Light and Salt, Combining Engaging Scripture and Proprioceptive Writing

I've discovered a new way of journeling that's proving to be revealing, and a lot of fun. It's called "proprioceptive writing"; journaling your thoughts as they come, then taking a question (What do you mean by _______), and using the question like a shovel, digging underneath the thought to reflect and re-examine. I've done 4"Writes" this way, and decided to use it in my Engaging Scriptures practice this morning. What a fun combination! Our Scripture was from Matthew 5, where Jesus tells us we are salt and light. This is my Write for the morning, nothing special, just expanding and re-expanding my thinking, one of my favorite things to do.

"OK, so I want to take my thoughts this morning and guide them…salt “of the earth”, light “of the world”, just what do I think about that? Where will thoughts take me. Is this spoken to me personally, only to Christians, or to humanity itself?

What do you mean by “humanity itself”? Was Jesus speaking to all of humanity? Or to only his followers? What if he was speaking to the whole of humankind? Kind of a prophetic word to the whole?

What do you mean by “prophetic”? Jesus speaking a thought into actual be-ing-ness…like, as he speaks to all of humankind, humankind becomes the actual flavoring of creation, like baking a cake—vanilla changes batter from cornbread to cake, vanilla and sugar--and salt. Salt is in every recipe, a staple spice that gives just a certain “zing” to the food it’s sprinkled on, or in.

What do you mean by “zing”? There’s a flavor that salt adds to a dish, kind of a “pick it up”, a lift, a zing. Without it, the dish is flat…so, without humankind, creation tastes flat. It has no zing. But I think of Karen’s hamburger—with no salt, it’s flat. With too much salt, it makes a person thirsty, so humankind as a whole—how are we flavoring the earth around us? I suspect we’re “too much”—trashing the earth and taking advantage of creation, trash talking each other, and taking advantage of one another, so what do I do with that? When my life is tipped over and spilled out…how do I flavor creation around me? Am I so overpower that creation becomes useless, or less than? Or am I not enough, so that creation “needs” something? Thinking of fruit ripening—so, “ripen me” that I might be just the right amount of flavor to the earth around me.

And light, to the world. Berry best describes this in Green Dragon: through the human being, creation “sees itself, “hears itself,” is able to “reflect on itself. So, is my light transparent enough for the sky to see its true blueness? Am I transparent enough for the lily to see it’s bright color, or for the mountain to catch its awe-inspiring beauty?

And what about my own backyard? Does the mocking bird hear its song and sing even louder because my light reflects its true beauty? Does the little canal behind my house see itself clearly because my light is bright and uncovered? What a thought, that the world, creation itself, might need the light emanating from humanity in order to see its own beauty. How clear is my light? How fresh is this salt? How do I flavor? How do I reflect? Do I understand my own personal impact on creation and the world around me? And like Jesus said, “it’s about fruit ripening.” I can’t change myself. I can only “intend”—intend to light the world around me, intend to gently flavor the earth. Hang onto the branch until I completely ripen. Sweet, delicious flavor. God in me. “I am”… I am salt, I am light, I am fruit ripening on the vine. All in good time. I AM.

What do you mean by “I AM”? I say the words that Jesus said, “I AM”, and I am. Don’t know how to explain it, only “I AM.” God in me becoming. Salt in me flavoring. Light in me shining. Fruit in me ripening. The connection to the Great I AM, releasing this “I am” to be. The Great I AM becoming in the small “I am”. You will do greater works than me…not blasphemy, but truth. I AM because God is, and I AM created in God’s image and likeness."

Propreioceptive writing is a wonderful, easy way to sharpen your creativity, check your emotions, learn about yourself, and to bring light to your spiritual journey. Much more fun than straight stream of thought writing or morning pages, a lot more useful and more revealing.