the spiritual practice of wonder

8/14/2019 The Spiritual Practice of Wonder

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Why This Practice May Be For You

Indifference that listless, blas, and detached feeling is the contrast

to wonder. We can never be astonished, awestruck, or surprised when we

are either overwhelmed or underwhelmed. Feeling the first, we don't

notice the subtle blessings in our surroundings; we don't take the time to

stop and smell the roses. Feeling underwhelmed, we couldn't care less.

"So what?" becomes our response instead of "ah-ha!" Wonder is an

antidote to both conditions.

This spiritual practice spices up our life with a constant parade of new

delights. Most glorious of all, it enhances sensuousness, that elixir that

keep us forever young in spirit!

Quotations

Borrowing the lens of a poet's sensibility, we see the world in a richerway more familiar than we thought, and stranger than we knew, a

world laced with wonder. Sometimes we need to be taught how andwhere to seek wonder, but it's always there, waiting, full of mystery andmagic. Diane Ackerman in Deep Play

I think we all have a core that's ecstatic, that knows and that looks up towonder. We all know that there are marvelous moments of eternity thatjust happen. We know them. Coleman Barks

If you become Christ's you will stumble upon wonder upon wonder andevery one of them true. Saint Brendan of Birr quoted in The Open Gateby David Adam

The tin foil collectors and the fancy ribbon savers may be absurd, butthey're not crazy. They are the ones who still retain the capacity forwonder that is the root of caring. Robert Farrar Capon in Bed & Board

A mature sense of wonder does not need the constant titillation of thesensational to keep it alive. It is most often called forth by a


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confrontation with the mysterious depth of meaning at the heart of thefamiliar and the quotidian. Sam Keen in Apology for Wonder

At the back of our brains, so to speak, there was a forgotten blaze orburst of astonishment at our own existence. The object of the artistic

and spirited life was to dig for this submerged sunrise of wonder. G. K.Chesterton in Chaucer

It is confirmation to me that beyond the material world of cause andeffect, there is a dimension of spirit waiting for our recognition. We seesuch a small piece of all the wonder surrounding us. Paula D'Arcy inGift of the Red Bird

To pray is to take notice of the wonder, to regain a sense of the mysterythat animates all beings, the divine margin in all attainments.

Abraham Joshua Heschel quoted in Finding Your Own Spiritual Path byPeg Thompson

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart ofwonder. John O'Donohue in Eternal Echoes

Wonder encourages us to stand humbly before the unfathomablemysteries of human life, trusting that, in them, we encounter God. Melanie Svoboda in Traits of a Healthy Spirituality

But if we mean to choose the world, we must see God in the people whocome under our care. That is, we must see them as at bottom nodifferent from ourselves. No matter our busyness, no matter our own orothers' flaws, we need at some point to see every human being as amarvel, a berry held up in sunlight, worthy of wonder. Philip Simmonsin Learning to Fall

Contemplate the wonders of creation, the Divine dimension of theirbeing, not as a dim configuration that is presented to you from adistance, but as the reality in which you live. Rabbi Abraham IsaacKook quoted in The Gift of Kabbalah by Tamar Frankiel

It takes grace in our time to keep our minds open to wonder, to be readyfor the tug from God, the push from the Spirit, and the revelation ofdeep things from the hearts of ordinary people. It takes grace, but it is agreat gift. Lewis B. Smedes in How Can It Be All Right When EverythingIs All Wrong?


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Open my eyes,O God,to the marvels that surround me.Show me the wonderof each breath I take,

of my everythought,wordand movement. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in The Gentle Weapon

I join my hands in thanksfor the many wonders of life;for having twenty-four brand-new hours before me. Thich Nhat Hanh in Call Me by My True Names

Book Excerpts

An Excerpt from The Courage to Teach:Expl ori ng t he Inner Landscape of a Teacher 's Li feby Parker Palmer

Parker Palmer challenges teachers of all stripes to

emphasize identity and integrity over technique. Inthe following passage, the author writes about thevalue of wonder.

"Normally, when we are taken by surprise, there isa sudden narrowing of our visual periphery thatexacerbates the fight or flight response an

intense, fearful, self-defensive focusing of the "gimlet eye" that isassociated with both physical and intellectual combat. But in theJapanese self-defense art of aikido, this visual narrowing is countered by

a practice called "soft eyes," in which one learns to widen one'speriphery, to take in more of the world....

"Soft eyes, it seems to me, is an evocative image for what happens whenwe gaze on sacred reality. Now our eyes are open and receptive, able totake in the greatness of the world and the grace of great things. Eyes


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wide with wonder, we no longer need to resist or run when taken bysurprise. Now we can open ourselves to the great mystery."

An Excerpt from The Divine Feminine in Bibli cal Wisdom Li t erat ureTranslation and Annotation of Rabbi Rami Shapiro

Rabbi Rami Shapiro presents the actions,challenges and delights of Mother Wisdom inBiblical wisdom literature. Here is an excerpt onthe spiritual practice of wonder.

The beginning of Wisdom?Wonder!The culmination of Wisdom?Wonder!The crown of Wisdom?Wonder!The root of Wisdom?Wonder!And Her branches?Long life!

Wisdom of Jesus Ben Sirach 1:14, 16, 18, 20

"When you begin the Way of the sage you do so in wonder. When youcomplete the journey, your wonder is compounded. No matter where youtravel, the world is a fierce and wondrous thing.

"Each step of your journey is filled with wonder. It is how you know youare on the Path. If you investigate Wisdom and find your heart growncold, then you know it is not Wisdom you explore but folly. Wisdom is

passionate and heartfelt, giving rise to compassion and love. Falsehoodweaves a life of bitterness and fear, giving rise to cynicism, anger, anddespair masquerading as irony."


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Teaching Stories

A Teaching Scene from Spr ing Forwarddirected by Tom Gilroy

This touching movie chronicles theunlikely friendship between Paul, justout of prison for armed robbery, andMurph, nearing retirement from his jobwith the parks department in a smalltown. Working together, driving from one

outdoors job to another, they talk about this and that routine, karma,apologies, dreams, infocommercials, betrayal, sex, fathers and sons, thelittle challenges and satisfactions of their daily lives.

One day in the fall they are out by a field rimmed with trees flush withbrightly colored leaves. Their conversation turns to poetry. Murph relatesthat his brother told him a story about a Native American tribe that hadthe same word for "poetry" as they had for "breath." He adds, "Sobreathing was like a poem."

"Maybe that was why they didn't need books," Paul says as he surveys thebeauty around him. "If breathing is like poetry and you walk around andthis is what you see, you live in the poem."

The two men pause and are just present to each other and the place.Then in the distance a church bell chimes a call to attention.

Daily Cue, Reminder, Vow, Blessing

When my senses are tingling, I take it as a cue to practice wonder.

Passing a tabloid rack in a grocery store, I am reminded that mycuriosity can be trained on wonders not sensationalism.

Whenever I notice fresh dew drops on the grass, I vow to appreciatethe wonders in the world afresh every day.

Blessed is the Great Artist who fills our very being with wonder.


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Spiritual Exercises

Have a "Wonder Week." Concentrate each day on a different sense:Monday, smell; Tuesday, touch; Wednesday, taste; Thursday, seeing;Friday, hearing; and Saturday, synesthesia (the interplay of the senses).

Notice what each sense is drawn to and irritated by. Try to expose yoursenses to new sensations. Go into a natural food stores, where herbs andspices are stored in bulk, and see how many you can identify by smellalone. Walk barefoot. Assemble a platter of as many tastes as possible:salty, sweet, bitter, bland, etc. Look for odd color combinations. Scanthe stations on your radio noticing types of music, modulations of voices,and more.

the spiritual practice of wonder

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