So, after a few weeks championing the benefits confession affords our souls, we come today, to the practical “how-to’s” of this ancient practice.
We look at making a good confession in three parts,
1) self-awareness,
2) thoroughness, and
3) penance
(Only some beginning remarks on penance; just enough to let you know it is probably not what you think it is. We’ll finish up next week).
Have a listen.
Doug
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
Tags:
ancient spiritual paths,
character,
community,
confession,
courage,
journaling,
pain/suffering,
penance,
prayer,
spiritual friends Posted in
Friends for the Fray on March 9, 2010
|
There are currently
No Comments
After last week’s digression to reinforce the importance of making for ourselves a healthy spiritual community, today we resume looking at the practicality of this ancient spiritual spiritual practice, confession.
The themes of this lesson are very personal for me. The bulk of last week’s digression-lesson was a personal story, and this week is too. It was embarrassing 15 years ago, now it is one of my most cherished memories.
Have a listen.
Doug
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
In this lesson, we digress for a moment before addressing the practicalities of the ancient art of confession (next week).
This digression will expand what I said last week, and I’ll spend the lion’s share of our time telling you a story from my own life. It’s a story of love for people, and how without it, we cannot give our gifts to one another, and consequently, we fall short of our destinies.
Have a listen.
Doug
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
The ancient art of confession is lost to most Christians today. It is a loss that causes great peril to our souls. In this lesson, we talk about the importance of this ancient practice, and some of the reasons we tend to resist it.
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
Tags:
ancient spiritual paths,
breathing groups,
confession,
forgiveness,
grace,
greed,
lust,
prayer,
pride,
self-awareness,
shame,
sin,
spiritual friends Posted in
Friends for the Fray on February 14, 2010
|
There are currently
No Comments
Solitary Spirituality and the Path to Anemia – Why You Shouldn’t Go It Alone
“The Big Three,” pride, lust, and greed, are a part of the human condition. Though we Americans have been schooled in individualism, and independence, solitary spirituality leaves us anemic in the face of these persistant forces. This lesson suggests heeding the ancient wisdom of team tackling the big three with a community of spiritual friends to strenghten and encourage us along the way.
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
by Doug Hammack
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
The “Big Three” temptations of life have a long and storied tradition. The ancients called them “the lust of the eyes,” “the lust of the flesh,” and “the pride of life.” We think of them as pride (an excessive focus on self), lust (an excessive focus on pleasure), and greed (an excessive focus on possessions). In this lesson and the next few, we’ll be thinking about how we can have greater internal freedom in the face of the “Big Three.”
by Robin Camu
Scientists are finding out that our minds are more “plastic” than we ever dreamed. They are finding that neural pathways can be changed resulting in minds being changed. Likewise, when Jesus commanded us to repent (literally, to change one’s mind), He was implying that the working out of our salvation is our responsibility, the giving of yourself a good life is your responsibility. Recent approaches to psychology are also encouraging the “changing of one’s mind,” by stepping away from one’s thoughts and by being more objective in accessing their usefulness to a life lived according to one’s values.
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
by Doug Hammack
The New Year marks an annual invitation to personal renewal. Last week, we looked at how human beings best change. In this second lesson about personal renewal, we look at the unconscious resistance to renewal and change we often put up. We all have areas of growth before us in the coming year, areas originating in the heart of God. We yearn for transformation, but may inadvertently resist it. Have a listen.
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
by Doug Hammack
Centering Prayer is an updated form of the ancient meditative practice, lectio divina. Because many Christians are frightened by anything Eastern, in this lesson we put those fears to rest, talking about what meditation is, and then four practical steps for practicing it.
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)
by Doug Hammack
As we come to another New Year, we look again at how human beings best change. We all have areas of growth before us in the coming year, areas originating in the heart of God. Today’s lesson talks about discerning the purposes of the Divine, and partnering with them in our own transformation.
[Download MP3]
Listen Online Now
(click the triangle to start)