Saturday, November 14, 2009

Listen With Your Heart - Mark 12:30-31

Quote of the Day
"Soul reading is a particular kind of reading in which, through the literal level, one tries to hear, or to live in the listening question: “What is being said to the soul in this speaking?”
In order to read this way, it is necessary to pause a lot in your reading. In the pauses, let what you just read sink down from the region of the head into the region of the heart. Then, listen within and try to be aware of the response you are hearing from within the region of the heart. Try to hear, in an inner way, the soul’s repeating of what was read, of what was understood mentally when you read the text."
Adapted from Facing The World with Soul, by Robert Sardello (Lindsifarne Books 2004).
 
(30) "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  (31) The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these."
 
It is my earnest hope and desire that when you sit down to read the latest Nan's Calendar message or an older one,  that you allow yourself time to "listen to the message with your heart" and absorb the spiritual meaning of the message.  As well, use your imagination to visualize the message.  Your inner sense of touch and smell can also come into play.  Plan your reading time so that you aren't rushing through the message and only skimming the surface of it.  Remember, these messages are love letters from God through me to you and should be regarded as such. 
Sometimes, I write late in the evening when my guys have gone to bed.  Other times, God wakes me up early in the morning when all is quiet and this room becomes a sanctuary.  God requires my undivided attention until he has achieved through me a particular truth he wants you to carry in your heart (already deeply ingrained in mine) and then share with someone else. 
Each day's message usually begins as a mystery to be revealed to me by God.  My Bible (Quest Study Bible NIV) is naturally, my main source of inspiration.  God has equipped me with countless styles of literature from which to glean wisdom and insight.  The thoughts I share with you are my very own.  After a time of deliberate meditation and communion with God, I reach for my Bible and he leads me to the message intended to nurture not only my soul, but also your soul. One thing leads to another and the mystery is unraveled before my very eyes.
When you come upon one who is in need, suffering, bent down under a heavy burden, the first thing you want to do is reach down to help lift the burden and lift up the one suffering.  At the time, the suffering one is too weak to stand, so you find yourself  empathizing with the sufferer, on the same level; both on bended knee.  Then, drawing on a God-given strength from within yourself, you  rise above the suffering in order to truly be of service and of assistance.
When you open your own Bible and begin to read, God wants you to "listen with your heart."  Nurture your soul in a way that goes beyond human intellect and goes to the very depths of your being.  As God breathes his Holy Spirit into your soul, it rises and is filled.  At the same time, the ego is deflated and drifts downward to its proper place.  It is at that moment you create peace within yourself and become one with God.
(finger to lips...shhh).....be still.....listen.....

1 comment:

  1. As I read this, I was conscious of my breathing. In...thoughts from God and serenity. Out....letting go of doubts and concerns. Surrounding me is God's Love. I know my worries are placed in His hands. Thank you for this message Nan and for God's love that is shown through you.

    ReplyDelete