Meditation in Cathedrals of Our Own

They say that these are not the best of times
But they’re the only times I’ve ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own

How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don’t fulfill each other’s fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities
It’s either sadness or euphoria
- Billy Joel Summer Highland Falls

While I was raised Jewish and a belief in G-d, it was on a mountain run at Mt. Baldy that I actually had my “G-dincidence” and epiphany of G-d’s presence in my life. I’d spent more of my Shabbats in the “mountains of the L-rd” than in a synagogue. So when I came across God in the Wilderness, by “Adventure Rabbi”, Jamie Korngold this really got my attention. What I’ve been trying to articulate forever.. done brilliantly. . I even had to send this to my Joani in light(!) of our ongoing about the need to go to formal church service to pray versus meditation in cathedrals of our own. I’ve quoted this song to her several times.

Hiking trails, horse trails, and open spaces are filled with people who are not in church. Or are they? As the “Adventure Rabbi” writes in this book, many of her most powerful spiritual experiences have taken place outdoors, and she argues that she’s not wrong to take nature as her temple, because Judaism (and by extension Christianity) was founded outdoors, in deserts, on mountaintops, and by rivers. Humanity has always experienced the awe and “space of grace” as I call it that many associate with a feeling of being in the presence of the divine amid the beauty and wonder of the wilderness. It’s only relatively recently that worship was brought inside. Although Korngold writes from a Jewish perspective, her book contains ideas that are relevant to people of all religions, or those who lack one, but simply love to be outside.

Korngold writes that she was serving as the rabbi for a congregation in Canada when she began to feel restless; her obligations left her little time to enjoy the natural beauty around her. Combining nature with religion was her spiritual calling. For me, it was ultrarunning and now endurance riding. (Side note., I started thinking maybe the Adv. Rabbi and I were related)

God in the Wilderness pursues two basic tracks—Korngold gives the scriptural basis for praying and worshiping outdoors through citations from the Bible, and offers eight pieces of counsel to help nudge readers toward a more mindful way of living.

As the French philosopher Nicolas Malebranche wrote, “attention is the natural prayer of the soul,” and in the first lesson, “Cultivate the Patience to See Burning Bushes,” Korngold writes about a time she led a Jewish group on a hike and at first they were too distracted and too busy chatting to pay attention to their surroundings. Korngold postulates that Moses, if he were encumbered with a cell phone and a BlackBerry, might have missed the burning bush. “Heightened awareness,” she writes, “is the first step toward engaging the spiritual possibility that continually surround us.”

Readers are also reminded to to “Remember Sabbath Rest,” but thinks it’s okay if that rest involves hiking up a mountain—if you spend all week sitting at a computer, hiking (or riding : editor’s note) a form of rest

So get out in a cathedral of your own… talk to G-d and listen to His casual reply ( borrowed from John Denver).

Do i hear an amen?