CONSPIRE Teacher Talks #2
Preparing our Inner Space
As we prepare to share sacred space together, it’s important to reflect on the ways we’ve adapted to the enormous changes brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and other global crises.
Intelligently responding to the coronavirus demands that we access and develop resources of physical, emotional, and spiritual resilience.
—RICHARD ROHR
This second email in our CONSPIRE Teacher Talks series will explore rituals for preparing your inner space.
Welcoming the Unexpected
How do you react when expectations are not met? When something upsets your plans—either technology fails, the dog starts barking, or the kids want to say hello—experiencing CONSPIRE from our homes increases the likelihood of interruption. We invite you to view it as an invitation to practice.
Listen to this 2013 homily where Fr. Richard invites us to move into a different world—out of a world of expectations and into one of grace.
Prepare your inner world for navigating distractions and disruptions so that we may experience them as an invitation to go deeper. When faced with the unexpected this week, ask yourself the following questions:
- How am I reacting?
- Is there anything I would like to change about my reaction?
- What could God be revealing to me in this reflection?
Try journaling about how it is to engage in this practice. Experiment with other practices that might help you make the most out of life’s many disruptions.
Centering Your Internal World
In this 2020 Daily Mediation on letting go, Fr. Richard writes, “The wise ones recognize that without a certain degree of inner freedom, you cannot and will not truly love. Spirituality is about finding that freedom.” CONSPIRE is an invitation to practice surrender in community.
Our deepest freedom rests not in our freedom to do what we want to do but rather in our freedom to become who God wills us to be.
—James Finley
From now until the start of the conference, we ask that you consider adopting a daily ritual to help you center your internal world. You might try:
- Setting an intention and beginning each day with The Welcoming Prayer, Centering Prayer, a cherished poem, Loving Kindness Meditation, or an inspirational Scripture passage.
- Disentangling your mind and body with drumming, chanting, listening to music, and/or dancing.
- Lighting a candle and reflecting on the flame—just as the LORD appeared to Moses in the flames of fire from within a burning bush.
Please feel free to adjust these practices to your own unique situation. During CONSPIRE you will have the opportunity to be guided in practices in community.
Think you might have missed an email? Revisit or catch up on our first CONSPIRE Teacher Talks email: