Talking To Yourself, Part 2

Last week I suggested an exercise in which you imagine an encounter with your younger self, asking how that version of you thinks that this version of you has done with their life.  It is, in essence, an exercise intended to help you to look at the choices you've made along the way, the ways you've stayed true to your earliest visions and ideals (and not done so), the evolution of your visions and ideals ...  In other words, it's a way of looking at where you are now through the lens of how you've gotten here.

Today I'm offering another version of this exercise, although it calls on your imagination to work in the other direction.  Today I'll encourage you to imagine your future self.  Again, as with the previous exercise, try to make your imagining as fully realized as possible; try to picture yourself in the future with your thinking alone.  Image seeing both how you look but also where you are, both in as much detail as possible.  What can you hear?  What fragrances surround you?  How do your clothes feel against your body?  How is it with your spirit?

Once you have a pretty clear picture of your imagined future self, engage in a conversation with them as you did with your younger self.  This time, though, ask them more about them:  How are they feeling?  What are they doing?  What do they think about the stage of life you're in now?  What lessons have they learned on the way from where you are to where they are?

It ultimately doesn't matter if this dialog is "real" or not.  Like a dream, this imagined conversation can offer you material to dance with, open your thinking to the surprising and unanticipated.  On Wednesday I encourage you to try not to over-think the exercise, and that's true again today.  Try to avoid imposing what you think your future self should be telling you, and what lessons you think you should have learned.  Try, even, to avoid insisting that your imagination create the vision of your future self that you hope you'll become.  As much as possible, try to remain open and receptive to whatever your imagination creates ... just as you do in dreams.

If talking with your "younger self" could provide insights into how you've gotten to where you are, talking with your "older self" can help you to see more clearly where the trajectory you are currently on might lead you.  What future is your present preparing you for?

I mentioned in my first post that my ancestors, on one side of my family, were Vikings, and that from what I understand, the ancient Nordic understanding of time was not tripartite as is ours -- past, present, and future.  Instead, as I wrote then, they understood time as a two-fold reality:  That Which Has Been (everything from the beginning of time until this moment), and That Which Will Be (everything from this moment until the end of time).  From this perspective, where you are in your life right now, in this very moment, is the coming together of who you've been and who you're becoming.


Pax tecum,

RevWik

Talking To Yourself

This week I want to offer an exercise.  You can do it once, or several times.  You can do it in your head, out loud, or in a journal.  The only thing you need, really, is the right attitude -- be playful.  If you over-think it, it won't work.  If it does work for you, though, it this can be really illuminating.

Think back to a time when you thought you had a pretty good idea of how you wanted your life to be.  Maybe you were 16 when you had it all figured out; maybe you were 12.  Maybe, for you, it was even a little younger than that, or a little older.  It is certainly possible that at different ages you had it all "figured out" in different ways.  So here's your first chance to avoid over-thinking.  Don't try to come up with the "right" age, the "perfect" age.  Just think back to a time when you thought you had a pretty good idea of how you wanted your life to be.

When you have an age in mind, create a scene for this younger you.  What were your favorite things to wear?  What kind of music would you have been listening to?  Would your room have smelled like incense (or something else)?  Or do you see yourself somewhere else?  Try to imagine yourself, at the age you've chosen, in a setting that makes sense to you, and try to give all of your senses something to play with.

Then imagine you, as you are now, entering the scene.  Introduce yourself to your younger you.  Make whatever small talk comes to you, and then ask the question:  so ... how do you think I've done with your life?

Remember ... don't over-think this.  If a feeling comes up, listen to it.  If words -- whether they surprise you or not -- go with them.  Don't question your younger you's responses, just pay attention to them.  Ask questions, but don't challenge or defend.

It's good to make some kind of record.  Write the "conversation" down in a journal, if that works for you.  Record yourself narrating the encounter, if that's easier.  And -- once more -- don't over-think this.  Be playful.  Be curious.  If you like, think of this as a kind of lucid dream, and see what you might learn from it.

Pax tecum,

RevWik

Everyday Spiritual Practice

In 1999, Skinner House books published, Everyday Spiritual Practice:  simple pathways for enriching your life.  It was edited by the Rev. Scott Alexander, and includes 38 chapters, each one written by a different person describing a spiritual practice which they, themselves, found meaningful.  These weren't academic essays about various practices; they were first person accounts of the authors' lived experiences with the practices they described.  And, so, each chapter included both a description of how the practice worked (i.e., what to do), as well as why the practice was meaningful (i.e., why to do it.)

There have been other such collections.  Three that come to mind immediately are:

• Celebration of Discipline:  the path to spiritual growth, by Richard Foster
• Finding Our Way Again:  the return of the ancient practices, by Brian McLaren
• Practicing Our Faith: a way of life for a searching people, by Dorothy Bass.

I have read all three -- more than once -- and can recommend them.  I would note that all three are written from a distinctly Christian perspective.  I do not think that this is in any way a bad thing.  I think that they would be accessible even to non-Christians (who have the ability, and the willingness, to "translate" Christian language and theological assumptions).

Celebration of Discipline covers what you might call the Christian classics -- meditation, prayer, fasting, solitude, service, confession, worship, etc.  First published in 1978, Celebration of Discipline is, itself, a classic.

Brian McLaren's Finding Our Way Again, also looks at "the ancient practices" of the Christian tradition.  McLaren (author of such books as A New Kind of Christian, and, A New Kind of Christianity, among others) offers more of a context for these practices than Foster does, and many liberal/progressive religious folks would find his theology more appealing.

Practicing Our Faith is another anthology, and more expansive than either of the others.  Still, none of the chapters would surprise anyone who has any kind of exposure to traditional Christian spiritual practices.



Everyday Spiritual Practice is a different kettle of fish altogether.  Firstly, it does not assume a Christian orientation (although it is in no way anti-Christian).  All of the contributors are either ordained clergy or lay people within the Unitarian Universalist tradition.  And if you know anything about us UUs, you will not be surprised that the practices covered within these pages range from the traditional things like prayer, silent retreats, sacred reading, yoga, and mindful eating, to such things as marriage, parenting, the experience of loss, anti-racism work, and vegetarianism.  There are also chapters on quilting, gardening, and cooking.

If you are looking for ways that you can, as Scott says in the Introduction, "spiritually examine, shape, and care for your life -- and the life around you -- to achieve more wholeness, satisfaction, depth, and meaning," then you ought to do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book.  (And yes, full disclosure, I have a chapter in the book.  In fact, that chapter formed the foundation for my own later book, Simply Pray: a modern spiritual practice to deepen your life.)

Pax tecum,

RevWik

I'm so excited to announce ...

The book I've been working on as editor is now out in print!  Here's how the publisher, Skinner House Books, is telling about it:

“In all his work as a parish minister and as an author, Erik Walker Wikstrom has been primarily concerned with deepening spiritual lives in today’s world. Now in Faithful Practices; Everyday Ways to Feed Your Spirit he has assembled a collection of essays about different ways that people take time for their souls. You'll be entertained, and you will be guided to find the holy in the ordinary and in the extraordinary.”
—Rev. Hank Peirce, Unitarian Universalist Church of Reading, Massachusetts

An eclectic mix of contributors share their reflections about spiritual practices in their everyday lives. Each of them describes their practice and the ways it opens them up to their hearts and souls. From chopping vegetables to creatively arranging action figures, from taking long walks to playing roller derby, these practices demonstrate the wide range of ways that we can be spiritual, and provide models for those seeking a practice of their own.

Erik Walker Wikstrom is the Lead Minister at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is the author of several books and curricula, including Serving With Grace: Lay Leadership as a Spiritual Practice and Simply Pray: A Modern Spiritual Practice to Deepen Your Life.


In future posts I'll write more about what's in this book, what makes it so unique in the field of spiritual practice, and the earlier Skinner House book, edited by Scott Alexander, Everyday Spiritual Practice: simple pathways for enriching your life.


Pax tecum,

RevWik