October NonRequired Reading List
Contemplify / NRR #95
“When humans know themselves, the rest of nature is right there.”
— Gary Snyder
“Life is the finest secret. / So long as that remains, we must all whisper.”
— Emily Dickinson
What does it mean to be human? A grand question that has plagued me for as long as I can remember—and it is not even a new one. Socrates cracked at it with some success. Many thinkers much brighter than I have followed suit. Philosophers pick up the stick and whack away at the question (and all of its dangling modifiers) like its a piñata, the bottom drops out, and the spoils are for the taking. For some of us, we see the game, enjoy the game, learn the craft from the ones that allure us. But ultimately we have to drop the stick and gnaw at the flesh so we can examine ourselves to the bone. How else can we see the eternal value of the stick, piñata, or the spoils?
What does it mean to be human is a question that has spurred my formal educational pursuits, brought me many companions, and unfinished conversations.1 With both the dead and the living. No preference reserved.
Being a Christian, both by cultural inheritance and by choice in communal and personal practice, this question of—what does it mean to be human?—is lived out in me from a Christian perspective. This confession allows me to speed along this musing from an ancient starting place. You will have some assumptions tilted right and some tilted wrong about how I hold Christianity. All are welcome. The container of my Christian identity steadies the camera just enough to get a yeti-like image of me; a blurry figure walking through the woods. Reality does not sit still. The cast of religious and spiritual confluences within me intrigue, humor, and terrorize one another to no end. So here they are in order of appearance, not value or size: Evangelical, Folk, Transcendentalism, Zen, Poetic, Judaism, Mennonite, Orthodox, Indigenous, Catholicism, Sufism, Episcopalian…Hard to nap with all of that racket going on. Of course, I do not belong to all of those streams, but each has splashed me at various points in my life.
The way Christianity is expressed in my life, and more importantly, what my communities of faith and practice2 say about me keep reconstructing the story. So the image can appear blurry, but walking in the wilds as a contemplative Christian suits me just fine as I get splashed by generous streams, and have a community of practice to stoke the home fires.
From here on out is where things get dicey. ‘So what does it mean to be a human in the Christian tradition?’ Depends on what era of the tradition you look at and what locale you zoom in on. Christianity is a walkable religion, it moves and absorbs culture to explicate its teachings. For good and for ill. Culture can poke the religion, suck up its finer points, and spitballs them at others. A self-righteous play that leaves culture gassy and with a shell of religion. You can pick out where you see that in your context. But I am falling off the question again, what does it mean to be a human in the Christian tradition?
My first rip at responding to this question is that to be human is to be made in the image of God, if this is true a north star, I am compelled to give inherent respect and immediate kinship to myself and others, however imperfect or hazardous. Same goes with the lands and creatures that neighbor and sustain this planet. Not off to an easy start.
My second toe in the tub is directional. How does one bear this image of God? Lower oneself into the Divine bathtub to soak those image-bearing bones. Remove the Cheetos dust and tarballs off our crispy fingers so the image of God can be seen clearly. Are purity and cleanliness next to godliness? No, but grossness is not either. To reveal the image of God one must lower oneself as an act of love. Get low to unseat any notion that you belong above others or at the center of the universe. You are molded stardust by the hot and heavy breath of God. Enjoy your small place in the cosmos. Recognize your halo of stardust. Cast your wonder-filled eyes at each donkey or crescent moon whose gaze you dare to hold. Be in awe. Marvel at the opportunity you have to be in a conscious relationship with the Creator of all that is. Humbling yourself is the slow absorptive work of osmosis with the Divine. This type of reckoning as an enfleshed star-infused-dustball begins the process of unburdening all that does not reveal who God created you to be. Bearing the image is enjoying the image as gift.
After bearing the image of God and getting low to soak in wonder one could stop there. That feels like enough work. Comically simple, relentlessly mysterious. Bearing this image of God and enjoying its gifted dignity charges a longing though. One can be stirred to reorient their life by the radicality of this longing. Personally and in community, this longing propels one to look for ways to further this enjoyment of presence. Presence births attention. Attention is cultivated by practice. Practice makes a life. Seeded in the image of God we bear, comes longing and ongoing work requiring liberative responsibility. Gratitude abounds. Drop to your knees, kiss the earth and give thanks for this tasty realization.
So the train of thought does not totally leave the station. Here is my recap on what it means to be human in the Christian tradition thus far for me in this musing; bear the image of God (and recognize it everywhere) in this world. Stay low and be grateful. Consciously enjoy this connection and cultivate the personal and communal conditions that create it. Tend to the longings and work that grow out of presenced revelation.
Where does one look for presence, attention, and practice of becoming more fully a funky human being? The Christian tradition leans heavy on Jesus of Nazareth as the ultimate revelation. Dusty feet Jesus as the incarnate Christ. If that sounds like too much trouble and an invitation to buy pleated khakis in bulk, I get it. But there is an unsanitized Jesus in the gospels who was quick to say, “follow me” as he danced a mystical path smack into good trouble. His immediate students broke bread around campfires, ate and drank with a questionable sort, and dodged a few stonings around town when Jesus would upend the status quo. They followed his way of mountainside prayers, endless walks, and often fished together. They got into a few harrowing boat adventures too. These direct students of Jesus heard spontaneous teachings, scripture interpretations, well-crafted stories, and repeatable one liners. All along the way they were absorbing the way of Jesus. This continued in his life, then his death, and mysteriously his resurrection. Jesus nicked this way the Kingdom of God. Here and not yet fully here. Hearts ablaze passed this down. Experimental communities began popping up where they shared their goods, ways of practice, and homes. Communities tend to heat up and change forms in radical vulnerability (we are a fragile species with skin thin enough to floss). Folks turned on one another, split apart, some reconfigured on the road of forgiveness. Two thousand years of passing this way on, a religion of biblical proportions has been created. There are medieval versions and sugary pop takes, warmongers claim it as well as peace activists. What a mess. God must not mind a mess.
As James Finley says, “If we are absolutely grounded in the absolute love of God that protects us from nothing even as it sustains us in all things, then we can face all things with courage and tenderness and touch the hurting places in others and in ourselves with love.”3 Poetry stolen from bearing reality. This is my long winded route of saying that what it means to be human in the Christian tradition is to grow in likeness in the disciplined practice of adhering to the way of Jesus as it uniquely unfolds in our lives. This is the liberative responsibility seeded in the image of God. Once you recognize yourself as coming from Divine waters, you lower your guard to the Spirit’s prompting in the way of Jesus and become more of yourself by the watery ways of presence, attention, and practice. A life spent practicing loving God and neighbor.
In image we bear the inheritance of the Kingdom of God. In likeness we participate in its becoming.
epilogue
His followers asked, who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God? Jesus invites a child to stand among them and says, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.” (Mt 18:1 - 5).
Contemplify is my walking answer to what it means to be human. In all of its imperfections and dally-dos, I seek to kindle the examined life for contemplatives in the world. Thank you to all who support the offerings of Contemplify (podcasts, NonRequired Readings, Lo-Fi & Hushed Contemplative Practices). For those who wish to support Contemplify through monetary means, press the button below. Becoming a paid subscriber is a kindness that hugs the work and keeps Contemplify humming as a free resource for contemplatives in the world. Some folks want to support just for the sake of supporting Contemplify (a clink of the glass to you, dear ones), but paid subscribers are also automatically invited to join the weekly Lo-Fi & Hushed Practice Session on Wednesday mornings. A consistent contemplative practice that supports the rhythm and liberative responsibility of your life. You can practice live or with the recording. Good contemplative fun. Hope to see you there.
(ALSO, because I am trying to make explicit what was implicit, if the Lo-Fi & Hushed Practice Sessions call to you but you don’t want become a paid subscriber—no sweat—just add your name and email to this form and you will be included in the practice. Always delighted to add more practitioners to the circle).4
October NonRequired Reading List
Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead Us to Harmony and Well-Being by Randy and Edith Woodley (Get it at the Public Library or Bookshop)
Journey to Eloheh could be called a memoir with wise directions home. Journey to Eloheh could be called a book of teachings with skin on it. What feels most apropos is to say that Journey to Eloheh is how Randy and Edith Woodley live out Eloheh by way of their personal and familial stories. Not a philosophy or a religion, Eloheh is a lifeway, where Indigenous values “become both the destination toward which we’re headed and the journey we take to get there.” (p. 7) Eloheh is a Cherokee word for the ten values of the Harmony Way which is held in common by at least 45 Indigenous tribes and nations.
The first part of the book you immerse in the lives and relations of Randy and Edith Woodley. Their stories are told with heart, humor, and humility. This intimacy is the foundation for what comes next. The second half of the book focuses on the ten Indigenous values that make the Harmony Way. Better to read the book than have me splay them out here like a listicle so the values retain the weight of their integrity. I will say this about the the ten values, the Woodleys take time with each value so you can hold it, hear stories to animate it, remember your own experiences (or lack thereof), and seek ways to walk with the value once you put the book down.
Journey to Eloheh is for readers who seek to live a way of balancing depth in all their relationships with creation.
The Holy Ordinary: A Way to God by Mark Longhurst (Get it at the Public Library or Bookshop)
Mark Longhurst and I have known each other since 2013 and just last month we both took vows with our new monastic community. A friend for the journey whose evocative questions, lavish encouragement, and mind-in-heart sharings I benefit from on the regular. Thank goodness that has changed. Mark has written the book The Holy Ordinary for all to enjoy, not just those of us in his close quarters. Read this invitational book to look at your own holy ordinariness.
If I were to write a blurb for this book, this is what I would write, “Mark Longhurst is a mystical sponge. The absorbing, generous and able nature of The Holy Ordinary is to be expected.The clarity of each page is won from scraping the plates of experience. Whether Longhurst is pontificating on Nick Cave, systemic oppression, Howard Thurman, the Shakers, sexuality, or Hildegard of Bingen, connections are made that drop Mystery and mundanity together onto your lap. This leads me to the surprising gift of this book; The Holy Ordinary becomes a vessel that replenishes the reader by exemplifying a contemplative way of integration amidst the ordinariness of life. Savor this book, reflect on your own mystical life."
The Holy Ordinary is for contemplatives in the world, seeking to kindle the examined life in their day-to-day.
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness directed by Mami Sunada (Watch trailer here)
The creative process is a spiritual mystery. That was my takeaway from this assiduous documentary about Studio Ghibli; a Japanese animation studio that brought the world Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and more. They are special movies, magical realism layering archetypes that shimmy with beauty. My kids dig them. My wife and I dig them. Maybe you will too.
In The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness a film crew follows Hayao Miyazaki (director) and Toshio Suzuki (producer) over the course of production of one of their animated films. The rituals of the day include; morning chores, group calisthenics, endless smoking, laughter, and watching the sunset from the roof. The work happens in-between with exactness and craft. The backdrop is rigor and friendship. I read reviews that many fans of Studio Ghibli were disappointed with what they learned in this documentary, the work and people who make up the Studio are not magical or ethereal as they hoped they would be. They missed the point.
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness is for folks who like to see how much work, discipline, and friendship can go into making magic.
Contemplify Update
Season Five is coming in soon for a landing like the Sandhill cranes on the Rio. As always you can find the complete list of Contemplify episodes here and below are the four most recent episodes of this season.
Remembering Dr. Barbara Holmes (Replay of 2016 Conversation) (Season 5, Ep 11, bonus)
Amy Leach on Becoming Salt of the Universe (Season 5, Ep 10)
Ben Katt on Getting Quiet, Midlife, and the Power of Ritual (also, we chat about David Hasselhoff) (Season 5, Ep 9)
Jeffrey Martin on Thank God We Left the Garden, Letters, and Literature (Season 5, Ep 8)
All episodes are available from Contemplify through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts worth their salt.
Arts & Articles
DR. BARBARA A. HOLMES (legacy.com): Dr. B was an incredible teacher, mystic, elder, and now, ancestor. A bright and humble figure with cosmic insight and a wit to keep you on your toes. From Race and the Cosmos, “In the beginning there is darkness. It is the womb out of which we are born. Darkness may be the blessed dimming of ego-driven striving, a destination and condition of safety and repose. In this state of trusting refuge, the light of divine revelation, which pierces but does not castigate the darkness, may finally be seen. This is a mothering darkness that nurses its offspring.”
GUSTAVO GUTIÉRREZ, FATHER OF LIBERATION THEOLOGY, DIES AT 96 (NYT): Another giant who joined the cloud of witnesses, Gustavo Gutiérrez wrote, “Mystical language expresses the gratuitousness of God’s love; prophetic language expresses the demands this love makes…The followers of Jesus and the community they form--the church--live in the space created by this gratuitousness and these demands. Both languages are necessary and therefore inseparable; they also feed and correct each other.”5
ZADIE SMITH ON POPULISTS, FRAUDS, AND FLIP PHONES by Zadie Smith & Ezra Klein (NYT): Zadie Smith taught me the term ‘behavior modification device’ for smartphones. Add that to the list of things I am grateful for about Zadie Smith.
WE MAKE VOWS BY WALKING by Paul Swanson (COI Substack): Wrote this freewheelin’ piece for the Community of the Incarnation’s Substack (the new monastic community in which I belong). It is a shoveler’s take on vows and the mysterious power behind them. All the juicy bits really. Check it out.
AGAINST KILLING CHILDREN by Wendell Berry (The Christian Century): The title is provocative. So is the essay. Read it even when you grit your teeth. It will add another fold to the humanity of your being.
In image
we bear
the inheritance of
the Kingdom of God.
In likeness,
we participate
in its becoming.
A blurred yeti,
Paul
All Bookshop purchase links give a kickback to a local New Mexico bookstore and to Contemplify. Big ups.
A friend once described me as a college student who never outgrew the “big questions”. Still not sure if she meant that as a put down.
Some would shine a kinder light than others
James Finley, Intimacy: The Divine Ambush, CD and MP3 (Center for Action and Contemplation, 2013). This quote is a top shelf. I was there for that one live. The fullness of this quote can be found in Mirabai Starr’s lovely new book Ordinary Mysticism (will be on a future NonRequired Reading, of that I am sure!)
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!), drop your name and email here, I will add you to the next practice. We would be thrilled to have you practicing with us.
Gutierrez, On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent, 1987, p. 95 (h/t to Lee for the quote)
As always, Thankyou Paul.