Sacred Attention, livre ebook

Just One Moment of Close Attention Can Be a Prayer to God

"Does God communicate through the natural world? Through the slug on the compost pile, the leaf on the lawn, the stone tumbled on the beach, the air that feeds my lungs, the dreams that fill my nights? How will I know unless I pay attention?"
—from the Introduction

Paying attention is rarely easy to do. It requires focus, patience and a willingness to slow down—traits that are hard to come by in this hurry-up world. But close attention to even one small piece of creation, one object, person, routine, image, word or scripture, can become a prayer to God, opening a channel of communication between you and the Divine to allow for deep spiritual growth.

In this inspiring guide, you will discover ways to develop a practice of attention as a means of talking—and listening—to God. Framed on the Christian liturgical year and paired with images of the seasons of the earth, each chapter includes an insightful and poignant narrative which illustrates the surprising richness to be found in every attention-getting moment. Following each narrative is a prayer, suggested scripture readings and a specific exercise you can use to develop your own practice of attention as a means to better connect with God.

Accessible, humorous and meaningful, these words and practices will lead you further along your path toward discovering a deeper awareness of yourself and your relationship to all that is around you—and within you.

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Slow Down—Pay Attention xi
About the Liturgical Calendar and Sacred Attention xiv
1. Season of Waiting
ADVENT 1
2. Leap of Faith
CHRISTMAS 7
3. To See with New Eyes
EPIPHANY 13
4. Hearty Fish Soup
LENT 21
5. Just Freedom
EASTER 27
6. When the Still, Small Voice Starts Yelling
PENTECOST 37
7. Where Possibilities Burn Bright
ORDINARY TIME 45
8. Bees in the Blackberries
ORDINARY TIME 53
9. Real Live Grizzly Bear Love
ORDINARY TIME 61
10. Lectio Divina Meets Haiku
ORDINARY TIME 69
11. The Newcomer and the Old-Timers
ORDINARY TIME 77
12. By Myself in a Cloud of Witnesses
ORDINARY TIME 87
Afterword: Return 95
Practicing Sacred Attention 97
Suggestions for Further Reading 109