just recently celebrated Father’s Day here in the U.S. – a holiday that may mean many different things for different people. The word “Father” is inexplicably tied to the way we talk about and think about God. Jesus often refers to God as “Father” and even teaches His disciples to refer to God the same way. When Jesus instructs the disciples to pray “our Father in heaven,” the word used for Father is “Abba.” “Abba” is an even more intimately relational word than “Father” is – a closer translation would suggest that Jesus is teaching His disciples to call God, “Dad,” or “Pappa.”

For us, this also means that our relationship to God as “Father” will likely be influenced by our experience of our own fathers or father-figures in our lives. For some, this influence makes the image of God as Father all the more meaningful. For others, this imagery makes things more complicated… Yet, Jesus seems insistent that we get to know what His Father is like. To illustrate, Jesus tells his disciples a story about a Father and his two sons. While a lot can be said about the two sons in the story, what we gather about the character of the Father is special. Join Dan, as he leads a Lectio Divina meditation into the story of the Prodigal Son – with special attention to the compassionate, patient, forgiving Father.

This episode is written and hosted by Dan Lee and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

Learn more about Urban Mystics by visiting the Urban Mystics website at www.urbanmystics.org, or by joining the new ReWire Hub community and checking out the Urban Mystics space at https://rewirehub.mn.co/share/bUZrUTYAa8OHBTVg?utm_source=manual

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits:

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

https://pixabay.com/music/meditationspiritual-valley-of-silence-meditation-yoga-relaxation-work-study-sleep-music-122612/

Expecting Company (You Host Jesus for Dinner) - Visualization w/Tony

In this session, Tony guides you into a visualization prayer practice… You are expecting company tonight. You have plans to host Jesus for dinner and an evening together at your home. The visualization begins earlier in the day, as you imagine yourself preparing to host for dinner that evening – cleaning, dishes, getting dressed, cooking, running your to-do lists through your mind. Then, as the afternoon grows into evening, your visualization shifts gears as you hear a knock at the door. Jesus is here, at your house, ready to spend an evening in your company.

Take a few minutes to let yourself enter into this imagined scene… what would it be like to have Jesus over for dinner?

This episode is written and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

Learn more about Urban Mystics by visiting the Urban Mystics website at www.urbanmystics.org, or by joining the new ReWire Hub community and checking out the Urban Mystics space at https://rewirehub.mn.co/share/bUZrUTYAa8OHBTVg?utm_source=manual

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits

Pillow Fort by Purrple Cat (Album: Cozy Cabin Beats)

Cat’s Cradle by Purrple Cat (Album: Morning Coffee)

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

Night in Venice by Kevin MacLeod, downloaded royalty free from www.freepd.com

Sound effects purchased and downloaded from “Free to Use Sounds” https://ftus.gumroad.com/

Sound effects from www.pixabay.com

Sound effects from www.Zapsplat.com

Sound effects from “loljames” & "caquet" on www.freesound.org (https://freesound.org/people/loljames/sounds/116345/) (https://freesound.org/people/caquet/sounds/221164/)

Delight – A Meditation w/Dan

In Hebrew – the word “Delight” is a reference to a soft and tender heart. In this way, only a softened and delicate heart can truly “delight in the Lord.” As Dan says, “to delight in the Lord means to find joy, satisfaction, and pleasure in having a deep and intimate relationship with God. It is a state of being where our hearts and souls are captivated by God’s presence, His character, and His ways.” Where does true contentment come from? What source is capable of full satisfaction? This meditation is about joy, passion, rejoicing, desires, goodness, faithfulness, love, purpose… This meditation is about delight. May it lead you to a place of full delight in the Lord!

This episode is written and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

Learn more about Urban Mystics by visiting the Urban Mystics website at www.urbanmystics.org, or by joining the new ReWire Hub community and checking out the Urban Mystics space at https://rewirehub.mn.co/share/bUZrUTYAa8OHBTVg?utm_source=manual

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits:

Hot Chocolate by Purrple Cat; Album: Snowbound

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

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Audio File Title: Valley of Silence Meditation #122612

Compassion – Healing at the Pool of Bethesda w/Tony

In this session, we will practice biblical imagination using a story found in the Gospel of John 5:1-10 – The Healing at the Pool of Bethesda. Through reflective visualization, we attempt to encounter this scene in a new way – by imagining that we are there. In this story, we witness the compassion of Jesus towards a man who has suffered from a disability that has kept him at the edge of the pool for 38 years. Before healing the man, Jesus listens first. The listening is important. Its as much an act of compassion as the physical healing. Then, after healing the disabled man, Jesus’ attention turns towards you. He approaches, seeking to truly listen to your story. What will He ask you? What will you share? What else will the Spirit reveal in this imaginative practice?

This episode is written and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

Learn more about Urban Mystics by visiting the Urban Mystics website at www.urbanmystics.org, or by joining the new ReWire Hub community and checking out the Urban Mystics space at https://rewirehub.mn.co/share/bUZrUTYAa8OHBTVg?utm_source=manual

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits:

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

We are also deeply appreciative of the talented sound design of Sword Coast Soundscapes. Please check out and support their work at https://swordcoastsoundscapes.bandcamp.com/

Behold - a Meditation w/Dan (5/26/2023)

This week, Dan leads us to stop and pause for just a moment... to SEE. To "behold" means to observe, to gaze upon, and to see. But more often, when the word is used in the scriptures, "behold" means - "Be SURE to see!" Be SURE to see the glory and majesty of God. Be SURE to see the magnificence of Jesus. Be SURE to SEE! Join us, for just a short time, to prioritize a reflective meditation intended to see the wonder and glory of the life set before you.

This episode is written and recorded by Dan Lee; edited and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

Learn more about Urban Mystics by visiting the Urban Mystics website at www.urbanmystics.org, or by joining the new ReWire Hub community

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits:

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. We encourage you to find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

This document confirms the download of an

Abundance - Examen Style Meditation w/Tony (5/19/2023)

We're back! Welcome to another season of Urban Mystics. We are rested and excited to be back with you. This season, we have some new ideas that we are excited to try out. This is the first episode of our new season. It's called "abundance" and is an Examen style meditation on the overflowing generosity of God and our experience of that generous abundance in our lives. The Examen practice is a contemplative exercise developed by St. Ignatius.

We hope you enjoy our new flow as we attempt to create guided contemplative meditations that are a little shorter than the previous season. Please let us know what you think, which style you prefer, etc. We would love to hear your feedback!

Learn more about Urban Mystics by visiting the Urban Mystics website at www.urbanmystics.org, or by joining the new ReWire Hub community

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits:

Frolic by Purrple Cat
Album: Bloom

Pillow Fort by Purrple Cat
Album: Cozy Cabin

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

This document confirms the download of an audio file pursuant to the Pixabay License as defined in the Pixabay Terms of Service available at https://https://pixabay.com/service/terms/

Audio File Title: Valley of Silence Meditation

Easter - "First Light" - by Tony (Featuring Tiffany Cornwell)

Lent Meditations - Cross - A Gratitude Meditation w/Dan (4/5/2023)

This is our final meditation of the Lenten Season. In this episode, Dan guides us through a practice of gratitude as we reflect on the gifts we have received through this Lenten journey and the sacrifice Jesus has made on the cross. We set our burdens, our worries, our missteps at the foot of the cross and because of Jesus' profound love for us, we hear him speak, "It is finished."

We thank you for journeying with us over the last few weeks. As mentioned in the episode, Dan and Tony are going to take a break for a few weeks after Easter. We will resume these meditations, but would like to pause this weekly rhythm to rejuvenate our inspiration and creativity. However, while we break, keep an eye out for a surprise podcast episode to pop up.

This episode is written and led by Dan Lee and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

If you have joined us at all on Wednesday mornings for live guided sessions, Dan and Tony will also be taking a break for a few weeks from these sessions as well. When we return after a few weeks, we will likely be trying out a new live meeting time and possibly a new live feed location. Stay tuned for updates. As always, you can check for updates and news by visiting the Urban Mystics website or by joining the new ReWire Hub community and checking out the Urban Mystics space there.

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

Cover Photo for this episode: Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Lent Meditations - Serve - Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet: Imaginative Meditation w/Tony

This week, we invite you to enter into the intimacy and power of the scene in which Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, as depicted in the Gospel of John. Use your imagination to create an experience of this scene. Use your senses. Hear the sounds of supper shared in the upper room. Pass the plate of bread. Drink from your wine glass. And as you immerse into the evening in the close confines of the upper room, you witness something profound - the man who has been called Messiah and King, the man who has raised the dead and healed the sick and the lame, the man whom demons flee from - Jesus - fills a basin with water, ties a towel around his waist, takes a knee before each disciple in the room, and proceeds to wash the dirt and dust with his own hands. What would it be like to be in that room? Jesus calls us to follow his lead - to wash one another's feet, to serve as He served, to love as He loved. So, who's feet might you wash? How might this action speak to how you lead? How you use power, authority, or status?

This episode is written and produced by Tony Duppong, exclusively for the Urban Mystics Podcast.

You can continue to join Urban Mystics for live guided meditations every Wednesday morning as we continue our Lent meditations through April 5th, 2023 looking forward with anticipation towards Easter. The live sessions begin at 11am Central Time on Wednesday mornings. You can find a link to the sessions by visiting the Urban Mystics website at www.urbanmystics.org, or by joining the new ReWire Hub community and checking out the Urban Mystics space here.

Urban Mystics is a ministry of ReWire. Meditations and recordings are property of ReWire.

Episode Audio Credits:

We love Purrple Cat's music and are customers and supporters. You can find and support Purrple Cat's music at https://purrplecat.com/

Other audio used in this podcast came from:

https://pixabay.com/

https://www.zapsplat.com/

https://ftus.gumroad.com/