My condition

I'm reading a Pendle Hill pamphlet called Marking the Quaker Path: Seven Key Words Plus One,by Robert Griswold. This speaks to the condition of many Friends in my Meeting, who are ready to go deeper on this journey, and a large group of us are studying this booklet together this year.

Griswold says, "The question I wish to consider here is: How do Friends become aware of this Quaker path and the need to keep growing?  ... Our meetings may be open and welcoming, but a large task still faces us. How do we let seekers know that they are at the start of a spiritual journey, and how do we guide them on that journey?"

It's true that we need to be better guides, and it sometimes feels like the blind leading the blind. I hope that this class and group reflection will help us to be clearer, even wiser.

Griswold uses seven key words that come to us from our Quaker history, that were developed to help us sense where we are on the Quaker path, and where we are going. He says these words will help us all to see how the Quaker path unfolds - but only if we "bring them into our experience so they are sealed in our hearts ... Friends from George Fox on have sought to avoid a faith that is notional, that is, just based on imagined or abstract thinking. So it is vital that we come to own these words through experiencing them in our lives".

We should consider these words more as growth markers than as concepts, as part of a sequence.

1. Word #1 - Condition

2. My path

3. Autumn plain living

4. Simple pleasures

1. Word #1 - Condition:

I have been asked, "What is thy condition?" without really understanding the question. It's not the same as "What emotions are you feeling?" or "How was your weekend?" 

Condition in the Quaker sense refers to the state of your spirit.  Usually the condition to be aware of is the something that keeps you from growing; what it is that is holding you back from being a transformed person. "...without an acute awareness of ourselves as being in a condition requiring change, we will not be able to even begin the journey as Friends."

Griswold goes on to discuss our sense of self, our ego, that deceives us into thinking we know best, the condition that keeps us "lost in our own notions and certainties"; all the cultural roles and images of who we are that we have absorbed from childhood on.

"It is when we know this to be our condition that we can begin to  suppress the false authority of our ego and open ourselves to an experience of the Divine". We have to surrender our independence and self-ness at the door.

"Where do we find the meaning of our life? How are we connected to the Eternal? We can persist, blinded by the fog of culture, or we can get in touch with that within that allows us to live in authentic relation to what is. Becoming a Quaker presents us with this choice".

He suggests that simplicity is one tool for avoiding the distractions that lead us back to serving Self. He talks about how hard it is to not feel proud of the service we do, how "even good causes can lead us astray if they are directed by the self". 

"We need a sense of our condition that totally humbles us and brings the 'still small voice' near, making it the center of our experience and our continuing guide".

2. My path:

Some Friends in our group had a problem with the assumption that we were all raised to have an ego, thinking this was the domain of white males, like Griswold. Excuse me, but ego is a human condition; we may not all have great self-esteem, but we all have some sense of Self that tries to outtalk our still small voice. (This is not a bad thing, just a part of our condition we need to balance.)

And Americans are (mostly) all raised with a sense of entitlement; we believe that we have Inalienable Rights, and we will fight for them. Which makes it very hard to hear the voice of God telling us to surrender.

My condition is tender. I'm walking on a cliff, in the fog. I walk along mostly in my head, thinking. "How would it feel to surrender to God? What might I need to give up? (Not that, surely.) What does it mean to have a mystical experience? (Oops - watch your step.) What good works can I do to feel more comfortable and fulfilled?"

3. Autumn plain living:

I think I need to clear more time in my life for listening to God; I'm far too busy.  It's not so much that I'm doing the wrong things but I'm packing too many of them into a day. I'm speeding through things, always in my head. 

Simplicity means “everything in moderation,” having just enough interests, activities, and stuff in my life to be comfortable, and not so many that I feel stressed or overindulged. Early Quakers called it “plain living”, and their goal was to have nothing stand between themselves and God; they didn’t want to be so busy that they forgot to spend time in worship, or so rich that they felt puffed up with vanity. 

As an Earth-Quaker, I want to live in connection to Creation, communing with all that lives around me - not in my head.

Some plain living I can do this fall:

• Get clearer about my priorities, and reduce my expectations for "getting things done." This might mean I need to let others take over some committee tasks, or simply let go of some "good ideas" at this time.
• Be generous with my time, and care about people more than my schedule.
• Keep my mood simple - not exaggerated and dramatic...  so I’m not wasting time with drama, stubbornness, and pointless stress. Take the time to listen.
• Stay connected to Creation in everything I do. Check in that my feet are grounded on the earth, and my heart is expanded to the sky.

4. Simple pleasures:

A simple pleasure is one that doesn’t take much planning or preparation. It doesn’t require special equipment. It doesn’t use any technology, so it doesn’t have hidden costs (like pollution). AND it’s fun!

Ideas for this week: 

Take a leaf collection walk, 

eat outside on pillows, 

cook pumpkin seeds, 

plant more fava beans, 

and bake a pie for my family.