Dreamers of the Day - Rhythm of Life

“If you want to change society then you must tell [and live] an
alternate story.”
! ! ! ! ! - Ivan Illich; Austrian philosopher

The Need for a Rhythm of Life

Before entering into an in-depth look at developing a way of life, the question must be
asked, “What is a Rhythm of Life?” and “Why bother developing one?”. These are
important considerations for anyone wishing to move forward, in sincerity and truth, toward
a more fulfilling life. On the first account, developing a Rhythm of Life ultimately consists
of a detailed and careful reflection of an individualsʼ life, both by the individual and trusted
others, which leads to the discovery or affirmation of core desires, unique gifts and season
of life responsibilities. These ʻlearningsʼ are then assessed and ordered according to
priority, each given appropriate attention, before certain Christian disciplines and personal
practices are adopted. It is important to remember that the end purpose of all of this is
more freedom in an individualsʼ life and that this exercise stems out of a fundamental belief
that God created within each one of us an inherent potential to become someone we as of
yet do not know. So, cooperating with the Spirit of God, we can begin to live into a pattern
of life that will empower us to surrender more and more of ourselves to the Spiritʼs work in
and through us.

The reasons to consider developing such a rhythm must arise out of our own recognition
that life can be ʻbetterʼ and our desire to see it become so. Often a personal crisis (within
or without), such as living at a frantic pace, brings enough cognitive dissonance to cause
someone to reconsider their life - itʼs priorities and practices. This paradigm shift can also
come about through a growing, general dissatisfaction with maintaining the status quo and
simply existing from day to day. A growing sense of, ʻ . . there must be something moreʼ
arises which can occur with those who already consider themselves Christian and those
who do not. Either way, both situations lead one to consider the possibility of another way
of living that is outside of their current experience which lends itself to becoming more fully
their true selves - as God designed. There is no reason to move forward with developing a
Rhythm of Life for any other reason than oneʼs own desire to live more fully and to steward
more effectively, all of the gifts of God in oneʼs life. While being far from easy, there are
few other endeavours that will yield more benefit to oneself and others than an active
cooperation with God in becoming that person He dreams we can be.

Traditionally, Orders within Catholicism, Anglicanism and other traditions were groups of
people who gathered together (sometimes lived together) around an ethos, central
principles and often a 'Rule of Life'. The Rule is a pattern for living that helps the wayfarer
open more fully to God, be more available to serve others and ultimately enables the one
taking on the 'Rule' to grow into who God designed them to be. One of the most influential
'Rules' was established by St. Benedict around the 6th century for monks in his care. Many
have centered on basic values of poverty (simplicity), chastity (self-control) and obedience
(freedom before God). Some American monks established in Limerick, Ireland have
playfully referred to these three values as, 'no bling-bling, no sweet thang and I serve my
King'.

Regardless of what values guide certain communities (intentional gatherings) of like-

hearted wayfarers, the premise is a valuable one . . a Rule of Life empowers an individual

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- and ultimately communities taking on the same - to become all God dreams they can be.
This is what excites some of us as we share with one another. The Jesuits' self-professed
mantle to be 'contemplatives in action' holds deep meaning for the collective spiritual
journey. Thereʼs something about being encouraged and challenged to engage deeply
with God and others - while empowering them to do the same - that appeals strongly to
many of us.

Classic Principles and Distinctive Practices

None of us can manage to become the person God designed us to be, or that He dreams
we can become, without the influence and help of others around us. We need the
dynamic of an intentional community to draw the best out of us, keep us in check, help us
retain the original vision and to be honest with ourselves. The three bedrock Principles of
intentional communities of faith for ages past were the trinity of Poverty, Chastity and
Obedience. This triumvirate formed the foundation on which all wayfarers committed to
build their lives upon. They guided every thought, led every action and informed every
word spoken within and outside a community. These three were specifically chosen
because they represent the ʻcureʼ, antidote or counter-balance for the main ways in which
our human nature manifests rebellion against God - namely our tendency to abuse money,
sex and power. The principle of Poverty addresses our grasping for money and
possessions, the principle of Chastity addresses our stretching for intimacy through sex
alone and the principle of Obedience addresses our tendency to work for our own desires
through misuse of power. These three Principles have been the Rule for intentional
communities of faith seeking to live in the pattern of Jesus of Nazareth over many
centuries.

Below is a chart showing these ʻClassic Principlesʼ that some communities of faith have
adopted or considered and variations of them which are derived from the originals.

Classic Alternate Alternate Alternate

Principles Principles Principles Principles

Poverty Simplicity Generosity Authenticity

Chastity Purity Self-Control Integrity

Obedience Accountability Service Humility

In addition to the Classic Principles, Dreamers of the Day will encourage those interested
in journeying with us to prayerfully and critically discern Distinctive Practices that are
unique to each wayfarerʼs journey, giftedness and vocation. With no more than four
Distinctive Practices taken upon oneself, the intention is that these will serve as way-
markers or signposts, perpetually pointing the wayfarer to walk in the direction of
becoming that person that is yet unknown to them, but not God. This process will take
time and therefore patience, as well as reflection and discernment. The input of trusted
friends will also be of particular importance during this period of reflective practice.

In summation, any given wayfarer will have the trinity of the Classic Principles (or a
derivative of) guiding their lives which are shared by all in the Community, but they will also
have up to four other Distinctive Practices unique to them which they discern with the help
of the Spirit and trusted friends. The Classic Principles are akin to what some refer to as
the ʻgeneralʼ call of God, which simply means the call to become a follower or disciple of
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Jesus, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the marks of Love
(1 Corinthians 13). By contrast, the Distinctive Practices equate to what some refer to as
the ʻspecificʼ call of God on a wayfarerʼs life, or that work which God is uniquely inviting
each person to join Him in and has prepared for them to do according to the gifts, passion
and experience He has given them.

Forming the bedrock of our growth into Christ-likeness are the recognised Christian
Spiritual Disciplines. They include both private and corporate practices such as silence,
solitude, scripture reflection, prayer, fasting, celebration, worship and service. These
practices, as well as others, help us continually open ourselves to Godʼs redeeming work
within and through us. As scholar and author Dallas Willard has said, ʻ The spiritual
disciplines are whatʼs within our power to do which can enable God to do for us what we
cannot do for ourselves, namely, to become more like Christ.ʼ [paraphrase] Elsewhere he
says in ʻThe Spirit of the Disciplinesʼ, “The disciplines promised to give our lives a form that
would serve as a receptacle for the substance of the Christ-life in Godʼs present kingdom.
To undertake the disciplines was to take our activities – our lives – seriously and to
suppose that the following of Christ was at least as big of a challenge as playing the violin
or jogging.” Simply put, the practice of the spiritual disciplines make us more receptive
and available to Godʼs movements in our life.

Through the guidance of the Classic Principles and Distinctive Practices, coupled with the
challenge and encouragement of the Community and built upon Christian Spiritual
Disciplines, a pattern of life emerges which is conducive for growth in affinity with God and
love for the Other - ultimately empowering the wayfarer to become who God has dreamt
they could become.

“The great challenge for the Church in the West is a transformation of the
heart.”
- Roy Searle; Northumbria Community

Ethos and Rhythm

What follows is a short excerpt from an article called ʻA Missional Order - Learning from
Northumbriaʼ by Allelon Director Alan Roxburgh. He wrote it following a brief visit to the
Holy Island of Lindisfarne and the Community House of the Northumbrian Community in
2007. What he shares is a key lesson learned from some of the founders of the
Community around the importance and place of Ethos.

. . an Order is best formed out of a more descriptive Rule rather than a set of
written prescriptions around what should be done and when. In their
[founders of the Northumbrian Community] experience a Rule emerges after
a number of years working together in the practice of forming an Order. The
Rule is discovered on the way. In the early years the Order has to be loose
until you find among yourselves the # raison d'être - this is what emerges on
the way. If we begin with a set of Practices then the risk of the Order
becoming another program of activities to which people tick off their ʻto-doʼ
list [is great]. This would be another form of what is already killing so many
Christian leaders. If this is a journey into God and into the world then
something else is needed.

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The language Roy and Trevor [founders] used was that of ethos. Ethos is the
huge piece behind everything. The focus of the Order is the guarding of the
ethos which is about the journey into God - everything else flows out of that
most basic journey. The Celts formed their communities beside the water
because the tides continually reminded them of the rhythms essential to life
[aside other reasons]. The coming in of the tide is the inward journey with its
primary encounter with God and the self. The going out of the tide is the
outward journey into and for the sake of the world. The ethos, therefore, is
this rhythm of the tides, the inward / outward journey. The ethos is to
continually cultivate [that] rhythm. If we are trying to create an environment in
which we see everything as a gift from God then the rhythm is essential ~
this focal # recognition of the inner / outer journey going on in our lives
continually.”

“The renewal of the church will come from a new type of

monasticism which has only in common with the old an
uncompromising allegiance to the sermon on the mount. Itʼs high
time men and women banded together to do this.”
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer; German pastor, professor, theologian, in a letter to his brother

Patterns for Daily Living

As an individual matures in character and settles into any given season of life, it may be
good to seek to understand how oneʼs life lived best would look at that particular time. The
impetus for this comes from the deep awareness that all of Life is gift from our Father of
Lights. We have been entrusted with much: our own lives to co-author with God,
relationships with others which weʼre to give ourselves to and a world of wonder and
beauty to cultivate and create within. With so much having been given to us, we must
remind ourselves that, “ . . to whom much is given, much will be required.” [Luke 12:48]
How can we make the most of our time, energy, efforts and abilities during the short period
in which we live, move and have our being? How can we be faithful, responsible and
creative co-labourers with the Spirit of God in the world?

Some have embarked on a season of deep reflection and intentional surrender in order to
offer their whole selves to God in service of others. The effect of this season has led to
drafting what an ideal day, week and month would look like according to their gifts,
passions, responsibilities to work, family, friends, the Other and season of life. The notion
is to devote time to those things in our lives that we must - by responsibility and by holistic
intention - which help us walk into the person we were created to be. Again, this is a
process, and one which only comes about through reflection and input from those we trust
who know us best. It may be useful to begin by creating a chart with hourly slots depicting
your waking hours of any given day. We then, with Godʼs help, begin thinking about
whatʼs most important to us - those indisputable absolutes - that define our lives. Some
examples will be our circles of relationships (close friends, family and acquaintances), our
work commitments, sleep and eating habits, exercise, faith practices, leisure activities, and
so on.

We then continue the process by prioritising those activities and marking in the hour blocks
of our day according to the dayʼs priorities. A day in which youʼre working will look different

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from a day that you are not, as a weekday may look different from a weekend.
Remember, this process is not about how much you can fit into your schedule at any given
time, but how life looks like best lived for you in a balanced, healthy, holistic fashion. It will
be important to give yourself time to sleep enough to be rested (the average is between 7-
8 hours), time to eat unrushed meals, time to work what is required of you, time for your
closest relationships to develop (including your faith practices) and time to be replenished
through exercise and leisure.

Once you have drafted your ideal day at work and day off, try the same thing with how an
ideal week would look for you giving appropriate time to the things we considered above.
Your ideal week schedule will have some activities and practices that are specific to
certain days, just as your ideal day schedule will have some activities and practices that
are specific to certain hours. Once you have experimented with your days and week, try
drafting what an ideal month would look like for you with those added monthly activities
and practices which occur infrequently. Some people may choose to continue drafting an
ideal year with those activities and practices that are bimonthly, quarterly or are unique to
a certain time of the year. Further consideration may be given to practices occurring less
frequently (such as every five or ten years) such as pilgrimages, specific gatherings or
other more costly investments of oneself.

The goal of all of this is freedom for the wayfarer engaging in this sort of deliberate action.
To many it may seem that these suggestions are too rigid or inflexible and may therefore
stymie an individualʼs freedom. Far from it. Rather than sapping it, developing a life plan
such as has been suggested is meant to give life and impart freedom. It is well-attested
that structure breeds freedom of the rarest kind by allowing space for activities and
practices that need to happen, but all too often get squeezed out due to procrastination or
lack of preparation. After having invested time reflecting on oneʼs life in a holistic manner
and creating the appropriate space for those most necessary things, a pattern of life can
emerge that empowers the wayfarer in the process of ʻbecomingʼ. In this way, anyone can
begin to more intentionally co-author their life with God who already knows intimately the
dreams Heʼs had for us since the foundation of the world.

“Communities must reinforce how broken we are, how

vulnerable we are and how much in need of Godʼs grace we will
always be.”
- Brother Samuel; Franciscan Friar

Dreamer Values
After some time exploring and reflecting on what it means to live out the vocation of a
Dreamer - no matter our specific calling - a few trends began to emerge which were then
translated into Values describing our modus operandi (or ʻway of operatingʼ). As with
nearly all that we are offering here in the Dreamers Rhythm of Life, these are up for
discussion and revision as more people opt into becoming a member of the community
and begin living into this Rhythm. The over-arching vocation of the Dreamer is the title in
bold italics, the Values are in bold and each Valuesʼ m.o., or how the Value is worked out,
is stated below them in italics. The Values appear in no particular order.

Being Redemptive Agents in Culture

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• Investing in Others
• Facilitating Godʼs Dream for the Individual
• What is it for Each Person?
• Moving in the Direction of Godʼs Invitation to Relationship and Partnership

• Celebrating Creativity
• Partnering in Collaborative Ventures
• Blessing and Participating in the Good, True and Beautiful
• Releasing / Encouraging Others

• Respecting the Image of God in Creation

• Giving Voice to / Addressing the Needs of Others
• Preserving / Cultivating our Home Planet
• Human Relationships
• Animal life
• Plant life

• Living a Life of Integrity

• Living in Community as we follow Jesusʼ example
• Authenticity (Generosity)
• Transparency (Self-Control)
• Intentionality (Service)

• Striving for Excellence

• Doing the Best We Can With What We Have
• Giving Our Lives in Response to God Giving His to Us
• Living Out of Those Places God has Put a Fire In Our Souls

• Defacing Superficiality
• Creating Space for Depth
• Engendering Conversation
• Welcoming Questions and Doubts
• Embracing the Uncomfortable for the Sake of Growth

We believe that the practice of reflecting upon and writing down the Values we live out of
enables us to be more intentional in our efforts, more passionate in our prayer and less
frenzied in our daily routines. Through the practice of writing out those things we value,
we are inviting each other into the deliberate activity of continually revising how we are
investing ourselves in life as the Spirit of God leads. The Dreamer Values are those things
that inform our practice and pursuit day to day. We are visible signs to one another of how
our Values are lived out, just as in the case of the Classic Principles and Distinctive
Practices. The Community is a safe place to experiment and practice living life in the Way
of Jesus and in the Rhythm of a Dreamer.

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you

desire; you will what you imagine; and at last you create what
you will."
- George Bernard Shaw; Irish poet & playwright

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Dreamer Objectives
Finally, after a period of conversation and introspection, a number of Objectives have
arisen which the Community would like to continually work toward. Some Objectives are
long-term, others medium-term and a couple are continual. They are, as are most things
in this Rhythm of Life, up for discussion and revision. We would like to keep the
Objectives to a maximum of five in order to concentrate our efforts and sharpen our focus.
When those Objectives that are time-bound or task related have been accomplished, new
Objectives may be added to replace them. The accomplishment of agreed upon
Objectives encourages the Community to mature, builds into our collective history and
offers us opportunity to directly influence culture-at-large. The following Objectives are
listed below in no particular order.

• The provision of a retreat facility in Ireland to facilitate creative enterprises and personal
growth

• To facilitate networking between people engaged in creative practice

• To facilitate the training and education of individuals and groups for creative practice

• The provision of counselling services, care services, soul friendship and other support
services for persons requiring them for the advancement of their holistic well-being

• To promote and support the creativity of communities, groups and individuals within the
island of Ireland and beyond

“The reason we are not able to see God is the faintness of our
desire.”
- Meister Eckhart; Christian Mystic

Desire as Fuel for the Journey

Desire plays a huge role in life. Many Christians view desire with suspicion and some with
contempt, seeing it as that aspect of the human soul that leads one away from the path of
God into rebellious habits. Their response, I believe, stems mostly from fear of the
unknown. If we are to truly understand our deepest, core desires as human beings, we
must begin telling the Story from the beginning - not from the Fall where many churches
focus their efforts. We need to remember that in the beginning God created and it was
good. He made us for Himself and there was joy in that union between God and
humanity. It follows then that if God made us for Himself, our greatest longing, fulfilment
and desire can only be met in Him. By nature, God is an independent being and humans
are dependent beings. Independent being(s) by nature exist outside of the need - or self-
sustaining - desire for what others or things offer them. They exist in their own right
regardless of anything else. Dependent beings however, must derive their value, their
identity and therefore their worldview from independent sources in order for them to thrive
in health and wholeness. Unfortunately, the opposite has proven true throughout much of
history leading us into the ʻcrisis of the soulʼ humanity now experiences. We need to get
back to ʻgoodʼ.

One prayer I often pray for myself and others is that God will remind us of our hunger for
Him. Since He, in fact, made us for Himself in love, our greatest desire - everyoneʼs
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greatest desire - is truly for the One who loves them, although that desire is possibly
hidden under layers of rebellion. Ontologically, desire is such a foundational building block
in the human soul that it follows we need to see change happen at that deepest level of
who we are for the rest of our soul to be transformed. That process of change can come
about through individuals getting in touch with their God-desire, whether or not they call it
that or recognise the desire in the first place. People are yearning for God and so many
cannot even see it. We might immediately think of those ʻoutsideʼ the confessing Christian
family when we hear a sentence like that, but the same is true of those of us who confess.
We often still seek satisfaction through avenues other than God when our God-hunger
begins to surface. The challenge in life is redirecting our souls to the Source that
absolutely satisfies. Our desire for God - or to what degree weʼre aware of it - sets the
stage for God to show up in our lives. Our desire forms the basis of our invitation to God;
an invitation He will not quickly pass up. Recognising this and owning it is a key step
toward healthy growth in Christ-likeness.

Deconstructing and analyzing our behaviours and motivations will often reveal a glimpse of
our hunger for God which is intended to be a help for us in the spiritual journey, reminding
us of our true ʻhomeʼ in God Himself. Answers to our prayers, miraculous experiences and
the acquisition of inspired knowledge will never substitute for intimacy with the Lover of our
souls. He is our Great Reward, He is our True Desire, He is the Fulfillment of our soulʼs
longing. God extends a wonderful grace to us that in those times when we honestly do not
sense or own desire for Him, this too He can grant us if we only ask. We find our
beginning and end in Him who is and who sustains everything. In conclusion, all of the
aforementioned details of developing a Rhythm of Life are meaningless activity unless
propelled by a rapacious hunger for the Living God.

May God reveal to us that all the best we dream for ourselves and others is animated in
Him.

“Few people could imagine what God would make of them if

they would whole-heartedly surrender themselves into His
loving care.”
- St. Ignatius of Loyola; founder of the Jesuits

Appendixes
What follows are simply examples of how one personʼs experimental practice of the above
may look as discerned by themselves and others in the Community. These are meant
purely for illustrative purposes. Each individual will have their own unique Rhythm of Life.

Classic Distinctive
Principles Practices

Generosity Writing

Self-Control Reading

Service Spiritual Direction

--- Speaking

!
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# # Ideal Work Day# # # # # # Ideal Day Off

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