You're Not Listening. I don’t want to write this article. I believe there is no way to provide advice about listening without sounding like a touchy-feely douchebag. But I’m going to write this article because there is a good chance that your definition of listening is incomplete, and what I consider to be obvious and simple ways to listen are not obvious at all.
The problem starts with the word: listen. Of course you know how to listen. You sit there and let the words into your head. Perhaps your definition is more refined. Maybe your definition of listening involves hearing because you’re aware of that switch in your head that you must flip to really hear what a person is saying. Let’s start with the most basic rule of listening: If they don’t trust you, they aren’t going to say shit. A Listening Structure First, context. Second, it would be easy to flip this article and make it a piece about healthy and useful conversations. Let’s start… Open with innocuous preamble. Be a curious fool. It’s a game. Pause. Drawn In: A Creative Process for Artists, Activists, and Jesus Followers. Troy Bronsink shows how the rhythms of God's creative work can be rediscovered through design thinking and creative processes. By understanding God in this new way, Christian creatives are then invited to be "drawn in" to the creative, ongoing, divine work.
Exercises throughout the book invite participation in God's life and redemptive rhythms. This holistic approach will shift how Christian creatives and church leaders think of mission, worship, collaboration, and everyday discipleship. “…A book that combines the passion of the Wild Goose Festival and the creative insights of Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, with a dash of “new monastic” spirituality and a pinch of Brueggemannian theological sensibility… Great exercises. Excellent for small group discussion. . ” – David O. “This fresh vision of God and ourselves draws us (rather than drives us) into a new way of being. “This is one of the finest books on art, creativity, and the nature of God to date. Sabbath Manifesto. WayofLife :: Online | Intentional Christian spirituality in a mobile and socially networked world. Pilgrim Principles: A Pilgrim's Rule of Life - A Sacred Journey. Our lives are governed by systems, whether we are aware of it or not. Measured by our daily routines, our priorities, and our worldview, the systems in which we live determine both who we are and who we are becoming.
However, just as a pilgrim sets an intention for her journey, engaging in her quest and opening herself up to transformation, we can be intentional about the systems that form our lives. One way we can be intentional is through structuring our lives each day with the quest of the pilgrim in mind by creating and participating in a Rule of Life. A Rule of Life is a set of guidelines that help us to remain intentional in our interior journeys, daily routines, and communities. Developing and living by a Rule of Life is an ancient tradition practiced by religious communities and individuals alike for centuries.
Well known Rules of Life include the Rule of St. In Pilgrim Principles: A Pilgrim’s Rule of Life I share with you a Rule of Life I’ve developed with the pilgrim in mind. Crafting a Rule of Life - Stephen Macchia [Review] A Review of Crafting a Rule of Life: An Invitation to the Well-Ordered Way Stephen A. Macchia. Paperback: IVP Books, 2012 Buy now: [ Amazon ] [ Kindle ] Reviewed by Jennifer Burns Lewis I am devouring books on Benedictine practices like they’re ice cream flavors at my local store. Crafting a Rule of Life is a very orderly work. Part One, which comprises the first five sessions for study, invites us to frame our personal rule of life.
Part two is entitled “Forming Your Personal Rule of Life.” Part three is a two chapter section called “Fulfilling Your Personal Rule of Life” and invited the reader or student to commit oneself (or recommit) to a local congregation. The final section of the book offers four examples of individuals who have crafted personal rules of life. Macchia’s book will be very helpful to individuals and groups who are looking for a study that accomplishes several things in a very balanced way.
St Columba (521- 577) The Rule of St Columba 1. Be alone in a separate place near a chief city, if thy conscience is not prepared to be in common with the crowd. 2. Be always naked in imitation of Christ and the Evangelists. 3. Whatsoever little or much thou possessest of anything, whether clothing, or food, or drink, let it be at the command of the senior and at his disposal, for it is not befitting a religious to have any distinction of property with his own free brother. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28.
From A. This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. Rule of Life - The Spirit of Life. If you find life offers too many daily struggles, without much focus or feeling of accomplishment, a Rule (sometimes known as a ‘Rhythm’) of Life, or a ‘Pathway’, could help you put things in perspective. A Rule can be anything: it can be adopted from a particular religious order (Franciscans, Northumbria Community) or it can be one you have constructed yourself, possibly with the help of a Spiritual Companion.
Central to a Rule, or Pathway, is the understanding that it is there to help our everyday lives. Like a trellis helps a vine or rose to grow, a Rule is there simply to offer the strength and support we may find we need in our lives to help us grow as individuals. Help like giving ourselves time for a break! But a Rule can also include those actions many find as add-ons to their lives but which you could find fulfilment: charity, for example. Rules aren’t designed to be burdensome. What about a Rule that sets you a challenge: to read something new or do something different. Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. The Rule - briefly. ‘The Rule we embrace and keep will be that of AVAILABILITY and VULNERABILITY.’
We are called to be AVAILABLE to God and to others: Firstly to be available to God in the cell of our own heart when we can be turned towards Him, and seek His face; then to be available to others in a call to exercise hospitality, recognising that in welcoming others we honour and welcome the Christ Himself; then to be available to others through participation in His care and concern for them, by praying and interceding for their situations in the power of the Holy Spirit; then to be available for participation in mission of various kinds according to the calling and initiatives of the Spirit. We are called to intentional, deliberate VULNERABILITY: We embrace the vulnerability of being teachable expressed in: a discipline of prayer; in exposure to Scripture; a willingness to be accountable to others in ordering our ways and our heart in order to effect change.
The Rule - deeper. Community of Aidan and Hilda – USA - Ten Elements of the Aidan Way. The Ten Elements of the Aidan Way of Life In common with many communities within Christianity we have three vows. These are SIMPLICITY, CHASTITY, and OBEDIENCE which we understand as principles, not rules. SIMPLICITY means the willingness to be poor or rich for God according to his direction. We resist the temptations to be greedy or possessive, and we will not manipulate people or creation for our own ends. We are bold to use all we have for God without fear of possible poverty. CHASTITY means accepting and giving to God our whole being including our sexuality. 1. Daily Bible reading is at the heart of this Way of life. 2.
We meet with our Soul Friend at least twice a year. 3. Prayer: We commit ourselves to a regular discipline of prayer. Work: We welcome work as a gift from God. Rest: The hours of rest and recreation are as valuable as the hours of prayer and work. 4. The Order affirms a world view that recognizes the reality of the supernatural and of spiritual warfare. 5. 6. 7. 8.