Practice 4/10/18

Blackout Poem Lectio Divina, from page 146-147 of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

her people in the wood
be there

yourself
no promise

part of the journey

river
broad and shallow

halt

quiet
drawing

long sigh

in the darkness
so have

I

If you subscribe to my musings, I appreciate you and will leave the gleaning up to you. 

Practice instructions;
Create your own blackout poem from a photocopy of text. It can be from your favorite book or an obscure piece you don't think you care about. Without judging, analyzing, or trying to be "brilliant", circle words that grab your attention more than others. Once you reach the end, go back and use a black marker to obscure all of the the other text. You may choose to reformat the words. If so, openly allow the words and their grouping to remind you of something within yourself.  Resist the urge to "Make something meaningful." With curiosity and open-heartedness, group them in a variety of ways and notice which format teaches you a different meaning or understanding.

Even if there is no big 'aha moment', obscuring all the clutter can be a physical practice of not getting attached to every word, thought, and anxiety. For me, this practice helps me to forgive myself and remember I have a choice. I might be swept away by a variety of preoccupations at any given moment.
I also have the choice about what gets obscured and what gets put in the light. So do you.

 post #262