Practice "container"

Many of us were taught early in our spiritual lives the value of having a daily quiet time or morning devotions. And those who took that advice seriously have experienced its power in their lives. No matter how dynamic an experience we may have with God in church each week, our souls “leak”…and we quickly find ourselves feeling disconnected from our Source. Which is by design! We are made for divine relationship, and only within the context of active relationship do we experience inner delight, personal transformation, and the alignment necessary to transform the culture around us.

So if union with God is who are meant to be—and not just something we do—then “devotions” is more a way of life than a task to be completed. Our engagement with God can move from devotions to devotion! This is the idea behind forming a “container” of practices throughout the day that continually draw our attention back into active alignment with God, self, others, and all of creation.

The Bowl

Think about your soul as a container designed for holding the Presence of God. Out of this container we draw forth everything we need to do and be throughout the course of the day. So although we leak, we can continually replenish our supply!

If the bowl has no bottom, it does more than leak; it fails completely. Same is true if the bowl is missing one side or the other. We can use this to conceive of there being three (or more) parts to the bowl…or to our daily spiritual practice.

Morning

This is where your practice begins. This is where you center yourself in God, receiving your Belovedness and God’s abundance and responding with trusting surrender. The practical options are many, and here are a couple to consider:

• Lectio Divina

• Centering Prayer

Evening

This is where your daily practice ends. This is where you draw yourself back to the conscious awareness of belovedness, abundance, and surrender with thanksgiving for both the gifts and the challenges of the day. Here are some practices to consider for this part:

• Daily Examen

• Pray As You Go

Daytime

What remains to complete the bowl is some kind of practice during the day that keeps us close to our Source, intimately connected with the Presence that sustains and empowers us. What could that look like? What could be easily accessible to us within the demands of daily life? Try these:

• Welcome Prayer

• Praying the Hours

None of this is complicated, nor does it take a great deal of time. What it does take is a focus on what really matters—on the true meaning of our journey in life and leadership. And then it takes an investment of attention and intention to make it a reality. A set of practices like these begin to bring real integration to our lives. No longer are our vocational lives and our spiritual lives compartmentalized; instead we are a healthy whole, living into our destiny to be transformed so that we can become an agent of transformation everywhere.