In the 1980s there was a group of contemplatives from several different religions that gathered to dialogue, and they came up with eight points of perennial wisdom that they seemed to share in their experience of an Ultimate Reality.
Tag: wisdom
Thoughts about "From Naïveté to Wisdom," the Pattern of the Spiritual Journey
I want to say a few thoughts about Richard Rohr's daily meditation today about "From Naïveté to Wisdom." Please click the link to read it. It's a beautiful simplified perspective of the faith journey: from order, to disorder, and then reorder.
Ephesians 1 BHT, "Paul" talks about the Grace of Christ in All Beings
An addition to the BHT, where Paul (or a disciple of Paul) talks about the infinite Grace that Christ is found in all beings, and the type of wondrous insight and knowledge that God reveals in those who attain the consciousness of Christ.
Is God or Christ a Male?
It is true that traditionally God and Christ have been predominantly associated with the male gender and masculine principle (a "He"), at least in the West. What we need to decide today is if that traditional interpretation, these symbols of the Divine, are still valid, and accurate, and if they point to truth in the present, or if we need a better interpretation of these symbols as a society, a culture, in our interspirituality, in the world today.
What does it mean to be “a god”?
There are stories, legends, mythologies, folklore, traditions, histories, scriptures, and texts from all around the world which tell us of humans who have reached the stature of the gods. They have, in essence, become "a god." Some recognizable examples are people such as Jesus, Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), and Muhammad. The process that these went through has been called theosis, deification, divinization, realization, awakening, and enlightenment. What does it mean to become or be "a god"?
Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “First Vision” Account
Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) was a Russian novelist, writer, and philosopher. He often explored questions of psychology, philosophy, and religion. He wrote many acclaimed novels.
Jordan Peterson & Sam Harris Debate the Nature of God
A friend recently shared a video clip with me from an event on June 23, 2018, which was a public conversation and debate between psychologist and professor Jordan Peterson and philosopher and neuroscientist Sam Harris, moderated by biologist Bret Weinstein. It's an interesting discussion between a theist (Peterson) and an atheist (Harris) on the nature of God, which I think begins to get at the heart of the issue from both sides.
The Book of Mormon as Literary Alchemy: Joseph’s Magnum Opus and the Philosopher’s Stone
Joseph Smith's activity in bringing forth the Book of Mormon can be viewed as a project of alchemy, which was influenced by his affiliation with treasure digging, the folk magic worldview, the Hermetic tradition,1 as well as his many mystical spiritual experiences. I suggest he initially sought to bring the “gold plates” of his visions into material reality, and in the process discovered the true “gold” was within himself, the elusive Philosopher’s Stone.
1 Corinthians 3 BHT, Who Teaches the Truth?
An addition to the BHT, where Paul addresses the people in Corinth about who teaches the truth about God. (The painting above is "Conversion on the Way to Damascus," by Caravaggio, c. 1600-1601.)
The Meaning of Contemplation
The word contemplation usually brings to mind someone thinking deeply about something. Perhaps similar to pondering something, or meditating upon a thought or subject. But this modern meaning is not what the word used to mean.