Lo-Fi & Hushed / Spring Equinox Session / Dew

2024 Spring Equinox Practice Session

Dew is a name under which Love works

— Hadewijch

Update & Apology 3/20/2024 7:52am MT

Good people, for those of you attempting to join the practice this morning and were unable to do so, I am sorry! It was 100% my fault. My user error was that I had the mic settings wrong, and you only heard the sounds of silence, but not in a Simon & Garfunkel kind of way. For all you were looking forward to the practice this morning, I am sorry. It was a disappointment for me too.

Let us try again next week (March 27) at the same time (6am MT!) and on the same link: https://riverside.fm/studio/lo-fi--hushed

I will send out an email the evening before.

In a warm embarrassed sort of way,
Paul

Lo-Fi & Hushed Contemplative Practice Session for Wed, March 20, 2024 at 6am MT (GMT - 6)

Good people, Spring is upon us! In the hemisphere I live in it is time to make way for sprouts of new life in the ground or rake the pitcher’s mound of spring training. The fragrant abundance of life can be tasted in the air. Each solstice and equinox Contemplify offers a public Lo-Fi & Hushed contemplative practice session for both free and supporting¹ subscribers of the Non-Required Reading List. All are welcome. For those interested, go tell it on the mountain…

Lent is coming on strong as we near Holy Week. For those of us in the Christian tradition we are moving towards apex markers. Flare the nostrils and inhale the flowery scent, a bevy of liturgy is coming. Due to such a full week—I hate to admit—I often skim over much of it. Though the last couple of years Palm Sunday has slapped me upside the head with a palm branch. All because Jesus weeps over Jerusalem (Luke 19). How did I slide past the weeping all these years? Or maybe I read it so many times it lost its dimensionality between what gets deemed the “triumphal entry” and the “cleansing of the temple”? Now, Jesus weeping over Jerusalem drops me into the solidity of Holy Week. Love’s eyes glisten over in me as I type.

With this in mind, Hadewijch’s “Dew” will be our vessel for this Wednesday’s Spring Equinox Lo-Fi & Hushed Practice Session. You can follow the link to peek at the entire poem or wait to be surprised in the practice on Wednesday morning.

Let us welcome the flame of Love to dance in our eyes. They sparkle over with compassion. Let us gather around in practice.

Participate live in Lo-Fi & Hushed at 6am MT (GMT -6) on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 by going to https://riverside.fm/studio/lo-fi--hushed (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 the 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. As equinox and Lent partner up, may the season’s passing be a marker of remembrance for you.

In hushed prayers,
Paul

Helpful links for learning more about Lo-Fi & Hushed…

• Lo-Fi: Tech details

• Hushed: Contemplative details

• Question: FAQs

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Instructional Flow for Lo-Fi & Hushed (March 20, 2024)

• Go to Lo-Fi & Hushed link at 6am MT (GMT - 6): https://riverside.fm/studio/lo-fi--hushed (What time is this in my timezone?)

• 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…No one can see or hear you). 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

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• Lectio / Reading: (~ 5 - 10 minutes)

  • Poem will be read 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.

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• 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.

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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.

1. That is the coy way of saying “paid supporter”. There is a backdoor propped open if your circumstances don’t allow you to become a supporting subscriber but still want to join the practice on the regular. I’d rather have you be there for the practice. Read the FAQs for more detailed instructions.