ADVENTUROUS SPIRITUALITY IN REAL LIFE

By Bruce G. Epperly

One of my spiritual teachers Gerald May saw the heart of spirituality as involving the following practices: pausing, noticing, opening, yielding and stretching, and responding.  Such practices are not intended to be esoteric or monastic, but can be embodied in our daily lives with our eyes wide open.

I have to admit that spiritual disciplines come more easily to me than many people.  I have over the years set up a daily rhythm that involves contemplation, action, and creativity.  By nature, I’m an early riser.  My eyes open and I’m wide awake and ready go by 5:00 a.m. most days.  Within a few minutes of awakening, I find my arts and crafts chair in the great room and spend 20-30 minutes doing  a centering meditation, focusing on a particular prayer word that I have used for decades.  If my mind wanders with thoughts of the day ahead, I gently bring it back to my focus word, a searchlight to illumine God’s presence in my life.

Following this time of meditative prayer, I sit with my cup of coffee and read or write for about an hour.  I want to start the day creatively, either reading a spiritual devotional text or working on one of my own writing projects.  For me, study and writing are prayer forms: I let new ideas bubble, listen for insights, and then embody them on the computer screen.  After about 45 minutes, I head down to the beach for about an hour’s walk, taking in the beauty of a Cape Cod morning.

I have a particular approach to walking: indeed my walk is a prayer.  As I trek at a pace of about 3.3 miles an hour, sometimes I simply let my eyes feast on sand, surf, and sky; other times, I use the time for prayer, lifting up my prayer concerns for people who are dear to me.  I surround them in divine light and healing energy, feeling a connection with them that transcends space and time.  I open to God’s energy of love flowing through me from head to toe.

When I return home, I study a bit more and eat breakfast with my wife Kate.  Times with my wife are also spiritual.  Marriage is a crucible for spirituality and I try to stay spiritually connected with my wife throughout the day.

As a congregational pastor, I am one of the few remaining generalists.  In the course of my day, I may write a sermon, put together the Sunday service, prepare for a bible study or meditation group and then lead them.  I may also visit the local hospitals and nursing homes; go to clergy meetings; work on grants for congregational activities; immerse myself in budget, stewardship, and building and grounds issues; and meet with congregants.  Between each activity, I take time to take a few deep breathes, open to God’s spirit, and awaken to insights for the next steps of my pastoral journey.

Midafternoons, I return to centering meditation and study.  I also take ten minutes to lie down and give myself a reiki treatment, awakening, enlivening, and balancing my personal energy.  In all these activities, I gain a sense of divine refreshment and inspiration sufficient for the challenges of the day.