Parker Palmer: Seeking Sanctuary in Our Own Sacred Spaces

Parker Palmer: Seeking Sanctuary in Our Own Sacred Spaces

“Sanctuary is wherever I find safe space to regain my bearings, reclaim my soul, heal my wounds, and return to the world as a wounded healer. It’s not merely about finding shelter from the storm; it’s about spiritual survival. Today, seeking sanctuary is no more optional for me than church attendance was as a child.”—Parker Palmer, “Seeking Sanctuary in Our Own Sacred Spaces” in “On Being with Krista Tippett” (9/14/2016).

by the mattaponi and york rivers, a sanctuary

Our news has been full of churches, towns, and cities providing sanctuary for new and old immigrants from Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Central and South America, as well as undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation—dreamers, many of whom have been working, living, and raising families in our country for years. They sought a better life for themselves and their families and feared losing everything sacred.

Many who come for spiritual direction seek a sanctuary for their sacred spaces, a chance to revive a spiritual life that once had been vibrant but now may seem lost. They had decided to live boldly and follow a road less traveled, but they have come to a spiritual fork in the road, or perhaps a dead end. They fear they have lost the spiritual life they once had. They are now on a path that seems uncharted.

Our ministry as spiritual friends is to be a sanctuary for the souls of those who seek our trust and guidance, especially when they feel isolated from their connection with God. It can be a lonely time. We must treat this precious part of all people as sacred, that presence of God within each of us that sometimes is nearly undetectable.

We must never lose sight of the privilege or awesomeness of being asked to care for another’s soul, especially at a vulnerable time in their lives. This is a holy trust, a rare chance to make a difference—just as our churches in the past were and will remain places of sanctuary in the future.

The red doors of some of our churches are an ancient sign of sanctuary within. When we meet with a spiritual friend, may we imagine sitting together within the protection of red doors? We are called to relate to other seekers who need sanctuary at this time of their lives—in prayer and in person—remembering that we are all seekers, and we, too, are on an undocumented, uncharted path.

We hope that we will have the courage to stand, sit, sleep, work, eat, and pray beside all who need sanctuary within the red doors of our churches, as well as within our minds and hearts. Sanctuary is vital during this time when so many parts of our being, including our churches, are still in conflict.

We are called to find a place of sanctuary where our soul is renewed, a chair by the window in our home, a bench outside, a bank by a river or ocean.

We are also called to be a sanctuary for those who are homebound, with visits, cards, phone calls, and food.

May we also be ready to give sanctuary to those fleeing their homes in Afghanistan, Ukraine, and our southern neighbors.

Joanna joannaseibert.com https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Listening Lessons from a Buzzing Harp String

Listening

“Be a lamp, a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.”— Rumi (1207-1273), Daily Quotes, inwardoutward.org.

photography by paula volpe

 If I were redesigning a program about spiritual direction, 90% of the time would be devoted to listening. My experience is that listening is one of the best tools of the Holy Spirit within us. I am talking about active listening, where we clear our heads of agendas and what is going on in our lives as much as possible.

We offer the gift of time for forty-five minutes or an hour to listen to someone else’s life. For this short time, we are given the privilege of caring for the soul of another, helping a person realize God’s never-failing presence in their own presence.

I sit, and all these great ideas come to me as I listen. “I think they would like this book. Changing to this spiritual exercise might be helpful.”

I am learning that if I interrupt with my ideas, they often fall on deaf ears, but if I wait until there is silence and speak, the person seems to see and hear better what I might suggest. As I wait, I sometimes realize, “No, this was not the right book or spiritual exercise.”

I have learned a great deal about listening from my harp. Perhaps you have occasionally noticed a loud buzzing sound when some harpists play. Buzz. One of the reasons for the buzz is that we have plucked a string that is still vibrating from a recent finger placement on that exact string. We must wait for the string to stop vibrating before we play it again, or this annoying sound interrupts us.

 My buzzing harp reminds me that I must wait for the person I am visiting to stop talking. 

I am learning to play fewer buzzing notes as I talk less and listen more. As a result, my buzzing harp string has become my icon for listening.

 Listening can become a “lamp, lifeboat, and ladder” to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our own lives as well as the lives of our spiritual friends.

Joanna  https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Whyte: Spirituality at the Workplace

 Whyte: Spirituality at the Workplace

“The first step to preserving the soul in our individual lives is to admit that the world also has a soul and somehow participates with us in our work and destiny. That there is a sacred otherness to the world that is breathtakingly helpful simply because it is not us.”— David Whyte in The Heart Aroused, Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America (Crown Business, New York 2002), p. 280.

Former amazing partners at my work who continually supported each other and made all the difference.

In his book, The Heart Aroused, poet David Whyte writes about taking our spirituality to the workplace, where it is desperately needed by ourselves and others. He believes preserving the soul means giving up our desire in the scheduled workplace not to have unscheduled meetings. My experience is that God drops into my life with interruptions that are not on my agenda.

Whyte believes we must relinquish a belief that the world owes us a place on a divinely ordained career ladder. We have a place in the world, but it is constantly shape-shifting. Our profound struggles can be our most significant spiritual and creative assets and the doors to creativity. The Greeks said that if the gods wanted to punish someone, they granted them everything they wanted.

Likewise, the soul’s ability to experience joy in the workplace is commensurate with our ability to feel grief. We walk into corporate offices looking like full-grown adults, but many parts of us are still playing emotional catch-up from the suffering and traumas of childhood, which unconsciously refuse to grow any older until the trauma is resolved.  

The most dangerous time for a male is around nine o’clock on Monday morning, and then later the few months following his retirement when more injuries and illnesses occur. One is a death caused by carrying the burden, and the other is the ability to live without the burden.

Work almost always becomes a platform for self-righteous moralizing. Hurrying from one workstation to another, we hope the rushing can grant us the importance we seek. Whyte suggests that by slowing for a moment, we might open up to the emptiness at the center.

Whyte reminds us how astonishing it is to see how we shrink from the things nourishing our souls and take on every possible experience to quit it. I did this for dream work, as I became too busy with my “church work” to go to my long-time dream group. I also see this continually in my spiritual direction, where I have difficulty fitting my spiritual director into my “busy schedule.” I texted her recently on her birthday, and we hope to meet soon. Not soon enough!

Joanna   https://www.joannaseibert.com/