“We are all of us together carried in the one world-womb; yet each of us is our own little microcosm in which the Incarnation is wrought independently with degrees of intensity and shades that are incommunicable.”
—Teilhard de Chardin
This advent season we are considering our own conception, our own carrying within, the capacity to bear our own divine offering, to bring into this world our unique and particular incarnation of divine life in this time.
Read MoreMost Christians are either aware of or have been a part of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity of the twentieth century. These theologically conservative groups are reminiscent of the mystical phenomena seen in the book of Acts and identified by what they call the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, spiritual gifts, healing, prophecy, and exuberant worship.
According to former Fuller Seminary Professor of Church Growth Peter Wagner, there were three waves of charismatic renewal in the twentieth century.
Read More“Driven by the forces of love, the fragments of the world seek each other, so that the world may come to being. This is no metaphor; and it is much more than poetry.”
–Teilhard de Chardin
As we awaken to the spiritual energy within us, we find ourselves drawn more and more to the radial energetic dynamic, the drawing forward and further. This is no solo affair or hero’s journey. This radial energy “bundles.” It draws us together. It is the antithesis to the fragmentation, separation, and loneliness so pervasive today.
This attraction is not only for companionship but for the discovery and mutual expression of the evolving realities that are emerging in our midst. They more easily arise and can be discovered in a collective context. Even more, the community itself, the combining of energies, is instrumental to this movement forward.
Read MoreDuring New Testament times, both in Jewish and other spiritual traditions, doves were very much associated with God and God’s Spirit. Early Christians began depicting Spirit almost exclusively as a dove. It is a beautiful symbol for those who are aware of this meaning. For others, not so much.
I was teaching a group of several hundred progressive Catholics who had gathered in Santa Barbara. Before my first talk, a man came up to me and said, “I hear you are going to talk about the Trinity. I hope you don’t tell us again that God is two men and a bird.” I smiled and said, “I hope I don’t either.” In this essay, I am suggesting we not only shoot the dove for those who don’t find it meaningful, but also update what we mean by “the Holy Spirit.”
Read More“Transpersonal cocreation refers to dynamic interaction between embodied human beings and the mystery in the bringing forth of spiritual insights, practices, states, and worlds.”
-Jorge Ferrer
Last week, Paul wrote about partnering with God in the work of evolution through co-creation. He wrote about how that work involves doing more than Jesus did (John 14:12), participating in the birth of new creation (Rom. 8: 19-23), cutting “Kosmic grooves” into the fabric of tomorrow’s reality (Ken Wilber), and realizing “ourselves as incarnate divine creativity” (Richard Rohr). I’ve got those on my to-do list, but I’m not sure if I’ll quite finish by the end of the week!
No, of course these are life-long works of no short order. But it is also highly empowering to recognize that we have the potential and ability to engagingly participate in the evolving work of God. Not only can we, but we are highly encouraged to do so!
So how do we do this? Where do we start?
Read MoreWriting of the work of God in continually creating an ever-evolving creation Meister Eckhart said: “St. Augustine says, ‘What does it avail me that this birth is always happening, if it does not happen in me? That it should happen in me is what matters.’ We shall therefore speak of this birth, of how it may take place in us. —Meister Eckhart (1260–1327)
Yes, let’s speak of this divine-human birthing that goes on in and through us. In the business world, co-creation is a strategy that brings different parties together (for instance, a company and a group of customers), in order to jointly produce a mutually valued outcome. It is a form of collaborative innovation where ideas are shared and improved together, rather than kept to oneself.
Add God to that definition and you have Spiritual Cocreation—partnering with God in the continuing creation of reality. Let’s see what Jesus, the Apostle Paul, Ken Wilber, and Richard Rohr have to say about this.
Read MoreIf we adopt a posture of growth in our lives and seek to continue to evolve in learning, practicing, loving, and more, we will discover one of the core principles of development: evolution moves toward greater inclusivity and greater complexity.
Fortunately, this direction of evolution will ultimately be the end of tribal religion—religion that is defined by its hard boundaries of saved and unsaved, believer and nonbeliever, holy and heathen, sacred and secular. The fuel for religious wars will run dry. Persecution and ostracization will be replaced by harmony and welcome. The lion will lay down with the lamb.
This beautiful utopia of the future is possible (if we have enough time to get there as a species), but some people believe the way we arrive at such a place is through the conglomeration or unification of spirituality into a synchronized path for all. That dissolving the boundaries leads to not only no separation, but also no distinction.
But this homogenization is not in keeping with the principle of complexity. And sometimes our hopes . . . .
Read More