Lovingkindness: Mindful Meditation
Monday, December 4th, 2000

The buildings of St. Joan of Arc seemed to glow. I could feel the energy as I drove up on a winter evening last week. The rooms of the church and school were as active as the congregation is, and as diverse. In one room, people were learning about oils and massage as therapy, and telling their stories of hope. In other rooms, members of Overeaters Anonymous and Alanon were meeting, telling their stories of experience and hope. All up and down the hallways, people were engaged-with ideas and each other. In the gymnasium, a pick up game of basketball was getting underway.

At the far end of the hall, the church was softly lighted. Bright beacons of light glowed from the Christmas tree, the colors of the chairs and the carpet were deepened by the glow of candles. And in the center of a small circle of women stood another woman. She was a small woman, standing erect and electric. The folds of her velvet suit flowed softly around her as she moved, hands making graceful arcs as she framed her thoughts, giving another message of hope -- this one for forgiveness and renewal during the holidays.

Lisa Venerable is a psychologist and spiritual teacher. On that night, she was leading the group in an exploration of mindfulness meditation and some Jungian insights into how we are and how we got that way. The session started with a quieting meditation -- mindfulness -- following your mind, centering on your breathing. Venable broke her session into three parts, meditation, lecture interspersed with insights and questions from the group.

Venable talked about the process of forgiveness and detachment, about the dangers of bringing pain from the past, to our present day thereby keeping it alive and passing it on to the next generation. She spoke about our shadow selves and how they are "hooked" when we feel strong reactions to others who may have some of the traits we most want to hide about ourselves.

The message was one of gentleness, with ourselves and others, forgiveness and understanding as we come into the season of Christmas: to prepare ourselves to be peaceful regardless of the strife we may find ourselves in.

Ronnie Angelus says: "There are three things that make my life work: Talking to my daughter who opens vistas to me and makes me laugh; being in the circle of the Divas, my writing group, who shout "go girl" and give me standing ovations with their smiles and tears; sitting next to Mary and Claude Paradis during Sunday Mass at St. Joan of Arc, which is as close to pure goodness as I will know in this lifetime."

Music and meditation and mindfulness -- coming together and merging with the messages of hope being expressed in the other spaces in the buildings of St. Joan of Arc. It's always like that. Synchronicity - when the people of God come together to do a good thing.

Ronnie B. Angelus