Deep community cannot happen without trust. And trust is a tricky thing. How do we choose who to trust? How is trust built? What if we over-trust and naïvely subject ourselves to something harmful? What degree of trust is appropriate for relationships in spiritual community?
Read MoreOnce we have been unbound by the illusion of our separateness and individualism, we begin to recognize more and more how we are interconnected. We see the myriad ways we are not islands of Self, but members of a collective, divine body of Christ. That is to say—not “members” of a church or religion—but co-participants in the body of God on earth today.
And yet, we may also experience difficulties in actually living into and operating from this place of deep mutuality. While we may feel deep longings and have sincere intentions to engage more directly in our communal nature, it perhaps doesn’t come easily to us. Or we may not quite know how to do it. Though it is natural—in our deepest nature—it may often feel foreign at first. Or we may simply have to pace ourselves to rebuild the atrophied muscles of this under-utilized capacity.
Read MoreIn many religious traditions, the element of community has been seen as a byproduct of spirituality rather than a focus point. A result of a common interest or aim rather than a vital component of the spiritual work itself. There is the spiritual content and substance, and then there is the community that comes together around those focal points of teaching, learning, service, and spiritual practice. In most cases, community is just what happens along the way.
Read MoreWe left the church on Easter Sunday. Standing on the stone steps out front, the tradition was for the congregation to release dozens of colored balloons after the service. Floating up into the sky, they reflected the sun in pastel hues, slowly spreading out across the bright blue expanse. Up from the grave and risen to life. Now free. Dressed in their finest, the high heels clicked and the dress shoes scuffed against the sidewalks as people headed back to their cars. And I knew I wouldn’t be coming back.
Read MoreThere are many promises out there that this path or practice will allow you to live in a perpetual state of bliss while achieving all of your goals and becoming rich and thin in the process. However, the spiritual path is not always pretty, especially when it comes to our shadow.
We all have a shadow self. By “shadow,” I simply mean that which we cannot see. That which is in the dark because we have unconsciously hidden it from ourselves.
It is generally made up of the parts of ourselves we believe are unacceptable. It is not that they are really unacceptable. We just think they are — and bury them. I did that with being
Read MoreTo become genuinely grown-up and mature on our spiritual journey, we need all three kinds of knowing — healthy ordinary knowing, mystical spiritual knowing, and deep unknowing in our lives. This is because each form is limited without the others. There is a shadow or limiting side to all three.
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