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by Lowell Grisham
printed in the Northwest Arkansas Times, Fayetteville, Arkansas
January 7, 2008
Happy New Year! The fitness centers are crowded and some new year's resolutions have not yet been broken. This year is going
to be better than last year! Right? That's what we tell ourselves. That's what we want. How about some ancient advice
about how we can help this year be better than last year?
Your junior high coach and your third-grade piano teacher had it right. "Practice makes perfect." Most spiritual traditions
encourage certain practices that feed our souls and direct our actions. The Buddhist "eightfold path" is a code of practice.
Four of the "five pillars of Islam" are about practice, including the practice of praying five times a day.
Christian spirituality offers a tradition called a "Rule of Life" -- a plan of practice to nurture our growth and health.
Typically a Rule of Life includes at least six practices. I'd like to share our tradition as a way to encourage everyone,
regardless of religious belief or non-belief, to think about the disciplines and habits that ground, connect and deepen us.
A Rule of Life -- Six Practices
1. Community. A commitment to a community helps orient ourselves toward the other, drawing us ultimately toward the
absolute. For me, a church community and its rhythm of worship draws me into a deep stream of wisdom, nurture and challenge.
Where do you find your community that invites you into something transcendent?
2. Meditation or prayer. I begin each day with the ancient tradition of the Daily Office, with prayer, scripture,
and meditation. Some people jog and think. Some paint or listen to music. Contemplative practices find resonance in nearly
every religious tradition and now even in medical and secular self-care programs. How do you feed your deepest self, personally
and intimately?
3. Study. Reading scripture and other sacred texts is food for the mind and soul. I find it to be the most dependable
source of nurture and growth, shaping identity and character. The more we learn the more of Reality we can absorb, and Reality
is just another word for God. What form of study stimulates your mind and energizes your soul?
4. Introspection. Engage in occasional "self-study," a discipline of self-examination and reflection. Talking about
your life with a wise friend or therapist opens windows for understanding and healing. A regular habit of retreat is wonderful.
Fasting is a physical way to embody self-knowing; so is regular exercise. How do you intentionally reflect upon your life?
5. Charity. I think we all should take a fixed percentage of our income and give it away as an act of surrender,
solidarity and thanksgiving. Do it with some thought and intention. It is literally true that your heart follows your treasure.
So where do you want your heart to go? Investing in compassion and justice will create compassion and justice in you. What
needs touch your heart? How can you plan to give generously to them?
6. Compassion and justice. Compassion and justice are the primary ethical fruits of the Christian life and the core
values of the other enduring religions. Charity is usually about helping victims; justice asks "Why are there victims?"
The issues are inevitably political and economic. The practice of compassion is to share the passion of God. If every person
committed to work and contribute to just one cause in the pursuit of compassion and justice, it would change the world. To
what can you commit your passion and compassion for justice's sake?
At St. Paul's we've got a shorthand version of the Rule of Life. We encourage every person to worship weekly, pray
daily, learn constantly, serve joyfully and live generously. I like that.
A more generic, secular version might be a commitment to weekly community, daily meditation, regular study, occasional
introspection, intentional charity, and principled service.
Create a Rule of Life for yourself. What practices do you already have in your life? What would you add or change? How
might you be happier and healthier in the coming year? Write it down. And then, practice, practice, practice.
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