This episode is associated with the chapters “Pause” and “Show Up” (pp. 13 – 17) in the book “The Connoisseur of Time: An Invitation to Presence” (or ‘CoT’ by Joel Bennett). This episode quickly covers a range of ideas and is best listened along with the next episode.
“We first have to pause, before we can show up, and listen…in order to quest.”
Following up from our previous episode (The Invitation), Quest for Present is inclusive. You are asked to pause, whether as:
· a seeker (seeking to enjoy more of your time),
· a practitioner (one who enjoys and shares time), or
· a scholar (taking the time to explore and study more about time).
You may be all three. And you are complete and whole in all three approaches. The Hebrew word “Shalom” (שָׁלוֹם) basically means wholeness or completeness. You are a “quester” whether you are a seeker, practitioner, or scholar.
Ronnie Gatrey focuses on being a seeker and primarily seeking to connect with others. If you are seeking to join with others—to commune—you are basically coming back to wholeness. Kristie Ellison explores the idea that we are called to re-imagine* life from each of these approaches and that we need to pause to bring together past, present, and future. Art Wimberly brings up the idea of the Sabbath as an archetype of pause (see Abraham Heschl’s book “The Sabbath”). Joel Bennett suggests that current world conditions (climate change, political strife) are calling humanity to pause. Convenience, and taking convenience for granted, is one of the greatest problems that gets in the way of our pausing.
We are left with the question, do we need a reckoning in order to pause?
*This episode also mentions “memory reconsolidation” (see Bruce Ecker’s work). It is possible to re-imagine our past in a way that is healthy by how we re-process memories of past negative events. In this way, we become “A Connoisseur of Time” by virtue of embracing the “WHOLE-TIME” of our life.
#Seeker #Practitioner #Scholar