The workshops for the leadership portion of the Zoe Conference were mostly on some of the spiritual disciplines: Silence, Solitude and Sabbath. Appropriate for those leaders pressed in this world of whirling schedules.
In her class on Silence, Jackie Halstead focused on contemplative, inaging prayer which seemed to be a new idea for some. Her term "the prodigal mind" in prayer (in which our minds go in and out of focus) was a good one.
Finding time to do any spiritual discipline is the big problem. Jackie suggested getting up early, taking 10 minutes of lunchtime with the door closed, and using examen for 20 minutes at night. She also said that we obsessive creatures who try to cram in all the spiritual activities we can into our day, "must find time to manage our compasssion." That seems to be a repetition of Randy's idea that we are not humbled to the idea that everything doesn't count on us.
She also stressed practicing mindfulness--being present in the moment--not looking over the heads of people who talk to us, etc.
There is no doubt about it. Silence is counter cultural. Seems Mr. Jobs comes up everyday with a new way to distribute noise. Some people even fear silence and the self-examination it brings.
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