Glimmering Landscape Time: Spacious Spiritual Practices to Hold Us in Spiritual Disorientation
Words are rearranged from “The Moon Ground” by James Dickey. The original poem was printed in a special issue of Life Magazine on July 4, 1969 leading up to the flight of Apollo 11
How do I hold this _______________? (chaos, obscurity, grief, disorientation, restlessness, dark night of the soul…)
It is difficult to hold obscurity with kindness.
We are living in a collective moment that requires we develop the capacity to stabilize in the midst of uncertainty. When there are no answers, when our illusions of control and security are falling away, how do we return to the present moment, even briefly, to get our bearings?
My blog post on moving through a dark night of the soul is the most widely visited article I’ve written. This tells me we are collectively longing for soulful nourishment and guidance that is robust enough to hold us amid disorientating times.
Practices are prisms through which timeless truths are illuminated — making the invisible visible. Practices support un in connecting with our direct spiritual experience.
There are no formulas. The invitation is to enter in with expectancy, but not expectations — these are openings to be with “what is” in the present moment. Being present is the practice, even if nothing seemingly profound happens.
A Spacious Found Poetry Practice: Opening to a New Emergence
Cut out words from an old book or magazine. Lay all of the words out in front of you.
Which words stir resonance within?
Which words evoke resistance?
When you are ready, notice if the words want to cohere in a new way. Open to the possibility of rearranging the words into a question, a prayer, a wish, or wisdom to hold you here, to hold you today.
From my heart I say I think something
You look as though
You know me, though the world we came from is
glimmering landscape
Time
At being here: we must look
We must look for it: the stones are going to tell us
Not the why but the how of all things
We are here to do one
Thing only
A Simple Felt-Sense Practice
Here’s a three-minute invitation to presence. Breathe with this if you want to. If it stirs something, listen for your felt sense of it.
Let it be unclear at first. Maybe a felt sense will arise today. Maybe the memory of this will return when it’s time.
“Do not despise the shallows”
I took this video at the shoreline on Vashon-Maury Island.
Listening With Images, A Visio Divina Practice
Clear a space and breathe for a moment or two. Gaze at the collage at the top of this post and listen for what it stirs in you.
Follow the questions that draw you:
What do you notice?
Is there resonance? Resistance?
Does the image evoke a feeling or sensation?
Is there a word or phrase that shimmers?
Is there anything here that is synchronous or seems to connect with other happenings in your life presently?
Would you like to use this image as a journal prompt or explore it together with a friend in conversation?
If the image is pleasing to you, take an inner snapshot of your felt sense of it to carry with you.
Creating wisdom collages is one of the primary ways I engage with my direct spiritual experience. The image at the top of this post arose from my most recent practice time. Creative expression opens my heart to deep listening beyond the thinking center. You’ll find a step-by-step guide to create wisdom collages here.
Related Blog Posts:
Moving Through a Dark Night of the Soul: A Spiritual Director Holds Space for Obscurity
The Dark Night, Songs for Our Seasons of Obscurity
Listening from the Depths: Bibliomancy as Spiritual Practice
I’m Kirsten. I accompany folks as they attune to the inner experiences of life. It’s a place of presence and connection, a place to anchor briefly amid the chaos, a spacious place to be seen and known. If you would like to read more about this type of accompaniment, you can visit my offerings page here.
