We’re Just Chatting
Last week, I paused to look out the front window of my apartment just long enough to see a middle-aged woman briskly get in her…
read moreLast week, I paused to look out the front window of my apartment just long enough to see a middle-aged woman briskly get in her…
read moreI often hear people talking about living in the present moment as if it is a struggle, some cosmic game of attempting to grasp something that is fleeting, illusory. They say things like, “the moment I have it, it’s gone.” While this is true and can be frustrating, the last thing present moment awareness is about is grabbing serenity. I have always liked the metaphor of the river (borrowed from my Christian contemplative practice of prayer) in talking of the flow of thoughts. Imagine the stream of consciousness as a river, with boats and debris representing thoughts. You’re sitting on the bank of the river watching it. Normal awareness has you looking at each individual boat-thought, following it down the river with your eyes — and to strain the metaphor, getting on it and opening hatches — then suddenly shifting your awareness to another boat and so on. If your mind is particularly cluttered, you can feel overwhelmed by all the boats you have to look at and it can feel like that classic I Love Lucy skit with the conveyor belt at the chocolate factory, like you’re falling behind and they start slipping by. There can be a sense of panic that a thought that’s getting past you without attention is important and you’re missing it.
Present moment awareness is simply sitting on the bank and watching the river, not the boats. Boats cross your field of vision and you do see them, but you don’t follow them with your eyes or get on them. They’re not out of focus, but you don’t focus on them.
read moreIn a BRAND NEW version of our classic video, Busted Halo explains the significance of the final week we spend preparing for Easter.
read moreI feel the anger rising as I scroll. “She is so ignorant.” “I can’t believe he actually thinks that.” “What is wrong with her?” The…
read moreA few weeks ago, I was called to sing at the Anointing of the Sick Mass here at our parish in the Bay Area. It…
read moreWhen we speak to God are we affecting His plans? Are we influencing the future? And if not, why do we persist in asking God…
read moreLet’s get one thing clear: I like the taste of meat. I like double bacon cheeseburgers. I like steak so rare it moos. On Thanksgiving…
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