See. Taste. Touch. Smell. Hear. Feel.
The senses must not be caged by the number five. They must not be weakened by the oppressive noise of the world or overcome by the endless stream of offensive images. They are in constant danger of being swallowed up, disturbed, misused, and forgotten. For those who long for a sense of God, this can not be.
Our senses should be nurtured, discovered, and engaged. We live in an age that is bombarded by messages that point everywhere but God. Images portray life based on lies. Noise takes up so much space that there is no room left to hear the Spirit speak. Synthetic odors fill the atmosphere and confuse the senses, weakening our ability to recognize the people and places represented by different scents. Emotions are lost or misunderstood because of the constant attack on the senses. It seems impossible that anyone could engage their senses and discover the magnitude of feelings that have been so beautifully given to humanity. Yet there is a way.
In the Garden there was peace. Sweetness filled the air and joy floated through the wind. True rest was available and life was rich with pleasure. The senses had room to breathe; they were free to move they were ever expanding. Outside the Garden other senses lay in wait, ready to be taken up and explored. People could connect their spirits to the world around them. They could be vulnerable before one another and they felt what it was like to be truly known.
My senses have been at war in Australia. In one dimension they are always at work, trying to distinguish the endless sights and sounds of the city. In another dimension they are in sleep mode, too overwhelmed to engage. And in yet another dimension they are being freed, finding room to dance through the space around me. In the stillness of my room they are given the time and rest to make sense of this frantic journey. In the Blue Mountains they are being challenged by the spiritual traditions of the Aborigines. At Sunday night church services, they are renewed by the Spirit of the Living God.
I have been gaining knowledge and experience from two main areas of life in Australia. The first area is my university classes and the second is my church. The central topic of one of my courses is the history and culture of Aborigines. A few weeks ago we traveled into the Blue Mountains for a guided bush walk with an Aboriginal man. He taught us how to feel the rhythms of the earth as they passed up through the ground and into our bodies, filling our spirits with peace and granting our souls the freedom to move out of ourselves and into the nature surrounding us. He spoke of the importance of treading gently on the trail, in order to avoid disturbing the senses with unnatural noise. He gave us leaves to chew on, branches to feel, rocks to paint with, plants to smell.
My senses were fully engaged on that bush walk. My feet were sensitive to the earth I stepped on and my ears were opened to the subtle sounds of the forrest. I was expanding my senses beyond their normal capacity, and I was able to be at peace throughout my entire body. Although the Aboriginal ideas and practices were confusing and foreign to me, I felt enriched by their careful awareness of the spiritual realm of life. I was challenged to step outside of myself and see into the expanse that lie beyond normal human activity. It was an unparalleled experience, and one that my senses were thankful for.
My senses have also been freed through my experience at church. I attend the evening service at Hillsong City campus, and for the month of August there was a special series of messages called "Sunday Night Live." Each Sunday night there was a different theme which was developed throughout the message with the help of special affects, acting, visuals, and sounds. One of the messages talked about the senses and the constant war they face each day. Of the millions of senses out there, the preacher talked about hearing, touch, sight, smell, pain, time, and direction. I loved hearing about the "senses beyond the senses" and challenging myself to consider the various ways my soul is wired to engage emotions.
We are not meant to be caged the a box of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. There is so much beyond that!
We sense loss, joy, order, dissension, unity, honor, loyalty, fear, success, lies, value, and heaps of other significant feelings. We sense this in our own souls and in the souls of others. It is such a beautiful thing that we have been designed to tap into our emotions in order to fully engage in life and do so within a community. We are meant to go through experiences together and share our sorrows and joys with others. Our senses are ripe for relationship and they lay in wait, longing for the day when we will break out of our cage and allow ourselves access to a life that is abundant--a life that is fully engaged.
It is my desire to take advantage of the Garden Life. As I go through this journey, I push myself to process the new ideas and feelings that I have. At the same time I must tap into past experiences and emotions in order to make sense of my current position in life. Sometimes this is a joyful process, and other times it is painful and scary. Either way, my sense are being stretched far beyond what they have ever reached before and I am being molded by God into a woman who is aware of the world within her and outside of her.
My senses long for the freedom of the Garden, and the beautiful thing is, Christ has unlocked the gates and granted me access to a life that is teeming with rich, whole, beautiful experiences.
Dance free Soul, the Garden is waiting.
The senses must not be caged by the number five. They must not be weakened by the oppressive noise of the world or overcome by the endless stream of offensive images. They are in constant danger of being swallowed up, disturbed, misused, and forgotten. For those who long for a sense of God, this can not be.
Our senses should be nurtured, discovered, and engaged. We live in an age that is bombarded by messages that point everywhere but God. Images portray life based on lies. Noise takes up so much space that there is no room left to hear the Spirit speak. Synthetic odors fill the atmosphere and confuse the senses, weakening our ability to recognize the people and places represented by different scents. Emotions are lost or misunderstood because of the constant attack on the senses. It seems impossible that anyone could engage their senses and discover the magnitude of feelings that have been so beautifully given to humanity. Yet there is a way.
In the Garden there was peace. Sweetness filled the air and joy floated through the wind. True rest was available and life was rich with pleasure. The senses had room to breathe; they were free to move they were ever expanding. Outside the Garden other senses lay in wait, ready to be taken up and explored. People could connect their spirits to the world around them. They could be vulnerable before one another and they felt what it was like to be truly known.
My senses have been at war in Australia. In one dimension they are always at work, trying to distinguish the endless sights and sounds of the city. In another dimension they are in sleep mode, too overwhelmed to engage. And in yet another dimension they are being freed, finding room to dance through the space around me. In the stillness of my room they are given the time and rest to make sense of this frantic journey. In the Blue Mountains they are being challenged by the spiritual traditions of the Aborigines. At Sunday night church services, they are renewed by the Spirit of the Living God.
I have been gaining knowledge and experience from two main areas of life in Australia. The first area is my university classes and the second is my church. The central topic of one of my courses is the history and culture of Aborigines. A few weeks ago we traveled into the Blue Mountains for a guided bush walk with an Aboriginal man. He taught us how to feel the rhythms of the earth as they passed up through the ground and into our bodies, filling our spirits with peace and granting our souls the freedom to move out of ourselves and into the nature surrounding us. He spoke of the importance of treading gently on the trail, in order to avoid disturbing the senses with unnatural noise. He gave us leaves to chew on, branches to feel, rocks to paint with, plants to smell.
My senses were fully engaged on that bush walk. My feet were sensitive to the earth I stepped on and my ears were opened to the subtle sounds of the forrest. I was expanding my senses beyond their normal capacity, and I was able to be at peace throughout my entire body. Although the Aboriginal ideas and practices were confusing and foreign to me, I felt enriched by their careful awareness of the spiritual realm of life. I was challenged to step outside of myself and see into the expanse that lie beyond normal human activity. It was an unparalleled experience, and one that my senses were thankful for.
My senses have also been freed through my experience at church. I attend the evening service at Hillsong City campus, and for the month of August there was a special series of messages called "Sunday Night Live." Each Sunday night there was a different theme which was developed throughout the message with the help of special affects, acting, visuals, and sounds. One of the messages talked about the senses and the constant war they face each day. Of the millions of senses out there, the preacher talked about hearing, touch, sight, smell, pain, time, and direction. I loved hearing about the "senses beyond the senses" and challenging myself to consider the various ways my soul is wired to engage emotions.
We are not meant to be caged the a box of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. There is so much beyond that!
We sense loss, joy, order, dissension, unity, honor, loyalty, fear, success, lies, value, and heaps of other significant feelings. We sense this in our own souls and in the souls of others. It is such a beautiful thing that we have been designed to tap into our emotions in order to fully engage in life and do so within a community. We are meant to go through experiences together and share our sorrows and joys with others. Our senses are ripe for relationship and they lay in wait, longing for the day when we will break out of our cage and allow ourselves access to a life that is abundant--a life that is fully engaged.
It is my desire to take advantage of the Garden Life. As I go through this journey, I push myself to process the new ideas and feelings that I have. At the same time I must tap into past experiences and emotions in order to make sense of my current position in life. Sometimes this is a joyful process, and other times it is painful and scary. Either way, my sense are being stretched far beyond what they have ever reached before and I am being molded by God into a woman who is aware of the world within her and outside of her.
My senses long for the freedom of the Garden, and the beautiful thing is, Christ has unlocked the gates and granted me access to a life that is teeming with rich, whole, beautiful experiences.
Dance free Soul, the Garden is waiting.
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