Are We Asking the right questions?

Oftentimes, our musings lead us to answers, new Light, new truths.

But, we still wrestle. The answers that we come up with, are as uncomfortable as the questions that preceded them. And we sit with these answers, and our discomforts, and invariably, we get stuck there.

Then bad things happen. We resent. We internalize and make it personal. We get defensive. We rationalize. We ask "Why?" And we dwell on the Why.

We ourselves start to unravel with doubts, insecurities, wishful thinking and what-ifs. We spiral down, down, down. Darkness lurks.

Enough already! Break the cycle! Now! Don't like the answer? Ask a different question! Ask a better question! Ask someone else. Ask God. Then trust that the answer IS out there. The truth IS out there. The Light IS out there.

Trust that with your own contemplative approach, you can get past the darkness and step into the Light, by asking better questions. Trust that with your own convictions, you CAN find an acceptable and workable answer, and move forward.

Get unstuck!!! Unstuck yourself!!! Ask a better question, and then, truly listen for the answer.

Through trust, there is hope.

Through hope, there is Light.

Through Light, there is truth.

Amen.

This. Here. Now.

My backyard in the City of Barrie, Ontario,

is a woodland garden,

a woodland naturescape.

Into the woods. Into the Light.

My favourite hanging basket chair

way up high on the hill,

is my own private escape,

my own peaceful place,

my own personal Thin Place.

Contemplative sits,

meditative moments,

prayerful silence,

and the hot mess chaos

of frenzied writing sprees--

all of these are born here--

all of these "become' here.

Spring, summer, fall--all.

Winter, not so much.

Wind in the breeze,

filtered Light through the trees,

birdsong, cicadas,

and beautiful bees.

I can be busy, or I can just be.

Simply be.

Here. Now. Present.

Attuning. Unassuming.

Learning. Discerning.

Trusting. Adjusting.

Knowing. Glowing.

Lit by the warmth of the Holy Lovelight.

Blessed by the grace of the Presence of God.

Thin. Holy. Sacred.

This. Here. Now.

Amen.

Welcome to my blog, Running Wave Contemplative .... Here We Go!

I’d like to use this blog space to share a little of the Celtic Wisdom that calls to my heart. Please feel free to check in bi-weekly here, for new entries.

As the running waves lap on the shores, intrepid, placid, sure, so too may our thoughts turn to God—God of Light—God of Love—God of all our Hearts. Amen.

John Philip Newell is a scholar of the Ancient Celtic Wisdom, and has written many nonfiction resource books to share his knowledge among seekers—Christians, Eastern and Western Faith traditions, and peacemakers. He calls himself a traveling teacher, in the UK, USA and Canada. In 2016 he instituted the School of Celtic Consciousness, which was recently renamed as the School of Earth and Soul. I was privileged to study in this school. I was also privileged to attend a weeklong school/retreat and pilgrimage on the Isle of Iona, Scotland UK, under John Philip’s leadership.

Go ahead and Google his name and his school! Delight in his teachings. Aspire to grow in your own understanding of the ancient Celtic Wisdom.

I will not re-invent the wheel here. Let me share just a little with you now—give you some food for thought—a taste of ancient Celtic Wisdom—something to think about—to contemplate deeply and take to heart.

Consider this. Mystically, metaphorically speaking, there is a river running through each of us, where flows the waters of faith, the waters of all time, the waters of eternity. Our ancestors knew this, and we know this, we intuit this.

Deeper than the river, deeper within us, within all of us, is the Light of God. As God is Light, and, as we are of God, so then too, we are Light. God is Light. God is the Light Beyond The River.

Hold this in your heart. Embody this. Sense it. Savour it. Celebrate it. Live it. Live by these words. Amen.