The Wisdom of Christ, Part 1

Do not be conformed to this world, rather be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may determine what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and mature. (Romans: 12:2)

 

In last week’s reflection, I shared some thoughts on the Benedictine practice of stability and invited us to reflect on where God reliably shows up in the here and now of Grace. The focus was on the corporate rhythms of our common life that support and enable holy flexibility and movement. This week, I’m thinking about stability and our individual spiritual practices in light of Paul’s encouragement to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds.”

 

That sounds great, but what does that even mean? How do we do that, practically speaking? Our beautiful, amazing minds can also be quite treacherous at times, locked into deeply ingrained patterns and ways of thinking and behaving that don’t always serve us as well as we would like. It turns out that our minds quite easily, as Paul would say, conform to the world. So, what are the very practical, day in day out ways we can support this Spirit-inspired repatterning?

 

I would suggest an answer that lies in our spiritual practices, something that’s part of the DNA of our ancient tradition and something we are likely already doing in some fashion. Our spiritual practices are a gift and means to presence the wisdom of the Holy Spirit throughout our days.

 

It is no surprise to me that science, neuroscience in particular, is showing us the wisdom of our ancient spiritual practices. It’s showing what happens to our brains and how our brains rewire with some of the ways we pray, meditate, and soak ourselves in the Holy. These practices can help disrupt the ways we conform to the world and instead help us re-pattern so we might be more in choice about how we show up in the world. So that we might better tend to what really matters most. So that we might take the next most faithful step, speak the next most faithful word, and do the next most faithful thing to be more at peace in ourselves and in the world. 

 

I’ll share more in next week’s reflection, but for now I invite you to consider what spiritual practices are most meaningful to you. What do you do with some regularity or intention or what would you like to do with some more regularity and intention? These might include practices like praying the Daily Office, reading or chanting the psalms, centering prayer, contemplation of nature, practicing gratitude, Lectio Divina, yoga, chanting, sense meditations, and so forth. You might say, “Some of those don’t sound like spiritual practices.” However, one might think of spiritual practices as those practices which render us more open, alert, and available to God no matter what we are doing. Consider the practices that are most meaningful to you and notice the quality of your attention and intention. Notice your emotions, your senses, and how you feel in your body while you engage in them over the next week. 

 

Mother Abbott Bailey