Lo-Fi & Hushed / Fall Equinox Session / Love's Unswerving Gaze (Connect via Zoom or Riverside)
2024 Fall Equinox Practice Session
“What was told to me in a whisper
I must now repeat
under my breath”
— Li-young Lee
Lo-Fi & Hushed Contemplative Practice Session for Wed, September 25, 2024 at 6:30am MT (GMT - 6)
Good people, Fall is here in the hemisphere I live in. Time to harvest what has been planted. The crunch of dry leaves and smell of roasting green chile (at least in New Mexico) fill the air. My favorite season spoils me. May it be the same for you. Each solstice and equinox Contemplify offers a public Lo-Fi & Hushed contemplative practice session for both free1 and supporting subscribers of the Non-Required Reading List. Now you can connect via Zoom or Riverside. All are welcome. For those interested, go tell it on the mountain…
The language of lovers can get confused as holy escapades. Holy language gets mixed up for pillow talk. So it goes. Poetry can never be precise enough when speaking of the ineffable. But one must try. There is joy and suffering in the trying—the longing—for union. Favorite earmarked poems, songs, and sacred text acknowledge this. This is one such poem. Li-young Lee’s “Love’s Unswerving Gaze” will be our vessel for this Wednesday’s Lo-Fi & Hushed Equinox Session. You can follow the link to the entire poem or wait to be surprised in the practice.
May your unswerving gaze open up to Love all around.
(for all who muse privately on the poem or share it in the comments throughout the week, big ups for the reflective work)
Participate live in Lo-Fi & Hushed at 6:30am MT (GMT -6) on September 25, 2024 by going to:
To View Lo-Fi & Hushed Live (No one can see you, check the tech details on how to use Riverside): https://riverside.fm/studio/lo-fi--hushed (if this is your first time, check out the helpful links below)
To View Lo-Fi & Hushed Live Zoom (Possible for other practitioners to see you): https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83999567013?pwd=KsKcxhWuZ4fuy5bZIfX5YhSt4iQMKt.1 (if this is your first time, check out the helpful links below)
If you are a regular attender, remember the equinox Lo-Fi & Hushed practices are public and use an unique link. Use one listed above. A deep bow to all of you supporting subscribers who have joined this circle of practice. It is a joy to be in regular practice with you and deepen through this poetic lectio divina. As Fall tumbles upon us, may the season be a gift in the transition.
In hushed prayers,
Paul
Recording of September 25, 2024 Lo-Fi & Hushed will posted below on the Substack post when available.
Lo-Fi & Hushed 2024 Fall Season prayer attributed to 17th Century Christian mystic, Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection:
Lord of all pots and pans and things,
since I've no time to be a great saint
by doing lovely things,
or watching late with Thee,
or dreaming in the dawnlight,
or storming heaven's gates,
make me a saint by getting meals,
and washing up the plates.
Warm all the kitchen with Thy Love,
and light it with Thy peace;
forgive me all my worrying,
and make my grumbling cease.
Thou who didst love to give men food,
in room, or by the sea,
accept the service that I do,
I do it unto Thee.
Helpful links for Lo-Fi & Hushed…
Lo-Fi: Tech details
Hushed: Contemplative details
Question: FAQs
Instructional Flow for Lo-Fi & Hushed (September 25, 2024)
Go to one of the Lo-Fi & Hushed links at 6:30am MT (GMT - 6):
To View Lo-Fi & Hushed Live (No one can see): https://riverside.fm/studio/lo-fi--hushed (if this is your first time, check out the helpful links above)
To View Lo-Fi & Hushed Live Zoom (Possible for other practitioners to see you): https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83999567013?pwd=KsKcxhWuZ4fuy5bZIfX5YhSt4iQMKt.1 (if this is your first time, check out the helpful links above)
Light a candle (as possible): To physically acknowledge and welcome the fire of the Spirit’s presence
Hum: The research shows that humming (like singing and laughing) calms our nerves and enhances our sympathy. I begin with 3 long hums (feel free to join in). Humming settles my body and spirit while slowing the chug of my train of thoughts.
Bow: I bow to symbolize my head dropping into my heart as well as to literally bow before Mystery.
A thought before Lectio: A short musing and grounding to prepare us
I will mark the transition of each movement in the practice with a brief introduction to guide you through the practice.
Lectio / Reading: (~ 5 - 10 minutes)
Poem will be read 2-3 times.
Notice any words, phrases, thrusts, or themes that draw your attention.
Meditatio / Discursive Meditation (~5 minutes):
What is this poem saying to me? What word/phrase/thrust/or theme hovered? What surprised me? What am I being asked to notice? How did my body respond? My mind and heart? My spirit and soul? Who does this remind me of and why? How might God/Mystery/Higher Power be speaking to me through it? These are some example questions of inquiry to startle bring attention into active engagement with the poem.There is a level of effortful engagement in this movement of the practice. This can be done interiorly (that is what I do), in a journal (sometimes I do this), or talking aloud (rarely for me).
Oratio / Prayer (~5 minutes):
What is this poem calling out of me? How does this change my rutted ways of viewing reality? How is this poem asking me to show up in the world? What conversation does this start with the Beloved? You can see how this movement is prayerfully active out of the text and into conversation with God/Mystery/Higher Power. These are some example questions of prayerful longing in active relationship with God through the poem. I often find meditatio and oratio swing back and forth towards one another like a porch swing in a prairie wind. Once that wind settles to stillness, the invitation to the fourth movement opens.Contemplatio / Contemplation (~ 10 - 15 minutes):
This movement is being open to the passive reception of undisciplined grace.
Reflection:
After the Lo-Fi & Hushed session (and throughout the week), practitioners can return to this post and share any reflections or insights on the practice in the comment section below. The purpose is to 1) meaningfully integrate the practice through reflection 2) bear witness to the practice of others through reading their experiences 3) connect across the common bonds of a shared practice.
Sharing Reflections after Lo-Fi & Hushed
Communal reflection can be powerful, restorative, and encouraging. That is what the comment space after a Lo-fi & Hushed session is for. To help orchestrate that, here are the snappy guidelines.
Share from the heart what you experienced in the practice. Let that guide what you post. Some insights are given in contemplative practice to be shared. Paradoxically, more is not always more. Contemplative teacher James Finley says that “brevity forces clarity.” Let that guide the length of your post.
Be good to yourself. Allow the Divine to hold what arises as you can. And be patient with yourself.
This is not a therapeutic space. Best to take therapy to the professionals.
Above all, be kind. If you post unkind things here your comments will be deleted and you will be booted from Contemplify. This is a place of written reflection to edify the journey. Do not self-promote or market (no urls to your website, books, sales, etc).
Enjoy the gift of sharing and learning from one another. Your contribution means a lot. Thank you!
Shared a reflection on the practice by clicking the “Leave a comment” button below.
Contemplify never wants money to be a filthy barrier to practice. So if you want to practice weekly with this contemplative basecamp at Lo-Fi & Hushed but aren’t able to offer support (no sweat!), follow the instructions here to email me, would be thrilled to have you practicing with us on the regular.
The fragility of this poem hits me every time I read it. Death is a clarifier. I am sitting in a hotel preparing for my beloved aunt's funeral. Reflecting on her life, her work as a pastor, focused on justice issues in her neighborhood, embracing the transient nature of life with a laugh and drink in hand. The practical side of this poem invites me to hold the tender, fragility of life though the lens of life that is always being subtracted in its cyclical ways (the mysterious sums are less jarring most of the time). The mystical insight for me is the fidelity of unbreakable love becomes the only purposeful (does it become choiceless?) way.
Subtraction offers an invitation to grieve what’s gone; the gift of a sharpened, focused attention to see what remains; and energy to attend to what’s now new.