DOWN-TO-EARTH SPIRITUALITY

The process of becoming human

involves moving from idealism to realism/reality

from sky to Earth/to life in the real world –

we don’t have to be perfect

or stoically deny our emotions.

Travelling through the many layers of consciousness

contained in the psyche can be painful/confusing/frightening

but trusting in God’s love

can keep us on the path

to discovering God’s amazing life within us.

 

Neoplatonists promoted a flight-from-the-world spirituality

whereas Aquinas and Eckhart (who inherited

the philosophy chair of Aquinas in Paris)

taught an in-this-world-here-and-now spirituality.

 

The New Testament word for the compassion

of Jesus means “his bowels turned over” –

Jesus was in touch with his guts/feelings/passion/earthy life.

 

For Thich Nhat Hanh, the well-known Buddhist

the life of Jesus is his most basic teaching –

Jesus lived exactly how he taught –

so, imitating the life of Jesus

is more important in God’s eyes

than believing in airy-fairy concepts

like eternal life after you die –

life in God/eternal life begins now

in this life in this world.

 

But Christianity is inherently dangerous

when it lives in this world because it demands

self-sacrificing love and active compassion for the poor

which automatically puts it in direct conflict

with those who value competition and success above all else –

the Masters of the Universe who worship

the Money-god/Mammon

of our western culture.