Divine Metaphors … in our lives, our words, our work

by Rev. Dr. Rob Spencer

The essence of spiritual counseling is the art of listening so deeply that people find themselves speaking from an unexpected depth at the very heart of their soul—a place where they encounter concepts or ideas that may seem impossible to express with words. This raises an important question.

“How to describe the indescribable?”

We use metaphors.  In fact, we already have.  Is the heart of the soul really a place?  Does a question really rise?

The idea that we all use metaphors when describing the indescribable inspired a Thursday evening gathering on Zoom entitled, Divine Metaphors, and an invitation which read:

“Take a leap of faith and fancy as we soar off the cliff together to discern and share our own metaphors—before landing safely by the end of the hour.” 

Thirty-six people accepted the invitation and attended One Spirit’s Gathering on December 8th 2022.   

This was not the first time a One Spirit group had come together to share collective wisdom using metaphor.  Here is a poem from a longer workshop led by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer in January of 2022.

However, this was the first time so many gathered in such a short period of time to “crowd-source” wisdom on this particular topic of Divine Metaphors.  Our challenge was to find a way to collect wisdom from ALL participants in a Zoom meeting lasting only one hour. 

We usually invite participants to share their ideas by speaking aloud to the whole group or else break into small groups for sharing.  The former would have used up our time before getting to hear from everyone.  The latter would not have accomplished the goal of everyone hearing from all present. 

So we chose, instead, to use the chat feature in Zoom.  It enabled people to type a response, hit enter, and have their answers pop up on the screen of everyone else’s computer. 

But seeing multiple messages pop up on your screen can be quite distracting when trying to formulate and type your own response to a question.  

Our solution to this problem was to use a technique known as “lava chat” where people type their responses but wait to press enter until asked to do so.  The messages then erupt into the chat box all at once--like a volcano spewing lava!

At the end of the hour, we invited participants to save (to their own computer) all of the replies which were typed into the chat.  This would give them unlimited time to read and savor the wisdom that was shared.  We also promised to post a video recording of the gathering.

You can view the video recording by clicking here.

The YouTube video gives you access to all of the inspired readings, comments, and discussion shared aloud—including “Penny’s Story” (originally published in Light On Light Magazine) and “How to be an Interfaith-Interspiritual Minister” a brief speech to the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary Class of 2019 prior to graduation. 

However, the video recording does not include any of the wisdom shared in the chat! 

So here are the three writing prompts and all of the chat responses which were shared at the gathering.

Divine Metaphors in Ourselves  

“Friends, I'd like to offer the opportunity now for us to gather in silent worship similar to Quaker worship. But feel free to use your own method of centering and just allow yourself to listen inward. The Quaker belief is that there is the Divine in everyone--sometimes called the Inner Light.  And during worship, we listen for that inner voice to speak. 

What I'd like you to do now is to listen as we contemplate the question:

 ‘How does the Divine manifest in me?’

Feel free to adapt the question to fit any answers that may come to you!

As you center, pay attention to any thoughts or sensations that bring you closer to the Divine, whatever is magnificent, mysterious.  See if you can coin a phrase (like Penny did in the story) that describes what the experience is--maybe a couple of phrases or words.  Go ahead and type them in the chat. But, like before, don't press enter yet. Feel free to type as many thoughts or messages that come to mind on this question. And in a few minutes, I'll invite you to press enter and share the information in the chat.”

Our responses to the question, “How does the Divine manifest in me?” 

Kate:  I am alive.

Catherine:  Creativity...an open heart… inner peace… mystery.

Sarah:  The Divine manifests in me as WARMTH and acceptance.

Claudia:  To be kind, love justice, and work for peace.

Clare:  The dust bunnies in the corner of my room came from the stars and so did I.  To the universe we shall return.  But I get to praise this while the dust bunny does not speak or write.

Brenda:  Sailing in the ocean with colorful boats all around. Some join the boat others watch from a distance. The sailboat is never alone.

Mark:  Shared breath, shared breathing, sometimes lightheadedness, sometimes shallow, sometimes deep.

Susan:  My ability to nurture, show up, hold loving space, enjoy life, LOVE.

Sara:  Breath of the spirit blowing in me. I am here. Alive with breath. Breathing out love. Breathing in hope.

Ann:  The Divine manifests in me as love - love that I feel from the Divine, love that I can share, love that lights what I encounter in the world.

Jean:  Love rippling outwards, enthusiasm, celebration, depth, heart-centered compassion.

Kathi:  Love in the form of service ministry or listening ministry.

Julie:  The Divine is warmth, calm, light and love, flowing like a slow, meandering river within, around and outside of me.

Linda W:  My ability to love and to experience the wonder of existence.

David W:  I love and grieve for the wild turkeys.

Judi:  I am an explorer in a multi-layered, ever-expanding labyrinth of love disguised as life.

Marcia:  Divinity manifests Itself as warm, liquid light that flows through my body and radiates out of my heart center. It allows me to connect with others in deep and authentic ways.

Jean:  Awe.

Susan:  Seeing the Goddess in everyone.

Linda B:  Suspension.

Julie:  The Divine lives in and my beloved friends, the Trees.

Brenda:  My spirit soars when I create!

Bevan:  Begin my day - how will I love today? Looking for awe and wonder. Seeking simple ways to be kind to another. Being open to creative opportunities. Trusting and taking risks. Speaking the truth. Knowing the Presence of Spirit is with me always. At night, rest in gratitude.

Marcia:  Wherever Love resides...

Joe:  I am the end of innumerable generations of people that have come before and am the beginning of innumerable generations of people yet to come.  That to me is how I view the divine as manifest in me…

Elaine:  I feel a glowing inside when I think about the light that is within us all.  I know, with utmost conviction, that there is light in every being.

Suzanne:  Through love.

Sara:  The breath becomes sound and beauty.

Bill:  The Divine manifested itself in me by giving me the gifts of forgiving and of seeking to bring comfort to others instead of becoming bitter, due to a difficult childhood.  The Divine has manifested itself in me by its presence as profound gratitude for others in my life.

Elizabeth:  Friendship, listening, kindness, loving.

Jean:  Forgiveness.

Donna:  Through the rhythm of doing psychotherapy and resonating with the humanity of others…it is a gift.

Denise:  The Divine informs who I am at my best.

Rick:  When the Divine in me connects with the Divine in another.

Divine Metaphors in the World

“Next I would like to offer an opportunity for us to look outward and ask you to look in the space that you are in--the room where you are sitting.  (If you have a window, feel free to look outside.)  And focus on an object. 

There are indigenous peoples and others with a belief that there is Divine in every being, every living being, every animal but also in every plant, and even in every physical object on the earth. 

And so for this invitation, I would like you to focus externally.

Explore the environment that you find yourself in, right now, and choose some object to focus on.

And then ask yourself the following question:

 ‘How does the Divine manifest in it?’

Pick something specific that you can see or hear or smell or touch--either in the room or that you can perceive in the world right now.  

Feel free to adapt the question to fit whatever answers may come.”

Our responses to the question, “How does the Divine manifest in ___ (something in the world)?”

Claudia:  In the beauty of nature, in music, in the kindness of others.

Sara:  My mug holds the drinks that give me the liquid I need. It keeps them warm and brings me comfort when I drink. It stands ready, waits patiently until I need it.

Dennis:  I have a tea cup to repair. The Divine is in our connections to each other and how we support each other.

Kate:  How could the divine possibly do anything other than manifest in this stone?

Mindy:  My glass of water; it is in all of us, in the world, it is life.

Julie:  My beloved Tree friends, rooted, open, solid and steady, from whom I hear the voice of the Divine through her rustling leaves, chirping birds, and the snort of deer laying beneath her boughs.

Bill:  A photo of my late Uncle Andrew who gave me knowledge and understanding of my parents and who exemplified a life dedicated to peace and to the liberation of the oppressed, even at considerable risk to oneself.

Kathi:  Old photo of hubby with a grandchild on each knee has divine manifestation of impermanence (age) and permanence (love).

Jon:  Much of my life is improved through science.   Perhaps that is divinity at work.

Sarah:  I am looking at my plant and realizing that she relies on something outside herself to grow.

Susan:  The plain, large cardboard shipping box that the gifts I lovingly picked out for holiday presents arrived in.  Each gift carefully considered for the special recipient, that will be festively wrapped in colorful paper.

Catherine:  A divine spirit is in my Christmas cactus...in the prickly leaves, in the dirt and in each bloom.

Marcia:  My sweet dog, Grace. She embodies all the Love, acceptance, and compassion that I also feel from Spirit.

Mark:  A book in which experience is shared with me and with others but the author only anticipates but does not know/divine what the response of a reader will be ... nor can the divine.  The response is owned by the recipient.

Clare:  Red maple out my window, you have marked time for over two decades, one of the first to signal spring; the robins nest in the privacy of your green leaves; first harbinger of fall; bearer of winter snow.  The man who planted you did not live to see you through all these seasons.  But he planted you with hope that you would grow.

Brenda:  Through the reflections of the glass, the vertical alignment of the shape, how the chain rises up.

Linda B:  The border between me and what I’m holding disappears.

Joe:  For me, the divine of an external object/being/entity is manifest in Denise as the living spirit that gives me purpose, love, perspective and grounding as I move through life.

Suzanne:  All things are a part of the Divine whole of the universe.

Elizabeth:  Trees, beauty, life, blessed shade.

Judi:  My growth is the expansive beauty of Source.

Rick:  As a light dispelling the darkness.

Elaine:  A stack of mohair yarns - exploding with orange and purple beckons me to pick it up, caress the soft halo of fibers and give gratitude to the sheep who gave their fleece for my warmth.  I can smell the animal smells, and hear sheep bleating as I imagine them wandering and eating their way through beautiful fields.

Linda W:  The rosemary plant I brought inside for the winter.  It was a tiny thing when I bought it this spring, but it loved the hot weather and strong sun, responding to summer's gifts and now it is over two feet tall. It brings me joy and its gift of fragrant leaves makes Bob happy when I make rosemary potatoes.

Bevan:  When working in Hospice and visiting patients, I always said there was an altar in every home. I sit here now and see my own. An embroidered piece framed, "In Everything We Give Thanks.”  A hutch holding my daughter's angel collection with some with outstretched arms with little boys sitting at their feet. She loved God and her boys.

Donna:  A woodcarving my father made....thinking of his hands carving the letter opener and the feelings he may have had in carving it and giving it to me.

Divine Metaphors by Analogy or Symbolism

“I would like to share just one more prompt.  This one is a little more abstract—so it does not necessarily have to be directed either inward or outward.

‘The Divine is like ___’ or ‘A symbol of the Divine is ___’

Again, feel free to adapt the question to fit whatever answers may come.”

Our responses to, “The Divine is like ___” or “A symbol of the Divine is ___”

Jean:  My son with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder shines the face of the Divine trickster on my rigid, wounded parts to open me up more fully to Spirit.

Lynn:  All enveloping purple light.

Denise:  The Divine is a mystery that transcends our humanity.

Mark:  The Divine is like the wind ... usually invisible but felt on my face.  Sometimes, it bowls me over.  Sometimes, I hide from it.  Sometimes, I blow back.

Sara:  The Light of the sun. The river flowing to the sea. The wind blowing in me.

Brenda:  Arms outstretched out, white light filling my body, Eyes are the windows of the soul, Loving energy.

Susan:  The Divine is like water and air; both necessary and appreciated so one can live. A symbol of the Divine is all my family photos, the shimmer of sunlight on the ocean, the sunrise, the sunset.

Suzanne:  The Divine is like the sea, the night sky, a breath, a flame.

Joe:  The divine is like soaring as a bird amongst the clouds or skimming the ridge-line…feeling as if I am at the very edge of eternity.

Elaine:  The divine spirit is light that shines on everyone and everything so that we can see with clarity.  A symbol is the sun.

Julie:  The Divine is like a bicycle wheel, helping me to roll along the sometimes bumpy, sometimes smooth, always exquisite path of my life journey.

Kate:  A stream flowing.

Rick:  Breath.

Kathi:  The sun...hot energy sending out streams of light in all directions.

Ann:  The Divine is like water - flowing even into the smallest spaces, lifting everything from below.

Rob:   The Divine is like a Meta-Forest.  (Read it aloud--and consider my vocation as a “Metaphorist”). 

Judi:  The Divine is like lava quietly waiting then choosing to slowly ooze out to spread its way through creation OR wake up the sleeping with its huge volcanic explosion.

Clare:  The divine is like candlelight in windows in winter, beckoning memory, shining hope, inviting hospitality, offering peace.

Donna:  Resonance.

Dennis:  Caring.

Denise:  A symbol of the divine is a self-emptying and generous spirit.

Bill:  One symbol of the Divine for me is the symbol for infinity.  Without beginning or end, it symbolizes eternity.  Wherever you stop or pause, you are still where you ought to be.

Elizabeth:  Water in all its manifestations.

Sarah:  Iridescent bubbles.

Mindy:  A prism; clear...everything and nothing all at once.

Claudia: The feeling, thought, that is soft, quiet, joyful, peaceful that enters my heart and mind.

Catherine:  A bonfire on a dark & cold night.

Linda W:  The divine is whatever created this amazing universe from galaxies to molecules.  My personal symbol of the divine is the wonder that molecules could become my dear cat.

Bevan:  The Divine is Love expressed in kindness, generosity, affection, forgiveness, truth-telling, simplicity, and action.

Jon:  Kindness, medicine.

Divine Metaphors Invitation

Thank you for reading the “wisdom of the chat” from our One Spirit Gathering on December 8th 2022.   We invite you to view the video  and share your own wisdom in the comment section on the YouTube page below the video.   If you prefer, you can also send thoughts, comments, and ideas just to the facilitator. 

Conclusion

How to describe the indescribable? 

Metaphors use an image of one object to convey information about another idea.  Ideally the comparison bypasses logical thought or reason and gives new meaning to both the original object and the subsequent idea.  It is the fundamental building block of poetry and art—but can be seen in all forms of language.  An example: “Painting a picture with words.”
The word “Divine” is both an adjective (describing something supremely good, heavenly, godlike, or transcendent) and also a verb meaning to discover by intuition or insight. 

Our goal in offering the One Spirit Gathering on December 8th 2022 was not only to “crowd-source” wisdom about Divine Metaphors.  It was also to share and encourage their discernment as a spiritual practice.  Like any practice, it may become easier and more fruitful over time. 

A recent example occurred during Quaker meeting for worship after a friend shared her struggle with the concept of “walking humbly with God” (Micah 6:8).  Immersed in contemplation of her message, the following words came to mind:

“Walking with God is like swimming with water.”

Whether by ourselves, in a group, or with a client in spiritual counseling, we can practice both inward and outward exploration to discern and then share our own metaphors of the Divine. 

Dr. Spencer brings a tremendous variety of life experience to his vocation as a metaphorist: medical doctor, interfaith-interspiritual minister, published author, patented inventor (including a device to walk on water), glider pilot and instructor with soaring flights in waves of air to over 20,000 feet. A former professional clown, he brings humor and whimsy to his current work as teacher, listener, speaker, advocate and coach. A longtime Quaker mystic, Rob savors silence yet rejoices when the quiet is punctuated by thoughtful sharing of words. Following decades of service providing medical and spiritual care for people facing life-threatening illness, he developed and facilitates an experiential curriculum entitled, “Mindful Mortality: Lessons Learned at the End of Life Teaching Us How to Live Today!” A 2019 seminary graduate of One Spirit, he lives in Concord, New Hampshire with his wife, Louise, and their dog, Emma.  He can be reached via the website:  www.MindfulMortality.com

A special thanks to all of the participants of the One Spirit Gathering on December 8th 2022:
Ann, Bevan, Bill, Bob, Brenda, Catherine, Clare, Claudia, David R., David W., Denise, Dennis, Donna, Elaine, Elizabeth, Jacquiline, Janice, Jean, Jon, Joe, Judi, Julie, Kate, Kathi, Linda B., Linda W., Lynn, Marcia, Mark, Mindy, Nancy, Rick, Rob, Sara, Sarah, Susan, and Suzanne.