Tag: love

Categories
Uncategorized

Worship?

I commented on “worship” last October: taking a bath the interaction between things is what make them…

I recently saw someone comment that they “NEED to worship God”, that when they begin to worship “something happens within me… natural selfishness gets kicked out the back door and my heart* opens up to the transforming, powerful, grace-filled-love* of God*.  …it reminds me… that all of the responsibilities and struggles I take on are in his-hands*, and that I can trust him to walk-with-me* and not abandon me, to give me the words and the strength.  …to remember the love-he-has-for-me*, to be open to the work of the Holy-Spirit* and to remind myself that he is that centre. Worship helps me to know that I-am-loved*, and it sets me free to love others, and to see the grace-of-God* at work in the world around me.” 

They commented: “so often in discussions about worship we have a tendency to make worship about us and not about God. …it is important that we don’t forget what it is for and who it is about. In worship God becomes greater and I-become-less*…     I need to worship!”

(I have concerns with some of these * notions)

My admittedly imperfect perspective might be as follows:
I need to worship (to adore, revere, respect, devote, admire, venerate, celebrate?) the thing /notion/sense/power(?) that is bigger than us all”.
When I recognise the reality of otherness and possibilities, it helps to refocus on the bigger picture and review perspectives, attitudes and opinions in a fresh way.
To repeatedly recognise the fabula (story) of ‘life’, and reappraise the sjužet (discourse, perspectives, attitudes, opinions – interaction) can enrich the poor, liven the dead, and can make the blind see.
To review the selfishness that often hinders creativity and open up to the transforming, power of reconsideration.
Life is limited but the clouds move.
This worship reminds me that I am relevant in daily the interaction and it sets me free to let others be.
Worship is about us as part of the fabula and yes, it is important that we don’t forget our place in things.
In worship, life becomes greater and we become more real…        we need to worship!”

(None of this considers the euphoria, endorphins and satisfaction induced by standing and singing etc – that’s another topic.)

Categories
Uncategorized

Familiarity breeds disregard…


Stare at the image for about half a minute without moving your eyes and watch as it gradually disappears. This is a variation of Troxler’s effect which essentially says that if you fixate your eyes on a certain point, stimuli near that point will gradually fade, and will disappear.

Try it!

 

When it’s gone look again.

Take a new look at what you have.

Thanks to: David Pegg

Categories
Uncategorized

‘Birdsong’, ‘The Tree of Life’ and ‘April Fool’s Day’…

Love, life and the futility of trying to own your love, your life…

‘Birdsong’, ‘The Tree of Life’, and ‘April Fool’s Day’… 

Well what can you say? That’s why art exists to hint at what it’s hard to say or hard to truly conceive of.

‘Birdsong’ BBC,

I read ‘Birdsong’ by Sebastian Faulks a good few years back now while quite ill and dosed up on strong pain killers – the experience was far more intense as I was just laid-up in bed and ‘living the read’, I recall that the drugs just made it all the more vibrant!

As you  might expect, the book differed, was much more intense and the story was much more involved than the TV adaptation.

One of the whisps* that I took away was the constant juxtaposition of hell and heaven. In many ways it played with loss and ownership, freedom and control, heaven and hell etc… and of course passion. Personally I did not engage with historical detail however the resonance of the tragedy of war rang very loud. (When the film ended and minutes later the BBC news showed explicit reportage film of current war elsewhere in the world, life did momentarily seem ridiculous and hopeless!

For me, amongst other things, alas it was about love, life and the futility of trying to own your love, your life…

‘The Tree of Life’

I watched ‘The Tree of Life’ the night before and I guess that’s coloured my wondering…

‘The Tree of Life’ starts and ends with a mysterious, wavering light/flame flickering in the darkness. It seems to be underpinned with a quote: “people must choose to either follow the path of grace or the path of nature”. Again I felt it was juggling freedom and control, choice, construction and creation…

It represents nature/creation against man’s efforts and constructions. It juggles gentleness with strictness, and wonder with discipline.  It represents memory and relationships.

Again I come back to love, life and the futility of trying to own your love, your life… ?  amongst other whisps*:

‘April Fool’s Day‘

Merge the above with my recent reading of ‘April Fool’s Day‘ by Bryce Couretnay.

I can’t can’t comment much on this read – it’s seeped into my being – but was an amazing read.

I recall the quote ‘…more than the heart, the bowel, the knee joint… …more than flesh and blood…” 

Courtenay has been a  favourite author of mine since reading “The Power of One” in my 20s. Poor film, great singing, great Book.

“April Fool’s Day” is an altogether different read; a true and rich account that naturally still emits the character of BCs world. In the end, love is more important than everything and it will conquer and overcome anything. Bryce’s son Damon Courtenay died on the morning of April Fool’s Day. In this tribute to his son, Bryce Courtenay lays bare…

Quite unlike any book I’ve read before!

Again I hear whisp*ers of love, life and the futility of trying to own your love, your life… ?

*whisps – my intangible and imponderable but pervasive semi-thoughts… ish…

Categories
Uncategorized

Birdsong.

“There’s nothing more sir, than to love and be loved”

20120129-233113.jpg

Categories
Uncategorized

Elephant Juice

20120127-220251.jpg

Elephant Juice

As a teenager, I watched the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. This is a tradition I try to keep up each year. It’s a bit like reading Usborne Guides for children; entertaining, bite-size, palatable info that I find much easier to swallow.

This year the RICL was about ‘the brain’, and was entertaining as ever. It reminded me that “what we perceive” is but a subjective notion and that what others perceive might be similar but not the same. In fact what we conceive of seeing is sometimes at odds with what was ‘true’… A minefield I know! …but fun!
It illustrated that our brains ‘memorise’ (encode) stimuli, map patterns, and retrieve or create perceptions etc. (neural activity, chemicals, electricity).
Take a look: http://richannel.org/christmas-lectures-2011-bruce-hood–whats-in-your-head
It was fascinating to observe visual illusions that illustrated the limits of our visual perception.
That we only clearly see a visual tunnel of a few inches at a time and via stepped saccades we build up our idea of what we’re experiencing. The Change Blindness illustration was enlightening: http://youtu.be/ImQFQj6yvVE?t=32s

And so we are what we think and we think what we are… the paralysis of analysis – my Achilles heel.
And so… thankfully, enter the conciliating creations of myth, song, fable and assurance.
The logic is fair enough and indeed wondrous, but I also wonder what we might do if it were not for the colouring, soothing, palliative artistry that culture, art, nature, and meaning give us.
Without my dose of coffee, cheese, music, fiction and wonder, I would be more lost that I am.

Turn to your friend and silently mouth the words “elephant juice” to them while they watch you… what do they see you say?

Thank ‘heavens’ for mystery.

Categories
Uncategorized

…with you in the sun!

Just had to share this: Tim  Minchin’s stuff is quite brilliant and this one’s another corker

Categories
Uncategorized

Talking a bath!??

I recently asked, what is “this”…
We have an urge to do “this”, to look further, to ask and to share, to grow to be thankful…
“This” is ultimately fulfilling, enriching and purging…
It’s not interested in assumptions and restrictions…
It can be vibrant and effervescent as well as reflective and contemplative…
It can focus goodness and growth and transform decay and death…
It’s more than that…
It’s fecundity, nurture, and cleansing
It’s for the multitude and the you…
What am I…?
 
And a friend answered… “a bath?” This made me smile ‘cos to a certain extent it was a right answer. Humm….

The above was actually my initial response to the question in a contemporary context what is “worship”?
Do what?.. to celebrate… simulate… reflect a bigger picture, of the right-eous, the essence of life and growth… of a god?
With a post-evangelical, post-‘churchless-faith’ mindset, I’m afraid I find myself having to start with a blank page.
I have found past experiences of Christian subcultural behaviour to ultimately be disappointing, distracting and unhelpful.
I’ve entertained various approaches and seen vibrant and effervescent celebrations as well as reflective and contemplative encounters and will agree that goodness can be focused, shared and grown in many Christian meetings, however sometimes meetings can become self-fulfilling.

 

Clubs are all well and good but to me the idea of celebrating the essence of a God-centered truth should be more than a club activity.
I hoped real living life might lead to a truer worship than some labeled coded activities – but alas individualism is ultimately ‘in vain’…
 
‘In vain’ we individually search for sense, reason, peace and ‘more’ – but often on our terms. I do wish to look further than myself but as you might expect it seems impossible for one to see beyond what one can see – especially when ones experience of others is disappointing, distracting and unhelpful.
But the interaction between things is what makes them fecund, or as someone else once put it ‘where two or more a gathered, there will I be there also’ – I agree we need to meet and share to feed the multitude… but I’m not sure we need to sing “shine Jesus shine”… ?
 
I’m going for a bath.