Transfiguration Journal #2: January 13

This morning, on a day in which Congress prepares to impeach Donald Trump for a second time, in a time in which my family struggles to make sense of the violence–and denial–we all experience, in an age when my heart can sense the enormous invitation to move into a space where we live from a posture of union rather than illusion, I sat for a while and meditated. I have been sitting a lot these days, in this sitting, I have found myself drawn into deep, spiritual work.

Also, I did a “flash painting” of an interpretation of the Transfiguration, and this has inspired me to keep playing with variations on this theme.

The thought that came to me this morning, looking at the Transfiguration, was this:

The Transfiguration of Christ shows us the truth of the transformation meant for each of us, and I am aware that transformation happens from the inside out. This is the truth of the Christian contemplative tradition–shared by the world’s great wisdom traditions as well: that only through the transformation of the heart can any shift in living be nurtured in this world. We only change when our hearts are converted, when we move from ignorance to wisdom, from grasping to consenting to the Spirit’s movement.

The measure of outer, cultural healing is directly proportional to the measure of inner, spiritual work in our hearts. This is why our practices of prayer are so crucial.