Lektion 1
Recognise The Storm
The surface is always turbulent. The first key step toward peace is honestly recognising the storm we are living in. Peace does not begin when the storm stops. It begins when we discover where Christ is within the storm. Today we learn how to recognise the storms of life without the need to resist them.
Lektion 2
Positioning The Storm
Our thoughts, reactions and fears live on the surface. Modern living keeps us skimming across the waves. But calm is rarely found on the surface. Today we learn how to notice mental waves without chasing them.
Lektion 3
Beneath The Storm
Today we discover the deeper water. Beneath the surface turbulence, the ocean becomes quiet. Know then that prayer is not escaping the sea, but the descending into the deeper water of God to find stillness.
Lektion 4
Sink Into The Storm
the paradox of surrender is that you have to let go and let yourself sink. But our instinct is to thrash the water, and try to keep our head above the waves. Today we learn how to do something completely counterintuitive we will learn to stop striving.
Lektion 5
Flowing Under The Storm
While we find peace when we sink beneath the waves, this does not mean we are passive. Beneath the waves there are powerful currents that draw us along. Abiding in God, then, is not inactivity, but moving at with the deeper and more peaceful current of the Divine.
Lektion 6
Silence In The Storm
Deep water absorbs noise. It is quiet beneath the waves. It is interesting then how often we think the voice we are seeking to bring us peace might be found in the earthquake, the fire, and the wind as opposed to the "sound of sheer silence". Yet silence is where the soul recognises God.
Lektion 7
Peace Within The Storm
The deep water is not void, but presence. Peace is a person before it is a feeling. In that Presence, all things hold together. So we are not moving inwardly into ourselves, but inwardly into a deeper awareness of Christ's presence within us.
Lektion 8
Staying Below The Storm
So often the mind wants to return back to the chaos above in the waves. It's almost like the turbulence calls us back, that we are somehow resisting "reality" if we stay below. Yet we must understand that trust grows slowly and peace deepens with practice. Therefore we must not rush back to the surface too soon.
Lektion 9
Accepting The Storm
Contemplation doesn't erase reality. Jesus was clear that "In this world, you will have trouble..." So while abiding doesn't change reality or remove the difficulty, what's the point? The point is how abiding changes our relationship with the difficulty as we become anchored in the deep and peaceful water.
Lektion 10
Rise In The Storm
Eventually, we do need to return to the surface. But this doesn't mean that we leave the peace and calm behind is. Today we consider how we might take that peace and calm back with us to hold us within the wind and waves above.
Lektion 11
Peace To The Storm
Once you have received peace and calm, you are in a place to offer it as well. When we return, we bring the calm of the deep back with is into the storm. The peace within you begins to flow outward. You are effectively a conduit for peace to a world in turbulence.
Lektion 12
Thriving In The Storm
Once we understand what is available to us beneath the waves, and once we realise we can bring it back to us for others who are still in the storm, knowing about the Calm Beneath The Storm becomes a new way of living. Whenever the waves rise, descend again into God. Once you carry that peace, bring it back with you...
