Inner Light
" 'How many Quakers does it take to change a lightbulb?' The answer this time is, 'None. Who needs a lightbulb when you have the Inner Light?' That is true for all of us — not just Friends."
— Mind the Light
God's Light
"Negative spaces can show us that the light for which we hunger in our darkest days is already shining. They show us that, if can we learn to look beyond and through the dark "positives" that seem to occupy all of our sight, Aldous Huxley wrote:
" 'We apprehend Him in the alternate voids and fullness of a cathedral; in the space that separates the salient features of a picture; in the living geometry of a flower, a seashell, an animal; in the pauses and intervals between the notes of music, in their difference of tones and sonority; and finally, on the pane of conduct, in love and gentleness, the confidence and humility, which give beauty to the relationships between human beings.'
"Voids and fullness surround us. Both are filled, strangely enough, with God's Light. Just as his ways are not our ways, neither is God's Light like our light. God's Light shines in emptinessand fullness."
— Mind the Light
Queries
"Queries is the Friends practice of examining our souls and seeking clarity. These questions and exercises help to give time to seek truth about ourselves and our spiritual condition, and tap into Divine insight. Queries guide us in listening for God's voice in our lives."
— Holy Silence
Quaker Silence
"Quaker silence speaks to the spiritual condition in a way nothing else does. This Quaker silence is not just for me or old men on oat boxes or in classic movies, either. It offers a profound spiritual encounter for any woman or man hungry for a fresh way of connecting with God."
— Holy Silence
Seeing Silence Differently
"The desert fathers emphasized silence as more than the mere absence of sound. They saw it in a variety of ways — flight from humankind, non-speech, quietude, solitude, silent prayer, and contemplation. Their practice of silence varied according to their own interpretations and needs."
— Holy Silence
Taste and God's Presence
"Taste is a way that God's presence becomes a reality to us. Not just in bread and wine, but also in the coffee and donuts or meatloaf served at church functions. The divine presence infuses all the tastes around us when God's people gather. Of course, sacramental tastes vary depending upon the rituals of our faith community. For Quakers, who don't observe outward sacraments, it's hard to imagine the taste of bread and wine as a way to experience God's grace. In the same way, it may be difficult for those from a high-church tradition to consider anything less than the consecrated host as a means of grace. Sadly, no matter what our tradition, we place too many limits on the way God teaches us, including using our taste buds."
— Awaken Your Senses
Encountering God in People
"Quakers are also urged to see God in the faces of others. Quaker founder George Fox urged us to "walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone." As we do so, we encounter God in people, if our spiritual eyes are open to seeing the Divine that way."
— Holy Silence
Spiritual Silence
"Spiritual silence . . . is a scalpel. It slices our souls open. It cuts through the layers of our fears and insecurities and our reliance on ourselves instead of God. It lays open to spiritual diagnosis our lack of trust and faith. Just as surgery can be scary, so, too, can silence."
— Holy Silence
God is Light
"The Bible tells us that "God is light; in him is no darkness at all." When I think about that, I understand a bit more clearly why my desire for light carries me closer to God. I am hungering for a connection to the divine. God is light. God made light. Light invites me into the presence of the divine. The Light of the divine presence remakes me in ways that are restrained and not so restrained. Sometimes it's through a gentle stirring of love. At other times it is in a flash of revelation. That may sound mystical and radical."
— Mind the Light
Light Within
"Friends still believe that the Light of God shines within each person. This Light Within is more than intellect or conscience. The Light Within is like a flickering flame implanted deep in our souls that, when responded to and tended in love, grows to fill our entire lives with light. Minding the Light then helps us live with integrity and follow God as best we can."
— Mind the Light
Changing Light
"My office changes throughout the day as the light moves through it. It's different in winter than summer. I notice some objects in my room more in winter than I do in summer, and vice versa, because the presence and presentation of light changes depending on the season. In summer the light streams through my windows at a higher angle and seems stronger than in winter. In winter, it shoots through at a low angle and feels harsher than in summer. The shadows are more distinct. . . . Look at your light. You can't observe all seasons in a day. Take time to look. Observe your surroundings. Cast your gaze on the furniture, the pictures, the knickknacks, and all the various objects around you. What do you notice? Why does this or that capture your eye?"
— Mind the Light
Our Sacred Compass
"The sacred compass leads each of us to the life only we can live. Our compass calls us to use the gifts only we can give. In a grace-filled way, our compass invites us into a life of continuous experiences of God and of spiritual transformation. As we move toward divine guidance, we joyfully behold the face of a loving God gazing back at us."
— Sacred Compass
You Have Plans for Me
"God our Creator, you have plans for me. You present me with the gift of a hope-filled future. Grant me wisdom from your Spirit so that I see in the life I live and the gifts you've given me the plans you have for me. Help me to seek you with all my heart, and the will to follow where you lead. Amen."
— Sacred Compass
Sacred in the Secular
"Unlike many people, I don't mind going to the eye doctor. In fact, I find it sort of fun. Especially when she pulls the phoropter over (that big old thing with all the dials and lenses and stuff), has me look through it to a chart on the wall, flips lenses back and forth or up and down, and asks, "Which is better? Number one or number two?" It's fun, like a puzzle — a puzzle that puts everything in focus. Literally.
"But for the process to work, I have to pay attention. I have to try to see and notice which one does look better. Which one works best makes all the difference for my sight. That's how it is with learning attentiveness to God and God's creation. Seeing in that way is about paying attention to something that is worth paying attention to. Attentive vision opens us to the extraordinary presence of God blessing us in the amazing ordinary. As Madeleine L'Engle reminds us, "There is nothing so secular that it cannot be sacred, and that is one of the deepest messages of the Incarnation." The best way to learn to see the sacred in the supposed secular is to practice perceiving.
"Like any spiritual discipline, learning the art of attentive seeing is not something that happens quickly. Though everything around you can be seen deeply, don't try to behold it all that way at first."
— Awaken Your Senses
