Random thoughts:

Genius (again). This one keeps coming up because I think of the saints as spiritual geniuses. That being said, I keep seeing this image of geniuses as being tuned into a things that are always there, things we normally dismiss or are too engrossed in our normal lives to perceive. They have a higher sensitivity to these things. Take Elijah for instance. The passage where the servant goes out and sees the armies surrounding them. Elijah perceived something that was there while the servant didn't. Elijah did not change the circumstances for the servant to see. he did not make the Lord's army come. He merely gave the servant eyes to see (allowed him to possess higher sensitivity). Fasting has really been on my mind ever since I heard John Paul talk last August. One side effect of fasting is it increase one's sensitivity in all areas. I've never done any significant fasting and I am praying for people to support me in this effort through prayer, but I truly believe that fasting will begin to help me get in touch with this higher order of sensitivity.

Another variation on that theme, something that popped into my mind as I considered what I wrote about above, was the concept of memory. Many geniuses have memories that far surpass what normal people can even think of. I can't recall his name, but a mathematician who worked on the Manhattan project was tested in his 20's by being given phone books. He read them and memorized entire phone books and could recite sections of them. Some 30 or 40 years later he was able to perform the same feat without having looked at them ever again. In a way, this is superhuman. There are countless stories of this kind of astounding recollection, but, what I saw was that most people inefficiently use their memories. Most people are not truly engrossed enough in the things they are experiencing to truly recollect things in this manner. Sure, there are some abilities, not matter how much normal people practice, train and develop their memories, they will never possess or even come close to. That's why the people who have those rare gifts are one in a billion. Once in a lifetime type minds. Nonetheless, if people truly engaged themselves more completely in the life they are living instead of a conversation they had or hope to have, their moods, their obsessions, their distractions, then, memory, or the energy that could be channeled into more fully remembering things, could be of a different order. There's something about people not tuning in, being here now that I see as being a major impediment to the full use of their ability to remember things.

Good books

A few months ago our church was getting rid of its library in preparation for our upcoming move as well as a garage sale to try and raise funds for the new children's playground. Among the books I found two that are really speaking to me: Warren Wiersbe's Be Mature, about James, and a compilation called Disciplines for the Inner Life by Bob and Michael Benson. Wiersbe's book takes a no non-sense, meaty look at the letter. I have yet to see what other titles he's done, but, I love his style and writing. Perhaps I am just at a place where meaty is satisfying in ways I have never been able to appreciate until now. Nonetheless, a terrific resource. The Benson and Benson book, however, is a much larger object for me. It is a 52-chapter (one year) book discussing several areas of the spiritual life. The writing is a collection of various authors, church fathers etc. It seems to be filling my void for good writing (I miss Kierkegaard) and meaningful reflection (did I say I missed Kierkegaard). Anyway, they've been speaking to me of late and are some good books. I recommend checking them out...or, if you live near me, borrowing them.