One of the most fascinating examples of creative change in nature is the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Genetically the two organisms at either end are identical, and yet they are so different from each other in every other way, that unless you watched the whole event with unblinking eyes, you’d never believeContinue reading “Becoming All That We Are”
Tag Archives: higher nature
Plato and the Collapse of the Republican Party
When political leaders are elected in a democracy, their constituents expect them to represent and promote their interests, safeguard their freedoms, and protect their rights. Quite frequently, as candidates, those seeking office tell their constituents what they want to hear, and, once elected, they might follow through on some of those promises. If an electedContinue reading “Plato and the Collapse of the Republican Party”
Your Triune Nature
Given that truth in mythology is not a matter of factual or historical accuracy but rather the degree in which its stories express and reveal to us the reality of what we are, I’ve been reflecting lately on a persistent fascination of Christian mythology: the triune nature of God. (I’m using the uppercase ‘G’ hereContinue reading “Your Triune Nature”
Beyond Ourselves
Every human society has a moral order it expects its members to uphold and obey. Evolution pushed us as a species into group sizes large enough where animal instincts were no longer sufficient guidance for this new and emotionally complicated situation, and we needed something “from above” to govern our behavior with each other. WhileContinue reading “Beyond Ourselves”
Human and Fully Alive
The attraction of any so-called unified theory is in its claim to bring several previously disparate and unreconciled things into a single all-inclusive picture or account. One of my abiding aspirations over the years has been to clarify a unifed theory of human nature, an “anthropology” that doesn’t reduce us to dumb matter or deifyContinue reading “Human and Fully Alive”
Living From Our Higher Nature
I would say the major reason why humans suffer so much and project their suffering onto each other is that we don’t understand ourselves. There is indeed a truth that can set us free, but it involves more than just getting our facts straight. This truth has to do with waking up to what weContinue reading “Living From Our Higher Nature”
The Long Adventure
As we search for a fuller understanding of ourselves as human beings, it’s necessary to beware of explanations that reduce us to essentially one thing. On one side, scientific materialism wants to insist that we are nothing more than a highly evolved marvel of organic chemistry. On the other, metaphysical realism says that we areContinue reading “The Long Adventure”
The Shining Way
Religion tends to be different from a mere philosophy of life in its claim to offer a way through, out of, or beyond what presently holds us back or stands in the way of our highest fulfillment. In the genuine traditions of spirituality, such a solution avoids the temptation of either an other-worldly escape on the one hand,Continue reading “The Shining Way”
Tracts of Revolution 