Of Boxes and Bins

Greetings, Sisters, Brothers and Friends of the Community!

I pray that this note finds you all well.

We had a threat of frost here for this morning, so last evening we had to cover our new tomato plants which are quite sensitive to lower temperatures. No, it isn’t always this cold here in Wisconsin so late in May…sometimes it actually gets up into the 40s.

Trinity Sunday is a favorite of mine. It causes me to think about the way we think about things. As I reflected on the Trinity I remembered how we can not fully understand it if we are using our “box” mind to think about it. We must use our “bin” mind instead. So what’s the difference? We have been blessed with two ways to think about things. One way is very basic, and can keep us alive. This is our “box” mind. With this mind, we tend to put things into separate boxes, neatly labeled and categorized so that we can tell things apart. For example, “That stove burner is HOT – don’t touch it!” I was often told as a youth. Of course, I had to touch it once to see for myself. OK, so I put that into the HOT category, and do not touch it again. Another example: “That metal flag pole is COLD in January – do not put your wet tongue on it!” Yes, I had to do that once, too. Now that goes into the “DON’T DO THAT AGAIN box.”

The box-mind works very well until we use it for things that we shouldn’t use it for. We run into trouble when we use the box-mind and begin to label things as “good” or “bad,” “white” or “black,” and so forth. Using the box-mind for things it shouldn’t be used for creates separation, division, and disunity. It was not meant to be used for everything, and this is one of the key lessons of the Garden of Eden. We over-step our bounds when we try to step into God’s shoes and begin labeling things that should only be labeled by Him. Stay away from the tree of knowledge of good and evil! Box-minds are of the head and not of the heart.

We can not fully comprehend the Trinity with the box-mind. But we can get a better understanding of it if we use the bin-mind. “Bins” are places that we put a lot of different stuff into. A bin is usually bigger than a box, and doesn’t mind at all that it holds stuff that doesn’t appear to be related. With the bin-mind, we begin to see the loving connections in everything that God made. We begin to see the possibilities of how things can work together, how they can co-exist, and yet still be individually unique in nature. We can see how a person could be one thing, and yet still be another. We allow for differences, and begin to appreciate the variety in things. Bin-minds are far more creative and tend to resolve issues more quickly and effectively. Bin-minds unite, and create connections. Bin-minds are of the heart, not the head.

The Trinity makes perfect sense using the bin-mind. Three things can be one; one thing can be three. They can be of one substance and yet different. They can be spirit and flesh. They can be you and I.

This coming week, observe your how your box-mind and your bin-mind behave. Double-check your thinking to make sure it is using the right mind in the right situation.
Read through the parable of the wheat and the weeds (tares) found in Matthew 13:24-30. Are you: A) a wheat? B) a weed? C) both?
More on this next week.

In the meantime, continue to offer your prayers, study and service to the glory of God!

Your Boxhead Brother,

Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG

Are you a mystic?

Greetings!

Today we commemorate the life of Julian of Norwich, an anchoress whose earthly life spanned from about 1342 to 1423. Probably getting her name Julian because her cell adjoined the parish church of St. Julian at Conisford in Norwich, Julian received a series of visions following an illness at about the age of 30. She was “a person of great literary skill and profound learning, with a good knowledge of the Latin Bible and the great mystical writers of the Western spiritual tradition.” This quote is from the book, Christian Mystics by Ursula King, head of the department of theology and religious studies at the University of Bristol in England.

Ursula King explains that a mystic is a “a person who is deeply aware of the powerful presence of the divine Spirit: someone who seeks, above all, the knowledge and love of God, and who experiences to an extraordinary degree the profoundly personal encounter with the energy of divine life. Mystics often perceive the presence of God throughout the world of nature and in all that is alive, leading to a transfiguration of the ordinary all around them. However, the touch of God is most strongly felt deep within their own hearts.”

Wow! What if the whole world was full of mystics? Are you a mystic?

Blessings to you on this mystical day!

Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG