Spiritual wisdom traditions of East and West have distinct accents in their respective characterizations of what awaits the individual who is finally ready to break past the constraints of personal identity and a conventional life. Conventional refers to the system of assumptions, habits, values, and agreements that define the worldview and way of life forContinue reading “Life on the Ladder … and Beyond”
Tag Archives: spirituality
The Crux
All lifeforms on Earth are limited to lifetimes, some longer than others and some shorter. A few last only days, while a few others stretch into centuries. You’re about average, with a life expectancy of 80 years or so. Does that upset you? Nature has equipped all forms of life with a developmental aim andContinue reading “The Crux”
Ascending the Cosmic Mountain
The illustration above captures in a single image a grand view of the Whole Shebang. It is the dialogical product of our two traditionally complementary systems, science and spirituality. Unfortunately, the metasystem of religion which historically served to hold these two in coordinated balance and mutual support, made the fateful mistake of defending a literalContinue reading “Ascending the Cosmic Mountain”
The Spiral Path
Many teachings on wisdom spirituality assume that their audience is comprised of individuals who are ready for a revelation or breakthrough. In fact, many are only interested in home improvement and not an entirely new living situation. In a sense, conventional religion is something of a compromise in this regard. Somewhere in there are goldenContinue reading “The Spiral Path”
Breaking Through
The diagram to the right is an abstract illustration of Reality. That horizontal line of different-colored spheres at the center represents the plane of individual existence. Each sphere is a distinct being. Pick a color: that’s a rock being. Across the way is a tree being. Next to them are a dog being, a birdContinue reading “Breaking Through”
What If
Can you imagine our situation on this planet if humans lived with compassionate stewardship of our place in the great Web of living beings? If we today could draw on a spontaneous intuition of our common heritage with other species and our shared dependency on the Spirit of Life? As fellow earthlings and offspring ofContinue reading “What If”
Making Our Way
In this blog, I am intent on doing my part toward correcting and clarifying the conversation around religion. Instead of identifying it with one or another of its historical examples, I’ve urged the importance of defining religion itself as a system of symbols, stories, sacraments and practices that link us back (Latin religare) to theContinue reading “Making Our Way”
God for Everyone
If you believe in a god who loves you, perhaps in a “heavenly Father” who is loving, gracious, compassionate, and merciful, a divine or supernatural personality who is happy with your obedience but gets angry or disappointed when you mess up or fall short, what you likely have there is not God but an idol,Continue reading “God for Everyone”
Next Steps
Wouldn’t you love to have a map for this journey of your life? Some chart, some tool – something that could help you get oriented in Reality and moving in the right direction? We’re not talking about a step-by-step itinerary prescribing every move, turn, and stop along the way. That would take the adventure outContinue reading “Next Steps”
A Journey Better Shared
There are just a handful of ideas from the collective wisdom tradition (Sophia Perennis) of the human race that truly transcend the historical conditions of time and place. The tradition itself is a massive undertaking, free of committees and bureaucratic management, to conserve and further develop groundbreaking insights into evolutionary advances for our species andContinue reading “A Journey Better Shared”