To deepen Spiritual Flexibility in myself, I’m committed to a lifestyle of Transformation.
Transformation presupposes Humility; it is to embrace to the truth that I’ve not yet become what I’m becoming.
Both the means and the end of my transformation is Christ. Christ, the perfect human iteration of Creator Spirit, continues to create me into a new creation – one that becomes increasingly more reflective of Christ.
To remain in the lifelong moment of transformation is, arguably, the essence of true worship.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is true worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2 (Today’s New International Version)
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
Teachable
Cognitive Flexibility means taking a “bend, don’t break” approach to beliefs. It is to be teachable.
In 2nd Timothy 2:24-25 Paul writes, “…the servant of the Lord must not engender strife, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those in opposition.”
(21st Century King James Version)
Complimenting the explicit phrase “apt to teach” is the implicit characteristic of “apt to learn”.
Perhaps it’s slightly counterintuitive, but maintaining a teachable mindset calls for fearlessness. The fear of being wrong and – even worse! – going public with it by changing my attitudes, opinions, and ideologies is frequently enough to keep me from becoming genuinely open to new ideas.
I suspect that cognitive flexibility is at least as difficult to cultivate as physical flexibility. Stretching is a uniquely irksome form of pain. Sometimes I have to remind myself of why this intention is important in my quest to more fully engage my life. But, as with my body, I want my intellect to enjoy the entire range of motion for which it was designed.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
In 2nd Timothy 2:24-25 Paul writes, “…the servant of the Lord must not engender strife, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those in opposition.”
(21st Century King James Version)
Complimenting the explicit phrase “apt to teach” is the implicit characteristic of “apt to learn”.
Perhaps it’s slightly counterintuitive, but maintaining a teachable mindset calls for fearlessness. The fear of being wrong and – even worse! – going public with it by changing my attitudes, opinions, and ideologies is frequently enough to keep me from becoming genuinely open to new ideas.
I suspect that cognitive flexibility is at least as difficult to cultivate as physical flexibility. Stretching is a uniquely irksome form of pain. Sometimes I have to remind myself of why this intention is important in my quest to more fully engage my life. But, as with my body, I want my intellect to enjoy the entire range of motion for which it was designed.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Coin
A few posts ago, Craig-Bob (of Out Of Fellowship fame), asked about the rogue row beneath my Fourfold Fitness table: Finances. He wondered why it was set apart from the main grid.
My answer was that the financial dimension began as a subset of Physical, but since it isn't physiological, per se, it seemed to warrant a separate row.
T-Wolf argued that “Finance is not a component unto itself but rather an intention zone of the cognitive + the attribute strength.”
Craig-Bob followed with the idea that "Financial might fall on a z-axis because it has attributions in each of the 2-dimensional cells […] defined.”
Michael C. brought in the notion of metrics, suggesting that money measures momentum in each of the sixteen zones. He referenced Jacob Needleman's book, Money and the Meaning of Life.
For now, it remains a fifth row in my provisional paradigm. At some point, however, I intend to incorporate an additional four-directional plane to the map. It describes the way I think of resources: Time, Energy, Money, and Affection.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
My answer was that the financial dimension began as a subset of Physical, but since it isn't physiological, per se, it seemed to warrant a separate row.
T-Wolf argued that “Finance is not a component unto itself but rather an intention zone of the cognitive + the attribute strength.”
Craig-Bob followed with the idea that "Financial might fall on a z-axis because it has attributions in each of the 2-dimensional cells […] defined.”
Michael C. brought in the notion of metrics, suggesting that money measures momentum in each of the sixteen zones. He referenced Jacob Needleman's book, Money and the Meaning of Life.
For now, it remains a fifth row in my provisional paradigm. At some point, however, I intend to incorporate an additional four-directional plane to the map. It describes the way I think of resources: Time, Energy, Money, and Affection.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Vision
Vision is cultivated in a context of Hope, and connects directly to Emotional Endurance [see table].
“Without a Vision is a people made naked”
Proverbs 29:18a (Young’s Literal Translation)
I had no idea that this was the literal translation! In the ancient context, nakedness meant poverty and shame; there was nothing erotically provocative about it.
In this proverb, vision obviously refers to something more than physical sight: it’s the ability to look into the future and see the prospect of joy, abundance, accomplishment, meaning…
This sort of vision has to do with attending to invisible things. I believe that every human is given something that only she/he can see; an internal treasure that needs to be externalized – the intangible made tangible. It relates to incarnation. Each of us is to champion what’s been entrusted on a spiritual level – sowing, cultivating, harvesting, distributing… to the enriching of our relational circles.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
“Without a Vision is a people made naked”
Proverbs 29:18a (Young’s Literal Translation)
I had no idea that this was the literal translation! In the ancient context, nakedness meant poverty and shame; there was nothing erotically provocative about it.
In this proverb, vision obviously refers to something more than physical sight: it’s the ability to look into the future and see the prospect of joy, abundance, accomplishment, meaning…
This sort of vision has to do with attending to invisible things. I believe that every human is given something that only she/he can see; an internal treasure that needs to be externalized – the intangible made tangible. It relates to incarnation. Each of us is to champion what’s been entrusted on a spiritual level – sowing, cultivating, harvesting, distributing… to the enriching of our relational circles.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Hope
“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance and my God.”
Psalm 42:11 (21st Century King James Version)
Hope is integral to Emotional Endurance [see table]. What feeds my heart’s fire if not hope? And what distinguishes hoping from wishing? For me, hope is the belief that God is planting goodness in the future so that it’s already taking root and blooming as we step into each unfolding day.
Here's an ancient prophetic poem that was composed by a person who understood the valley of deep trouble. His words have the heartbeat of authenticity.
“There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Trouble a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”
Hosea 2:15 (New International Version)
First, God promises to restore vineyards, which represent abundance and gladness. Then follows an image that I find profoundly moving: God will transform the valley of trouble into a door of hope. The lowest, most disturbing circumstance becomes the threshold to a good future.
The second sentence begins with the response of the people, which is carefree singing: a picture of rejuvenation and festivity. The closing line references release from slavery, and the long-awaited freedom to engage life.
That’s what this Fourfold Fitness thing is about, really [see intro]. I don’t need to be a slave to disconnection and disintegration; by God’s grace, I’m free to cultivate practices that increase my capacity for living.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Psalm 42:11 (21st Century King James Version)
Hope is integral to Emotional Endurance [see table]. What feeds my heart’s fire if not hope? And what distinguishes hoping from wishing? For me, hope is the belief that God is planting goodness in the future so that it’s already taking root and blooming as we step into each unfolding day.
Here's an ancient prophetic poem that was composed by a person who understood the valley of deep trouble. His words have the heartbeat of authenticity.
“There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Trouble a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.”
Hosea 2:15 (New International Version)
First, God promises to restore vineyards, which represent abundance and gladness. Then follows an image that I find profoundly moving: God will transform the valley of trouble into a door of hope. The lowest, most disturbing circumstance becomes the threshold to a good future.
The second sentence begins with the response of the people, which is carefree singing: a picture of rejuvenation and festivity. The closing line references release from slavery, and the long-awaited freedom to engage life.
That’s what this Fourfold Fitness thing is about, really [see intro]. I don’t need to be a slave to disconnection and disintegration; by God’s grace, I’m free to cultivate practices that increase my capacity for living.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Rooted
For me, there are three essential dimensions of Spiritual Balance [see table].
1) Beauty must be celebrated, and Wonder relished.
2) Upright is an old-fashioned word, but I like its imagery: spiritual balance means I stand up in my full stature, walking tall. Dignity.
3) It also connotes Grounding – having my feet solidly beneath me. Rooted.
“Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.”
Colossians 2:7, Contemporary English Version
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
1) Beauty must be celebrated, and Wonder relished.
2) Upright is an old-fashioned word, but I like its imagery: spiritual balance means I stand up in my full stature, walking tall. Dignity.
3) It also connotes Grounding – having my feet solidly beneath me. Rooted.
“Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.”
Colossians 2:7, Contemporary English Version
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Motion
Physical Flexibility [see table], or range of motion, is a fantastic thing: acquiring it… not so much. Flexibility doesn’t happen without stretching, and stretching is viscerally unappealing to me. It makes me cranky.
But I believe in it – I believe it’s important enough to warrant assimilating yoga practice into my lifestyle.
I think flexibility is a proactive prevention of future injuries. I like the idea of doing my part to avoid preventable suffering (my own and that of others).
I also like being able to move fluidly – having a body that can flow with the riffles and rills of existence. To my way of thinking, it’s an important dimension of enjoying and honoring creation. If I want to fully engage my life, I’ll cultivate flexibility.
But I believe in it – I believe it’s important enough to warrant assimilating yoga practice into my lifestyle.
I think flexibility is a proactive prevention of future injuries. I like the idea of doing my part to avoid preventable suffering (my own and that of others).
I also like being able to move fluidly – having a body that can flow with the riffles and rills of existence. To my way of thinking, it’s an important dimension of enjoying and honoring creation. If I want to fully engage my life, I’ll cultivate flexibility.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Fourfold Fitness Table
Strength | Flexibility | Endurance | Balance | |
Spiritual | Integrity | Humility Transformation | Courage Loyalty Perseverance | Grounding Beauty Upright |
Cognitive | Creativity | Teachable Broadminded | Curiosity Honesty Follow-Through | Wisdom Awareness |
Emotional | Joy Gratitude | Generosity Kindness Adaptable | Hope Vision | Peace Humor |
Physical | Muscle | Motion | Stamina | Agility Rest |
(Financial) | Income | Giving / Spending | Savings | Budget |
Friday, September 01, 2006
Creativity
Cognitive strength is valuable to me; I intend for it to be among my primary character traits. One of the ways I choose to cultivate greater capacity in this intention zone is by practicing creativity.
When I’m at my best, creativity is radiating into every territory of my life. It isn’t contained or compartmentalized. So it wouldn’t be out of place in any of my sixteen zones.
But for the sake of focus, I center Creativity at the intersection of Cognitive & Strength [see table]. In my experience, my mind nearly always comes into play when I’m being creative. Thoughts are sorted and shuffled, and arranged in new constellations – new categories are framed and tested – new pathways, sequences, connections are mentally sketched out…
It’s a very satisfying form of exertion: it feels like pushing a stalled car that I didn’t think would budge, or hiking a little farther than my imagined capacity, or splitting a cord of firewood. Creativity makes me feel strong.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
When I’m at my best, creativity is radiating into every territory of my life. It isn’t contained or compartmentalized. So it wouldn’t be out of place in any of my sixteen zones.
But for the sake of focus, I center Creativity at the intersection of Cognitive & Strength [see table]. In my experience, my mind nearly always comes into play when I’m being creative. Thoughts are sorted and shuffled, and arranged in new constellations – new categories are framed and tested – new pathways, sequences, connections are mentally sketched out…
It’s a very satisfying form of exertion: it feels like pushing a stalled car that I didn’t think would budge, or hiking a little farther than my imagined capacity, or splitting a cord of firewood. Creativity makes me feel strong.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Fourfold Fitness
The soul’s topography won’t fit within the languages of tongue or pen. It’s like trying to capture the vastness and detail of a natural landscape in the frame of a photograph.
But knowing the terrain of our own depths is necessary for fully engaged living. Some people have an innate knack for soul navigation; others need a map and compass.
I use a four by four grid, where the intersections create “intention zones” integral to my joie de vivre. The four components of my humanness are: Physical, Emotional, Cognitive, and Spiritual. The four key attributes of fitness (IMHO) are: Strength, Flexibility, Endurance, and Balance.
The next few soul-friending posts will describe some of my intention zones. I hope there will be ideas and inspirations for you. However, I hasten to underscore that it’s just a map I’ve sketched to help make sense of my personal topography; it’s not intended to be comprehensive, absolute, or directly transferable. But maybe it’ll provoke you to undertake your own “depth cartography”.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
But knowing the terrain of our own depths is necessary for fully engaged living. Some people have an innate knack for soul navigation; others need a map and compass.
I use a four by four grid, where the intersections create “intention zones” integral to my joie de vivre. The four components of my humanness are: Physical, Emotional, Cognitive, and Spiritual. The four key attributes of fitness (IMHO) are: Strength, Flexibility, Endurance, and Balance.
The next few soul-friending posts will describe some of my intention zones. I hope there will be ideas and inspirations for you. However, I hasten to underscore that it’s just a map I’ve sketched to help make sense of my personal topography; it’s not intended to be comprehensive, absolute, or directly transferable. But maybe it’ll provoke you to undertake your own “depth cartography”.
Copyright Scott Burnett 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
trust
It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them.
Confucius
This is as deep a truth as there is. To be deceived is among the worst of human experiences; but distrust withers friendship, and we need friendship in order to become fully human.
Friendship brings longevity and joy to our loves: marriage blooms in it. In friendship, family connectedness can thrive without throttling.
Friendship freely says, "I'd rather risk being a fool than hoard my heart behind fortress walls."
Confucius
This is as deep a truth as there is. To be deceived is among the worst of human experiences; but distrust withers friendship, and we need friendship in order to become fully human.
Friendship brings longevity and joy to our loves: marriage blooms in it. In friendship, family connectedness can thrive without throttling.
Friendship freely says, "I'd rather risk being a fool than hoard my heart behind fortress walls."
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
circus ride
The best circus rides are the ones that feel terrifyingly out of control, but are not -- the ones that have been engineered to be completely safe while simulating the sensation of impending disaster. We’ll pay good money for the thrill of careening toward annihilation, as long as the ride comes with a guarantee that all will turn out okay in the end.
Life doesn’t come with that sort of guarantee, of course. But according to Jesus, there is an Author who weaves our crazy fragments into a meaningful narrative. I need for this to be true. Daily, I re-surrender to the trueness of it.
Sometimes my world accelerates into the red zone, when my beliefs, my dreams, and my loves quake on the verge of disintegration. At those moments, I remind myself that all things fall into the hands of God -- nothing slips between those fingers, or spills over the edges. All things constellate meaningfully within the Creator’s cupped hands. And it will turn out okay in the end.
Life doesn’t come with that sort of guarantee, of course. But according to Jesus, there is an Author who weaves our crazy fragments into a meaningful narrative. I need for this to be true. Daily, I re-surrender to the trueness of it.
Sometimes my world accelerates into the red zone, when my beliefs, my dreams, and my loves quake on the verge of disintegration. At those moments, I remind myself that all things fall into the hands of God -- nothing slips between those fingers, or spills over the edges. All things constellate meaningfully within the Creator’s cupped hands. And it will turn out okay in the end.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
soul-sized life
What are the dimensions of your soul? How far can she throw her light? How many close relationships do you have the capacity to honor?
How much art will you render? How many stories will be yours to tell? How many friends will you help to discover their own souls?
As I ask questions like these of myself, the tendency is to swing between overestimating and underestimating the size of my soul. Maybe the oscillation between big and small is what keeps me bending back toward a sane assessment.
For more on this topic, see the post inhabiting littleness, and the comments that followed.
How much art will you render? How many stories will be yours to tell? How many friends will you help to discover their own souls?
As I ask questions like these of myself, the tendency is to swing between overestimating and underestimating the size of my soul. Maybe the oscillation between big and small is what keeps me bending back toward a sane assessment.
For more on this topic, see the post inhabiting littleness, and the comments that followed.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
arrogance versus ignorance
Never attribute to arrogance what can adequately be explained by ignorance.
Friday, July 07, 2006
TRANS|plant|action|formation
Transplant Transaction Transformation
Look at God’s declared intent in this lovely couplet: the equation contains three additions and one subtraction.
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 11:19, NIV
{PLUS} Integration (undivided heart)
Meaningfully constellating our fragmented souls
{PLUS} Inspiration (new spirit)
Breathing into us a second wind
{MINUS} Petrification (heart of stone)
Stone became set in its ways a long time ago
It would rather break than bend
It’s incompatible with breath and blood
{PLUS} Corporeal Reanimation (heart of flesh)
Flesh is pliable, vulnerable
And capable of growth
It’s a suitable habitat for life
Look at God’s declared intent in this lovely couplet: the equation contains three additions and one subtraction.
"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 11:19, NIV
{PLUS} Integration (undivided heart)
Meaningfully constellating our fragmented souls
{PLUS} Inspiration (new spirit)
Breathing into us a second wind
{MINUS} Petrification (heart of stone)
Stone became set in its ways a long time ago
It would rather break than bend
It’s incompatible with breath and blood
{PLUS} Corporeal Reanimation (heart of flesh)
Flesh is pliable, vulnerable
And capable of growth
It’s a suitable habitat for life
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
clay resoftened
Modeling clay becomes cold and hard after a few days of no touch. It has to be patiently warmed and softened in order to return to responsiveness. My hands learned the process a long time ago; the rhythm, heat, and fragrance of transformation are still present to me. Squeezing, pressing, folding... renewing the tactile bond between the clay and my skin... settling into creative interaction.
I used to waste time feeling guilty in moments of awareness that I’d again become hard clay. Now I try to respond with gratitude to that awareness as though it is the Spirit’s touch, initiating a new session of softening. It’s an invitation to change and creativity.
I used to waste time feeling guilty in moments of awareness that I’d again become hard clay. Now I try to respond with gratitude to that awareness as though it is the Spirit’s touch, initiating a new session of softening. It’s an invitation to change and creativity.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
headwaters (river, part three)
Have you visited the headwaters of your defining dream? Have you made an inner pilgrimage to the birthplace of the vision that shapes your intentions?
It’s not an easy hike. Sometimes you come across dams you’ve built to block to flow of your own calling. Sometimes you encounter a culvert of pollutants you’ve allowed to empty into your passion.
But eventually you make it back to the simple source. A wellspring of clear water bubbling up from your soul-dirt... The Spirit flowing from your deep places...
Your family, your friends, your community need the living water that is meant to flow from you. You’re an integral part of a relational ecosystem.
It’s not an easy hike. Sometimes you come across dams you’ve built to block to flow of your own calling. Sometimes you encounter a culvert of pollutants you’ve allowed to empty into your passion.
But eventually you make it back to the simple source. A wellspring of clear water bubbling up from your soul-dirt... The Spirit flowing from your deep places...
Your family, your friends, your community need the living water that is meant to flow from you. You’re an integral part of a relational ecosystem.
Friday, June 16, 2006
equity
“Teach me to number my days.”
I’ve been making a concerted effort to consistently reassess my time equity. What do I have to work with? How am I spending it, investing it, wasting it, enjoying it...?
In 2016, how will I feel about the way I spent 2006?
I’ve been making a concerted effort to consistently reassess my time equity. What do I have to work with? How am I spending it, investing it, wasting it, enjoying it...?
In 2016, how will I feel about the way I spent 2006?
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
river (part two)
Riverbanks make a river possible. Limitations facilitate flow.
Riverbanks aren’t absolutely rigid; they aren’t permanently fixed. Flow affects limitations.
The reciprocity of a river and its banks teaches me things about the paradoxes of faith-life: focused and flowing -- settled and questing...
The current is power, direction, intention, movement... submitting to boundaries.
The banks are shape, form, structure, support... organic and malleable, responding to the stream of change.
Riverbanks aren’t absolutely rigid; they aren’t permanently fixed. Flow affects limitations.
The reciprocity of a river and its banks teaches me things about the paradoxes of faith-life: focused and flowing -- settled and questing...
The current is power, direction, intention, movement... submitting to boundaries.
The banks are shape, form, structure, support... organic and malleable, responding to the stream of change.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
river (part one)
Has a more inspiring description of worship ever been conceived than Ezekiel 47:1-12?
Water flows from under the altar, out of the temple, increasing exponentially until it is a great river. It flows eastward into the Dead Sea, transforming the brine into freshwater. (Interestingly, the marshes are left salty; presumably as a source of preservative and seasoning.)
The formerly “dead” sea becomes as full of fish as the Mediterranean. The riverbanks are lined with trees bearing nutritional and medicinal fruit. The picture is of lavish abundance – of fullness and healing.
This transformative power floods from the temple - the iconic center of worship in Ezekiel’s culture. He’s portraying a world profoundly changed by, and a way of life instigated and sustained by worship.
Water flows from under the altar, out of the temple, increasing exponentially until it is a great river. It flows eastward into the Dead Sea, transforming the brine into freshwater. (Interestingly, the marshes are left salty; presumably as a source of preservative and seasoning.)
The formerly “dead” sea becomes as full of fish as the Mediterranean. The riverbanks are lined with trees bearing nutritional and medicinal fruit. The picture is of lavish abundance – of fullness and healing.
This transformative power floods from the temple - the iconic center of worship in Ezekiel’s culture. He’s portraying a world profoundly changed by, and a way of life instigated and sustained by worship.
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