Invitation to Solitude & Silence * Book Open House #3

Welcome back to the Book Open House, friends.  Grab your copy of Invitation to Solitude & Silence ... or just consider the selected paragraphs from chapters 5 and 6 below.

And if you've got time, pour yourself a mug of something warm, put your feet up, and peek in on the follow-up discussions from the first two sessions.  Good stuff awaits you there.  The links are at the bottom of the post.  And it's not too late for you to jump on in to either conversation.

Love that you're here.  Love that this series is speaking into your life.  Love doing community with you. 




Chapter 5 - Rest for the Body
At first giving attention to my body in the context of solitude and silence felt uncomfortable and embarrassing, and I resisted it mightily.  I resisted not only because it didn't seem very spiritual {and I was into feeling spiritual} but also because I didn't like what I saw.  In addition to the more obvious symptoms of exhaustion, I started to become aware of the way I carried tension in my shoulders, the way I "forgot" to breathe when I was nervous or unsure or uptight, the way the cares and concerns of the day kept me awake at night because I don't know how to rest in God, the way certain activities energized me and others left me inordinately drained.  I wasn't sure what to do with what I was noticing.

Chapter 6 - Rest for the Mind
The human mind is perpetually busy trying to control things, trying to figure things out, clinging to the latest idea, grasping at the nearest straw.  It works very hard trying to make sense of things by endlessly seeking to put everything into categories and boxes and systems of thought.  Sometimes even God himself gets relegated to a category or a box in my mind rather than being free to be God in my life.  It seems that my mind will go to great lengths to fix things, control things and defend against anything that would disrupt my carefully constructed equilibrium.

Grab your keyboard and let's start talking ...

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Beyond Words
Beginnings

Resistance
Dangerously Tired

Book Open House #4
Rest for the Soul
Emptiness

Book Open House #5
Facing Ourselves
Pure Presence

Book Open House Conclusion
Receiving Guidance
For the Sake of Others




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visiting