09 July 2002, 04:05 PM
johnboyHere folks, more
homework , using an oldy but not moldy notion of tripartitie being [see below]- which of those spiritual practices [from Spirituality & Health website] are prescriptions moreso for the spirit? the soul? or the body? any practices left out or ignored? any holistically intertwined?
pax,
jb
because there is a prosperity myth, which has infected American spirituality, which is nothing but the reformulation of the capitalistic secular model that suggests that hard work and right living breeds material and emotional success and that the right self-help algorithms can fix any impoverishment --- (difficulties, however, WILL remain)
when, in fact, classical spirituality never said any such thing but rather that life is a many-colored mystery --- joyful, sorrowful and only then yields it true glory, which is ortho-doxology
and so, what gets in your way IS the way, and life's interruptions ARE your ministry
and it is an excess of spirit, which seeks to explain it all away, chasing after every new model, theory and rubric
and it is an excess of soul, which swims around in the psyche doing depth therapy, interminably, clinging in sentimentality to an imagined innocent past and longing pollyannishly for an idealized escapist future,
and it is an excess of body, which seeks to numb it all in various fixes, shutting down the senses and clouding our perceptions so we don't have to face life's difficulties
but, if in the core of our being, in what has always been called the heart, we listen to our body and soul and spirit and allow them ALL to teach us and to reveal to us the lessons of this Cosmic Boot Camp [another Scott Peckism], where we are learning how to love, then we shall be transformed and He shall walk the earth, in you and me, again
for we must not merely read the Logos, feeding our spirits the Word in veritas
and must not only eat of the Bread and taste of the Cup, feeding our souls the Contemplative in via
but must Go out, then, and heal others, that we, ourselves, may be made whole, our bodies becoming Corpus Christi in vita ...
that's what I know in my heart, now, and I hope it is Sacred
jb
10 July 2002, 01:36 PM
johnboyNow, after considering this:
That it is an excess of spirit, which seeks to explain it all away, chasing after every new model, theory and rubric
and it is an excess of soul, which swims around in the psyche doing depth therapy, interminably, clinging in sentimentality to an imagined (or lost) innocent past and longing pollyannishly for an idealized escapist future,
and it is an excess of body, which seeks to numb it all in various fixes, shutting down the senses and clouding our perceptions so we don't have to face life's difficulties,
we might take up the larger picture, which is not quite that simple.
If you felt undressed before, then you�ll be nude on the Big Screen now! There are many such triads, more or less, overlapping with this one, such as that of the cognitive, affective and instinctual or of thinking, feeling and gut, of understanding and memory and will (given over to faith, hope and love), of the purgative, illuminative and unitive and of superego, ego and id.
There are the dyads of extroversion and introversion, of perceiving (taking in info to mull over) and of judging (coming to closure on things), of sensing (gathering insight through the senses) and of intuiting (gaining insight through intuition), of thinking and of feeling, and let�s not omit feminine and masculine, anima and animus.
There is the tetrad of storge� (instinctual mother love), of philia (mutual reciprocity of friendship), of eros (what�s in it for me love) and agape� (what�s in it for others love) and there is the tetrad of Bernardian love: love of self for sake of self, love of God for sake of self, love of God for sake of God, love of self for sake of God.
There is the additional dynamism of developmental stages which all of these faculties may go through, as well as that of integration and disintegration, which can occur for manifold reasons. There are the virtues and there are the vices, habits that we get into through endless repetition, the capital sins of pride, anger, greed, envy, sloth, gluttony, lust (and the enneagram adds deceit and fear) and the virtues, which they sin against: humility, kindness, generosity, zeal, temperance and self control.
Finally, all of these are involved in developmental psychological processes of individuation and integration and in the formative spiritual process of transformation.
When we deconstruct the enneagram or take a depth psychological approach, we will notice that it is not just an excess of body, soul and spirit which can afflict us. There are other approaches we can identify in ourselves. For instance, with respect to our feelings, we can
be in touch with them and do one of two things,
overexpress them or underexpress (even
repress ) them, or we can be
totally out of touch with them. We can also successfully
integrate them, with increasing maturity, into our personality.
So, it is not so simple as identifying in ourselves (or in a particular group or even society), an exess of body or soul or spirit, it is quite often that we find ourselves (or a particular group or society) repressing the body, soul or spirit, and it is all too common that we are totally out of touch with one or another aspects of our personhood.
All of this is also reminiscent of the tetradic
JoHari Window : the things we know about ourselves that others don�t know (the
hidden area ), the things others know about us that we are unaware of (our
blind spot ), things both we and others know about us (our public area) and things neither we nor others know about ourselves (the unknown area). Part of the journey involves getting
feedback from other people, in order to decrease our blind area. Another part involves
self-disclosure and a decrease of our hidden area. Reflections such as this one and unconscious processes can gift us with
unexpected insights which reduce our unknown area. The enlargement of the public area is a true gift that best unfold in a discerning and loving community.
One of the lessons taught in the study of formative spirituality is that, although intimately related, spiritual direction and psychological counseling differ. In fact, there are a number of different ministries that have distinctly different modalities and goals, even as they share strong affinities:
quote:
"Over the years our spiritual direction has come to be focused more and more on helping people develop their relationship with God. . . . As we have come to understand it, spiritual direction differs from moral guidance, psychological counseling, and the practice of confessional, preaching, or healing ministries (though having affinities with them) in that it directly assists individuals in developing and cultivating their personal relationship with God."
(William A. Barry & William J. Connolly. The Practice of Spiritual Direction, Seabury Press, 1982. Preface, p ix.)
In making the distinction between spiritual direction, psychological counseling, sacramental reconciliation, moral guidance and various healing ministries (for instance Reiki, laying on of hands, inner healing, bereavement companioning and hospice care),
we can draw some valuable lessons for the journey . Importantly, we can be reminded that we are tripartite beings and that we need to continually
nourish each aspect of ourselves, body, soul
and spirit. It is not enough, therefore, to identify those aspects of our being that we�ve given over to excess. We must also get in touch with those aspects with which we have been totally out of touch, as well as those we may have repressed for one reason or another.
Another lesson is that only a silly and unreflective fundamentalism would dismiss something like the enneagram as a New Age approach or as an occult exercise over against the Christian processes of
redemption or the Church�s
sacramental economy . It can be left to the psychological profession to judge its approach as effective or not. Conversely,
one should not confuse the particular goals of depth psychology, of personality typing, of psychotherapy, of Jungian individuation and such with those of spiritual formation, reformation and transformation . Rather, in the Catholic view, everything can be sacred and everyone can belong. We are so fearfully and wondrously made, so incredibly depthful and complex, and the life processes touched upon above are so very
holistically intertwined , that we need to view our journey to wholeness as an incredible partnership of the Body of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 12) and we need to open ourselves to the
marriages of faith and medicine, of direction and counseling, of sacrament and the healing arts, of theology and psychology .
If we don�t do this, on one hand we may altogether lose the concept and
reality of sin , of our radical culpability before God and one another. We may lose that self-awareness that informs us that we truly do consciously, through deliberate choice, and unconsciously, through habit,
fail to cooperate with Grace . On the other hand, without an awareness of depth psychology, for instance, we may lose our awareness of the possibility of others� radical
exculpability and of
Jesus� injunctive admonition not to judge . If there is one clarion call in all of this, it is to moderation, to balance, to the Middle Path, to the Tao, to the
via et veritas et vita of a
Life in Christ .
So, if you take a nuanced interpretation of the Ten Commandments and the above-listing of the capital sins, to see where you may have sinned against God and others and self, and if you use the dyads, triads and tetrads identified above to better identify areas and aspects of your life where you have given yourself over to excesses and/or repressions, or where you may even be totally out of touch, you�ll have a pretty good little
self-examen process to sit down with each day. Perhaps you�ll be able to identify areas for potential growth and also areas of
significant giftedness and substantial integration (to help you discern ministry) . You may be able to discern areas best addressed through self-help and those requiring the gifts that can only be had in community. You might also discern whether you have been over- or under-reliant on direction, counseling, therapy, support groups, medicine or various healing arts to the
exclusion of one another.
And, in closing, as far as balance is concerned, you may take some solace, at least, in the sacraments of healing, the gifts of the Spirit, the cultivation of awareness, the practice of presence, the ladder of prayer, the liturgy of hours, the rhythms of Paschal Mystery --- all of which are initiated, first, by God --- and, know this,
the Indwelling Trinity is prodigal, given over to reckless extravagance, is wasteful and wanton in Love, lavish in Her Beauty, luxuriant in His Goodness, profusely bestowing Their Truth --- and if you leave open a window or crack open a door, well, you can just
forget moderation where God is concerned!
pax tibi,
jb
p.s. actually, certain plans were put off a couple of days
21 August 2002, 01:09 PM
PhilSue, there hasn't been as much emphasis on posture and breathing in Christian mysticism as among some of the Eastern spiritual traditions.
One notable exception, however, would be the situation dealt with by St. Gregory Palamas (14th C.) in the Eastern Orthodox Church. He was a hesychast (hermit living in silence) and basically minding his own business when he came upon the writings of a man named Barlaam, who was a staunch critic of the hesychasts, their ascetical practices and beliefs. Barlaam's writings were highly influential among Church authorities, and hesychasm was beginning to be considered as a somewhat heretical, or at least undesirable, Christian vocation. Palamas decided to break his silence and stand up to Barlaam, producing some of the most powerful theological treatises on the Christian mystical life and theosis (transformation into God) found in our religion. He is honored by the Orthodox Church as one of its greatest teachers.
See
this page for more info on St. Gregory and the controversy with Barlaam.
This page also has some good information. Relative to your question, this resource notes:
"It is interesting to note that Gregory did indeed advocate the use of a �psycho-somatic technique� in the hesychast method of prayer; yet he did so not out of a conviction that this was an essential necessity (rather, he saw it principally as in aid for beginners)[10], but rather out of a conviction that refusing to admit the validity of a type of prayer involving the body would be to negate the reality of the intimate and foundational unity of the human person"
What the Athonite hesychasts whom Gregory was defending were actually doing was "a particular discupline of breathing and concentration. According to this method, the monks would keep their chin pressed against their chest and their eyes fixed downward while repeating inwardly the simple prayer 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.' By the continual practice of this prayer, the hesychasts were guided into the vision of the uncreated deifying grace of God. But a few simpleminded monks, not understanding correctly the meaning of the method, may have distorted it interpreting it as an automatic system for reaching the divine light. Thus, they gave cuase for the attacks of their opponents." ([i]Christian Spirituality: High Middle Ages and Reformation," by Jill Raitt, Ed.).
- incidentally, the term "navel gazers" comes from the critiques leveled at the Athonite hesychasts -
I am struck by the similarity between the posture of these monks and that used in zazen and other Eastern meditative disciplines. A good friend and author, William Johnston, S.J., has written that he believes bodily postures and breathing do play a vital role in helping the mind become clear and open to the perception of higher contemplative graces. In my own life, I have found that postures like this are very helpful, especially in helping to balance kundalini energy.
So, there's a rather long reply, but as the topic is hardly ever covered in Western Christianity, I thought it worth covering here.
Phil
