The term “zone” gets a lot of use these days: the Air Canada Centre has a Fan Zone, GO Trains have a quiet zone, musicians play from their creative zones and so on. What about your spiritual zone? I find that the busy-ness of life and the constant bombardment of advertising make having a spiritual zone all the more important. But when I welcome my spiritual zone, I find I’m able to refocus the things and people who are important to me, my desire or even see things in a new light.
Photo: Jaime Oriz via flickr Creative Commons
Many sacred texts link the spiritual zone to special moments, creative events and profound conversations. One translation of a text in the Bible is ‘The small voice that speaks in the silence.' The small voice speaking in the silence is the voice you hear when you are in your zone.
You may experience your spiritual zone when you do things like running, biking, writing, meditating or playing an instrument. I’ve heard musicians say that in those moments they aren’t sure if they are playing the piano or the piano is playing them. The boundary between human and instrument becomes blurred and they are caught up in a creative moment that is profoundly spiritual. The writer feels a burst of creativity and the words just flow, the hockey player finds the sweet zone in front of the net and scores, and the artist loses him- or herself for hours as the picture “paints itself”. It doesn’t have to come in solitude. Bike racers working in teams find their zone. Jazz players play off of each other’s notes finding new variations or riffs – each absorbed within a zone.
Think back to times when you were in your zone. Can you identify something that was present in all or most of them? Try writing those things down and then ask how you might recreate that setting or mindset. Finding your zone may be just a little bit easier.
When you are in your spiritual zone, how does it feel? What things come forward and which ones disappear into the background? Does it help you focus on the things and people who are really important to you or to see things in a new light?
Welcome your new insights. Welcome your small voice. Welcome your spiritual zone.
Would you like to have a conversation with me or any member of our
spiritual care team? You can book a personal 20-minute appointment. Simply stop by our new Walk-In Spiritual Care Clinic at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre or contact me at
robert.hunt@uhn.ca.
