Several years ago I sat in an optometrist's chair and was curious about what my vision was uncorrected. So as I looked through this giant view-master he removed all the corrective lenses from my eye and said, "Can you read that?"
"Read what?" I responded. The doctor then put the lenses back in place and showed me the giant E that's at the top of the chart. My eyes were horribly out of focus. Thanks to the miracle of contact lenses I can see well enough to drive, read, write, and do everyday living. Just don't ask me to shoot a basketball - it never turns out well.
I've recently been reading "The Psychology of Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in which he describes the joy people experience when the reach a flow state. Such a state is characterized by intense concentration, focusing all of one's energy on the task at hand so much so that external distractions are tuned out automatically. The experience is similar whether it's a chess master, rock climber, musician, dancer, or a religious person deeply absorbed in prayer. But there is a catch, the kind of experiences that produce a flow state need to have the perfect balance of challenge in such a way that the challenge matches the person's present skills. What happens next is that a person grows, their skills increase, and a new challenge is then needed. When this process is repeated over and over the practitioner's entire life becomes ordered around their chosen activity. It's almost as if a spiritual / psychological lens brings everything into crystal-clear focus.
A friend sent me an article recently about the Evangelical tradition within the Church of England. https://thetruthshallmakeyouodd.com/2018/04/28/the-myth-of-the-evangelical-takeover/ One of the author's observations is how confident the members of this particular church were about their faith. "They believed what they said to the very core of their being and more than that, they weren’t afraid to say it." This reminded me of my teenage and college years attending an Evangelical Church and participating in fellowships such as Campus Crusade for Christ. What I remember most about those years was how much we would talk theology, and that it was fun and enjoyable. The reason behind the enjoyment had to do with how much everyone was seeking to order their lives after the teachings of Christ - we created these ongoing flow states by continually refining the ethical dimension of our lives. Bible Study provided the fuel, and our fellowship with one another provided the process.
In the years since I have joined the Episcopal Church, and was ordained to the priesthood. While the Episcopal Church has a lot of wonderful qualities, I find myself missing these kind of flow-experiences. More often than not, our conversations revolve around planning the next pot-luck or social, and if we're really lucky, what's coming out of General Convention. I wonder if some of the reason for our recent decline has to do with the fact that we've made things too easy in an effort to be welcoming. Welcoming is not a bad thing mind you, but it shouldn't be an excuse to make things boring. Occasionally to amuse myself I will look over the old 1928 Prayer Book to see how TEC used to do things. One of the things I notice is how people were expected to memorize certain things before they were confirmed i.e. The Lord's Prayer, The Apostles' Creed, The Ten Commandments ... Another thing I notice is that the books were physically very small. What these two factors would do is force people to concentrate, and to really have the words of faith in their heads. I suspect that these older practices brought people into a flow state as well, not through their ethics, but through their prayer lives.
In today's Church I think there are several things we can do to have similar experiences, as long as the intention is to keep growing. One way is to really concentrate on the prayers during services of Holy Eucharist. As you are reading the prayers, read ahead a little bit so you can close your eyes and recite them with everyone else from your short-term memory. Try to learn the creed and other responses by heart. If that fails, listen intensely to the congregation and let them carry you along. Pay attention to the reader and picture the scene rather than reading along in the bulletin. Any of these practices requires greater concentration and can help get a person into a flow state.
And finally, remember, it's not a question of having these little moments, as wonderful as they are. The bigger point is to bring order to your life. We follow a God who is perfect love and peace and justice. Why would we not order our lives around Him?
"Read what?" I responded. The doctor then put the lenses back in place and showed me the giant E that's at the top of the chart. My eyes were horribly out of focus. Thanks to the miracle of contact lenses I can see well enough to drive, read, write, and do everyday living. Just don't ask me to shoot a basketball - it never turns out well.
I've recently been reading "The Psychology of Flow" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in which he describes the joy people experience when the reach a flow state. Such a state is characterized by intense concentration, focusing all of one's energy on the task at hand so much so that external distractions are tuned out automatically. The experience is similar whether it's a chess master, rock climber, musician, dancer, or a religious person deeply absorbed in prayer. But there is a catch, the kind of experiences that produce a flow state need to have the perfect balance of challenge in such a way that the challenge matches the person's present skills. What happens next is that a person grows, their skills increase, and a new challenge is then needed. When this process is repeated over and over the practitioner's entire life becomes ordered around their chosen activity. It's almost as if a spiritual / psychological lens brings everything into crystal-clear focus.
A friend sent me an article recently about the Evangelical tradition within the Church of England. https://thetruthshallmakeyouodd.com/2018/04/28/the-myth-of-the-evangelical-takeover/ One of the author's observations is how confident the members of this particular church were about their faith. "They believed what they said to the very core of their being and more than that, they weren’t afraid to say it." This reminded me of my teenage and college years attending an Evangelical Church and participating in fellowships such as Campus Crusade for Christ. What I remember most about those years was how much we would talk theology, and that it was fun and enjoyable. The reason behind the enjoyment had to do with how much everyone was seeking to order their lives after the teachings of Christ - we created these ongoing flow states by continually refining the ethical dimension of our lives. Bible Study provided the fuel, and our fellowship with one another provided the process.
In the years since I have joined the Episcopal Church, and was ordained to the priesthood. While the Episcopal Church has a lot of wonderful qualities, I find myself missing these kind of flow-experiences. More often than not, our conversations revolve around planning the next pot-luck or social, and if we're really lucky, what's coming out of General Convention. I wonder if some of the reason for our recent decline has to do with the fact that we've made things too easy in an effort to be welcoming. Welcoming is not a bad thing mind you, but it shouldn't be an excuse to make things boring. Occasionally to amuse myself I will look over the old 1928 Prayer Book to see how TEC used to do things. One of the things I notice is how people were expected to memorize certain things before they were confirmed i.e. The Lord's Prayer, The Apostles' Creed, The Ten Commandments ... Another thing I notice is that the books were physically very small. What these two factors would do is force people to concentrate, and to really have the words of faith in their heads. I suspect that these older practices brought people into a flow state as well, not through their ethics, but through their prayer lives.
In today's Church I think there are several things we can do to have similar experiences, as long as the intention is to keep growing. One way is to really concentrate on the prayers during services of Holy Eucharist. As you are reading the prayers, read ahead a little bit so you can close your eyes and recite them with everyone else from your short-term memory. Try to learn the creed and other responses by heart. If that fails, listen intensely to the congregation and let them carry you along. Pay attention to the reader and picture the scene rather than reading along in the bulletin. Any of these practices requires greater concentration and can help get a person into a flow state.
And finally, remember, it's not a question of having these little moments, as wonderful as they are. The bigger point is to bring order to your life. We follow a God who is perfect love and peace and justice. Why would we not order our lives around Him?
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