Vacation Thursday - St Romuald

This morning I ran 19 miles. I didn't see God. I saw 9 deer. I saw 3 hunters. Saturday begins rifle season here in Kansas. I haven't talked to anybody today. I've thought the name of Jesus alot; just stopping whatever I was doing and closing my eyes to say the name. I have no expectations. While I was out running, I asked Jesus for a real thought. I talked to Jesus about the pain of the collective human mind. I asked Jesus who he was to me; I mean aside from any book, if he is alive, who is he to me right now?

As a contemplative, I sit and wait. It is not that I am meditating all the time, but in solitude, I am processing all the time. This brought to mind St Romuald. If I have a rule of life, I believe it could be this one.

The "Little Rule" of St. Romuald

Sit in your cell as in paradise;

put the whole world behind you and forget it;

like a skilled angler on the lookout for a catch

keep a careful eye on your thoughts.

The path you follow is in the psalms -- don't leave it.

If you've come with a novice's enthusiasm and can't

accomplish what you want, take every chance you can find

to sing the psalms in your heart and to understand them

with your head; if your mind wanders as you read

don't give up but hurry back and try again.

Above all realize that you are in God's presence;

hold your heart there in wonder as if before your sovereign.

Empty yourself completely;

sit waiting, content with God's gift,

like a little chick tasting and eating nothing

but what its mother brings.

Reading Dune this evening, it occurred to me that I am living in a living being. I am part of a field of living energy and I am not separate. This fits with today’s ACIM workbook lesson: I am not alone in experiencing the effects of how I see. It also seems to open the door to knowing all minds are connected and all minds are Christ. Jesus is the living energy which I am a part of. Its possible for me to believe this right now. This sort of knowing comes to me if I sit and wait. I have to be paying attention. Surrounding this real thought were tons of ego thoughts. From the knowledge of oneness, it is an easy leap into Heaven.

Here is the view from Sr Priscilla's window (see Tuesday's entry). She also sits in her cell and watches her thoughts.