Today’s picture is contemplative in its own way to me. This is the rough old fireplace at Rebecca’s cottage on Vashon. The charm of this old place invites, almost seduces you to peace and meditation. I fell in love with the place and volunteered to house sit while Rebecca goes to Napal in November and December. She will be gone again February and March to South America and Mexico. I look forward to staying there to write and enjoy the quiet.

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22 SEPTEMBER 2008 Monday

NEWS

I am thrilled to receive a positive response to my email asking Cynthia Bourgeault for an interview. I was referred to two people by Cherry Haisten and one of them was Cynthia. Thank you Cherry! Cynthia is a remarkable teacher whose practice is evident in her work. She is tuned to the fine distinctions, or subtleties, even enigma as I read it in Proverbs 1. I have attended as many of her teachings as possible especially while I lived in Seattle. I once asked Cynthia, “What is the will of God?” Her reply was slow and reflective, “I heard someone say that the will of God is each one of us.”

MORE BACK STORY

Cynthia's response was beyond her own wisdom. She could not have known my background of fundamentalist Christianity where a prayer is developed within the micro-culture. “O Lord, show me who I am in you.” I knew others who made this their mantra as well. Now developing my faith through Liturgy and contemplation, I heard a distinct voice say to me, “No, who am I in you?” This shook me to the core because it changed the whole locus of the dialog I have in prayer. God seemed to be saying, he wanted to develop himself uniquely in me. That notion hung in my heart for a long time before my encounter with Cynthia. Over and over, I got the message to let go and trust that I was whole and complete if I would stop twisting myself around a religious prescription designed to make me more acceptable to a punitive God I frankly did not know. This was an extraordinary liberation and highly motivating.

SECOND REFERRAL

Cherry did not hold back but gave me three brilliant referrals. The second is to John P. Gorsuch (Jack), a well-known northwest contemplative. Jack is also a published writer of spiritual materials as is Cynthia. His long journey and practice make him a treasure. Cherry contacted Jack about my project and she said he sounded very open to an interview. If it can be arranged, I hope to see both Cynthia and Jack in my next trip north as they are in Bellingham and Vancouver BC. This could not be done now and their schedules are less flexible. It is my prayer I can accomplish this because I never dreamed I would have referrals like this.

I should say at this point that Cherry mentioned looking up Monica Wood, founder of New Road Maps Foundation, out of which grew Conversation Cafes. And that is another story altogether that I will get to later.

SELF-REFERRALS

My interview with Father Tryphon of All Merciful Savior Russian Orthodox Monastery was amazing. I had an experience years ago at a Greek convent outside Goldendale, Washington. I drove with Daphnie, a fellow traveler in the matters of the spirit, out to find these nuns. We were unannounced as we are used to American styled Benedictine cloisters where provision is made at an entry to receive guests. I felt terrible that we had not attempted to contact them prior to our visit. It turns out they had only recently come to America and could not speak English. It was like walking up to an unknown farm house and asking to come in while they are having a meal with a guest. Fortunately, their guest was a guardian of sorts to them and spoke good English. They warmly received us and insisted on tea and these wonderful cookies. I don't now remember the questions I asked them but one of their answers was to say that there are spiritual senses that correspond somewhat to our natural senses and they can be cultivated. This captured my imagination. We had no right to imposed longer than we already had so we heartily thanked them for the generosity and again profusely apologized. This encounter and reading the books by Met. Kallistos Ware (The Orthodox Church and The Orthodox Way) caused me to self-refer to the monastery on Vashon. Met. Kallistos Ware has visited here at this little enclave.

Father Tryphon was warm and candid as he spoke to me in the quiet of the library, a beautifully appointed room in the Russian Orthodox tradition. At one point, he asked me to let his cat in. It was an immense cat with refined manners and voice as he came into speak to the Father. You could tell they were old friends.

When I called for the interview, I was asked to come to liturgy at 9:40am, to lunch afterward, and then we would retire to the library for the interview. I arrived slightly late after making a wrong turn on the island (easy to do) and having to back track.

Arriving at the stairs to the sanctuary, I saw that all shoes must be removed to enter holy ground. I love this about all liturgical Christianity. They have maintained the concept of sacred space. They Orthodox have a belief of the cosmos being sacred and that is in some ways in our stewardship. I think people act differently when special value is put on a space. I also think that regard causes us to shift gears and listen differently. It cues our psyche to be alert on non-rational levels that are may be rarely encountered for some of us. However, it is just as much a part of our composition as flowing blood. Prayer beads, singing bowels, candles, incense; all signal to me that I am leaving the ordinary and entering the extraordinary presence of someone greater than myself.

There are only courtesy chairs in the small narthex of the church. Everyone stands and moves from Icon to Icon, bowing kissing and crossing themselves. At times they cross themselves and touch the floor repeatedly. It becomes rhythmic when they inadvertently group together with heads bobbing. Candles blazed everywhere and the walls were covered in Icons of every size. My brain was overwhelmed with the color gold...Icon backgrounds are amplified in the illumination of bees wax candles. But rich blues, reds, greens and silver threaded brocades were also present in the beautiful robes worn by the Father and the other monks participating in the service. Several times during the liturgy a velvet deep red curtain is drawn as part of the narrative of the liturgy progresses.

As an Anglican, I know that everything must be as natural as possible. That is why bees wax candles are used. At St. Mark's Cathedral, their tradition is to take all the congregation's candles used in various feast days saved over the year and melted down to form the new Pascal candle so that it has some of the old in it as well as the fresh start of the new cycle. I love that.

I got in line to go up to the Father and he could tell immediately I was not Orthodox as I was at sea with all the movements. He asked if I were the student who called for an interview. I said yes and he gently guided me to a place where I could observe. Not being Orthodox, I could not participate in the Eucharist or Communion. However, I was moved all the same.

At lunch, the Father approached Lama John who was also there for the first time. I sat with Gabriel, a young monk with smiling eyes and wonderfully long wavy hair and beard. I spoke to a young Orthodox nun from Vashon who was living on her own. She is part of this community but still solitary as the monastery is for men only.  When all was finished, the Father called from the balcony of the library to a Russian couple who had waited to counsel with the Father. As I passed by the fountain, he waved and said to come back and visit again. I promised I would.

ANOTHER SELF-REFERRAL

My interview questions arise not only from an interest in the Greek word Kenosis, as used in the scripture Philippians 2:7, where Christ empties himself, but also from the Sanskrit, Sunyata, used in Buddhist texts and teachings. I am interested in any tradition that speaks to this place that is accessed through meditation. I hope to contact the Sakya Tibetan Buddhist in Greenwood, just north of Seattle. My sister is Tibetan Buddhist and I’ve visited there on several occasions. Nevertheless, I realize that my self-referrals are just as tenuous as a regular referral.

MORE REFERRALS

I asked Norma Alicia Pino who works with First Peoples on campus if she could think of anyone I might speak to - perhaps with the Nisqually Nation, which is nearby. She graciously referred me to people she thinks would be interested in my project. I will contact them separately and follow that thread as a referral. Hmmm, this is diverging in ways I hadn’t expected.