From "The Spirit of the Disciplines" by Dallas Willard
...the activities constituting the disciplines have no value in themselves. the aim and substance of spiritual life is not fasting, prayer, hymn singing, frugal living, and so forth. rather, it is the effective and ful enjoyment of active love of God and humankind in all the daily rounds of normal existence where we are placed. the spiritually advanced person is not the one who engages in lots and lots of disciplines, any more than the good child is the one who receives lots and lots of instruction or punishment.

people who think that they are spiritually superior because they make a practice of a discipline such as fasting or silence or frugality are entirely missing the point. the need for extensive practice of a given discpline is an indication of our weakness, not our strength. we can even lay it down as a rule of thumb that if it is easy for us to engage in a certain discipline, we probably don't need to practice it. the disciplines we need to practice are precisely the ones we are not 'good at' and hence do not enjoy.

baseball player pete rose, when asked to explain his phenomenal success as an athlete, said: 'i practice what not good at. most folks practice what they're good at.' the same is true for our success in spiritual living.

anyone who looks squarely at Jesus' manner of life must see that it was one of great rigour and discipline, but it was one clearly fitting the pattern of sensible asceticism as described earlier. the same is true of Christ's followers, both during his life and after his death...

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well, ok. these are the discplines that the book the spiritual disciplines handbook addresses:

Part 1: Worship
Celebration, Gratitude, Holy Communion, Rule for Life, Sabbath, Worship
Part 2: Open Myself to God
Contemplation, Examen, Journaling, Practicing the Presence, Rest, Retreat, Self-Care, Simplicity, Slowing, Teachability, Unplugging
Part 3: Relinquish the False Self
Confession and Self-Examination, Detachment, Discernment, Secrecy, Silence, Solitude, Spiritual Direction, Submission
Part 4: Share My Life with Others
Accountability Partner, Chastity, Community, Covenant Group, Discipling, Hospitality, Mentoring, Service, Small Group, Spiritual Friendship, Unity, Witness
Part 5: Hear God's Word
Bible Study, Devotional Reading, Meditation, Memorization
Part 6: Incarnate the Love of Christ
Care of the Earth, Compassion, Control of the Tongue, Humility, Justice, Stewardship, Truth Telling
Part 7: Pray
Breath Prayer, Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, Conversational Prayer, Fasting, Fixed-Hour Prayer, Inner-Healing Prayer, Intercessory Prayer, Labyrinth Prayer, Liturgical Prayer, Prayer Partners, Praying Scripture, Prayer of Recollection, Prayer Walking


Just looking over a few of those sections makes me realize how much work I have to become fully mature in my faith. (Ironic, how God calls us to be mature and yet like a child.) Again, as I've mentioned before (I think), the discpline of silence and the discipline of solitude are the ones i struggle with right now that I want to integrate into my life as an "unconcious habit." I feel that developing these will help me be much more sensitive and perceptive to God's moving in my life and in others.

hm. well, it's late, and i've got class at 10am.

♥ betsy joy