Saturday, August 31, 2019
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Thursday Thoughts - August 29
Destroying idols and listening to symbols is one of the keys that unlock living spirituality and possibilities for engaging the world and God. When this takes place we are no longer trapped within a network of self – other power plays that exploit us, but are embraced by a Divine love without measure, where freedom leads to redemption and transformation. Being loved in this manner supplies us with a new self and an identity that goes far beyond any of our own making.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Living Spiritual Rhythms - August 28
It’s almost as if the “poetic moment” is a suspension of time, in time. That is, this interruption allows for a spontaneity in the creative impulse to slash through the stark and monotonous ticking of the clock. The, aesthetically charged, then opens up imaginative possibilities for us to be in contact with that which is beyond, while we remain tethered to what is within. Fascinating !
Monday, August 26, 2019
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Thursday Thoughts - August 22
One the major problems in our culture is with “I”. When we are considered caught in and submersed by this supposed capital “I”, in either its exalted (Descartes) or humiliated (Nietzsche) form, we are lead astray. The single most pertinent reason for this is that there is no such a capital “I” in the first place. A new direction is necessary. Perhaps ‘attestation’, as taking a wise stand in the world, is a plausible possibility for self and other in that it keeps the viability of significance open, while refusing the chimera of the “I” of exaltation or humiliation
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Living Spiritual Rhythms - August 21
The incisive depiction of self-deception found in the biblical text is striking. We are never the selves we simply assume ourselves to be. Consequently, self-designation for good or ill is severely limited, leaving us adrift in a sea of questionable options. There can be no doubt about it – we are in need of more - being and becoming new selves. Receiving the gift of a new self anchored in the love of the Infinite One, deconstructs the death force of manipulative power strategies and sets us on the pathway to life with all its detours and complexities. Vistas of past, present, and future now opened up along the journey are breathtaking, as time and story coalesce and separate on the glistening horizon of the Divine promise of transformation.
Monday, August 19, 2019
Reflection for the Week - August 19
Hermeneutics plays a central role in our lives, and it is important to be aware of this for the following reasons. First, the general action of interpreting anything is part and parcel of what it means to be a human being. Second, we can think of the interpretive act as part of our hardwired neural functions that assist our quest for optimal understanding. Third, this quest can be viewed as a circuitous passage that takes us through an encounter with different kinds of worlds; spiritual, natural, cultural, textual, and otherwise. Fourth, along the journey, discordant thoughts are garnered and imaginatively woven together into a reflective concordant whole – a story. It might be said this way: an unfolding picture of reality, including our place in it, begins to surface out of the mist of an interpreted life.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Thursday Thoughts - August 15
Misrecognizing that there will always be a relation and distinction between self and other leads to inappropriate ways of connecting that both demand too much, and expect too little. Self and other deserve to be ‘mutually recognized’ as having worth and value, which is to result in developing a finely tuned dialogical interaction between them. But when self or other is the sole referent for life or no referent at all – each becomes artificially constituted in a double misrecognition – neither should be perceived in such roles. Since it is always tempting to ignore the complex tension of relation and distinction, it will be ‘hard work’ to avoid false characterizations and thus to reject the liabilities of forcing self to be other or other to be self. In this regard, care and compassion, delicately balanced on the tight rope of trust and suspicion, are continually in play.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Living Spiritual Rhythms - August 14
Struggling with a biblical notion of revelation is the way it’s supposed to be. It’s in the struggle to understand that the pursuit of what’s true continues. In some instances, it appears that the biblical writers were doing likewise. They didn’t have it all together. Thus, a significant dimension of the reality of theism and Christianity is found in the struggle to believe it. Apparently, in this life, hermeneutical entanglements with God, the world, self, and other should never end.
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