Terra Divina

This is a copy of a post on my other blog – ‘Five Short Words’. The content of this one seems to overlap a lot, so I’ve put it on both blogs.

I am re-reading a book by Iain Adams – Running Over Rocks. I’m reading one section a week; each section has a spiritual practice included within it. This weeks practice is called Terra Divina’, or The Practice Of Close-Up. On my walk in the park this week, I sat for a while and read through this section in Iain’s book and spent some time trying to be attentive to what was around ….

It’s a little like the ancient practice of reading called Lectio Divina. (Divine Reading) The difference is that the language now is not the text of a book but the language of the world around. Clouds and birds and trees and sunlight. Quoting Iain Adams – “here, we are beginning to open ourselves up to the truth, wisdom or gift that the landscape may be offering us.“

The practice is a little bit like something I’ve written about before – Street Wisdom – However, this is a little different with some subtle changes that I find really helpful.The first stage is similar to Street Wisdom in that you are creating a space for something to catch your attention. Becoming aware of your environment or something in your environment. The idea is to receive this as a gift, although it may not be clear why this is a gift.

The second stage is like the ‘Meditatio’ stage in Lectio Divina. In this stage we begin to wonder why this particular thing has caught our attention and why it might be a gift to us. The thing that I noticed on my walk was Birdsong, and as I sat and wondered about the sounds I was hearing, it struck me how important music is to me, and how it has been a constant presence in my life. The truth that I received was something to do with the gift of music, and the way that music can tell stories and convey both joy and sorrow engaging us at a deep level.

The third stage is like ‘Oratio’ in Lectio Divina. This might be likened to prayer or yearning.Here we ask about the thing that’s caught our attention, and what a prayer might be in relation to that thing. For me on that day, it was to do with my own songwriting, and a prayer that I might be able to tell stories in such a way that people see themselves in the story; to write about human life in way that touch people. This is a high aim but in the end this is the power of music and storytelling and songwriting at its best.

The last stage is like ‘Contemplatio’ in Lectio Divina. It is simply sitting with the experience of attending to the thing that’s caught your attention. Allowing it to sink in. It’s something to do with allowing this experience to work in you. 

To quote Iain Adams again – “some experience this as being held in a benevolent universe. In the ancient Jesus tradition, this is understood as being in the presence of the community of God, the Holy Trinity. 

In this time of contemplation, there may be a hint of what the great English mystic, Julian of Norwich discovered through her own practice, that – “All will be well, and all manner of things will be well.”

Good wandering.