Exploring turning over your life to be led by the Light, Seed, Christ working in you

Instructions

Instructions:

Before you begin, consider the following queries. You may find it helpful to write your answers. This exercise is just for you, to help you see more clearly where you are, how you feel, and where you want to be.

• Why do you want to do this? Are you really interested in being opened to the Light?
• How might you begin?
• What specific steps might you commit to take in order to open yourself to be available to Transforming Power?
• What are you afraid of?
• What do you hope for?

It is important to remember that in our spiritual practice we are not trying to change ourselves, or to judge ourselves (or anyone else) either positively or negatively. We are simply opening ourselves to That Which is Eternal, the Light within, Christ, the Divine, as we are.

Make an individual commitment to a daily spiritual practice. This might be journaling, Bible study, reading other spiritual writings, holding someone or a concern in the Light, centering prayer or other way of being in prayer, chanting, giving thanks, singing, art  . . .  Choose something that feels right to you. There may be something that you feel called to try.  

If you do not already have a spiritual discipline or practice, or wish to try a different practice, you may look at the Quaker Spiritual Formation Collaborative website for possibilities.  This website has an abundance of helpful material and is a service of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and Baltimore Yearly Meeting.

Setting aside a particular time of day for your spiritual practice will be very helpful, making it easier for you to be faithful to doing your practice every day. Some people find the first thing in the morning works well; you may need to get up half an hour earlier. Late evening, before you go to bed but not immediately before, may work for you.

When you miss a day, which you likely will, just continue with your practice the following day, or when you can. It is not helpful to blame yourself, or to think that this is something you can’t do. Just start again. Even if you have been faithful to your chosen practice for several weeks, you may find that it just is not working for you. Simply let that practice go and try something else.

It may be helpful to keep a journal as part of the daily practice. Pray to be willing to be opened to being changed.

Additional Materials

Reading List:

For help in deciding on a spiritual practice, see Patricia Loring’s Listening Spirituality, Vol. 1: Personal Spiritual Practices Among Friends.  From the QuakerBooks website: “This is an essential Quaker spiritual-formation text, which grew out of workshops that Pat Loring led for Friends for years. In this volume, Loring explores many personal practices which can help to sharpen one’s perception of God. She suggests setting aside time each day for spiritual refreshment, ‘a time of “retirement” from outward concerns and activities, to attend exclusively to the movement of the Spirit.’ She explores many possible practices and offers ingredients for Friends to make time for the holy in one’s daily life. She offers a feast from which we can discover a rich daily meal.”

Here is a downloadable PDF listing possible spiritual practices or disciplines from the Quaker Spiritual Formation Collaborative website, a service of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and Baltimore Yearly Meeting.