A Conversation with God.

Bangkok October 2016.

Trying to have a conversation with God. Mind you, the ambiance might be questionable: Jacks Bar across the river from the Peninsula Hotel in Bangkok; a stretch of water that divides the opulent from what is termed the "local colour."

Hemingway would have loved it: half the floor overhanging the water removed as the carpenters put in new floor boards, cold Chang beer, over-proofed gin & tonics and stir fry Pad Thai.

It's only on breaks like this from my work in Vietnam that I really get a chance to wind back and assess where I am.

Which brings us to God.

I'm not one of those zealots, or at least I think I'm not. Never into evangelism, but I suppose I'm lucky. I have faith in the Father and I think the son had more recognisable human qualities than he is given credit for. As for the Holy Ghost, I know you are out there somewhere but we have not been properly introduced yet.

I had in my travels, been overwhelmed by my closeness to God; once in a deserted church annex in Mexico City, and another at a Jesuit church in Rome. A religious experience? Yes, it left me shaken by the enormity of it.

So as Jesus drank with the Pharisees, here I sit suitably imbibing, asking the Father, " What do you want me to do next?" At 73 I must be running out of time. But then I think I recognise the role. He will present the circumstances and the players and I will respond.

By doing this, it brings into context the lines in the Mass, " I give you peace, My peace I give you."

You are welcome, Manichean!There´s just Mass going on on the place across the street.

Any time I use a word speaking, writing or thinking, I feel it is a conversation with God although I might not be aware of it as such and the words might not be as good as they should be. I try repeating a mantram to keep the words going through my mind from becoming negative or nonsensical. A Christian might say things like "Jesus, Mary, Joseph" or a passage from their sacred texts. Other people might recite from memory a short phrase or poem. My idea for doing that comes from Eknath Easwaran.

There is another kind of conversation that does not involve words, but is a form of "somatic" or bodily conversation and it has to do with posture. I only found out about this recently from Will Johnson's "The Posture of Meditation". The point here is to align one's spine with gravity by standing, walking or sitting with the back straight. It is a habit I am still trying to develop, but like a mantram after a while the habit becomes automatic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN

At 73 I must be running out of time. But then I think I recognise the role. He will present the circumstances and the players and I will respond.

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Happy birthday, M. As long as the Boss doesn't want to see you in his office, 9:00, Monday morning, you should be fine. And better lands to travel after that. :)

cancelled.

Thank you all. I might at times come across as irreverent , but I think you all get my drift.

Have a super Sunday.

M.