Listening From the Depths: Bibliomancy as Spiritual Practice
Listening From the Depths
Some days it’s hard to find the thread. In seasons of obscurity, I turn to creativity to find my way home to the center.
Today I tried something new — listening for wisdom that arises from a collection of quotes.
Instead of asking specific questions, I sat in front of my books with curiosity and a strong felt sense of stuck-ness.
I pulled books out books that drew me and opened to a random page in each one. I relaxed my eyes and scanned the pages to see which words called to me; they constellated like a collage - a word cloud for me to listen through. I’m pasting the words that shimmered for me below.
Collaging Quotes
“When you build a wall in a field, you are introducing a new presence into the landscape.”
John O’Donohue in Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
“Do you understand what you are reading?”
Eugene Peterson in Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity
“Above all matter is not just the weight that drags us down, the mire that sucks us in, the bramble that bars our way. In itself, and before we choose, it is simply the slope on which we can go up or just as well go down, the medium that can uphold or give away, the wind that can overthrow or lift up.”
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in The Divine Milieu
“I don’t read the paper & I don’t watch TV & people ask me how I stay up with what’s going on & I tell them breathing seems to help & since I haven’t done serious damage to anyone yet, they usually leave me alone.”
Brian Andreas in Hearing Voices: Collected Stories & Drawings
“It’s a struggle all the way.”
Raphael Robin as quoted by Cynthia Bourgeault in Love is Stronger Than Death
We now turn to the question of obedience. To our modern ears, the term seems to suggest knuckling under to an external authority, but the Latin word - ob audire - actually means ‘to listen deeply’ or ‘to listen from the depths’ ‘with the ear of the heart’ as St. Benedict puts it. And yes, that listening is, in itself, also a doing, a submission to what the heart has heard.”
Cynthia Bourgeault in Eye of the Heart: A Spiritual Journey Into the Imaginal Realm
Contemplating the Quote Collection
I take a break after gathering the quotes. I wish to see with more than my mind. This is a great time to move my body or sing. When I return to the collection, I open to what coheres between the words.
What questions does this collection stir in me? What do I notice in my body as I read them together?
Is there a felt sense of the whole? I let this be unclear at first. It may take time for this to arise. This video has been a helpful guide.
Is there a synchronicity that sheds light on something I’ve been wondering about in my actual life?
You are welcome to try this with the quotes in the collection above. Do these stir resonance or resistance in you?
Are you drawn to experiment with your books? You can try my approach or make the practice your own.
With love, warmth, and stubborn hope,
Kirsten
Kirsten Harrison is a spiritual director, writer, and collage artist who lives on a very small island in the Pacific Northwest. She holds deep space for the sacred within daily life. If you’d like some company on your spiritual path, Kirsten offers spacious presence and accompaniment. You can read about her online and in-person offerings here.
