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The Spiritual Art of Navel-Gazing

The Spiritual Art of Navel-Gazing

Although it isn’t a common colloquial phrase in contemporary culture, navel-gazing is something we ought to consider bringing back as a practice of spiritual formation. That may sound rather odd to our modern ears, given that we commonly associate this phrase with self-absorption and self-centeredness. If someone is labeled as a navel-gazer they are considered to be guilty of being consumed with their own thoughts, preferences, desires, and concerns without any regard for others. Oddly enough, the original meaning of this phrase had the exact opposite idea in mind.

 

The ancient Greeks practiced the art of navel-gazing, which they called omphaloskepsis. And no, I did not just bang my hands on the keyboard to produce that word. It is an actual term in Greek that literally means navel examination. But it wasn’t about entertaining thoughts of one’s self. On the contrary, the practice of navel-gazing was a way to contemplate and reflect upon the divine. 

 

In his book Curiosities of Medical Experience, the 19th century British army surgeon John G. Millingen described the Greek practice of navel-gazing in this way. He said the Greeks “…fancied that they experienced celestial joys when gazing on their umbilical region, in converse with the deity.” It was believed that concentrated reflection on the navel would induce deep communion with the divine. Building upon this strange ancient practice, Kelly Kapic has this to say in his outstanding book You’re Only Human.

 

“The belly button” Kapic suggests, “has a profound theological importance. It is our body’s way of reminding us that we are not self-made people. We are not separate islands. We are not merely rugged individuals. Instead we are inevitably and necessarily bound together with others. It has been so from the beginning and will always be. Each of us is someone’s child whether we know their names or not. All of us owe our existence not simply to God but to other human creatures.”

 

If we just pause to consider this for a moment it actually makes a great deal of sense. What is our belly button? It is evidence of the fact that our lives are derivative. It is the anatomical reminder that our very existence is wholly tied to and predicated upon the existence of another. And that person’s existence is predicated upon the existence of another, and so on. This pattern of life should then naturally lead us to wonder and explore the source and beginning of all life, namely God.

 

When we properly practice the discipline of navel-gazing, it should forge within us a godly gratitude that recognizes all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do is given to us from God. Or to put it conversely, it should form a holy humility that admits there is no such thing as a purely self-made person. There are two places in Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church that captures these truths perfectly. 

 

1 Corinthians 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 

 

Notice that Paul is not denying his agency and responsibility to work and fulfill his calling. However, he does so with a keen awareness that every ability, skill, and resource he possesses is ultimately traced back to the provisional hand of God. Similarly, he declares these words in chapter 4 regarding our need to refrain from arrogance and boasting.

 

1 Corinthians 4:7

For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 

 

These words from Paul express a similar sentiment that is often repeated in the book of Deuteronomy by God to His covenant people.

 

Deuteronomy 8:17–18

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 

 

This is a timely word for us because we live in and contribute to a culture that celebrates things like independence, individualism, and ambition. Those aren’t inherently poisonous things, but when they become paramount values they can end up eclipsing God’s gracious provision in our lives. When this happens it can lead us to conclude it is our power and the might of our hands that have produced all of our successes.

 

Referring back to the work of Kapic, he not only warns us of this, but also shows us how futile it is to fully know ourselves and seek the good life with such an independent and individualistic mindset.

 

“Any attempt to live as my own center shows that I need others to understand myself and I need them even more to be a healthy and thriving human creature. This is how God made us. Because we have our being in relation and not apart from it, knowing one’s self rightly can only occur in the context of being known, of being in relationships, of being loved. The self alone, the isolated ego, is a contradiction in terms. Pursuing that contradiction leads not to life giving knowledge but to suffocating loneliness and unending self doubt.” 

 

When we slow down enough to consider the sermon that God is preaching to us through our belly buttons (which is admittedly the strangest sentence I have ever written) it should cause us to see and savor the beauty of His design for our lives. Not just in the way we are deeply connected to God, but also to one another. 

 

Again, Kapic has a helpful word for us on this matter.

 

“Once we start to ponder it, we realize that our whole lives, from our food to our shelter, from our health to our incomes, all of it involves the interdependence of human beings. Why? Because we are finite creatures. And the gift of these relationships with God, others, and even the earth is meant to provide the matrix for self understanding, giving our lives meaning and purpose no matter what our socioeconomic status. Ironically only when I stop thinking of myself as chiefly an isolated center of consciousness and begin to consider my identity in terms of my relationships to others can I start to see clearly who I am.”

 

We live in an age where the false narrative of the self-made person is the heroic tale we want our lives to tell, and where the vain value of independent individualism is contributing to our increasingly lonely world. God wants to free us from these destructive ways of thinking and living by directing our hearts toward Him who is the giver of every good gift. 

 

Do you want to see the hand of God at work in your life? Start by looking at your belly button.

RE: In Regard to Lent:

In regard to Lent…

If you use email to operate the logistics of your work and life, you surely see “Re:” in your inbox daily. “Re,” of course, means “in regard to.”  “Re:” signals that someone has replied to an original message.

In The Beauty of Weakness: A Walk Toward Eastera Lenten devotional provided by Christ Community Church, I keep coming across the theme of “Re.”

…Reflection

…Repentance

…Recalibrate

…Renewal

I am reminded by our pastoral staff that Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter) is a season of reflection and renewal…a time to slow down and take a look at my life and my spiritual walk. A season to identify sins that hinder and recalibrate my habits in a way that leads to a deeper dependence on God.

Christians often use the days of Lent to fast from something significant in their life. This self-denial may come in the form of giving up anything from chocolate to caffeine to social media – or maybe even a more poignant sacrifice. The overall point of this personal sacrifice, according to Associate Pastor Jordan Green, is to “loosen our attachment and recalibrate our contentment.” Jordan writes that by denying our own strength or pleasure, “we might more clearly know the sustaining work of our Lord.”

As we have begun the annual observance of Lent, it is wise to take this opportunity to respond to an original message ourselves. We respond to the message of God’s unfailing and steadfast love – the very same love that Moses and the Israelites sang of thousands of years ago after their miraculous exodus through the parted Red Sea.

“…Who is like you — majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? …In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them…” Exodus 15: 11,13

We respond to the message of this same God who who kept covenant and steadfast love to a thousand generations (Deuteronomy 7:9) and sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die on our behalf because he so loved the world. (John 3:16)

It’s no coincidence that so many of the themes of lent start with the prefix, “re.” Dictionary.com tell us that “re” is, “a prefix…with the meaning ‘again’ or ‘again and again’ to indicate repetition, or with the meaning ‘back’ or ‘backward’ to indicate withdrawal or backward motion.”

Each year during Lent, as we withdraw, quiet our hearts, and break our regular routine, we are invited to reflect, again. We are invited to repent, again. We are invited to recalibrate, again. We are invited to renew ourselves, again. As a matter of fact, our God of love and amazing grace invites us into renewal every day of the year, not only during Lent.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Titus 3:4-5

“In regard to” Lent, will you respond to God’s original message of love through the disciplines of reflection, repentance, and recalibration? There’s no better place to start than in Scripture and through prayer. On Easter Sunday, let us celebrate the Risen Lord our Savior with a renewed heart, mind, and spirit.


GUEST AUTHOR: Lauren McMonagle
Lauren attends Christ Community Church, and this text originally appeared in her BLOG: https://rootedlauren.com/ 
Used by permission.