Contemplation as a Practice - Mine

Do you know what “contemplation” means? And do you have what one would consider a “contemplative practice”? After going through yoga teacher training in 2018, I learned how important a contemplative practice is to my emotional well-being and how having this kind of practice helps me move through life in a more peaceful, positive, grateful, and healthy way.

So, what does Webster say about these words?

con·tem·pla·tion

/ˌkän(t)əmˈplāSH(ə)n/

noun

1.     the action of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time.

o   deep reflective thought.

con·tem·pla·tive

/kənˈtemplədiv/

adjective

1.     expressing or involving prolonged thought.

What does one of my favorite authors, Richard Rohr, say about the word?

What is contemplation?

Contemplative prayer, remaining silently and openly in God’s presence, “rewires” our brains to think non-dually with compassion, kindness, and a lack of attachment to the ego’s preferences. ~ Richard Rohr

Richard Rohr’s description of the word and his teachings have been the foundation for learning the importance of such a practice for me. His books have been tremendously inspiring and have added to the learning and understanding of the importance of this practice that came in yoga teacher training. But it also added to the foundation that was starting to be built as a result of finding an amazing counselor many years ago. We take care of our physical bodies on a regular basis. We must take care of our minds and emotional well-being as well. 

But how does it look and what does contemplation or a contemplative practice mean to me? 

It means a few things:

1.     Starting my day with gratitude and quiet.

a.     From a physical perspective, that means something different depending on the time of year. In the warmer months, it is on my porch listening to the birds, watching them feed, hearing the wind in the trees, and experiencing the nature of our little plot of earth. In the colder months, it is at my grandmother’s old secretary desk that sits in the egress window of our basement, looking out on the trees and bird feeders that are properly placed. I get to see the sun come up, the birds flying around or fighting over seed, and it calms my soul.

b.     From a spiritual perspective, that means prayer, time talking to God, and writing down 3 things I am thankful for and 3 things I am prayerful for in a journal.

                                               i.     The “3 Things” of each can be categorized all over the place. They can be as simple of being “thankful for seeing the rays coming through the tree limbs and grateful for the beauty” or being thankful that a friend’s illness was healed. It could also be something like, “praying for our garden to be fruitful and a success this season” or praying for a loved one’s needs.

2.     Stopping during my day to recognize beauty in the world.

a.     There was a time that my husband and I were going downtown on a regular basis while he was in the middle of a political campaign. The reasons we were going down may not have been pleasant, but each time we passed a certain urban park and I would slow my pace to enjoy the beauty. There were flowers, grasses blowing in the breeze, people walking their dogs amongst the garden, a peaceful landscape in the middle of downtown. It was a calming site. While some may say it just inspires “pause”, for me it inspired “being present” and provided a moment of intentional appreciation.

b.     I have been known to pull over to soak in public art, beautiful scenery or sounds, and to just sit in the quiet of the scenery and surroundings. I even love to drive through cemeteries when the seasons are changing. They are so majestic, peaceful, and beautiful. Not only is the visible scenery comforting, but the spiritual setting is as well. Think about the history, the families, the lives represented in a place such as this.

3.     Including a contemplative practice as part of my yoga practice.

a.     This practice is what has truly changed my mindset over the last 10 years. It has helped me to “learn to let go” of the things that don’t serve me. It has helped me to remain at peace during stressful situations. And it has taught me how to not attach myself to situations, things, people, and to have compassion and a stronger desire to serve my community. 

b.     The yoga practice has truly opened my mind to so many other possibilities in life.

I was recently passing time before the start of an event and was driving the streets of Indianapolis on a beautifully sunny, cool day. As I drove past a cemetery, I saw the sun shining through the fall foliage and I had to pull in.

My drive around the grounds of Washington Park North Cemetery was peaceful, prayerful, calming, and rejuvenating.  Just taking the 15 minutes to alter my plans, take a physical and mental detour, gave me a peace and a sense of gratitude for not only my immediate surroundings, but for this season in life. The season that I was seeing with my eyes in this majestic setting helped to remind me that our physical life seasons are equally as beautiful, regardless of the circumstance. Each takes us to the next.

As I saw the leaves on the ground around the bases of many trees, I thought about how God moves us through seasons. There are fruitful times, times when our circumstances are full of life. Then there are the seasons where he whittles us down, removes our trappings, our leaves, to help us start over. But in this “whittling down” as the leaves fall to the ground, they create a blanket of protection over the roots or our foundation, in order to create regrowth for the next season.

God is so good at providing imagery like that for us. We just have to stop and see it. What was interesting in writing this blog and looking at Richard Rohr’s website for the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico, I realized that the picture on the tab for “Contemplation” is an amazingly similar picture to the one I took in the cemetery. A great reminder, not a coincidence, a picture of my contemplative practice that reminds me it is a path worth being on. This is an image of what it means to me.

Washington Park North Cemetery 2702 Kessler Blvd W Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46228