Saturday, December 20, 2008

The Practice of Attunement

PHOTO CAPTION: Andrew, when he was 3 years old, listening to some beats at the bookstore.

Music is universal. It can inspire, soothe, and challenge. It can speak to the soul. In many ways life is very much like music. Rob Bell believes that all human beings can hear God's song and are either in tune or out of tune with his beautiful song.

He states in his Nooma DVD series Rhythm, "The song is playing all around us all the time, the song is playing everywhere, it's written on our hearts, and everybody is playing the song. See, the question isn't whether or not you're playing a song, the question is 'Are you in tune?'"

For instance, imagine that there is a beautiful song that we were all created to hear and be in tune with all the time. Some times we play in tune with the song and at other times we are not in tune. When we play the blame game, criticize others, use put downs and power over tactics we are out of tune with the song. When we are honest, listen to others, open our hearts to natural giving we are in tune with the song. Compassion and love allow us to stay in tune with the song and lead us to manifest peace, empathy and understanding in our lives and in our world.

This attunement to the song is a process that begins with us doing the work of looking within ourselves and making some adjustments. As Mahatma Ghandi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

There are some individuals in history that stand out as men and women who have been in tune with the Song. People like Martin Luther King Jr, Mahatma Ghandi, Jesus, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela inspire us for this reason.

Empathy can play a huge role in the endeavor to play in tune with this divine song. When we open our hearts to ourselves and others we do not judge ourselves and others. By simply doing this and connecting with our feelings and needs and the feelings and needs of others at all times we can stay compassionate. The practice of empathy can help us get better at loving others and ourselves. Thus, freeing us from playing out of tune and contributing to others playing out of tune.

Be encouraged to take time to listen to the song and try to make the adjustments that are necessary daily to stay in tune with the song. Deep breathing, meditation, prayer, contemplation and the practice of empathy can all play vital roles in this regard. By disciplining ourselves in this practice of attunement we can create a better world, a world free of bitterness, hatred and revenge. May we all be in tune with the beautiful song, the song we were created to emanate in our lives.

2 comments:

Redeemed said...

i completely agree with you....

thanks for post...

Eddie Zacapa said...

Your welcome. You have a pretty cool blog. I enjoyed my visit. To Him be all the glory!

Eddie