Monthly Archives: February 2014

Consciously Choosing Life

Life is to be lived fully in the here and now. All we can know for certain is what is right now. The past is history and the future is fantasy. The past makes friends with regret and the future invites anxiety. Both of these are thieves of life in the now.

What characterizes the here and now?

First, our breath. Our breath not only connects us with ourselves, it is the source of life. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:11) The material became spiritually alive when we were given breath. Breath is what breaches the great divide that separates life from death. When someone dies, we know they have left this life when they breathe no more.

The here and now is also made manifest in our bodies. We can feel and experience our body in the here and now. We see with our eyes and smell with our noses. We notice our tongue swimming in our mouths. We feel our fingers scurry as we type. We sense our chest expand and contract as we breath. We experience our heart pumping the blood filled breath throughout our bodies.

Our feelings fill every moment in the here and now. Although easy for us to diminish and dismiss, feelings fill every moment of life. We have mountains of feelings seeking to be experienced and expressed in every moment. Feelings are the language of our souls—our deepest and possibly most spiritual expressions.

Become conscious of our breath and we are living in the moment. Feel our bodies and we are experiencing the present. Uncover our feelings and we have found the here and now.

The trinity of consciousness—our breath, our bodies, and our feelings. Treasure these three and we will we will be well served on our expedition of life.

Join us, a community of conscious pilgrims, looking for partners on the journey of becoming our most Christ-like selves. Living life consciously with our eyes fixed on Christ expressing our aliveness authentically. We are looking for those who are hungry and yearning for abundant life. Come play life with us at the Center for Christian Life Enrichment.

Oedipus or Intimacy


What are you yearning for in your partnership? Do you want more safety, affection, truth, comfort, joy and intimacy? 24 couples involved in the CLE community met together for a weekend of learning, growing and transforming ourselves as well as our couples. It was an inspiring time of experiencing people willing to trust each other to be genuine, truthful and caring.

 

People told the truth about where they were struggling. They shared vulnerably about what they yearned for with their partners. There was a shared hunger to learn how to be Christ in their relationships with one another.

 

We looked at the Myth of Oedipus and were reminded of how powerfully our parents’ relationships impacted who we chose to marry as well as how we interact with each other. We saw how the wounds and unfinished business carried by our parents was passed on to each of us. The unresolved competition and conflict between our parents profoundly impacted our beliefs about life and marriage.

 

We recognized that our parents loved us and yet also influenced us in ways they were often unaware of. We saw that it was now our responsibility to do the work we need to do in order to heal and not pass on the pain to the next generation.

 

We gained a vision for what it would look like to bring Christ into our relationships with one another. We saw couples telling truths, working through resentments, forgiving each other, revealing their longings, playing, and touching affectionately. Basically, we were learning how to experience the many facets of love.

 

Isn’t that what it all boils down to? Jesus said it simply, “Love God and love your neighbor.” May it be so. We invite you to come and experience this life transforming community we are creating at the Center for Christian Life Enrichment. We are looking for more playmates!