Cite
Adesanya, Ineda P. “Chapter 4: Contemplative Listening.” In Kaleidoscope: Broadening the Palette in the Art of Spiritual Direction, 9. La Vergne: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2019.
Jeremy
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FirstAuthor:: Adesanya, Ineda P.
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Title:: Chapter 4: Contemplative Listening
Year:: 2019
Citekey:: adesanyaChapter4Contemplative2019
itemType:: bookSection
Book::
Publisher:: Church Publishing Incorporated
Location:: La Vergne
Pages:: 9
ISBN:: 978-1-64065-164-7 978-1-64065-165-4
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Abstract
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Notes
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Imported: 2025-02-04 11:58 pm
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Thurman seeks in his prayer a listening ear that can see. Our sight accesses not only the object of our focus, but also the foreground and the background of the object. We see the periphery surrounding the object, and we see the movement? the changes in the object.
Pg.6
- Reminds me of camera composition. What is around matters very much.
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Saint Gregory the Great summed up this meaning at the end of the sixth century as the knowledge of God that is impregnated with love. For Gregory, contemplation was both the fruit of reflecting on the Word of God in scripture and a precious gift of God. He referred to contemplation as “resting in God.” In this “resting,” the mind and heart are not so much seeking God as beginning to experience what they have been seeking. This state is not the suspension of all activity, but the reduction of many acts and reflections to a single act or thought in order to sustain one’s consent to God’s presence and action.3
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An act of contemplation is one that requires an essential “letting go” of one’s innate desires and tendencies to react, immediately respond, and fix. Spiritually, contemplation and contemplative living may benefit individuals personally from the focus and centering that allows for fuller and possibly more effective connection with Spirit and with God’s desires for our lives. I have broadened my definition of contemplation as that which allows one an embodied experience of the presence and action of Spirit.
Pg.7
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Chine Aplative listening requires the richnet never to asswore daything A sessions alvays serve a vas to construct the world around us versus
Pg.8
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This process of letting go in contemplation is vital in becoming an effective spiritual director. There may not be much worse than seeking comfort, companionship, and spiritual guidance from a stressed-out spiritual directo
Pg.8
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I propose that spiritual directors can avoid such pitfalls and hazards of the vocation by drawing into God. What do I mean by draw into God? Howard Thurman says we must center down. He explains that even in our worship and praise, we must locate the stillness of centering down as the first step toward restoration and renewal.
Pg.10
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We discover that listening helps us to grow and mature; keep us accountable; is essential to good discernment; shows that we honor and respect others; and can provide healing.
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