Solitude is an important spiritual practice that allows for deepening consciousness, experiencing freedom, and fostering genuine love and connection with God and others.
Engaging in the solitude practice can enrich one's rule of life, align with God's will, and cultivate love, joy, and peace through the Spirit.
Solitude is crucial for leaders, enabling surrender to God's will, fostering effective leadership, and ensuring the well-being of both themselves and those they lead.
Deep dives
The Pursuit of Spiritual Life in Deliberate Spiritual Practices
Engaging in deliberate spiritual practices is a means to an end in the pursuit of a spiritual life. However, this pursuit is more experimental than initially thought. Approaching spiritual practices with curiosity and an open mindset allows for deeper learning and impact on one's life. Solitude is explored as an ancient discipline for life with God, and engaging in the solitude practice helps in integrating solitude more richly into one's rule of life.
Exploring Solitude with John Orberg
John Orberg, an author and pastor, joins the podcast as a special guest to discuss the practice of solitude. He shares his insight about the importance of solitude and how it combines with other spiritual disciplines for personal growth and life transformation. The conversation revolves around the experimental nature of solitude and the potential impact it can have on experiencing freedom, deepening consciousness, and fostering a genuine sense of love and connection with God and others.
Solitude Practice: Making Space for God
The podcast delves into the four-week solitude practice designed to be implemented in communities, churches, or small groups. The practice focuses on teaching, conversation, and spiritual exercises to introduce the ancient discipline of solitude for a more integrated life with God. It emphasizes the importance of creating space for God through intentional refraining from distractions and engagement in solitude. The end goal of the solitude practice is to enrich one's rule of life, enabling a deeper alignment with God's will and fostering love, joy, and peace through the Spirit.
Experiencing Freedom and the Unaided Mind in Solitude
Solitude is highlighted as a practice of abstinence that creates space for freedom and disrupts the automatic flow of consciousness dominated by worldly distractions. It is a reminder to manage consciousness effectively and resist being squeezed into the mold of the world. Through solitude, individuals can experience the immensity of God's creation, gain a deeper awareness of their own soul, and recognize that things are not as bad as they seem. Solitude offers moments of genuine love and connection with God, beyond what can be achieved through willpower or trying, and expands the potential for different responses to stimuli.
Solitude, Willpower, and Surrender for Leaders
Solitude is emphasized as a crucial discipline for leaders. It enables leaders to surrender their need for approval and power, facilitating the effective leadership of others. Through solitude, leaders can have a healthy understanding of their own kingdom, cultivate a sense of surrender to God's will, and avoid violating others' kingdoms. Solitude serves as a space for leaders to experience freedom, deepen love, and align their will with God's will, ensuring the well-being of both themselves and the people they lead.
Jesus regularly oscillated between rich time in community and beautiful time connecting with God in solitude in the eremos. The “quiet place” was an intentional space Jesus entered to be alone with God and himself. As apprentices of Jesus, we desperately need to set aside time for this too.
In episode 1 of the Solitude season, Bethany Allen and John Mark Comer interview John Ortberg. John Ortberg is a longtime pastor, speaker, and author, and the founder of an online ministry called BecomeNew.Me. He and his wife Nancy live in Northern California. Born and raised in Rockford, Illinois, John graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in psychology. He holds a Master of Divinity and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Fuller Seminary, and has done post-graduate work at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
This podcast accompanies the Solitude Practice, developed by Practicing the Way. Thanks to the generosity of The Circle, all our resources are free. To learn more about The Circle or to run a Practice with your church, community, or small group, visit practicingtheway.org.
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