This is not good.
It turns out the Carmelites have shut down their wonderful website. It was just there last Friday, which was actually Wednesday. Then on Friday, which was really Thursday, it was gone.
You'll be sorry, too, because now I am stuck trying to tell you what they had to say about concentrating. I'll be lucky if I can concentrate long enough to do that. I did what they said, though, and here's how it went for me.
Step One:
Relax and clear your mind.
We know this won't last long. That's the whole problem. Your mind is clear for about two seconds and then "wham!", you start thinking stupid things again.
Step Two:
Quick! While your mind is clear for a second take a look around you. Take in the color, the smell and nothing else. Don't look at things and think, "That's a desk. That's a chair." Just take in the color. In other words, eliminate the label.
The Carmelites suggest that you take a walk in the woods, or somewhere in nature and do this. It calms the mind. It helps eliminate thinking.
Step Three: Practice doing this as often as you can. While doing the dishes, say, or changing diapers. It will really help with changing diapers, I think. You'll hardly notice what's really going on there.
So, out I went to take in nature. I live in the city. I had to run an errand and walk up to the drugstore which is three blocks away. I always walk up the alley, because to walk up the sidewalk on the street is to walk next to an endless stream of tailpipes.
I took in the colors. The grays, the crunching sound, the bright orange of the smashed Del Taco cup, the fading red of the flattened Marlboro hard pack. This is a good thing. A smashed orange Del Taco cup is no longer a cup, or litter, a nuisance or a blight, without it's label as such. It's just orange.
I was doing fine until I got the the Walgreen's. Outside was an old lady trying to enter the store with her walker. She was teetering along taking teeny tiny steps. It was going to take her most of the month to go in and purchase something and leave again. I worried about her the whole time I was there. I got back on track after I got out of there. There are actually hibiscus around the Walgreen's. Some actual nature. Some green and yellow and pink. Just before I re-entered the alley, I saw two homeless men being handcuffed by the police.
That was so sad. When you don't label them as homeless men, or a blight on society, you just see two souls being humiliated with a very uncertain and unpleasant near future.I'm not very good at reiterating the Carmelites' lesson plan. It was so good. Why didn't they just leave up their archives? Now you're stuck with me.
Please try it anyhow. What it will eventually do for you is help make everything you do a prayer. That's the main value. And it will most certainly get you through a rosary, if not a Rosary.
A reader reminds us:
Distractions happen to everyone. They happen to some people even more than to others. All the brain-training and willpower in the world won't "cure" a person with ADD, for example. I wrote a post last month about distractions and prayer. I wrote it with people with ADD in mind, but I think it is good for everyone. Sister, if you would be so kind as to allow me a link, it's here. http://ginkgo100.blogspot.com/2008/05/addadhd-religion-prayer-for.html
True enough. I caution everyone, however, not to go around pretending you have ADD to wiggle out of trying harder. It isn't fair to the people who actually have ADD and it will land you in Purgatory.
5 comments:
I order my replacement Brown Scapulars from the Carmelite nuns in Colorado.
http://www.sistersofcarmel.com/
I just ordered a book from their online gift shop, called "How to Pray Always" that seems to deal with the distraction problem. Should have it in a week or so, and I'll let you know whether that's right or not.
On the homeless men -- police officers are kinder than you may think. Don't know why they were picking up those two, but ... where I live, they usually only keep the cuffs on long enough to make sure nobody is going to get hurt (cops have wives and children too), and if there's no real point to keeping the men (the case most of the time) the officers usually take them to a shelter of some kind. It might look mean sometimes, mostly it ends up as a good thing. What you see on tv of cops beating people mercilessly is not an accurate reflection of how 99% of the police do their work. The other 1% are going to land in Purgatory with the fake ADD folks (or worse, but I hope that doesn't happen).
Ah yes, Wilgefortis. In my neck of the Catholic Woods, we know her as St. Liberada.
At my city's annual Spanish Market,
( http://www.spanishmarket.org/ ) there is usually always one depiction of her, I almost bought one last year, but I couldn't liberate enough money from my wallet to spend it. ;-)
Sister, I couldn't help but notice you said you're sometimes in a pickle for prayers. Have you ever heard of Post Secret? I guarentee you'll never run out of people to pray for; it's basically a series of books filled with the secrets of various people. Some are weird, like I really love feet, or they can be quite troubling. It's a real eye opener because I realize how bad some people have it. Some people have admitted that they no longer believe in God, which is really sad too...
The Carmelite Monestary in Indianapolis was my very favorite place in the city to go to Mass. I selfishly wish they could have figured out a way to keep the Web site active.
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