We talked about this concept briefly in rehearsal on Friday. I truly believe that many college students are not acquainted with the concept of reflection...
the life of the mind...
contemplation...
meditation...
call it whatever you want.
When was the last time you sat in total silence.? Unplugged. No phone. No texts. No facebook. No ipod. No kindle/nook. No TV. No book.
Nothing but you.
The random sounds around you.
The natural world. The sound of your own breath.
Sound scary? It shouldn't. It is the deliberate movement toward a higher consciousness other than the one you are usually in...that is preoccupied with the petty, the vulgar, the mundane, the simplistic, Pavlovian responses, task analyses...you get my point.
I think this is at the essence of what St. Augustine meant by the line that first captivated my attention in Book X of the CONFESSIONS.
"I must pass beyond memory to find You."
God is not mundane. God does not have a part of anything vulgar. He is certainly not simplistic nor petty. So, if we only reside deep in this list, how will we ever begin to grasp
Eternity?
So, here is your assignment. Leave all devices behind. Leave all belongings behind. Find a quiet place...a park bench. A church pew. A walking trail. A chair in a secluded place. Fold your hands in your lap. And be still. And listen. Do this for 20 minutes for your first time. See what you experience.
"I must pass beyond memory to find You."
Next post will pick up on this theme and we'll talk about how Barnum creates an aural representation what this experience might SOUND like...
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