Desire: The Sacred Seed
Desire: The Sacred Seed

I grew up in a theological landscape dominated by the doctrine of Original Sin. Maybe you did, too. For most of my life, I was taught some version of: At your center, there is a Jesus-shaped hole that only Jesus can fill.

This concept is so prevalent, it's not just limited to what we hear in our religious circles; it also shows up in the broader culture. My kids will confirm that pop culture is not my forte', but I do have a new hero in Lady Gaga (I'll save that for another post). In her Golden Globe award winning duet with Bradley Cooper, she sings, "Tell me something, boy, aren't you tired, tryin' to fill that void...."

I understand the appeal of this idea of a gaping void at our center. It seems to explain so much about humanity. Our insatiability. Our poor choices. Our seemingly unanchored floating.

And it may be that there is a lot of space or emptiness or darkness surrounding our core. But I reject this shame-based and fear-based theology of a void at our center. I don't think this is what the Christian scriptures or Jesus teach.

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spiritual practiceLorilyn Wieringspiritual directionComment
Spiritual Practice: Walking a Labyrinth and Re-connecting to Love
Spiritual Practice: Walking a Labyrinth and Re-connecting to Love

As I walked the labyrinth I prayed, “What can nurture my capacity to remain in and embody Love more fully in this challenging circumstance?” Arriving at the rosette center of the labyrinth, I stepped, facing out, into each of the central six lobes. Allowing my eyes to rest on the first object in view that caught my attention ( a sort of visio divina), I let myself become curious about the wisdom each object might offer

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spiritual practiceLorilyn Wieringspiritual direction, labyrinthComment
Spiritual Practice: Honoring Limitations
Spiritual Practice: Honoring Limitations

First, there was last week’s bout with the flu, then there was that retail therapy outing which resulted in a bank account balance just a bit too close for comfort. Somewhere in between those two was a panicky conversation with my dear husband. Actually, before all that, it was a tender conversation with my mom, whose memory is failing her, and my impassioned pleas to explore further medical options in an effort to stave off this loss, and her calm and candid response, without judgment: I guess I’ve just accepted that this, but you haven’t.

 

It seems God, or the Universe (I think of them interchangeably), has had a lot to say to me lately about how to be with my own and others’ limitations.

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Lorilyn WieringComment
Spiritual Practice: Breath Prayer
Spiritual Practice: Breath Prayer

When my soul has been overcome with anxiety and doing life feels like hanging onto a rope tied between the farmhouse and the barn in the blizzard of the century (did you read your Laura Ingalls Wilder?), and when it feels that just one step away from that line may leave me lost and eventually frozen, I have found a very simple spiritual discipline that has become that lifeline for me.

It’s called the breath prayer.

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Lorilyn WieringComment