Tag: healing

The Fifth Awakening

Awakenings occur when society’s old institutions break down:

the First Awakening (1730-1760) in North America

ended European forms of religion

and ushered in Protestant Evangelicalism

the Second Awakening (1800-1830) 

ended Calvinist dominance of theology

the Third Awakening (1890 – 1920) had two parts:

the social gospel and Pentecostalism

the Fourth Awakening (1962-1965)

was the Second Vatican Council

the Fifth Great Awakening has been happening 

since the 1970s thru the new science

which does not prove or disprove the existence of God 

nor does it contradict the basic beliefs of our faith

what the believer looks for in science is not proof

but a more accurate understanding of reality

The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra showed how 

outstanding scientists shocked by 

relativity and quantum theory

turned to Eastern mysticism to understand reality

and Carl Jung’s belief that all humans 

are communally connected and interdependent 

led to his theory of the Collective Unconscious

which fit well with the quantum universe

and Jesus, like mystics everywhere, was a unitive thinker 

who talked about his unity with the poor: 

“To the extent you took care of one of these 

sisters and brothers of mine, even the least of them, 

you did it to me”

– Matthew 25: 31-46

to love Christ is to take care of the most needy –

that is why ministers of the gospel, as Henri Nouwen put it 

must be “wounded healers” 

or they cannot enter authentically into the suffering

of a dislocated world/

a rootless generation/

a dying person

unless they have experienced the awakening of suffering 

in their own heart.

PERILS OF DUALISM

Brother Wayne Teasdale thought the unitive experience

found in all major religions

could form the common ground

for interreligious dialogue

 

on the other hand, dualistic thinking begets sin

since it divides up the oneness of life –

to sin is to separate yourself

from Earth/your true self/others/God

 

dualistic thinkers use knowledge –

even religious knowledge –

for ego-enhancement/shaming others

for their ignorance/controlling others

 

thank God healing is now holistic/unitive –

heal the whole family system

not just the individual who may be a “GOAT” –

not the “Greatest Of All Time”

but a “scapegoat” –

an outlet for the family’s sickness/dysfunctionality/rage

to flow to and through

 

all rage and even what we call the “wrath of God”

stems from falsely disconnecting natural and supernatural –

we only connect the two in so-called “acts of God” –

earthquakes/floods/avalanches/tsunamis –

this disconnection means the only “supernatural”

action is saying prayers

and social/Earth justice/transformation

are conveniently avoided as “secular”

 

dualistic thinking splits matter from spirit/

nature from grace/psychology from religion

when in fact they interweave

 

for example – every religious event

takes place in the “psyche”

which in Latin means “soul” –

there is an intrinsic religious factor

in every psychic development

but we have separated the soul from religion

and then we wonder why

religious institutions are in trouble!

 

EVERGREENING LEVELS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The ever-expanding consciousness of the Israelites:

God is transcendent – available to all –

not just their Hebrew tribe –

and God is personal

all came to a head in Jesus

and a new level of consciousness was born

and continued in the Church.

 

A still higher level of consciousness

came in the 20th century with the discovery

that the human person is not a random accident

but the arrow of evolution – the constant movement

towards greater consciousness/love/freedom/creativity.

 

And a still higher level of consciousness is emerging:

being Christian not only involves taking care of earthly life

it discloses the true meaning of life on Earth

going beyond humanization to divinization –

God divinizes us – we share in God’s divinity.

 

The insights that connect us to the Holy One

do not come from discursive thinking

but from radical awe and wonder

and our awareness of mystery and the ineffable –

this is where great things happen in and to the soul.

 

As Christians we come to truth not just thru our minds

but also thru our bodies when we begin to trust

our own experience/our own intuition/our own heart.

 

This is because the real religion of human beings

is spirituality – indeed we all secretly know this –

that the spirituality of mystics

is the origin of all the world’s religions.

 

And so the beat of Jewish consciousness goes on

and this ever-growing consciousness is ‘tikun olam’ –

the constantly evolving/never-ending/evergreening

‘healing of the world.’

 

3 Big Ideas for March 4, 2019

  1. This is what God wants to say to you. Imagine yourself being full-immersion baptized like Jesus, the heavens parting and God saying to you “You are my beloved in whom I take great delight.” Let God’s voice resonate deep within you and heal all your emptiness and pain.
  2. The point of both the Councils of Chalcedon and Nicaea is that only God can save us from destroying ourselves. And God can only save us humans through a fully human life, the life of Jesus.
  3. According to St. Francis de Sales, God placed you in the world not because God needs you in any way, but just to exercise God’s own goodness by giving you God’s grace and glory.