The three aspects of attention we hope to provide friendly conditions for through these practices are implicit in the title phrase “Waiting on God,” drawn from the writing of Simone Weil:

1. Waiting, as the capacity to wait in unfulfilled suspense (as in meditating, fasting, practicing patience)
2. Waiting on, as attending to someone/something (patience bearing fruit as humble, unreserved availability in our activities and our interactions)
3. And, Waiting on God – 
   • “My soul waits for the Lord / More than watchmen for morning / More than watchmen for morning” (Psalm 130)
   • “…as the eyes of a maid / to the hand of her mistress / so our eyes look to the Lord our God…” (Psalm 123)

This Lent, we invite you to join a group experiment. We are calling this an “experiment in attention” because we intend to “try on” attention as a posture towards life, not only read about its virtues. Our intention is to share practices, limitations, and reflections that together are conducive to experiencing day-to-day life this Lent as “waiting on God.” 

The three aspects of attention we hope to provide friendly conditions for through these practices are implicit in the title phrase “Waiting on God,” drawn from the writing of Simone Weil:

What better way to prepare for Holy Week, when Jesus asks his followers, “Could you not watch with me one hour?” than by learning to give attention, “the rarest and purest form of generosity”? (Simone Weil)

Logistics:

• There will be one live, virtual session weekly from 5-6:15pm Pacific on Thursdays, starting 3/13, for the whole cohort to pray, share experiences, and introduce the following week. 
• There will be a virtual home page for the experiment – SimoneWeilHouse.org/experiments – where you will find more general reading context to use as helpful, the short daily readings, and a forum, where everyone is encouraged to post at least once a week and respond to each other. 
• Emails will be sent introducing the experiment as a whole and each new week. 
• This is a free offering of the Simone Weil Catholic Worker. Our work is supported entirely by people who appreciate it, so please consider supporting us.

What to Expect:

• If you participate, you will be prompted to discern a couple habits of attentiveness that feel especially significant to you (relationally, personally), and you will be asked to commit to these (and share them in the forum, with option of intentional vagueness)
• In addition, all participants will be asked to (with directions as needed)
  • Spend time every day in a simple form of meditation, 
  • To commit to a fast of your choosing (a form of patience), 
  • Apply special intention to mindfully “attending” to the things of the day
  • And to meditate for a short period daily on the material provided by the experiment. 
• Finally, two challenges at a meta-level:
  • To notice your pain point, if you will, where attention meets emotional resistance, and gently, day-by-day, challenge the demands of this resistance. 
  • And, to somewhat regularly examine (and sometimes share) how a desire to give attention was subverted – How did this work? 

Key Dates:

• (Optional) In-Person Introduction: This Friday, 3/7 at 6pm at Simone Weil House
• March 10th: First day of the experiment
• March 13th: First virtual small group meeting