The purpose of an altar is to awaken my attention, and inspire my senses. It’s a visible display of ideas that are invisible.
The visual symbols on my altar help to connect me to the Spirit. Even though God is imageless, an image can express the experience that escapes words. I do not want to fix my attention on the images and objects, but rather on God; but the right image might be a focus, to calm me and turn off my busy mind, and make my purpose clearer, like a pointer on my path.
I must be very careful, then, to discern and feel the correctness for me of a particular image at this place on my path. I seek images and symbols that point to profound meaning for me- things that will ground me and open me but don’t distract me with thinking. When I live in awareness I will see objects throughout each day that speak to me as from Spirit: I will find a stone or a picture that will call to me with a message that enlarges my heart.
To discern the right objects, I ask myself-
What is the practice that is sacred to me now?
What quality of Spirit do I want to invoke?
How can I symbolize these?
To discern the right objects, I ask myself-
What is the practice that is sacred to me now?
What quality of Spirit do I want to invoke?
How can I symbolize these?
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