Thoughts on The Meaning of Soul Rest
I got to thinking about rest this morning. Very early! It seems that for as much as I wanted sleep last night, the sandman was working elsewhere!
So exactly what do we mean by rest, anyway?
Doctors will tell you that your body needs ‘x’ number of hours of sleep every night to be healthy. And then if you are not sleeping that long they will offer you pills.
Not good. Not for your body. Not for your mind. Not for your soul.
And yet sometimes that seems the only alternative. Beware of self-judgment if you struggle with sleep. That can be a lot worse than an addiction to Ambien.
Then there is ‘resting from your labors’. In theory, that is what the weekends are supposed to be for, but for many people, they are a time to catch up on everything that didn’t get done during the week.
Sabbath rest
On Sunday I take a marker and write “Sabbath Rest” in big letters in my daily planner.
One day a week I commit to doing only those things that nourish my soul. I join others in worship, and I read. I journal. I fiddle. I go for a walk. I nap.
I may listen to a podcast or even do a bit of zen tangling— and horrors of horrors, I may even play cards. (My grandmother just turned over!)
My to-do list isn’t welcome in my planner on Sundays.
Resting with age
As we get older we have unique challenges as well as unique opportunities when it comes to rest.
No longer bound by the rhythm of the marketplace, we don’t have to punch a clock and fit ‘rest’ in between our employer’s expectations.
We are free to take a siesta midday, to doze in the recliner (my favorite) or read a book as we rock in the old rocker on the porch.
But I confess even though I have this freedom to rest almost anytime, I don’t do it.
Between the dual devils of ambition and curiosity I stay so busy six days a week that it is sometimes difficult to unwind, even from doing something really fun…like writing blog posts.
Finding soul rest
So how do I find rest between my short nights and my busy days?
I begin my day with rest. Literally.
This rest is totally different than a night’s sleep that nourishes my body…and brain.
I understand that it is during sleep that the brain’s wiring gets all untangled and thoughts get organized. I sure hope that is what is going on!
But the kind of rest I refer to is soul-rest.
This form of resting can be day or night, and it is resting without thoughts…only awareness. If you have ever laid back in a hammock to do nothing but daydream you have been engaging in soul-rest.
A morning practice of soul rest
So each morning after rising from the sleep that replenishes my body I get dressed and let the dog out.
And then I sit. I may sit for 20 or 30 minutes and do No-Thing. No email, no reading, no social media…nothing means exactly that.
It is a practice, one that I am not very good at, a habit I don’t want to lose.
Some days the voice in my head keeps demanding that I “stop this foolishness and get to work.” I acknowledge the voice and let it go. That is the practice part!
After years of this sitting in silence, I still have the voices, but they are getting quieter and less demanding.
When I forget to take time to sit in silence they immediately start dancing around in my head and I am off doing something unimportant instead of resting my soul.
I am thinking of how the new electric cars must be plugged in to be recharged. Well, that is my experience with this kind of practice. When I am recharged I have the power I need to go a few more miles.
I don’t file this under contemplative prayer or meditation although there are some similarities.
I think of it as standing in a river letting my thoughts, desires, plans, self-judgment, and sorrows flow on by.
Sometimes it gets chilly standing there and I am tempted to go do something. Anything! Perhaps I could just toss in the laundry or check the weather on my phone.
I take a breath.
And another one.
I listen to the silence reminding myself that “Silence is the language of God. All else is poor translation”— Rumi
I don’t know if it is the silence or the sun emerging out of the darkness that feeds my soul more. All I know is that this is what I am most hungry for first thing in the morning.
The best model for rest
You may ask if I learned this practice from going on a Christian retreat or from a Buddhist monk. It is true that I have experienced both, but mostly I have learned this from my dog. You know Dekker?
If you really want to know how to rest in a soul nourishing way you need to watch a cat or a dog.
Watch how they give themselves entirely to the present moment, bodies stretched out or curled up, with chin resting wherever it happens to land.
An inner part of Dekker is alert to the sounds of footsteps, or of a piece of kibble dropped on the floor, but in between he never twitches.
That teaches me that it really is OK to let go of thoughts and plans and sink deeply into a moment of stillness. I won’t miss anything important.
I know if I spent moments in between all my busyness during the day with my chin on the floor…make that on my chest…and just sat, in silent expectation of good things happening and let everything else float on by, I would be one very contented human.
Want to reflect some more with me?
