Into the Mystic
It has been over two weeks since I've posted to this blog -- and in the blogosphere, two weeks is an eternity! One of my fellow bloggers, Jon, sent me an email from his cat Talbot, expressing concern about my absence. I am fine, I've just been busy. Among other things I was preparing for two workshops I facilitated this past weekend for a retreat called "Journey of Body, Mind, Spirit." I was deeply honored to be asked by my church, St. Luke's Episcopal in Atlanta, to do a workshop on Embodied Prayer, incorporating forms of prayer from both the Christian and Sufi traditions.
In a way, this weekend brought me around full circle. When I joined St. Luke's in 1994, I began to learn about the wonderful mystics of the Christian tradition: Hildegard von Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, and others, including the anonymous authors of The Cloud of Unknowing and The Way of a Pilgrim. I was urged by one of the priests at St. Luke's to not just read the Christian mystics, but to read the Sufi mystics also. I also visited a monk at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit on several occasions for spiritual direction, and he too urged me to read the Sufi mystics. Thus began my journey into the Sufi tradition. It was truly a blessing to be able to share that journey with my friends from St. Luke's, where the journey began.
I'll write more about that journey in the near future. I wrote about how these two traditions, the Episcopal and the Sufi, have helped to heal my image of Jesus, in a recently-published article called No Longer Judge: Jesus as Healer. You can read the article online at the Gay Spirituality & Culture Blog.
My friend Carl McColman (whose Website of Unknowing is a great introduction to the Christian mystics) has started an extended study of the mystics called 77 Mystics in 77 Months. I've already started reading Origen, the mystic for February, and plan to join the online discussion at Carl's blog. Feel free to join us!
Darrell
www.WildFaith.com
In a way, this weekend brought me around full circle. When I joined St. Luke's in 1994, I began to learn about the wonderful mystics of the Christian tradition: Hildegard von Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, and others, including the anonymous authors of The Cloud of Unknowing and The Way of a Pilgrim. I was urged by one of the priests at St. Luke's to not just read the Christian mystics, but to read the Sufi mystics also. I also visited a monk at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit on several occasions for spiritual direction, and he too urged me to read the Sufi mystics. Thus began my journey into the Sufi tradition. It was truly a blessing to be able to share that journey with my friends from St. Luke's, where the journey began.
I'll write more about that journey in the near future. I wrote about how these two traditions, the Episcopal and the Sufi, have helped to heal my image of Jesus, in a recently-published article called No Longer Judge: Jesus as Healer. You can read the article online at the Gay Spirituality & Culture Blog.
My friend Carl McColman (whose Website of Unknowing is a great introduction to the Christian mystics) has started an extended study of the mystics called 77 Mystics in 77 Months. I've already started reading Origen, the mystic for February, and plan to join the online discussion at Carl's blog. Feel free to join us!
Darrell
www.WildFaith.com
posted by Darrell Grizzle | 6:12 PM
1 Comments:
"I still believe Jesus is the Son of God -- but I now know that we are all Sons and Daughters of God. In my love for Jesus the Healer, Jesus the Divine Beloved, I can now recognize the divinity in myself and in us all."
Such an incredibly long journey, the one leading to the Heart...but from this vantage point we can know all things as they are. Enjoyed the article...and glad you are taking time for yourself and to write about your experience. It only benefits us all...this constant living and telling of our unfolding story.
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