The Still Point in a Turning World

by Bishop Bennett D. D. Burke
Published in 1994

Bishop Burke is the bishop of the Diocese of Arizona. "If they ask you, 'What is the sign of your Father in you?', say to them, 'It is movement and repose.'"

The Gospel of Thomas, 50

This saying of Jesus makes clear the quest - the goal of a spiritual life. "Movement and repose" brings to mind the "axis mundi," the still point in a turning world, the balance between contemplation in the field of eternity, and action in the field of time. Compare Zen sayings such as "After the ecstasy, the laundry," or "In spiritual practice there are only two things: you sit and you sweep the garden. And it doesn't matter how big the garden is."

Both Christian mysticism and Zen Buddhism share this approach. To meditate upon this path, sit comfortably, cultivating a feeling of repose within the center of movement, as the hub rests within the movement of a turning wheel. Breathe freely and easily. Allow your mind to roam freely, noticing all that arises within and without.

Continue to focus on living in the center of the All. Contemplate God as a sphere whose center lies everywhere, but whose circumference none can find. Become one of those infinite number of centers. Imagine existing throughout seasons and eons. Visualize the world moving around you, without disturbing the stillness of your heart. Reflect upon joy and sorrow, darkness and light, and the rise and fall of civilizations and galaxies.

Sit in this way for as long as the balance lasts. After opening your eyes, arise and walk with the same sense of living at the center of the world, acknowledging at the same time that each person you meet also carries the center within themselves.

This document is part of The Global Library,
from the The Southern Province USA of the North American Old Catholic Church.

Additional funding provided by The Wynn and Rick Wagner Foundation.