How to Use This Retreat
Do not be dismayed, daughters, at the number of things which you have to consider before setting out on this Divine journey, which is the royal road to Heaven. By taking this road we gain such precious treasures that it is no wonder if the cost seems to us a high one. The time will come when we shall realize that all we have paid has been nothing at all by comparison with the greatness of our prize. - St. Teresa of Avila
Teresa here reminds us that for ages the challenge of a spiritual discipline is indeed daunting. It is fitting that she offered these thoughts in her work to her sisters in “The Way of Perfection”, so we can see by the very title that it is not the destination, but the journey in which we must engage. This retreat is an offering of structure to help you engage in conversation on your way.
We have used the poem “How Good it is to Center Down” by Howard Thurman and are focusing on a unique, sequential excerpt each day to provide the scaffolding for the retreat. Two Scriptural passages have been selected to correspond with each excerpt of the poem, generally one each from the Old and New Testaments. A reflection inspired by the three readings is also offered on each day from a unique cast of contributors.
The creators of this retreat offer structure to you in a variety of ways, hoping that they will in part, or in their entirety, give you approachable ways to pray, contemplate, and enter into conversation with God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Our hope is that the format of this retreat will allow you differing streams to spend as much or as little time as you like each day depending on your need. We suggest that you plan to set aside 15 minutes at a minimum each day to read the verse, scripture, reflection, and prayer.
Philip Sheldrake in his work The Spiritual Way offers five ways of practicing one’s spiritual discipline, and we have focused on three of these to provide an expansion of options for you in this retreat. Each day of the retreat offers a prompt for the way of beauty, the contemplative-mystical way, and the way of practical action. We pray that you will find some, if not all, of these prompts enriching for your practice, and enable you to go deeper on your spiritual journey.
The retreat is designed to take advantage of household objects in certain instances where you may choose to create or fabricate something. The creators recognize that every household is different and every participant approaches this from a unique perspective. We suggest that you substitute as your particular circumstances dictate, and want to assure you that no outside materials except an internet-ready device are required for this retreat. Depending on your situation and access, you may like to purchase some basic art supplies such as glue, tissue paper, cord/rope, paint, and/or clay that you are interested in trying. Depending on the ways that you select daily, it may also be assumed that you have access to a kitchen, but again, this can be easily avoided.
There are two days where the reflections could provide unintentional distress. The first is a discussion about suicide on day 4, please feel free to skip this reflection. Should you need it, the suicide prevention hotline is 1-800-273-8255 and the website for National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is suicidepreventionlifeline.org. The second instance of possible concern is the presence of explicit language on day 11 which one might find offensive.
How Good to Center Down!
By Howard Thurman
How good it is to center down!
To sit quietly and see one’s self pass by!
The streets of our minds seethe with endless traffic;
Our spirits resound with clashing, with noisy silences,
While something deep within hungers and thirsts for the still moment and the resting lull.
With full intensity we seek, ere thicket passes, a fresh sense of order in our living;
A direction, a strong sure purpose that will structure our confusion and bring meaning in our chaos.
We look at ourselves in this waiting moment—the kinds of people we are.
The questions persist: what are we doing with our lives?—what are the motives that order our days?
What is the end of our doings? Where are we trying to go? Where do we put the emphasis and where are our values focused? For what end do we make sacrifices?
Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life?
What do I hate most in life and to what am I true? Over and over the questions beat upon the waiting moment.
As we listen, floating up through all of the jangling echoes of our turbulence, there is a sound of another kind—
A deeper note which only the stillness of the heart makes clear.
It moves directly to the core of our being. Our questions are answered,
Our spirits refreshed, and we move back into the traffic of our daily round
With the peace of the Eternal in our step.
How good it is to center down!
—
Howard Washington Thurman was an African-American author, philosopher, theologian, educator, civil rights leader, and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. This prayer comes from his book, Meditations of the Heart, p.28.
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