To eat or be eaten by a lion — GoT Logion 7
breathe in + breathe out
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logion 7
A lion eaten by a man is blessed
as it changes to human form,
but a human devoured by a lion is cursed
as lion becomes human.
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Reflection: Disclaimer: No lions were harmed in the writing of this logion. This saying isn’t about hunting and consuming lions. It’s a parable, and in part, it’s inviting us to consider our lives and what might be consuming us.
Sit with this one a bit. Re-read it a few times. It’s not a 2+2=4 kind of saying. There’s a different kind of math going on here. Here is paradox.
“but a human devoured by a lion is cursed as lion becomes human”
So, what’s eating you?
What are you consumed with?
And, what is that turning you into?
We gather in community. We ground ourselves in wisdom and practices. We center and norm honest storytelling because real lions belong in the wild, and our lions get to become tame.
What if, through practice, we made peace with the lion inside each of us? In making that peace, what if we were able to partner with that lion — to call upon it’s strength and fierceness in service to that truer form of ourselves?
What if we learned enough patience and compassion to see past the untamed lion in others?
This week, set a table — literally and/or figuratively. Set a place for yourself, your lion, and for others. Pass dishes full of veggies ;) and good spiritual foods — the kinds that heal and nourish and illuminate.
If you’re finding yourself consumed with foods that aren’t nourishing (e.g., the endless social media scroll or news feed, finger-pointing, anxiety loops, addictions and distractions, etc.), connect with someone you trust and talk with them about it. Say a prayer or practice a meditation for the sake of evolving your appetite.
We get to make this journey together. We evolve together.
Along the way, may we experience enough. May we be nourished by delicious moments of care, forgiveness, gratitude and wonder.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Purr.
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P.s., Key to taming our inner lions is addressing the trauma-memory within our bodies. Intertwine continues to engage in the body-work presented in Resmaa Menakem’s My Grandmother’s Hands: Raciialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies. It’s not too late to get involved in this work. We have a few copies of the book available, and triads or small groups are still forming to work through the practices and material together. Find out more about this work here
Request a book and connect to a triad by emailing info@intertwinene.org
Intertwine is going inward. We are beginning a season — as cooler weather moves in and quarantine persists — of developing our inner life. To aid us on the journey, we’re engaging the wisdom contained in the Gospel of Thomas, an ancient mystical Christian text. Lynn Bauman’s translation and commentary are the primary source for these reflections. Those of you who want to dig in even deeper, consider purchasing his books: Find Lynn’s basic GoT translation (in The Luminous Gospels) and his exceptional commentary (In Trouble and In Wonder) here.
