Jordan Stones Blog

What happens when you combine the “like -it-or-not”, encapsulated, broken down to “goo”, anchored in for the long haul , stuck in the process and nowhere else to go sort-of existence…. with Advent?  Advent’s very definition means waiting. First consider what is happening in the cocoon while we … daily secure our cremaster , continually weave night prayers into our breath , constantly reorient ourselves to our world from this upside-down position ?  We enter the goo phase; a phase in the caterpillar’s process in which the imaginal cells overtake the old, ill-fitting, non-serving confines of the caterpillar’s silhouette.  It is fascinating. Once overtaken by the imaginal cells, the caterpillar is broken down into a jell, a goo, that becomes reconstituted into the shape of the butterfly, sharing almost no molecular similarities with the former organism that it once was, the caterpillar. For some of us, being in the cocoon is a choice – we dive in because we

Thirds Breaths And Breath Prayers Keep mouth closed – only breathe through nose throughout this exercise. • Take the fullest breath that is comfortable for you. Fill the whole container of your body with breath. You can think of Filling your belly, flaring your rib cage, and flooding your collar bones with breath • When you begin to exhale - KEEP LIPS SEALED, BREATHE THROUGH NOSE ONLY • Exhale a third of your breath and pause • Exhale the second third of your breath and pause • Exhale out the whole last third of your breath and empty your lungs of breath completely You can stop here…or As you do so, focus on one of these breath prayers-most are just ones I have made up…and make up your own . As you inhale, claim the first phrase over yourself ( e.g. Speak, Lord), as you exhale, claim the second phrase (e.g. Your servant is listening ). ·      Speak, Lord/Your servant is listening ·      Come/Lord Jesus ·      Be Still/Know ·      My heart says, “seek your

How do you begin this cocoon business?  You have to find your Spiritual Cremaster. What in the world is that? It’s the place you start. It’s your anchor.   I’ll just let Sue tell you : “When the caterpillar begins to spin its chrysalis, it forms a spiny little protuberance at the end of its abdomen called the cremaster. The cremaster is like a button or patch of Velcro that fastens the pupa in the cocoon and holds it in place.  It’s the anchor point, the place from which the caterpillar hangs “ The still point is our cremaster. Without it, there’s no dance of transformation. It’s the place where all cocoon making starts.  We need to find the point in our soul where we go neither forward nor backward but are fastened in our waiting. We need to discover the “protuberance” from which our lives can silently hang and become new. What IS this still point?  It represents the Center, the quiet core where God’s Spirit dwells in us.  “Do you not know that…God’s Spirit dwells

In times like these …. the tempest roars …what could we need more than a cocoon?  Don't we long to be wrapped in warm transformative safety?  It has to be re-woven with steely silken Holy Spirit threads…EVERY day. But as I try to do the work of putting myself in stillness long enough for the Spirit to thread…it surrounds me. Even when I don’t realize it. Even when I don’t recognize that Jesus is here in the dirt with me,  fighting my battle , going ahead of me,  frustrating my enemies, asking where are my accusers now?, holding all things scary and fearful,  and incubating in the dark what his abundance has planned for me…. all while I wait wrapped in his Kingdom Cocoon . Night Prayers In times like these…when you hunger for the cocoon…the work looks like  “Night Prayers”: “St. Teresa pointed out that the door of entry to the soul is prayer and reflection. Night prayers, more than any others, seem to carry us over the portal. A night prayer is one said against a bac

What happens if you don’t enter the cocoon? After digesting the calling of Imaginal Cells and sorting through Imposter nutrition , we need to clarify: there are two sorts of soul nutrition.  The manna -type of soul food is your daily dose of “sustaining-your-homeostasis” sort or nutrition. Your usual, basic spiritual routine. This looks different for everyone. Then there is this capital “ N” nutrition that feels qualitatively different. It’s the kind of message you hear uncannily from many different unrelated sources and places that makes you go “…hum….?”. It is the “holy smokes, that is pivotal” sort of nutrition.   The “wake-up-soul-you-need-change” sort of nutrition.  It is this type of spiritual hunger I want to discuss. There is risk involved when this type of nutrition is on the scene. This type of consumption usually comes in response to a crisis: a crisis of relationship, crisis of career, crisis of identity, crisis of an emotional storm…whatever form

Spiritual Personality Workshop *This workshop date has passed but will be offered again in the future and can be done individually - contact me with interest* Date: Thursday July 13 th 1:00 – 3:00 PM Finding your spiritual shape and a practical “HOW-TO” cultivate and strengthen your spiritual muscle.  Find easeful ways to practicing the presence of God. v   Come explore how to incorporate traditional Christian disciplines found in the lectio divina into your spiritual walk - find ways to connect with God and soothe your emotions that fit YOUR personality.  v Through short tests (Myers Briggs Temperament) discussion, we will discover our individual spiritual personality bends.   v We will cover unique, contemplative, active, imaginative, creative, restorative, listening, receiving types of spiritual formation activities.  We will note which practices fit into  YOUR soul shape  and lifestyle and  give you access to more Jesus .  v   We'll match your spiritual p

Resting in the blend of  spirit, mind, emotions, and body that I dwell in, I come into contact with the edges of this question all the time.  It is easy to lean more fully on one or the other.  Most of us have a comfortable automatic bend toward finding solutions in spirit or material ways.  Robert Mulholland, a respected spiritual formation writer and trusted Christian theologian, expands an answer to this wondering that satisfies my soul.  I hope it illuminates for you as well: "We need to realize that not only is psychology not a substitute for spirituality, but spirituality is not a substitute for psychology. While most Christians would not tend to make the first assertion, many would and do tend to make the second. As we have already noted, spiritual formation is often seen as the answer to all problems.  Often, profound, deep-seated psychological problems are met with demands for deeper faith, more rigorous obedience, more vital spirituality. Psychological brokenness

There’s the caterpillar. There are imaginal cells .  These seen, material imprints of the unseen world line up with this essential-self calling us.   It parallels with what G. K. Chesterton calls “Divine Desire”.  As the small still voice whispers to us from behind (1 Kings 10:12), so the caterpillar starts hearing this different frequency . This frequency is that of one tiny imaginal cell within. This foreign cell gets his attention:   “The caterpillar’s new cells are called imaginal cells. They resonate at a different frequency.  They are so totally different from the caterpillar cells that his immune system things they are enemies…and gobbles them up.”  Imaginal cells survive liquefaction of very nearly all other cells of the caterpillar when once inside its chrysalis.  ( From Norie Huddle’s children’s Book Butterfly ) Eldridge writes: “ Our desire, if we will listen to it, will save us from soul-suicide, the sacrifice of our hearts on the altar of “getting by”

In order to not re-create the wheel unnecessarily, I am going to point you to Bible Gateway, one of my favorite Bible resources, for a high level understanding of this ancient practice of reading the Scriptures: Lectio Divina    What is the Lectio Divina? Life isn’t a race to the end but rather a gift given moment by moment. If we want to experience the abundant life God offers, we have to release our controlling, productivity-oriented approach to engaging faith and Scripture. So how do we give Scripture a spacious place to work in our lives? The answer lies in the ancient Christian practice of   lectio divina . In the early church of the 200s, some Christians chose to withdraw and seek God in the desert as a way of life. They lived an austere and simple existence, and it was in the desert that the ancient practice of   lectio divina   (Latin for “divine reading”) began .   Lectio divina   is an unhurried, contemplative reading of a portion of Scripture, and it can give u

As Spring is completing its work and we round the bend toward summer, focus with me for a second on these seasons we are moving between and the correlating emotional and spiritual phases that are available to us in our journey.  I found a couple soul-food gems here that I want to share. First, I must back up with you a little bit.  Recall not too long ago: Winter. The trees shed their leaves, become bare and the darkness of long nights and short days extends longer and longer. The ground is hard and dry, crackling under foot. In my own experience this past winter there has been quite a turning inward, withdraw, hibernating, breaking off limbs that no longer serve (quite literally…total hip replacement for me in December!).  Sometimes internal territory, soul territory, can be so disorienting.  Ever feel that way?  What is essential…and what is not?  What is original…and what have I manufactured? What holds meaning….and what just keeps me busy? What is swimming

  Outward posture contributes to so much.   Most women have heard that some of the warning signs of osteoporosis can be found in poor posture .   Did you know that sitting up straight contributes to feeling happier, more confident, and less risk averse ? Outward posture primes us for the very next moment.   Poised for action…Positioned for rest…Recoiled to hide…Crouched for a fight? Most of the time it is unconscious, but we have posture 100% of the time-Aware of it or not. Healthy or not. Helpful or not. As important as body posture is, there also exists a posture on the inside, the posture of the soul .   As unconsciously as outward posture is worn, the posture of the souls is even harder to keep a read on.   It seems behooving to tune in and make sure you are poised for what you want as we begin this fresh year, as we greet and bless 2017. Most of us want to be happier, healthier, godlier, more successful at something this year.  What posture is needed to move