Sometimes the Divine is revealed in a way that stops us in our tracks, almost paralyzed by the beauty. And we realize that what is before our eyes is greater than the sum of the parts.
The Divine peeks through4/7/2016 0 Comments
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I recently came across some ideas about spiritual naturalism. I found them similar to my writings and teachings on how one's spiritual life is as natural as breathing. So, I encourage others to relax and be their natural, spiritual self. Know that we are connected to a Source greater than ourselves. Religion is not required for an adequate explanation of the seemingly "eternal" part of the self. Here are some thoughts from the underlying thinking of spiritual naturalism. I attribute these explanatory ideas of spiritual naturalism to online discussions and postings: There are some philosophers who believe the human self is an individual, unique entity that is constantly changing. For example, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus stated, “you cannot step in the same river twice.” This idea of an impermanent self is similar to Buddhist teachings. However, this notion of the self doesn't account for a part within us that seems to remain constant, unchanging. Heraclitus recognized this and later wrote “you both can and cannot step in the same river twice.” Many ideas are offered to explain the constant, enduring part of ourselves. In the West, many believe we each have an eternal soul. In naturalism, the enduring quality is attributed to the “laws of nature”-the regularities we observe in the world expressed in mathematical form. Nature works with fundamental parameters that include various particles and forces within the sphere of space and time resulting in a self-organizing cosmos. From the naturalistic viewpoint, every individual life arises out of the larger processes of nature, is sustained by them, and in the end is absorbed back into them. If a human life is viewed as a process, the experience from conception until death involves constant change, both physical and mental, yet there is a regularity to this change. The physical body of a person at age six is very different from the body at 60, yet there is a continuous narrative history of that body throughout it's life. The constant flux of a life seems to take place in an orderly and patterned way. This process of life is part of other process. The human body is part of metabolic processes which integrate with ecological process. Energy we metabolize from food is affected by nuclear processes in the sun; the sun comes from galactic processes which originate from what is currently thought of as “the big bang.” Each cell in our body is a form of little self in constant, orderly flux. The cells comprise organs which comprise systems. The body itself is like a little universe of inter-related processes. Our selves are also a part of cultural processes too. The human self appears to be rooted in things other than itself, in otherness, though this is not a common naturalistic idea. The idea that we are rooted in otherness is a common notion in many spiritual traditions. Christianity holds that we have an eternal soul that is independent of the world and its processes. Within the mystical writings of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, there is the notion that the kingdom of heaven is within us, to be experienced here and now, not after death. To enter this kingdom of heaven, one must give the self over completely to the otherness which some call God, of which one is ultimately a part. The great religious traditions of the East teach something similar, some with and some without a personalized deity. For example, in Hinduism, union with self and the Divine is Samadhi. Perennial Philosophy includes the idea that the spiritual goal and fulfillment of a life is for the self to merge with a timeless reality. Aldous Huxley has written about Perennial Philosophy and how this philosophy is contained in the great spiritual traditions. In his writings, he includes an expression from the Upanishads which translates to “That Art Thou.” “Thou” represents the individual person. “That” refers to the ultimate, enduring reality, an otherness. I believe we are completely rooted in this otherness. And I refer to the otherness in terms of a personal spiritual worldview.
Maybe you are a person with a faith system that requires believers, such as yourself, to “evangelize the world.” In that system, it is the life-purpose of saved believers to attempt to tell the gospel to anyone, anywhere. For some believers, they take the charge to evangelize the world to be without bounds, for “they know God’s law (and ethics) trumps man’s.” Of course, in reality, it is they, not God, choosing to violate and victimize others’ personal liberty while using God as cover. Many times the most vulnerable among us are the victims of these religious zealots, stepping across cultural and professional boundaries in efforts to accomplish their self-ordained mission.
There are some mental health professionals who inject religious and supernatural concepts into the care they provide clients and view this as an acceptable means of “treating” clients. Dr. Darrel Ray, who practiced in a clinical psychology setting for 10 years and authored several books, views this method of treatment by therapists as problematic. During these years, many potential clients wanting treatment by secular therapists contacted Dr. Ray. Several people wrote to him sharing that they saw a therapist for months only to have the therapist recommend they pray, go to church, or use some New Age method to address their problems. As a result, he founded the Secular Therapist Project, which includes a website that connects potential clients with therapists who adhere only to secular, evidence-based treatment and avoid the supernatural and religious approaches. Ray believes that the problem with therapists not adhering to methods with clinical testing and peer review grew over the last ten or twenty years, in part because many religious schools incorporated counseling programs for students to major in. Thus, graduates from these programs inject their religious views into their relationships with their clients. Through Ray’s website, www.seculartherapy.org, secular therapists and potential clients use this free and confidential service to connect with each other. The website is like the popular dating sites OKCupid.com or Plentyoffish.com. With seculartherapy.org, therapists register and describe their practices on the public parts of their profiles, along with a checklist of conditions they are qualified to work with. The identities of the therapists are protected. And no other information such as email addresses, phone numbers, office addresses, or websites are available to prospective clients on these public profiles. Dr. Ray and, the other site developer, Han Hills, use a secure process to screen and approve therapists. Four very experienced secular therapists look at each application and evaluate the applicants’ use secular methods. All personal information of the clients using their website is kept confidential as well. The way it works: Clients and therapists correspond through a system a few times until they feel comfortable and believe they are a good fit to work together. I come from the perspective that organized religion/revealed religion is man's way of explaining God. It seems most obvious when revealed religions reflects so many traits of man's personality. (I did not fact check this but accept the comparison's relativity.)
In order to succeed at life and at our occupation we must grow, take in new knowledge. I believe, we cannot receive something new “with hands filled with the old”. In 1976, I came to the place where I decided to let go in order to receive by leaving the Christian ministry. Without a doubt, I am not the only minister to make that choice. According to various surveys, 1,500 pastors will leave ministry each month due to burnout or contention within their churches. Craig Cable, the National Director of Lifetree Cafe, has had the opportunity to work closely with hundreds of pastors from various denominations. Pastors have shared their fears about and frustrations with the church with Cable. One word that Cable would use to describe their feelings is that they feel “stuck”. They know changes are needed but can't seem to get enough church members on board to make changes.
In a new study titled Church Refugees, sociologists Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope shared their insights resulting from over 100 interviews with people who said they are done with church. This group of people is referred to as the “Dones”. The Dones felt frustrated and held back in church. These are four reasons they left: 1. They wanted community 2. They wanted to affect the life of the church but encountered bureaucracy 3. They wanted a conversation but got lectures 4. They wanted meaningful engagement with the world. On a blog post on HolySoup.com by Tom Schultz titled, “The Rise of the Dones,” many people who self-identified with the term “done” described how they were doing more in ministry after having left the church. The bureaucracy they encountered in the church no longer encumbers them. Due to the great response to this article, the website TheDones.com was created to provide a safe place to find support as well as community. If you're reading this and you're a “Done”, please know you're not alone. Be encouraged that God is doing amazing things outside the four walls of the church. Amazing things are possible in your life today. I ask that you seek to follow your passion! Take time to enter the Stillness and Silence, absent from space and time, to learn from your Self. There are many wonderful and good works to do in our world that is growing in fear and appearing to lack so many vital things. Let’s do those things we feel in our heart to do. And, in so doing, let us build a community of like-minded folk desiring to follow the guidance that comes from within, the Divine Source. You can contact me at: [email protected] Christianity is my inherited religion. For that reason I feel comfortable in participating in its critique. Though the wording may be offputting for some, I believe my friend has pointed out an aspect of the faith, in its practice, that needs addressing. From my observations, the world can stand more folk following teachings as those of the beatitudes.
In order to succeed at life and at our occupation we must grow, take in new knowledge. I believe, we cannot receive something new “with hands filled with the old”. In 1976, I came to the place where I decided to let go in order to receive by leaving the Christian ministry. Without a doubt, I am not the only minister to make that choice. According to various surveys, 1,500 pastors will leave ministry each month due to burnout or contention within their churches. Craig Cable, the National Director of Lifetree Cafe, has had the opportunity to work closely with hundreds of pastors from various denominations. Pastors have shared their fears about and frustrations with the church with Cable. One word that Cable would use to describe their feelings is that they feel “stuck”. They know changes are needed but can't seem to get enough church members on board to make changes.
In a new study titled Church Refugees, sociologists Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope shared their insights resulting from over 100 interviews with people who said they are done with church. This group of people is referred to as the “Dones”. The Dones felt frustrated and held back in church. These are four reasons they left: 1. They wanted community 2. They wanted to affect the life of the church but encountered bureaucracy 3. They wanted a conversation but got lectures 4. They wanted meaningful engagement with the world. On a blog post on HolySoup.com by Tom Schultz titled, “The Rise of the Dones,” many people who self-identified with the term “done” described how they were doing more in ministry after having left the church. The bureaucracy they encountered in the church no longer encumbers them. Due to the great response to this article, the website TheDones.com was created to provide a safe place to find support as well as community. If you're reading this and you're a “Done”, please know you're not alone. Be encouraged that God is doing amazing things outside the four walls of the church. Amazing things are possible in your life today. I ask that you seek to follow your passion! Take time to enter the Stillness and Silence, absent from space and time, to learn from your Self. There are many wonderful and good works to do in our world that is growing in fear and appearing to lack so many vital things. Let’s do those things we feel in our heart to do. And, in so doing, let us build a community of like-minded folk desiring to follow the guidance that comes from within, the Divine Source.
I'm Done with organized religion. Organized religion by its very nature is exclusive. It divides the world up into a duality, saint and sinner. Kevin Swanson a Christian minister calls for the rounding up and execution of certain citizens for behaving badly. I choose to practice following Love into a spiritual life of my choosing. A spiritual life that is inclusive of all peoples.
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