God Be in My Head

I decided not to go running out in the hurricane winds today, but I wanted to. Instead, I immersed myself in the energy of the outdoors by sitting on the porch, a favorite Southern pastime I learned from my grandparents.

Whether I run or not on a given day usually has more to do with my mind than the weather. Getting my head in the right place to start a run can sometimes be a great challenge.

I've been reading about Yoruba religious tradition, where the head and mind are taken very seriously. In Yoruba religion it is believed that the divine (personal god, or orisha) dwells in the head of every person. Yoruba practitioners understand that as our heads harbor our personalities and our memories, so they harbor our sacred selves.

This reminds me of a hymn that I used to hear in Duke Chapel as an undergraduate when my roommate was in the choir. Sometimes I would make it out of bed early enough to go to the service that started at 11am!

"God Be in My Head"
lyrics: Sarum Primer 16th century
music: John Rutter

God be in my head, and in my understanding
God be in mine eyes, and in my looking
God be in my mouth and in my speaking
God be in my heart, and in my thinking
God be at mine end, and at my departing.

I couldn't find a video of the Duke Chapel Choir singing it, but here's another choir that does it almost as beautifully:



I'm going to use this song as my runner's prayer for tomorrow. Hopefully, the god in my head will feel like running. :)