"Poems, Prayers, & Promises" #16
Featuring Albert Huffstickler, Sasha Kazovsky, Amit Even-Tov, and Jeffrey Kahane
Welcome to another day of “Poems, Prayers, & Promises”
Remember, you’re the co-creator of this dive. Do as much or as little as you’d like, when you’d like, how you’d like, with the materials I provide. Just keep gentle faith with yourself.
Set your intention
Take a moment to name the primary intention you have for this month-long deep dive and/or this particular session. Take a quiet moment to center yourself in that intention.
Enter the music
Read the poem
I invite you to read this poem twice—aloud, at least once. You may also listen to my reading of the poem, perhaps with your eyes closed.
THE EDGE OF DOUBT Albert Huffstickler There is always that edge of doubt. Trust it. That's where the new things come from. If you can't live with it, get out because, when it's gone you're on automatic, repeating something you've learned. Let your prayer be: save me from that tempting certainty that leads me back from the edge, that dark edge where the first light breaks. (from Journal for Anthroposophy, Fall 1994)
Contemplate/Create
Use any of these questions however you wish—e.g., as openings for meditation or prayer, as prompts for journaling or poetry-writing, as sparks for drawing or painting, as catalysts for change-making . . . You may also ignore my questions altogether to go off in other directions!
Where (if anywhere) in your life right now do you feel “the edge of doubt”? Describe how it feels—in your body, your spirit, your mind—to stand at that edge.
Do you tend to view doubt in a positive or negative light?
What would it mean to trust “the edge of doubt,” as this poem invites us to do?
Do you ache for “certainty” when praying? For “answers”? Do you have firm “expectations” of the practice or experience of prayer? What do you make of this poem’s encouragement to pray to be “saved” from the need for certainty?
How much of your life (including your spiritual practices) is “automatic, / repeating something you’ve learned”? Does your way of praying reinforce what you’ve always done, open you to something new, or . . . ?
Write a poem or journal entry to your faith, or to your doubt, or to your position somewhere between the two.
Does your consideration of this poem move you to make any kind of promise to yourself or someone else?
Want to visit with other Rafters in the Deep Dive?
Here are two options: either leave a comment on this post using the button, or join the chat thread dedicated to this Deep Dive. (Note: if you haven’t created a Substack profile yet, you’ll be asked to do so before you can comment or chat.)
These materials are for educational purposes only. Not for sale or reproduction.
Join us on September 5 for “Rafter Refuge”!
6:30-8:00PM Central (7:30 ET, 5:30 MT, 4:30 PT)
Let’s close this Deep Dive with a time of sharing. Come and reflect with other Rafters on “Poems, Prayers, & Promises.” Registration is required for this celebration.
I am a big fan of Albert Huffstickler! Thanks for this!