Week 2
Dismantling the StrongPerson
Embedded Files
The Blinding Light
The Blinding Light
Saul’s journey to Damascus reminds us that we often run toward our "mission" while running away from our own souls. We wear the "StrongPerson" mask to prove our worth, yet this performance of power often masks a spirit that is desperately in need of rest.
Sometimes, God must blind our external sight so that we are forced to look inward at the "shadows" we have ignored. Reconciliation starts when we stop running long enough to be found by the One who has been with us in the darkness all along.
Weekly Practice Guide
Weekly Practice Guide
Reading Resource: Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer (esp. Chapter 2: "Now I Become Myself") Palmer discusses the "shadow" and the danger of living an unexamined life. This mirrors Saul’s blindness and the necessity of looking inward before moving outward.
Core Truth: God meets me in my shadows and my stillness, not just in my "doing."
The Inside-Out Shift: Moving from performative strength to honest presence.
The Practice: Sit in a completely dark room for five minutes. Do not try to pray or "do" anything. Simply acknowledge that God is present in the shadow just as much as the light.
Reflection: Where are you still performing "strength" at the expense of your emotional honesty?
Breath Prayer: Inhale: In the light... Exhale: ...and in the shadow.
This Week's Poetry
This Week's Poetry
The Guest House
The Guest House
Jalaluddin Rumi
(translated by Coleman Barks)
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
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