In the final paragraphs of The Remarkable Ordinary, Buechner describes a powerful experience he had that began with a simple relaxation practice.
“Meditation people also suggest that as you're lying down or sitting, you think of a radar scanning your body bit by bit - your forehead, around your eyes, back of your neck, your head, and as it scans you notice what feelings you have and you say to those parts of your body, Relax, soften, be still, rest, take it easy. And I did that bit by bit, and instead of thinking of the radar, I thought of Christ being the one to touch my forehead eyes, cheeks and neck, my shoulders, so much tension in the back, and so on. By the time I finished, I felt wonderfully relaxed and totally let my body go so that I was heavier than I would normally be. And I thought of that phrase "dead weight." I was a dead weight, and yet I was a live weight too, as if all of the life in me had simply let go and I was supported by the mattress.
“And then my image was of being held by whatever there is that is holy to hold us. The image comes from that wonderful part of Moses's psalm. He's dying on the side of Mount Nebo, giving Israel his final blessing, and he says,
There is none like God who rides through the heavens to your help, and in his majesty through the skies. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. DEUTERONOMY 33:26-27 RSV
“I was there lying in my bed with my full weight, every muscle relaxed, and it was as if I were held in those everlasting arms.
“Joy is knowing that that is true from your stomach. Knowing that even though you see only through a glass darkly, even though lots of things happen-wars and peacemaking, hunger and homelessness-joy is knowing, even for a moment, that underneath everything are the everlasting arms.”
Frederick Buechner, The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop, Look, and Listen to Life, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, pp119-120.
To help you reflect…
Trust that you are held by everlasting arms and practice settling back into them. Breathe and focus on relaxing each part of your body in turn. You could imagine Christ touching each of them as Buechner did. Let yourself rest in the arms of the Holy One.
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Oh, that is so wonderful! I meditate daily and will certainly incorporate that exercise into my practice. Thank you!
That reading is beautiful and so needed in our world.