Meditation: A Margin for Soul-Work
I just finished reading Phileena Heuertz’s book, Mindful Silence: The Heart of Christian Contemplation . I’ve never really been one for meditations that don’t involve my hands doing something. Journaling is a form of meditation. Sometimes, quilting is a form of meditation (when the thread keeps tangling or the needle breaks in my machine, that is decidedly not meditative!). Sitting in silence can be difficult if I don’t have something to focus on. Years ago I went on my first silent retreat at a Franciscan convent in Illinois (the Chiara Center…look it up. It’s ah-freaking-mazing!). I sat in the sanctuary and looked at all the things. This was a Catholic sanctuary which meant it was much more ornate than the simple Protestant sanctuary I was used to. Every where I looked there was something to look at and I wondered how I would ever find space to pray when my eyes were constantly filled with images. Then the opposite happened: looking actually helped. Lookin