Power Food for the Modern Soul

Power Food for the Modern Soul

We live in a world today where access to words are instantaneous. Children and adults can acquire complex technical data and information of every sort by the touch of a cell phone or a keyboard. The delphic oracle (Google or Bing) can give us the impression that knowledge is—literally— “at our fingertips”.

The question remains: To what extent do we practice, apply, and internalize the information we daily receive.

When I was a Benedictine monk I was introduced into the ancient spiritual practice of feasting upon words that were believed to possess high levels of energy. This took time, lots of quality time of waiting upon the silence in order for the words to take root in our hearts, like threads in a hand-woven blanket.

It is a paradox that in order to access the high-frequency energy that some words possess, one must slow down the pace of rapidly-moving thoughts by training the mind through concentration and simple awareness of the electrical charge that emits from words.

Depending upon the essence of the words, their source, or who spoke or wrote them down one will experience a low or high charge, much like an alive, fading, or dead battery in an electrical device.

The great scriptures of the world—for instance, the Bible, Torah, Koran, Avesta, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita and Tao Te Ching— are considered such because of the high frequency charge they hold, despite their age.

Take a moment and sit in quiet with one of your favorite books, a poem, or even a self-help book like Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now or Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements and connect with its level of charge. How do you feel when you are in contact with it: enlivened, deadened, sad . . . joyful?

Below is a summary of the four-step monastic practice called lectio divina (literally, “divine reading” in Latin). I have added a fifth step and provided a working title. Use this method with your books and see what energy can be derived from this process.

1)lectio (reading): the quiet reading and/or singing of different passages from a (spiritual) text to access its energy (taking a bite or nibbling)

2) meditatio (meditating)tuning into a text’s higher vibration of energy (chewing on the word).

3) oratio:(praying) savoring of the energy charge of certain words.

4) contemplatio (seeing): digesting of certain words until they become part of the body, mind and heart.

**5 ) iunctio (merging) [union]: becoming one with the energy of a highly-charged word by the silent repetition of one word in accordance with the breath.  The body, mind and heart internalize the word through repetition, similar to the East’s Guru yoga or japa and the West’s non-verbal calling upon the name of the Master.

May this practice assist us in reaping the fruit that can come to us when we feast upon living words.

5 Comments
  • Jack Graham
    Posted at 23:10h, 10 September Reply

    Neale,
    I think I am now re-subscribed to your Website and Blog. I look forward to reading your writing.

    Love,
    jack

    • nlundgren
      Posted at 23:28h, 10 September Reply

      Yes, you are subscribed! Glad it’s working, Jack.
      much love,
      Neale

    • Kyou
      Posted at 18:51h, 30 November Reply

      dear neale.i`m twenty years old and from germany.first i want to thank you for all the stuff you`re doing here.i want to thank you, that you offer all this videos and texts for free! that is such an amazing gift and it shows that all your words and love is really meant to be a gift. thanks a lot!when i watch your videos i feel such an amazing power, love and happiness this energy, which springs from you is incredible strong and every time you laugh i feel your joy deep in my heart.and though i think david wolfe or charles haanel and so many other people are more than admirably and what they`re doing/they`ve done is awesome too but there`s no one who radiate so much love, peace, light and above all that special kind of widsome like you.i mean every word i`ve said and i feel such deep gratitude for all the love you give.i hope you understand what i`ve written. actually there`s so much more i would like to say, but i don`t know how in english. i wish you the best and send you love and light.i have one question:do you know, if david wolfe`s book amazing grace is going to translete in german? aloha, anika (:

      • nlundgren
        Posted at 20:33h, 30 November Reply

        Thankyou Anika for this blessing. I have not yet read Amazing Grace by David Wolfe but will certainly look it up.
        all my best,
        Neale Lundgren

  • Becca Pellerin
    Posted at 01:53h, 22 April Reply

    Stunning post. Thank you for bringing this point home in a whole new way.
    I recently wrote a post which touches some of these same points, though not nearly as eloquently! (https://www.mothernourished.com/navigating-the-abyss/) There is a chronic addiction in our culture (and I’m not innocent) to the ever-available Guru Google and the ability to never say “I don’t know.” But when the battery in my phone dies, what’s left? Nothing. I’m returned to the abyss. And yet, what a wonderful alternative you are offering to your readers here. Living words. That is beautiful. You’ve added a whole new dimension to my contemplative prayer practice and I feel inspired to do it. That in itself is a feat– since often, at least for me, these things are much easier to talk about than to do. Thanks again, Neale.
    In love & light,
    Becca

    P.S. I love that I’m finding such synchronicity in some of our posts! However, it is clear to me there is MUCH I could learn from you. I look forward to subscribing to your blog.

Post A Reply to nlundgren Cancel Reply