Category: Contemplative Life
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autumn sage in spring
I needed to give my body some time to be with beauty amidst the horrors, so I stepped out into my backyard to feel my feet on the ground and to see what I could see. autumn sage in springby Lindsay L. O’ConnorThe autumn sage is blooming in spring, which leads me to believe she’s…
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beauty as sustenance
“When you encounter beauty in the world, you drop out of goal-consciousness and into witness-consciousness. Instead of being driven by the mindset of productivity, you shift into a mindset of beholding the moment. To behold is to stand with openness and awe before what is happening, rather than trying to figure out what to do…
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portable silence: tethering to goodness
“…silence is above all a quality of the heart that can stay with us even in our conversations with others. It is a portable cell that we carry with us wherever we go. From it we speak to those in need and to it we return after our words have borne fruit.”—The Way of the…
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contemplative book recommendations
Over and over, people I meet with in spiritual direction have said how much they love the readings I share in our sessions. The words of these gifted writers and prophets help us begin with a centering moment as we transition to a more contemplative space. They give me words of blessing to speak over…
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how to sustain work rooted in love
For our work in the world to be grounded, sustainable, & rooted in love, we must continually attend to our inner work. Inner work includes healing from white supremacy, patriarchy, ableism, homophobia, etc (systems of oppression harm oppressed & oppressors in different ways). Examples of inner work:
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savior complex
O God, Be to my loved one what I have been trying to be but cannot. This is the prayer that surfaced while I had a precious 30 minutes alone for a walk this morning. Particularly for those of us who have more porous boundaries (empaths, HSPs, Enneagram numbers in the dependent stance, folks who…
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Advent Resources
Sunday is the first day of Advent! These are some Advent books my family and/or I have enjoyed, are reading, or are TBR. We tend to cycle through and return to ones we love. Adults: Family:
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feast: a promise full, filled.
feast: a promise full, filledby Lindsay L. O’ConnorYou put this hunger in my belly,then promised me a feast.Sometimes the hunger gnawsas though it might consume meand I wonder if I will ever be satisfied.Then, I have these moments when time slows downand suddenly I see the banquet table set before me.I hear You say,“Take. Eat.…
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unedited
What would you say if you stopped editing yourself? Not in a public forum, but just alone with your Self, and maybe even with God. Part of my deconstruction has been finding the safety to stop editing myself in what I share with God. I used to be so bound up in behaving correctly and…
Lindsay L. O'Connor 