<![CDATA[Three Chairs Spiritual Direction

<![CDATA[Three Chairs Spiritual Direction - Blog: the sacred now]]>Thu, 07 Apr 2022 14:35:28 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Find Your Window of Wonder]]>Mon, 15 Jun 2020 11:40:39 GMThttp://www.threechairsspiritualdirection.com/blog-the-sacred-now/find-your-window-of-wonder

In psychology, the Window of Tolerance (WOT) describes that physical, emotional, and psychological 'space' we're in when we're most ourselves; it's here that our nervous system is at its best. I like to describe the WOT as The Place of the 6 Cs: where we're most readily able to sink into calmness, connection, confidence, compassion, curiosity, and constructive communication. Or the Window of Wonder (the WOW space) because it's that 'place' where we're able to experience awe and wonder; to be most attuned to the divine spark that exists within us and all around us.

The intensity of our emotions, and our ability to regulate our behaviours that result from them, are important clues about how close we are to our Window of Wonder, and what we can do to help calm or rev up our nervous system and enter into our optimal activation zone. Learning to be in our WOT is key to a life of seeing with the "eyes of the heart" (Ephesians 1:18); of recognizing the sacred in our everyday lives.

Today's contemplation prompt: As you move through your day, notice when you feel most yourself: gently attuned and open to the world around you. What clues tell you that you are your best self in moments like this - is it a sensation in your body, the speed or nature of your thoughts, your breath, or some other clue(s)? What are you doing in this moment?

]]><![CDATA[Upon Waking: Compassion for the Elders (a not-poem)]]>Sun, 14 Jun 2020 11:28:54 GMThttp://www.threechairsspiritualdirection.com/blog-the-sacred-now/upon-waking-compassion-for-the-elders-a-not-poem

Sometimes, I awaken,
And don't know
If I'm really awake.

Do you ever get that feeling
Of being disoriented
As you trip on the divide
Between here and there?

I hate it, that feeling
Of disorientation;
It terrifies me,
Reminds me of The Alzheimer's,
And of The Going Mad,
And of how we don't really know what we don't know,
Or where we are,
Or when we are.

Catherine Anne Kilbride
May 25, 2020

]]><![CDATA[Do You See the Clouds in Your Coffee?]]>Thu, 11 Jun 2020 04:00:00 GMThttp://www.threechairsspiritualdirection.com/blog-the-sacred-now/do-you-see-the-clouds-in-your-coffee

[T]here is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper. Without a cloud, there will be no rain; without rain, the trees cannot grow; and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. If the cloud is not here, the sheet of paper cannot be here either. So we can say that the cloud and the paper inter-are.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk, poet, and peace activist

Do you see the clouds in your coffee or tea? Do you see colours and shadows, the movement of ripples or drops, the swirling of steam through the air? Do you see the tree upon which your coffee's beans grew, the rains that watered its thirsty roots, the worker who toiled to bring you your morning drink, and the family to which (s)he returned after a hard day's work? Or are you too overwhelmed to notice your drink because you feel worried, angry, tired, or numb, something that is surely be understandable in our harried lives?

Today's contemplation prompt: Choose something (or someone) that is part of your everyday: your coffee or tea, the fruit in your bowl, the houseplant in your living room or tree outside your window, a beloved pet or human. As you bring your awareness to your chosen object or person, I invite you to sit with the following question: What had to happen in order for this thing/person before you to come into being and to arrive here, in this moment, with you? Sink as deeply as you can into the wonder that is our cosmic interconnectedness.

*If you find yourself feeling stuck or overwhelmed as you try to settle into an everyday something or someone, feel free to sit with one of the images below instead.

]]><![CDATA[Being the Guest House During a Global Pandemic - Part 1]]>Tue, 09 Jun 2020 04:00:00 GMThttp://www.threechairsspiritualdirection.com/blog-the-sacred-now/being-the-guest-house-during-a-global-pandemic-part-1

In his poem The Guest House, Sufi mystic and poet, Rumi, compares this business of living, of being human, to a guest house: every morning (if not moment), a new emotional experience arises. And like unexpected guests, some feel joyful and easy, while others feel heavy and burdensome.

During this global era of Covid-19, our inner landscape can feel so raw as we're pushed to our limits time after time. Like a guest house innkeeper, we may feel stuck with our these myriad guests: this full range of emotions that bombard us, sometimes by the day or the hour. Rumi invites us to consider the possibility that each of these guests, whether welcome or unwelcome, is a guide that has been sent from God.

Today's Contemplation Prompt: As you move through your day, however easily or however grudgingly, I invite you to to sit with the following questions: Which guests (i.e., emotions) are easiest for you to welcome warmly? Which ones do you wish you could turn away?

]]><![CDATA[Where Did I Encounter the Sacred Today?]]>Fri, 05 Jun 2020 22:46:35 GMThttp://www.threechairsspiritualdirection.com/blog-the-sacred-now/where-did-i-encounter-the-sacred-today

Beloved teacher and pastor Henri Nouwen said, "The spiritual life does not remove us from the world but leads us deeper into it."

Today's contemplation prompt: Take a few moments to recall the shape of your day: Who did you encounter (including non-human creatures and nature)? What happened? Take your time to let the day wash over you. When you are ready, I invite you to sit with the following question: Where did I encounter sacredness in my life today?

]]><![CDATA[Welcome, Faìlte.]]>Fri, 05 Jun 2020 18:46:54 GMThttp://www.threechairsspiritualdirection.com/blog-the-sacred-now/june-05th-2020Welcome, dear friend. Wherever you are, whenever you are, I'm glad you are here.

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