Thoughts: Dream as dreamers do
Writings: Thy will be done….
Over the years, little bits of things make a bit more sense. Time passes & experience grows, as I watch the way others do things & I do things, in this play we write each day, together.
Since I was a young monk, my parents sent me to Roman Catholic schools, even though we were Anglican (or Episcopalians, in the US).
Even though I wasn’t really a monk in the usual sense, I was attracted to the idea of a daily office, or what my Buddhist friends call a practice.
The idea of doing & saying the same things over & over each day served then & now to help underline that we’re here to live spiritual lives, and then do stuff in the physical world. In that order, rather than the reverse.
At least, that’s the way I see it, hey….
When I taught my first high school job in New Orleans, it was (naturally) at a Catholic boys’ high school, where we were required to offer the Lord’s Prayer or a Hail Mary before each class. I liked the “Our Father,” so that’s the one my class began with. It was already part of the little daily office I had made for myself, along with the St. Francis “Make Me An Instrument” prayer.
One of the phrases that stuck with me then was pretty simple, the four words: Thy will be done.
At the time, I understood it in the do-what-your-parents-tell-you sense. Follow the rules, do the bosses’ will.
Do what you’re supposedta.
Over time, it became more & more apparent to me that “thy will” had more to it than that. As I watched people who felt to me to have that special gift of bringing spirit alive in the world, I started feeling a shift with both “Thy will be done” and “Make me an instrument of thy peace“…and I hope it’s OK that I share that with you, as a notion for you to turn over in your mind, to float in your head, to move your body to places where you show people what it means to share & heal.
Kinda makes things feel more, mean more, and do joy – more.
I’m pretty aware my poor efforts to share this as words is only the first part of what we’re visiting about here. So, I’d like to wrap up with a little prayer from Brother Charles, one of my spiritual heroes who made simple things turn into amazing things.
Let me know how it goes. I love the way you love, dear brothers & sisters.
Hugback –
Brother Ian
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Prayer of Abandonment
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
Do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
~Brother Charles de Foucauld,
Writings: Works with improv, works with life…yes!
In the old days, one of the cool jobs I was lucky enough to fall into was teaching drama at a junior high. We had a great time. One of the things we did was improvise scenes.
It was easy – we’d put two or three kids on the floor, give them a first line (something like “What do I do now?” or “Why, tell me why you had to do that!” or “You’re not the person I thought you were!” or something), and then say “Go!”
Then their job – everybody else’s – was to carry the scene forward with whatever came up. No rules (junior high kids LOVE that), no script, with a wide-open road as to where things might go. Usually it was fun – sometimes really funny (usually unintentionally), sometimes emotional, sometimes as mixed up as life. The part we were looking for: When you’re off-script, it’s a little scary, but often honest.
Every so often, we’d get it going, maybe with saying, “What do I do now?” and…the kid would respond with, “I don’t know.” Then the first person would say, “OK,” and we’d be done. So then we’d use the same people and start it with, “Wow, you look funny!” and they might respond, “Oh, OK. Thanks for telling me.” And we were done.
We really didn’t want things to die there.
So then we had to make some rules for this no-rule lesson plan. Frankly, I don’t remember them, ’cause I used to, well, improvise. But I heard that Tina Fey (in this article) has these as her Improv Rules:
The Rules of Improvisation
Always Agree.
Say Yes, AND…
After the “and” add new information.
Focus on the Here and Now.
Establish the location.
Be Specific, provide details.
Now that changes things. That makes you want to stay in the conversation, and see how it turns out. Part of improv comedy’s genius is the ability, even necessity, to say, “Yes! And…” even in the face of the strangest things. In real life, we just end the conversation & walk on.
Wait. Maybe we don’t have to create a “real life” like that. The more I think about it, I like the Rules of Improv. Good way to wrestle with the stuff that comes our way.
I have an early night, so I think maybe you & I will visit about this some more. Because that’s the way you are…I say something, and no matter what, you agree, so that you can say “Yes! And…” (not “Yes! But…”) and we take it from there. And that’s why it’s fun talking to you. I love it.
Love you & the way we make all this up, together.
Brother Ian
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See more of Agoes Antara’s awesome work.
Thoughts: Being mindful of being mindful….
We sometimes think that being mindful means being critical of ourselves and very watchful. We think that meditation provides us with a big brother who is going to watch over us or whip us into shape if we do something wrong.
But mindfulness practice is not about punishing yourself when you lose track of your breath or your thoughts. Mindfulness does not criticize or set conditions for you. Nor is it about rewarding you.
Rather, it is helping you to discover the alertness that already exists in your mind, by dispelling the dullness that has covered it up.
Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
Music: Remembering the laughter & the love & the tasks before us
Everyone has something they like about Jesus, the Christ, and I reckon I’m no exception. There’s a lot to like – the Sermon on the Mount, his lessons on love, his direction that we care for those with less – and one of my favourites is the story where he throws the money changers out of the temple.
We have a lot of folks, now, who have turned this beautiful place we live in & love into a robber’s den…and the time has come to call it what it is, and turn them out.
I like the way Jackson’s song addresses this, and like him, I wish you the best of Christmases.
Love you,
Brother Ian, on the side of the Rebel Jesus
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All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants’ windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
They’ll be gathering around the hearths and tales
Giving thanks for all of God’s graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus
Well they call him by the prince of peace
And they call him by the savior
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
As they fill his churches with their pride and gold
And their faith in him increases
But they’ve turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber’s den
In the words of the rebel Jesus
We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why they are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus
But please forgive me if I seem
To take the tone of judgement
For I’ve no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In this life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus.
Poetry of music: Arlo, with the story of Amazing Grace
You might have heard the story behind Amazing Grace, but it still shares the chills that the story always gives….along with a moment to remember Steve Goodman. Here’s Arlo & Shenandoah:
About Brother Ian
Over the centuries, Brother Ian has been collecting stories & information & discourses for the purpose of elevating the human condition as needed, dissecting it when necessary, and building the case for hope.
In the spirit of noting that organized crime, organized baseball, organized labour, and organized religion tend to engender controversy & occasional discord, I promise to be neither organized or critical of those who are.