Developing Our Spiritual Senses

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Throughout my life I've had more than my fair share of moments when I've missed seeing something amazing because I was too preoccupied with things that didn't matter all that much. 

 Sadly, that kind of thing seems to be the norm in our current culture.  We're all glued to our phones, staring blankly at them all of the time it seems.  It's an epidemic.  

 My son told me once that he never spoke with the kids he stood at the school bus stop with---kids he met every morning and afternoon for the entire year.  

 "No one talks to each other," he told me.  "We're all just listening to our headphones, or on our phones and stuff."  

 I got to thinking today about how much we do the same thing in our spiritual lives---dulling our spiritual senses, focusing our attention on the six inches in front of our face, not willing or able to truly experience what God is doing around us.  

 Anthony de Mello wrote about this very thing, and exhorted his readers to live "unobstructed" lives---extolling the virtues of living life with a "wide open" mentality to the work of the Spirit in the world.  He wrote: 

 If the eye is unobstructed it results in sight.
If the ear is unobstructed it results in hearing.
If the nose is unobstructed it results in smell.
If the mouth is unobstructed it results in taste.
If the mind is unobstructed it results in Wisdom.
If the heart is unobstructed it results in Love 

 I think that is absolutely amazing.  You should copy that, paste it into a document, print it and frame it for your desk.  Or at the very least print it and put it on your fridge.  

 Because that is some straight up truth there, people.  

 And if we were to take to heart what de Mello is suggesting, we would find that our spiritual senses would grow stronger, more sensitive and more able to "tune in" to the God-frequencies all around us.  

 We would develop wisdom, we would grow in love.  And we would draw closer to being the people God dreams for us to be.  

 May this be so for you today and every day and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you now and always. Amen.  

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