If you resonate strongly with the Rune of Sophia, then chances are you are a Sophian. Like many other forms of devotion, Sophian spirituality is not only about beliefs and convictions, but also concrete spiritual practices. Here are the three Sophian “core practices” which, if you wish, might form the basis of your daily devotional life as a Sophian. As with all spiritual practices, feel free to adapt them to suit you. I will describe these practices as they take shape in my life; in your life, they may look different. Let Wisdom guide you, and Love transform you … after all, that is the only purpose of the practices!
Water Blessing
When I get up in the morning, the action of the day quickly begins. I have three young children, as well as the cat and the goldfish to feed, and the coffee needs to be brewed! In the midst of these morning chores, I take a moment to do a water blessing. It takes me about five minutes. For this practice, you need a special chalice or cup of some sort … it doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should speak to your own soul in some manner. I use a small wooden chalice. You will also need a small bottle of some kind that you can take with you throughout the day. If you want, you can go to a Catholic bookstore and purchase a small bottle for holy water, and carry it in a pouch or purse. I have a small shrine/altar set up on my kitchen counter, which you may want to consider for yourself if you spend a lot of time in your kitchen. The main thing is to have a place to set the chalice as you do the water blessing.
Begin by filling the chalice with water. As you do so, reflect on the source of the water; where is it coming from? What is your watershed? What other creatures are using the water along the way?
Set the chalice down on the counter, and step back for a moment. Recite the Gospel of Sophia, making the sign of the cross as you say “She is a tree of life”. Take a few deep breaths, or recite a mantra to get yourself centered. (A mantra is a short word or phrase which you say while breathing. For instance, it could be “Jesus” or “Love” or “Shalom” … something meaningful but short, to keep you focussed on your breathing.) Then step up to the counter, take the chalice in your hands, and peer into the water. As you do so, reflect on all the connections which the water holds and embodies between you and the rest of the creation. I imagine a web of energy reaching out from the chalice into my heart, into the trees outside my house, into the river flowing several blocks away, into the plants of my garden, into my human family, and then farther and farther in circles of connection beyond my immediate surroundings. As you do this, become aware of Sophia, the Spirit of the Living God, moving along those lines of energy, flowing like Living Water through the web of creation. You are part of it all, as is the humble water in your chalice before you. Once you come into this awareness, give thanks from the depths of your heart, and pray to God, asking that the water be blessed, to be used in the healing of the creation. Ask God to send Her Spirit upon the water, sanctifying it for the sake of life. As you do this, visualize and feel the energy of the Spirit flowing through your hands into the water. Continue to act as a channel for this spiritual energy, until you can sense that the cup is “charged” and alive with the blessing of Sophia. Then elevate the chalice, offering it to God with the words: “Through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is yours, Creator and Mother of all, world without end, amen.”
Lower the chalice, take a small sip, and then seal yourself with the sign of the cross to conclude the blessing. Carefully pour the blessed water into your container, and put it into your carrying pouch. As you go through your day, take the time, as you are led by Lady Wisdom, to sprinkle the water on places and creatures which might need it. For instance, I often bless my trees and garden with it, I sprinkle it on a path in my inner city neighbourhood where I know there needs to be safety and healing, I add a bit to the boiling water as I make a cup of tea for myself and a friend. Basically, the blessed water is sacramental: it is a visible and tangible sign of God’s healing grace in the world. Use it liberally, knowing in faith that God wants to bless this world in a multitude of ways. At the end of the day, pour out the final drops of water in a houseplant, fishtank, or cup of bedtime water for a child. Put away the container, ready for tomorrow. The blessed water, like the manna from heaven, will be renewed morning by morning.
Tree of Life Invocation
The Tree of Life invocation is an embodied meditation. If you have done tai chi or chi gong in the past, you might find this somewhat familiar. Begin by standing, feet roughly shoulder-width apart, in a comfortable but stable position. If possible, it is good to do this exercise outside, where your feet can be planted on the actual earth. But if you have to do it inside, that is OK as well. Once you are standing comfortably, take several deep breaths, then recite the Gospel of Sophia, making the sign of the cross as you say “She is a Tree of Life”.
Then, as you continue to breathe deeply (using your mantra if you have one), imagine roots growing out of your feet into the earth. On each exhalation, let the roots go deeper into the earth, and on each inhalation, breathe in the energy of the earth, up through your legs, through your abdomen, into your heart. As you do so, use your hands to draw the energy up, and then push it back down … up and down … breathing in the energy of the earth, and sending your roots down deeper and deeper. After several minutes of this, on the inhale, pull the energy up through your heart, through your throat and face, and up out the crown of your head. Stretch your arms above your head as you exhale, then let your arms come down in a circular motion to both sides of you, still exhaling. You are creating the branches of your tree. On your inhalation, raise your arms, imagining your branches connecting with the sun, the moon, and the stars, and then “pull” that heavenly energy down through your upper body, through your heart, and then exhale down through your roots into the earth.
Continue this cycle of bringing the earth energy up, and pulling the sky energy down, through your body (using your hands and your imagination). You are building a circuit of energy, remembering that you, like Sophia Herself, are a tree of life. When you feel both rooted and energized, allow your hands (branches) to take the “orans” prayer posture (hands out to the side, palms up, like a priest before the altar). Then sing the Invocation. Follow this with a short prayer of your own making, and finish with the sign of the cross.
This practice may take a bit of time to get used to, but once the breathing pattern and hand movements become natural, it will be well worth the effort. Similar exercises are part of many earth-based spiritualities, designed to help us become more fully what we are: priests of creation, and channels of God’s Spirit between the heavens and the earth. The Tree of Life roots us, and centers us in the midst of all our relations, in the presence of God.
Sophian Rosary
This core practice combines the use of prayer beads with two basic types of prayer: centering prayer and intercession. I tend to use a traditional rosary, but if you have a different type of prayer beads, you should still be able to adapt this practice.
I begin with the cross at the end of the rosary, basically saying “hi” to God, and coming into the divine presence. Then follows a Sophian bead, three mantra beads, and another Sophian. On the Sophian beads (the “singles”, which are sometimes a different shape or a slightly larger size than the other “counting” beads), I recite the Gospel of Sophia. On the mantra beads, I recite my mantra, or breath-prayer. After these initial beads, we come to the “intention tablet”. This is usually a small “picture” of Mary, or Mary and Jesus together, which links the circle of beads with the string going to the cross. At this intention tablet, I dedicate the time of prayer to a particular intercession … it could be a person who has asked for prayer, or a world situation, or a particular trouble, or for the healing of creation. As I breathe and pray my way through the rest of the rosary, I trust that God will use my prayer for the good which She desires for the subject of my intercession.
I then pray my way around the circle of beads, using my mantra on the counting beads and the Gospel of Sophia on the Sophian beads. When I have returned to the intention tablet, I bring to mind again the subject of my intercession. I then complete the rosary by praying back down to the cross, where I say the prayer of Jesus (“Abba, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name…”)
This Sophian rosary is a good way to practice centering prayer, while at the same time holding up to God the person or concern for which you want to intercede.
[…] **Bless water and sprinkle it during your day as a blessing. Here is one way to do this. […]
…thanks for the message out of your Hermit self… I was astonished to hear that the clerical retreat before Easter, in Saskatoon, had been cancelled … you help us to see prophetically the opportunity before us/me, and how it certainly is/has been the wholesome call of this season and especially at this urgent time of facing “down” a deadly virus…Greg S.
Thanks Greg … hope you’re keeping well and staying healthy! Are you still finding ways to be musical and mystical? Peace and every blessing on you as we get through these strange times.