Found Poetry as Spiritual Practice
by Christine Hiester
I bring an unassuming pyrex glass dish of clipped words with me to workshops and retreats, the promise of revelation tucked beneath the delicate strips, and I delight in the inevitable surprise of the attendees when they find just what they need. My glass dish is like the loaves and fishes, multiplying and nourishing, seeming to never run dry of wisdom. I have heard often, post-retreat, that retreatants “didn’t expect anything to happen” in this session, that they almost didn’t attend, and yet it is also often the experience I hear the most about weeks and even months beyond the ending of our time together. The hour or two we spend sifting through words is a holy practice, one that allows the Spirit to speak in and to the deepest parts of us.
The spiritual practice of found poetry, like all ways we open ourselves to Divine Presence, is a mystery. In my work as a spiritual companion and retreat facilitator, one of my greatest passions is leading others beyond the small definitions of prayer that have been handed down to them into greater experience and awareness of the Spirit in all of life. The exhortation to “pray without ceasing” is in fact a reality that is lived through us by the Source of all being, wisdom, and goodness, and not a directive to verbally engage in perpetual conversation. Creative practices are uniquely suited to teach us this truth.
Found poetry is a practice of attunement, of resonance, of absorption. Instead of feeling the pressure to craft a poem from scratch, we take a pinch of words from the bowl and slowly, methodically sort them in front of us. Some words invite; some repel. And others are quite neutral.
“Keep the words that make you feel something,” I offer. “Move them around and let them interact with one another. If you’re quiet enough, you might even notice them whispering, conversing with the Spirit to reveal what your heart most needs to hear.”
And organically, without much fuss, a poem emerges. We set aside what doesn’t fit and let the poem come to life in front of us. With a glue stick we adhere it firmly to a page in our journal, or on an index card or even a photograph. And the magic doesn’t stop there. We journal with the poem, wondering why it showed up and what prayer it evokes. Does it know something we don’t? It holds out a hand to us, in blessing and invitation, and, of course, we accept.
Watch the video below for a demonstration on creating your own collection of found poetry clippings. You will need a few thrifted books, a pair of scissors, a permanent glue stick, and a generous stretch of time.
I hope you enjoy the process of inner listening and prayer that the practice of found poetry offers.
Christine Hiester is a spiritual companion and creative practice guide who believes in the power of deep listening to heal and restore the world, one conversation at a time. Sometimes these deep conversations are shared over coffee, and sometimes they happen in color, metaphor, form, or song. However they happen, Christine wants to be right in the middle of them. She loves to be found on Instagram @shapingtheriver or at her website www.shapingtheriver.com.
