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Permalink Reply by David S. on 11th mo. 1, 2010 at 2:32pm

Here's something I tried last week:

I smile.

It might sound forced, fake, trite. I like it. I smile for the whole hour. Not a big smile, a little one, whatever's comfortable. Negative thoughts start coming, I smile at them.

I let nothing stop me from smiling because my choice to be happy is more powerful than anything in this world, and than any other thought.

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Permalink Reply by Forrest Curo on 11th mo. 1, 2010 at 11:52pm

I always found that hiding my head under the covers worked really well for keeping the monsters off.

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Permalink Reply by Rosemary Gould on 11th mo. 2, 2010 at 7:35am

To me what David S. is doing is similar to what Thich Nhat Hanh recommends. Making your face smile has an effect on your brain and induces serenity.

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Permalink Reply by Cotswold Quaker on 11th mo. 23, 2010 at 12:13am

This is always interesting to explore, so thank you for your question. I begin with a particular understanding of what I think meeting for worship is.
I have no routine about how to prepare heart and mind, except that when I try to prepare I am reminding myself of the intention to be open to whatever people bring and not to assume I know what is about to happen together because I don't. Its a willingness to accept what is offered and to chew it over even if I don't like or understand the contribution or am at odds with a particular person and finally to be prepared to be changed. Obviously I don't always achieve this, but its what I try to let happen.
Once in meeting, I am seeking to find a balance between inward and outward connection - connection to myself, a falling away of "stuff" that gets in the way of clearness and centredness. I usually achieve this inward journey by beginning to read something. Reading for me, has always been a way into my interior and it usually works pretty quick, everytime. I begin reading the words, usually randomly selected pages of QF&P or Advices and Queries, then I allow myself to "glaze over" and let my focus sink inwardly, then when I have shed some or all of the baggage, I can find my way into an awareness of others present. Its an untidy process and sometimes I might spend most of the hour just trying to arrive and other times, like last Sunday, I was there, feeling very present and grounded in a very restless meeting. But we managed to find a real sense of connection which doesn't often happen and which led to a real healing of a wounded relationship with someone in meeting. For me, meeting for worship is not a reverie, or meditation or a quiet hour with "my god", Jesus or any other internal or external "being". It is simply an attempt to be as present as I can be so we can experience what we can as a connected group of people.

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Permalink Reply by Kenneth Lawrence Schroeder on 2nd mo. 27, 2011 at 2:34pm

I'm an isolated Quaker, so my waiting worship is also solitary, but I practice a loose form of 'Lectio Divina'. I settle myself down, pray a bit, then read from Scripture. I invariably find a passage that speaks to my condition and I close my eyes and meditate on it, repeating it in my mind. When my thoughts interfere, I go back to the passage. With God's grace I enter His rest; the Scripture passage, thoughts, everything goes to God. At other times I sit around thinking. Whichever it is, praise the Lord!      

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Permalink Reply by Rosemary Gould on 2nd mo. 27, 2011 at 7:01pm

Kenneth,

Yes, I also have found so much help in Lectio Divina. Lately I have been "just waiting," at home each morning (mostly) and that has been even better. But I read a psalm each night and try to practice a bit of lectio then, even though I'm always pretty sleepy.

Thank you,

Rosemary

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Permalink Reply by Helen Gibbs on 3rd mo. 1, 2011 at 3:38pm

Hi Rosemary,

Your question is interesting, because I am one of the busy people of this world, and most people when they realise I go to Friends Meeting and have done for 25 odd years look at me like my head has dropped off!

At this time, preparation for meeting often involves an early morning phone call to my Quaker boyfriend who lives a LONG way away, and we usually talk about his MfW, as he gets there first on a 1st day - being 11-13 hours ahead of me. It might be about ministry that has been said in meeting, or about something he has read or thought about. Also, because I am likely to have read something or heard something during the week, I might well contribute from that perspective.  Often I will read him something from Faith and Practice that resonates with what we are discussing.  Also, we sometimes think that we should be on a "per word" rate on the phone as it is natural for us to fall into a reflective silence together.

If I am lucky, my preparation time continues with my best friend J (who I share a house with) making me coffee, while I sit and stroke my big tom-cat on my lap. J usually plans for a cycle ride or visiting with a friend over in the town where I go to meeting, so he will drive me over there, and I will generally take some crochet to do while I am a passenger in the car - the repetitious movement of crochet is very similar to use of prayer beads.

Our meeting is from 10:30 till 11:30, but people are generally coming in to settle from 10:10 onwards, so there is a respectful attitude to anyone who is already in the circle, and if any "business" is done it is done quietly, either in the kitchen or the anteroom.

 I've learned that I can't completely still my mind 99% of the time, so I practice mindfulness and avoid putting any judgement on the thoughts in my head as they rise up and fall away.  My mindfulness works better if I have prepared for meeting. I  use latin forms for mantras (I am showing my high Anglican roots here),  usually "Kyrie Elason Christi Elason" on inward then outward breath.

I find ministry starts rising like a bubble from the thought stream that keeps rising and becoming more pressing on my awareness...

 

I hope this makes some kind of sense...

 

Helen

 

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Permalink Reply by Lola Georg on 3rd mo. 1, 2011 at 6:41pm

I really don' think I do anything. Rather, I listen. Well, now, maybe listening is doing something. I have to think about that.

 

For me, Meeting for Worship is an opportunity to come with wholly (or holy) empty hands unto God. To listen to that still, small voice within. To practice dieing. Please note that I do not mean this in a morbid way. Rather, when we come to the end of our days, what is left? My only answer is a relationship between this world and the next. In Meeting for Worship, I can acknowledge that relationship. I can practice listening to the voice of the next world. I offer the Divine my empty hands, and unto God I commend my spirit. After that, what is left to do? Nothing. All I am left with is . . . to be.

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Permalink Reply by Rosemary Gould on 3rd mo. 2, 2011 at 9:49am

Hi Helen,

Yes, your post makes great sense. I really like the idea of a conversation about mfw as a preparation. Sometimes a good F/friend and I take a walk on Sunday afternoons and we do something similar, talking about the messages in meeting and our own experiences during worship. It greatly enriches the whole day. For me the preparation on Sunday mornings is difficult because of children's needs, noise, etc. I should be more disciplined about getting up early!

Rosemary

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Permalink Reply by Rosemary Gould on 3rd mo. 2, 2011 at 9:51am

Lola,

Thank you! This description really speaks to my condition. Practicing dying is a very profound way of entering into worship, I think. I will continue to meditate on this.

Rosemary

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Permalink Reply by Adria Gulizia on 3rd mo. 8, 2011 at 11:16am

Hi, Mary. I often start off by praying for the people around me. If I am in a Meeting that includes people I know well, I include very individualized prayers. This helps direct my thoughts to the communal nature of the meeting for worship and gets me away from drafting a shopping list or thinking about my next knitting project or my homework assignments. It also serves as a way of opening my heart to the community and to God more deeply. After I have prayed for people I don't agree with, people I may not even like, it's easier to be open to God and conscious of my own dependence on Him because I am made aware of my own shortcomings. I'm also made aware that He is making me better, day by day.  

 

After I have done that, I am usually ready to settle in. When random thoughts intrude, I invite the Holy Spirit to dwell among the gathered Friends and I humbly ask God to help me keep my eyes on Him. 

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Permalink Reply by Dr. Bruce R. Arnold on 2nd mo. 20, 2012 at 12:57pm

I may pray. I may meditate. I may hold some people or situations in the Light. Eventually, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, I settle into an awareness of God's presence. Although my mind is occasionally distracted, I just notice it and go back to the Presence.

There is a wonderful spiritual guide called "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. He was a monk in France many centuries. The book is slim and simple, but very helpful. Any of us might find a lot of good hints to use in Meeting for Worship.

And of course the Quaker classic "A Guide to Inner Peace" has also been most helpful for me.

But I have to say that what I do the rest of the week - study, prayer, etc. - has a great deal to do with how Meeting for Worship goes. I can't expect to show up for the concert without having practiced the music. 

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