Words from the Heart

Icon of St. Sophia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Over the past month, I have taken a course on Wisdom Education, which is based on the work of theologian, Matthew Fox, who is famous for Creation Spirituality, among other things.  The course was developed by Theodore Richards , the director of The Chicago Wisdom Project. In a nutshell, Wisdom Education is a means to help students, first , get in touch with their body's wisdom, learning techniques to de-stress, then, second , allow them to find a creative means to express themselves.  What I loved about this pedagogy of teaching is that it works for students of all ages because it takes us back to Wisdom.  Teaching in aboriginal or indigenous cultures is steeped in Wisdom.  In fact, the "teachers" are often referred to as Wise Women or Wise Men.   Matthew Fox teaches that Wisdom Education incorporates the 10 C's - Contemplation; Character/Chakra Development; Cosmology & Ecology; Chaos & Darkne...

In the book, Listening for the Soul by Jean Stairs, she has a section on "noisy contemplation" (pg. 51), which I found very interesting.  She describes how in the midst of our daily lives we can practice noisy contemplation by simply being mindful that, in spite of the "noise" that surrounds our lives, there are moments where we can stop to connect to Spirit. I found this fascinating on several levels.  First, it is something I have practiced for many years without having a name for what I was doing.  Second, she pointed out that this act of  mindfulness  is the embodiment of the word, Namaste . Namaste is Sanskrit , meaning, "I bow to thee."  By using this word, which has become popularized through yoga, what we are saying to another is, "I recognize the Divine in you."  Noisy contemplation is recognizing the Divine in another or in a situation without being sucked into the vortex of noise and confusion. For example, imagine you are walking...