October, 2007 Calendar In This Issue: Conversion: Shared Traditions, Faithfully Observed Advent The Susan Tree A Journey Through Prayer Episcopal 101 Steps for a Meditation Liturgical Silence

Source: Avery Book

To be used with any object such as rock, a glass of water, the flame of a candle, a shell or something from nature, whatever is chosen.

Choose an object for your meditation.

Begin by asking God to give you whatever you need right now or ask for discernment with a particular question.

Spend about 5 minutes on each step.

1. What Have We Here?
   Make simple observations. Don't worry about what you don't know. Don't rush ahead to meanings. Just relax and explore the object using all your senses. Enjoy it.

2. What Might This Mean?
   Now you have five minutes of silence in which to choose three or four of your observations that either struck you strongly, puzzled you, surprised you or came back to your mind repeatedly. Then use your imagination to think of how these observations relate to human life. Not your life in particular − anyone's.
3. What is God Saying to Me?
   Now spend five minutes to choose one observation, and its possible meanings, that came home to you most strongly or repeatedly. Or that puzzled or surprised you. And then ask God to show what this might mean for your own life.
4. The Token.
   Now spend three more minutes thinking of some very small thing you can do in the next 24 hours to betoken the message you have received. Write in your journal what your experienced.

Copyright © 2007 St. Augustine by-the-Sea