Comments on: meditative poetry

by: Astin Melhorn

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:01:57 +0000

Spring and Fall
(To a Young Child)
Well this poem seems to be a description of the work load / burden God put on man when he made him. The poem starts off by saying “Let us (said he) pour on him all we can:” To me this means that God was saying to give us as humans all the responsibility to take care of the world. We are to have the riches, and the troubles. God created us in his image and he wants us to be the load bearing creatures of the earth. We are to go to God when this load gets too big for us to bare. When we are restless and weary we need to go to God for help and guidance. He will walk us through the challenges of this world. That is how he intended it. The last line of this poem “May toss him to my breast.” This line only reinforces God’s intent on giving us the responsibility to watch over creation as a tool to drawl us closer to God.

by: Laura Harris

Mon, 05 May 2008 18:17:14 +0000

The presence of poetry has taught me how valuable the discipline of offering my complete attention. A poet is a person who has the ability to maintain a disciplined focus. After learning how to thoroughly processes a poem, I find myself doing the same with the scriptures. Now I sit down at my desk, and read my bible more carefully. There have been moments where I will only read one chapter over and over in hopes of deciphering a new meaning. This influence has been revolutionary. Not only has it helped me continue developing a deeper relationship with God, it has offered me insight for myself. By paying close attention to poetry, I listen for the tone. The tone says a lot about the speaker and I am seeing depths of human nature I never saw before. In the same way, I can read the scriptures and see characteristics of God I was not able to see until now. The practice of poetry has influenced my Christian practice through challenging me to continue searching for more meaning. There is always more meaning waiting to be discovered.

by: Marty Zimmerman

Mon, 05 May 2008 01:11:36 +0000

Meditative poetry is something new to me. The poem that I wrote focused on my trash can, which seemed a little odd at first, but it developed into was something unintentional. I began with a physical description of the trash can but by the end I had an analogy, an image of God that I had never considered before. Through writing my poem I realized that God must not have a trash can because we, his flawed creation, did not end up there. Instead of throwing us away He developed a process to recycle us, to cleanse us and make us into new beings. Such an idea would not have materialized had I not taken the time to sit down, tune out the distractions, turn off the noises, and meditate on an object and its symbolic nature. The piece I wrote has been revised, but is still in need of work, which I’m perfectly willing to do. I think the analogy that was developed should be worked until the message is clear, that way a great deal of meaning can be found within it. Meditative poetry is foreign to me, but it is easy and full of surprises because you never know what you’re going to end up with and what you can learn by simply observing an everyday object.

by: Brittany Kappauf

Sun, 04 May 2008 01:24:23 +0000

One way in which I have seen poetry directly affect my Christian faith is through the Psalms. As poems themselves, I have had many instances in which meditating upon these pieces of poetry has helped me focus upon God and the ways in which He is working in my faith. The imagery and diction in these poems also helps me, as we have discussed before, to create a metaphor of God, which my mind can understand and grasp. However, the way in which it is written also leaves me with a sense of grandeur, majesty, and mystery which still allows room for the unknown. This is helpful because it not only leaves me thinking and meditating but also reminds me to humble myself because I do not know everything about Him. Finally, my study of poetry has helped me learn how to better do an in depth reading of different works which has greatly influenced my ability to read and then thoroughly understand scripture.

by: Maggie Lake

Sat, 03 May 2008 22:18:43 +0000

Sorry this is late. Writing (poetry in particular) has always been my primary method of processing through experiences, thoughts, dreams, prayers, etc. It is helpful to share with others about these things, too, but I find myself censoring my true thoughts, ommiting parts, and forming my words so that I get out of them what I want. It sounds horrible, but i think we all do this to an extent, especially when discussing subjects we have very strong feelings about with people who aren’t as passionate or who completely disagree (religion and politics are the biggies).

Writing, however, is much more therapeutic and sincere. I rarely write for other people. My private scraps of paper, napkins, journals, and Word documents are the foundation of my spiritual life. They are where I connect with my inner-self and my higher-power. I meditate on a regular basis but I am truly THERE, tuned-in, when I physically put pen to paper.

I began writing long before I made a spiritual connection with my higher-power, so in contrast to Parini’s belief, I feel that poetry can similarily influence one’s spiritual life. This is where, like I said, we record our innermost thoughts, ones that we want to keep to ourself. And then we realize that there is a safe being with whom to share these with. This Being won’t judge, critisize, or edit your poetry. It will be honored and glorified by your form of praise.

by: Tim Worrell

Sat, 03 May 2008 18:03:09 +0000

I have always found the Psalms to be excellent sources for spiritual meditation. Of course the Psalms themselves are not only scripture but they’re also a type of poetry. Psalm 1 even provides the impetus for meditation of scripture. Speaking of the godly man it says “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” This is certainly a good encouragement for meditation.
For me poetry seems to naturally lend itself to meditation more than any other form of literature. I think it is for this reason that poetry has had and will continue to have an impact on my own meditative practice. The very act of focusing necessary for writing poetry is itself a form of meditation, and one that gets easier with practice. Hopefully, I will be able to continue this practice beyond this semester, at least the meditative aspects of it, if not the writing ones. I think it is something that would be very valuable for the rest of my life.

by: Elizabeth Reininga

Sat, 03 May 2008 16:44:26 +0000

Poetry has already influenced my Christian practice. The Road Less Traveled was the poem that I had to present to the class, and it has really stuck with me ever since then. I have always enjoyed poetry by Robert Frost, but this poem in particular has really made me think about my spiritual journey and the supposed “path” that I am taking. Is it really the road less traveled? Is it really taking the best one for me; meaning is it the one that God wants me to travel down, or am I just pretending that it is the way that He wants me to go hoping that in the end He will be ok with it? Frost has encouraged me to meditate on my spiritual journey with this poem. Even though it is not in the meditation section, I feel that it is still very contemplative and meditative. Frost obviously has really thought about these two paths for awhile trying to characterize each one and make each one the way that it is supposed to be. I find the impact that the poem has on me very interesting. When I initially read the poem and presented it, I didn’t realize the depth of it, but the more I meditate on it, the more I realize the need for it in my life and the more I realize the association that it has with my spiritual journey. It is wonderful.

by: David Kent

Sat, 03 May 2008 05:34:48 +0000

Poetry is a very strong medium of communication. I might sound snobbish when I do such things as call poems “Pieces,” but that is what they are. They are piece of art expressing in great detail what it is the author wants to convey. This is why language and poetry is so important to my faith. I honestly don’t know when this started, but for a while now I have felt a very close bond to the Jewish faith. Maybe it is the ancient, mythical aspect and how that brings a mysterious feeling about it, but there is something about the poetic forms used, not only in Hebrew prayers, but in the scriptures as well. The great amount of metaphor and deep meaning the writers can squeeze into the text is astonishing, and it is all done using literary tools and language. The entire book of psalms is poetry! Well, possibly songs, but it’s the same thing. Basically, language and poetry can create such a wonderful ambience to religion, Judaism in particular, that simply draws me to it.

by: Emily Pratt

Sat, 03 May 2008 03:08:43 +0000

I think when it comes to meditative poetry, it is extremely spiritual. When meditating on God’s Word, you are more in tune with the meaning and force of the words. In the same way, reading and writing poetry with a Christian perspective can bring out your inner musings, festering thoughts, as well as bring more clarity to tough or confusing situations. Prayer, meditation, and poetry are all about communicating and reaching a better level of understanding. I know that for me writing poetry is a way to effectively react to situations in my life that I can’t express any other way. Since God made us all different, we all have varying ways of communicating, and I think poetry can be very much like prayer for some people. Meditative poetry tears away at the obvious and cliché, slowly striving for the elusive and hidden truths of life. God must admire our struggle for truth, because He is the ultimate truth.

by: Tim Leidy

Sat, 03 May 2008 03:03:26 +0000

Though it isn’t necessarily in the discussion topic, I wanted to give my particular thoughts on the subject of meditation. In my church, before the sermon, my pastor reads some introductory verses upon which he preaches. But between the verses and the sermon, my pastor gives several moments during which to reflect and meditate on the Scripture read. For the longest time I never really knew what he meant by meditate, for I had always thought it was the kind of Eastern meditation of sitting cross-legged with eyes closed while humming. But then eventually a family friend explained to me that by meditation, it was more of a diligent thinking about it. In his words, “It’s like a cow chewing cud… they take in the grass, chew it, swallow it, regurgitate it to chew it and swallow it again.” Though it’s kind of a gross simile, it does hold merit. Scripture and prayer both require an especial attention to fully “digest” meanings and values.

As far as influencing poetry, meditation in general, Christian or not, has influenced poetry. Meditation is a careful examination of life, of spirituality, and of self. Poetry is meant to enrich the soul, and it gives a window to see what others see. By focusing our attention, we can better understand our environment and ourselves. Poetry can be a snapshot of that telescopic camera view we call “meditation.”