Dear AllHooray holiday time!!! A chance to walk, swim, sit, sleep.I was reading about the life of the artist Salvador Dali; he had an interesting idea about sleep…And spoons. If you’ve ever wondered how he came up with the surreal images he created, then an examination of his sleeping techniques may provide an answer.He would sit in a chair, holding a spoon between his finger and thumb, with a plate underneath on the floor. He would then doze, and inevitably the spoon would fall from his fingers, crashing onto the plate and waking him up. This helped him to remember the dreams and images from the dozing state he had been in, which scientists call the hypnogogic state. It’s between wakefulness and deep sleep, and is a period of high creativity, that we often miss, simply because we don’t remember what happened in that time. The scientist Thomas Edison was similarly committed to this hypnogogic state as a way of thinking creatively. He would hold not a spoon but a steel ball in his hands to the same effect. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a device has been developed which does the same thing as the spoon and the ball but with high tech innovation, in a hand -worn device called Dormio. It’s using technology to access the poetic, metaphorical side of our thoughts. Unsurprisingly it’s been nicknamed the dreamcatcher. We spend so much of our time just concentrating on what’s in front of us: dealing with the everyday - family stuff, sorting out childcare, keeping a hospital appointment, working out our money, travelling to and from work. When is it that we get this kind of in-between time? To go deeper into the endlessly creative dreaming that every one of us is capable of. We can see ourselves too easily as only useful when we are achieving things. But sometimes, a surprising way through an insoluble situation or an intractable problem can be found by spending even a short time in our creative hinterland. A flourishing spiritual life knows the essential value of this kind of time. In the Bible, Jacob was dozing at twilight when he dreamed of a ladder leading to heaven. Joseph dreamed about the death of his family and had the courage to tell them. He saved Mary and Jesus from danger by understanding in a dream that Herod was a threat to all of them. One of the essential assumptions of the spiritual life is that we are a mystery even to ourselves; and that the journey inwards is as creative and vital as any physical journey. And daring to explore this hinterland makes us spiritual adventurers of the bravest kind.So, if in the days to come, find yourself becoming sleepy, and slipping into a hypnogogic state, just enjoy it.Happy holiday!YoursHoward zzzzzz
Dear AllApril is such a lovely month. The trees and fields are becoming greener, and animals emerge from their hibernation, so it’s appropriate that this April we have Easter. A friend of mine has a tortoise called Tortellini, (I imagine he has Italian ancestry?), that is just about to emerge from his long sleep.With no food and no water and no activity, he has slept through all the long days and nights of winter in a box of hay in their garden shed. He has been immune to the rigours of life until the temperature has risen sufficiently for his April ‘resurrection’.I remember watching him once as he stretched his neck and peered out of his shell. He looked so ancient, like a dinosaur. This isn’t so far from the truth, since the giant ancestors of tortoises shared the earth with dinosaurs during the golden age of reptiles about 150 million years ago. But whereas the dinosaurs became extinct, the tortoises survived, maybe they shrunk back into their shell?We are told of people who encountered Jesus found that what he was saying and doing and asking of them was all too much. It caused them to shrink back, go back into themselves and not to risk following him.Others, like the first disciples, found Jesus irresistible and were inspired to follow him unreservedly as he led them into new paths of living and being. But it isn’t easy following Jesus. It can be a long slow hesitant journey and as the years go by, our faith may become trapped in a routine of life and work and our worship may shrink and the initial flame of enthusiasm pales into a mere glimmer in the background of our lives.So, we may withdraw into our ‘box of hay’ and remain in a state of suspended animation until the spring re-awakens us – sometimes in unexpected ways.We just need to open and receptive to God and nature and allow God’s warmth and light to wake us up from our hibernation. A word of encouragement goes a long way and can bring us back to life and recharge our batteries ready for new endeavours.But I suppose that to be a tortoise is OK really, if we don’t become a dinosaur.Happy Easter!YoursHoward
Dear AllI am writing this with just five weeks to go before leaving the EU at the end of March. Or will we……? This has been a difficult time for our country. We seem to be such a divided people.What was it the Queen said? “As we look for new answers in the modern age, I, for one, prefer the tried and tested recipes, like speaking well of each other and respecting different points of view; coming together to seek out common ground; and never losing sight of the bigger picture”. These words were spoken at Sandringham Women’s Institute Centenary, but they are understood to refer to the social and political division caused by the Brexit vote. Well, I hope so anyway.Some see Brexit as a cause for celebration, others see it as a cause for lamentation. People here may disagree about our prospects, so maybe we need, at this time in our national story, another, older story that chimes with the Queen’s words and may offer us some hope and a possible way forward.The Book of Ruth in the Bible is the story of a widow in a foreign land at a chaotic, turbulent time. Newly arrived in a strange country she must have wondered how she would be treated. In the four short chapters of this dramatic Biblical book, we read about the courage of Ruth, and how, crossing political, gender and linguistic borders, she practises courage and brings out kindness in others.In Ruth’s remarkable story, kindness becomes a political word: a word to be used in the decisions about economics and immigration. This is an old story for our modern times.In a time when borders and belonging are being discussed it is interesting to consider what the serious practice in politically divided times might look like.The serious business of kindness, care and goodwill is neither saccharine or sweet. It is exhausting.It demands negotiation, compromise, confrontation, the declaration of hurt and the determination to find a way forward that hurts the fewest people. It requires the practice of hospitality and welcome in times of hostility.Kindness costs.Kindness doesn’t cover over the past. It does, however, propose something for now that might make the future different.So, as we navigate our future, our belonging and our place in Europe and the world, maybe the old story and wisdom of Ruth might help us. We need to know that policy alone won’t save us. Policy has its place, but is never the final word, so whatever our future, we will always need courage…… and kindness.YoursHoward
Dear AllHector the black cat is becoming increasingly agitated about Brexit and a potential shortage of Cat Treats later in the year.Because after the relative Christmas peace from all the Brexit furore, we have now returned to the fray, with dollops of demonising and extra denigration all leading to nothing other than impotent fury on all sides. Hector has a point.It led me to consider Marshall McLuhan. He was an interesting man a professor of English, philosopher and prophet. He was interested in the way media affected society.He is known for coining the expressions the medium is the message, and the global village and for predicting the World Wide Web almost 30 years before it was invented. He understood the power of words and slogans. Just do it. Because you’re worth it. A diamond is forever. It’s the real thing. It’s the economy, stupid. We’re going to build a wall. Yes, we can! For good or ill, a slogan or a catchphrase can make the difference between brand recognition or irrelevance; between electoral victory and failure. Slogans can shape our lives.Recently whilst watching ‘Brexit: The Uncivil War’, a television drama that showed the power of slogans, we see the eureka moment where the campaign director comes up with ‘Take back control’. A pithy phrase that captured the essence of their message. It’s hard to measure how much these three words swung the vote, but they made for a simple and effective slogan. The word slogan comes from the Scottish Gaelic meaning ‘war cry.’ This feels apt at a time when the people that shout loudest seem to be winning the war of words. For a slogan to work it doesn’t have to be positive. Indeed, we’re living at a time when negative messages seem more likely to succeed; it’s less Yes, we can, more, No, you won’t! Just say whatever you like, as often as you can, repeat ‘fake news’ and people will believe it. President Trump’s Wall offers a metaphor for this; whether it happens or not, in some people’s minds it’s already been built. Jesus could have been a slogan writer - Do not worry; love your enemies; beware of false prophets - but for me these slogans only mean something because he is their author. Their authority comes from him because his life was the embodiment of his words. He didn’t just say them, he lived and died by them. Jesus is the messenger and he is the message and the medium, the signpost and the slogan. And in these noisy, harsh times, we should be wary of believing in any message, unless we can also believe in the authenticity of the messenger.And for me, Jesus isn’t fake news, but you knew I would say thatYoursHowardP.S. Maybe I should get in a few more Treats in to cheer Hector up.
