Sabbath & Desert Wisdom

I am taking a long-ish break. I am spending three weeks in the red rock deserts of Southern Utah the last three weeks of May.

Like many of us, the last year has been a strange rollercoaster for me. We’ve all been adapting to the reality of the pandemic, adjusting our normal routines and plans in light of the necessity of the moment. Sometimes, this has been paradoxically life-giving. But even then, it’s been hard work!

So, I am taking a break. In Jewish theology, God rested on the seventh day, and one of the commandments is for us to do the same, allowing us rest, but also reminding us that we are just not that important. In constellation-talk, we are coming into our “right size,” a good position for living in this great world which precedes our birth, and which will go beyond our death.

For a decade or so, I’ve longed to visit the astonishing canyons of Utah, and now is the time. In the Christian contemplative tradition (and in many other traditions), the desert is an especially holy place. The early followers were inspired by the so-called “Desert Mothers & Fathers,” whose stories represent a special and unusual type of holy wisdom. Here is one short story:

Abba Lot went to see Abba Joseph and said: Abba, as much as I am able I practice small rule, a little fasting, some prayer and meditation, and remain quiet, and as much as possible I keep my thoughts clean. What else should I do? Then the old man stood up and stretched out his hands toward heaven, and his fingers became like ten torches of flame. And he said: If you wish, you can become all flame.

I doubt I will become flame. However, I do know this – I don’t know what will arise. Like facilitating a constellation, when we can tell: I don’t know what is going on, and we can feel that that’s a really good thing, because now the new can show up, and lead us in a different way.

When I get back, I will return to private sessions with clients, and a couple of programs that are coming up soon on Healing Sentences and working systemically with individual clients. Check out the details below.

Until then, what is your experience of sabbath and the wisdom of the desert? Let’s expand the conversation! Share your thoughts and questions on my blog, below.