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There Will Come a Day …

I hear a voice calling out, faint, as if from a distance, saying:

“There will come a day when all of this is over. The brutal times will end, sanity will return, at least for a while. We will be moved to see people act with honor and virtue and not think it rare. We will no longer ask, ‘Where has love gone?’ We’ll shed these times like soiled clothes, pile them in a heap, and burn them. We will wash ourselves, then turn to each other, and start the work of rebuilding.”

People have been hearing this voice, or some similar version, for a long, long time, whenever wars, crusades, or other corruptions of the human spirit have run their filthy course. Some of the elders among us can remember the last great ending, when people danced in the streets, kissing strangers in random joy. A heavy curtain lifted and the morning light never looked brighter.

These seem to roll in cycles, times of darkness when humanity fouls itself by forgetting who we are, hearts closed by arrogance and greed, violence and slaughter, followed by a remembering, a coming-to-our-senses that stops the senselessness. We’ve been remembering and forgetting for millennia, for eons, forever, tides advancing and retreating, sweeping away our cruelty only to drop it back into our laps. The numberless oceans of pain that have engulfed us could make a stone weep.

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An Old, Old Story

There is a story told in every age, in every land, of when the world was good, abundance flowed, and harmony prevailed. But then, the cord that held it all together snapped, and the beads of time flew far and wide.

In the story, a hero is called, or maybe a band of heroes, ordinary folk who don’t see themselves as particularly heroic. They are given an impossible task:  if they can find what’s missing, the brokenness can be repaired, harmony restored, and the world will be set right. They may not understand the call, they may not fully believe it, but they start out anyhow because what else is there to do when you find a broken world but try to help, even if you’re not sure how?

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Prayer for 2025

What do we want from prayer? As with anything intimate, we each find a way that meets the shape of who we are. For me, prayer is a way of entering into communion.

It’s a chance to encounter myself anew, in a landscape that is familiar but hopefully fresh as well. If I pause to let the static settle, my inner waters have time to recede and return. Beyond the things I think I want, a deeper longing reveals itself. The reflection in the mirror becomes clearer.

I’ve also come to learn that longing is not an urge that starts in me, a wishlist for personal enrichment. Longing is a feature of the universe, co-extensive and mutual. What my soul wants for me, the Soul of the World wants for all. I am an antennae tuning my singular pitch to a larger chorus. Giving voice to my longing, my inner communion pours out into a greater communion.

Prayer for 2025

Spirit, I invite you to me. Let me open to you and feel the
power of your presence. Find me. Hold me. Show me.
Place me in the flowing stream that is always here.

I offer this prayer to share my longings, inviting others to join in a
fellowship of longings, and by gathering, amplify our voices.

At times, I am troubled and confused. I see a world out of kilter and I
long to set it right. Help me to act where I can to mend the brokenness,
to not be paralyzed by the scale of suffering or complexity of problems.

At times, I am tired. Help me know when to rest and when to act,
that exhaustion serves no one, that self-care is the first compassion.

At times, I am lost. I pray for perspective. Let me remember there is a
longer view at play, things beyond the bend of the horizon I cannot see.
Miracles that today seem impossible, history will describe as inevitable.

At times, I am hopeful. I see people, networks, and nations helping
others, alleviating suffering, often at great risk. Let me take inspiration
from their goodness and their faith that tender acts accumulate.

At times, I feel alone. I pray to remember I am gathered with many
others who share my longings. Help me feel their love and support.

Welcome with me all into our fellowship: the troubled, the confused,
the tired, the lost, the hopeful, the lonely, and those with longings
felt but not yet named, turning away no one.

Grateful for the blessings of my life,
In service to the common good,
By the grace of all that is,

Amen

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Voting Is a Spiritual Act

Line of voters in Soweto, 1994, in South Africa’s first free election

On November 7, 2000, I arrived at the polls at 7 am. Ahead of me in line was a heavy-set man, bearded and balding, holding a large document.

“I became a US citizen 42 years ago today,” he was telling the volunteers behind the table. 

“Exactly 42 years ago today?” I asked, “November 7?”

“Yes, today,” he said, beaming. He turned toward me and held up the faded green document. I saw a picture of him as a teenager surrounded by the ornate script of a language I didn’t recognize. He had a faint accent. I wanted to know what country he had emigrated from, but something kept me from asking.

It was obvious this man was already registered. He wasn’t required to bring his citizenship papers to the polling booth. He did so because he was proud he had the right to vote in the presidential election.

“You know,” he said to the registrars, “I could never have voted behind the Iron Curtain.”

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Stumbling Mystic Podcast – How Can We Integrate Our Spiritual Experience Into Daily Life?

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Those of us committed to a spiritual path walk a line between wanting to advance, but also knowing we have no place to go. To be spiritual is not really to achieve. And yet, we do all of this for a reason. We want to see some change in ourselves and in the world around us.

One such “goal” on this goal-less path is to integrate what we do and feel in our spiritual life into our normal daily experience. Can we stay connected to the spiritual mystery longer and more frequently, can we allow the benefits of spiritual practice to permeate us so that we are changed?

In the seventh and final Episode of Season 1 of the Stumbling Mystic podcast, I turned to the topic of integration. My guests talk about the many ways they integrate the Sacred and the ordinary, including wonder, awe, the healing power of nature, slowing down, exchange with others in your community, subtle energy, and more.

You can listen below to Episode 7, “How Can We Integrate Our Spiritual Experience Into Daily Life?” Or, visit the podcast page, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

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Stumbling Mystic Podcast – What Is the Spiritual Response to a World on Fire?

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War, armed conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and many other places, nuclear threat, climate change, future pandemics, authoritarian governments, social upheaval, and more – thinking about the issues we face can paint a gloomy picture.

Where do we find hope? How can we find a path forward toward positive change? What is the spiritual response to issues that are enormous and seem unsolvable?

These are the questions I asked my guests for this week’s episode of the Stumbling Mystic podcast. The conversations we had left me inspired and hopeful. My guests were frank in their assessment of our situation, but placed our current times in a larger context of transformation and renewal.

You can listen below to Episode 6 of the Stumbling Mystic Podcast, “What Is the Spiritual Response to a World on Fire?” Or, visit the podcast page, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

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Stumbling Mystic Podcast – The Inner Dimensions of Spiritual Practice

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It seems like the demands of work and the pace of technology are ever-increasing, adding pressure to accomplish more, process faster, and run madly just to stay ahead of the game.

A spiritual practice with a contemplative component slows the pace of daily living. If we can lift our awareness out of the fog and flailing of activity, we can attune to the dimensions of life that are resting just below the surface. The key to practice is to make it a habit so that its qualities can permeate.

Choosing spiritual practices that work for us is a personal decision. My conversations in this week’s episode show a variety of approaches to practice, including:

  • Differing views on whether meditation is “mandatory” for modern mystics;

  • How to use the body as the grounding vehicle for practice;

  • Use of a tantric sexual practice to circulate energy within the body;

  • Practicing in nature as a way to restore strength and balance;

  • Service as a spiritual practice;

  • Songwriting as a spiritual practice.

You can listen below to Episode 5 of the Stumbling Mystic Podcast, “The Inner Dimensions of Spiritual Practice.” Or, visit the podcast page, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

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Stumbling Mystic Podcast – Mysticism, Seeing the Sacred Everywhere

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If you feel lost in the spiritual landscape of modern society, you’re not alone. Many seekers today feel unsupported in their search, caught between the skepticism of secular culture and the dogma of traditional religion.

Mysticism is not strange or exotic. It is sitting right beneath the surface of our normal experience, shimmering and alive. Ultimately, mysticism is a new way of seeing that makes the whole world Sacred. In Episode 4 of the Stumbling Mystic podcast, “Mysticism, Seeing the Sacred Everywhere,” we talk about:

  • The direct experience of the Sacred that is beyond reason, a mystery that Joseph Campbell says can be known but not told;

  • Mysticism as a path beyond religion and skepticism;

  • Development of our own inner knowing that intuitively understands we come from and return to Source.

You can listen below to Episode 4. Or, visit the podcast page, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

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Stumbling Mystic Podcast – How Does Traditional Religion Support our Spiritual Life?

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What are we to do with traditional religion? As an institution, it has been a foundation for the faithful for eons, and yet is a turn-off for so many spiritual seekers today. Is there a place for religion in the spiritual life of a modern mystic?

In Episode 3 of the Stumbling Mystic podcast, I turned to two long-time friends who are actively committed to their faith to help me understand this topic. In our conversations, I was struck by how profoundly the structure of religion supported their deep, rich spirituality, as well as how much they struggled with conflicted feelings about that very structure.

You can listen below to Episode 3 of the Stumbling Mystic podcast, “How Does Traditional Religion Support our Spiritual Life?” Or, visit the podcast page, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash

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Stumbling Mystic Podcast – Using the Wounds of Trauma to Heal

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Whether we have faced severe events like war or physical assault, or the garden-variety insults and wounds inherent in life, we are all affected by trauma. It is the unifying condition of human experience and the cause of much suffering.

One of the reasons we are drawn to spirituality is a desire to heal. Many of us feel that we are broken, need to be fixed, maybe even that we are unlovable. But there are some approaches to spiritual growth that help us encounter pain and some that suppress pain. One promotes healing and the other does not.

In Episode 2 of the Stumbling Mystic podcast, I spoke with therapists, coaches and healers to understand how the power of trauma can hinder or accelerate our spiritual growth. We talk about:

  • How trauma causes us to disassociate from our bodies in order to survive;

  • The need to reinhabit and celebrate the body as the path to healing;

  • How somatic work allows us to release trauma and excavate our true selves;

  • Whether the spiritual journey is one of experiencing pain and joy in order to bring Spirit into the world of form;

  • Why healing our own wounds is necessary if we are to be healers for others.

You can listen below to Episode 2 of the Stumbling Mystic podcast, “Using the Wounds of Trauma to Heal.” Or, visit the podcast page, or listen on your favorite podcast platform.

Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash