Charleston, Nouwen: Tools, Movements
“What are the tools you use most in building your spiritual life? ... Tools like curiosity and compassion. Like honesty and open-mindedness. There are basic tools like listening and study. There are specialized tools like discernment and meditation. Learning to use the tools from a mentor makes sense and practice is a given. Take care of your tools and they will take care of you: simple spiritual advice.”
—Bishop Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook Page.
In his book, Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life, Henri Nouwen describes the spiritual life as “a constant movement between the poles of loneliness and solitude, hostility and hospitality, illusion and prayer.” The first movement, from loneliness to solitude, relates to our own spiritual quest to learn more deeply about ourselves. The second movement, from hostility to hospitality, is our spiritual journey leading us to relate to and connect to others. The third movement, from illusion to prayer, is our effort to develop our relationship with God.
Bishop Charleston provides us with tools we can use in every part of all three movements of this journey. Our job as spiritual directors and spiritual friends is to be mentors to each other, employing the contents of our toolbox, sharing our guidebooks of how we have used these tools, and sharing our tattered and frayed maps of which road to take down each of these movements or paths. This cooperation also entails filling in for each other or becoming a place of respite when one of us runs out of gas. We might also take turns providing a picnic of spiritual food as we travel together in community.
Rebecca Spooner is leading a morning retreat about the Enneagram at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Saturday February 29th from 9 to 1. The Cost is $15. Sign up on St. Mark’s website lovesaintmarks.org. Go to What’s on, then Events
Joanna . joannaseibert.com