Lectio: First Step

To paraphrase the Grateful Dead, my experience with scripture has been a long, strange trip. And I imagine that many people have found themselves at similar places along this path as well. From conversations I've had and comments I've read, at least some have.

When I first came to know God, I had a very literal relationship with scripture. I took every word at face value and approached the Bible much as one would approach the Constitution or any other legal document. This approach serves one well who is just becoming familiar with it, but the application pretty much stops there.

The early Christians commonly understood four levels with which to proceed in scripture reading (a method they called lectio divina): literal, symbolic, moral, and mystical. Unfortunately, many Christians today stop at the first level, the literal reading. I will be the first to admit that I was at that place for a number of years. In my defense, many fundamentalist-based churches defend this method. In fact, they will often vilify those who even consider moving beyond it. At any rate, I was certainly complicit in this approach.

But there are problems inherent in stopping our process at this point. A disconnect occurs with what we claim to believe about the Bible. One of the issues, I think, is simply a confusion between the concepts of truth and facts. Literally-minded people tend to view the entirety of scripture as verbatim legal document, like a contract in which every jot and tittle is to be defended and proven for constitutionality. We drove ourselves crazy arguing over things like where Cain's wife came from and whether Creation took six 24-hour days.

In looking at the conundrum now, it seems obvious to me that our first mistake was in approaching an ancient text with 20th and 21st century Western minds. It's just not as easy as we tried to make it. The language difference is the first major barrier, but the entire mindset is so different. For example, the ancient way of communicating truth was much more in step with metaphor, allegory, and story. Our way of thinking is so dissimilar that we must work at looking through the proper lens.

When we do, the result is worth it. More about that in a later post.

Loving Paradox

One of the things that I've come to understand about contemplation and mysticism is the new way in which one can encounter paradox.

The modern Western mind has never been comfortable with paradox. It reminds me of the refrain from Frost's "Mending Wall": Something there is that doesn't love a wall. Well, to most of the Western world, something there is that doesn't love a paradox. It's a loose end that needs to be tied up. It's a mystery that must be solved.

In many parts of life, that's a useful way to approach things. In crime solving, for example, loose ends must be tied up. Same for the world of science. Answers must be found. However, there are some parts of life that defy solving. And as I mature (read "get older"), I have come to believe that they are more pervasive than I had once thought.

Particularly in the realm of spirituality and religion, paradox is virtually the norm. How can God be both three and one? How is Jesus fully human and fully divine? And those two are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg! The problem is that somewhere along the line, Western philosophy became enamored with finding answers—ones we can understand. The Socratic Method, the Enlightenment, and the Industrial Revolution, while amazing things, condition us to use the same dualistic mindset where one thought must be proven absolutely and universally true at the expense of another thought, which is then absolutely and universally false.

It is often through great philosophical  and spiritual struggle that we come to realize that much of life doesn't fit into the neat boxes we have constructed. In fact, we may discover that those boxes have no real meaning. Although on the service it might be seen as naive, I think it is a profound truth that "it is as it is." Yes, there are things that we must come to terms with. There are parts of life that we need to understand.

But there is a deep freedom and peace in accepting the inherent paradox of many things. And perhaps we will move beyond merely accepting it to embracing it.

Bazinga!

My wife and I are quite new to the party, but we have become addicted to The Big Bang Theory. It is one of those rare sitcoms where we find ourselves laughing out loud. Obviously, the characters and the situations in which they find themselves are way over the top (thus the humor). However, I find myself identifying to some degree with most of the characters on the show at some point or other.

Outrageous as he is, there are parts of Sheldon that I identify with. There are times that the things that make us special can also cause us to feel out of place. As a child, I was saddled with the curse of being labeled as “gifted.” Part of me definitely enjoyed this distinction, and my parents and teachers liked it; but for my peers, it was not a badge of honor. Instead, it marked me as weird and different. It wasn’t something that I dwelt on, but there were certainly times that I felt out of place.

In fact, the varying insecurities of each of the characters are pretty universally relatable, I think. We all have our discomfort in different situations and for different reasons. Of course, each of the characters also has strengths. And hopefully we can relate to those as well. Sometimes they’re even the same thing.

Our other favorite sitcom these days is Modern Family. It’s also outrageous and downright silly at times. For the uninitiated, it centers on the extended Pritchett family, of which 60-something Jay is the patriarch. He has remarried to a vivacious Colombian of about half his age who has a ten-year old son. Jay’s daughter Claire is married to real estate agent Phil Dunphy and has three kids. Mitchell, Jay's son and Claire's brother,  is in a same-sex marriage with Cam, and they have adopted an Asian girl named Lily.

On the surface, only the Dunphies have a “traditional” marriage. But despite their differences, all three model strong, loving families. As silly as the situations often get, every episode ends with a hopeful, loving moment—without being maudlin or heavy-handed. Even crazy sitcoms can teach us something!

Lenten Adventure

For many people Lent is about giving something up. I've done it myself...chocolate, sweets, etc.

How about adding something instead? The next six weeks could be dedicated to stepping out in praying, being more thankful, trying new things, allowing space for joy in one's life...the possibilities are practically endless.

For myself, I'm going to spend the time flexing my creative muscle. Every day during the season I'll be more intentional about writing something, whether it's here, in my personal journal, or wherever.

I think one of the keys to any kind of exercise like this is not to be too legalistic about it. The last thing any of us need is another set of dos and don'ts. But it can be a good opportunity to stretch the self a bit and see what we're capable of.

Anyone else want to join me in this adventure? I'll let you know how my experience goes. I'd like to hear about any of your journeys as well. Keep me posted!

A Primer of Sorts

I've been asked to provide a "Mystics for Dummies" explanation for those who may be unfamiliar with the topic.
I'll limit myself somewhat in my response, as this could otherwise go on for pages and pages. First, I'll limit myself to my own knowledge and experience on the subject. I feel that I've only begun to dip my toe into the sea of richness that is mysticism. And second, I'll stick to the Christian mystical tradition. Despite the traditions of other religions—which I understand to be equally rich—the Christian tradition is the one I find myself in.
I know that in some circles mysticism is viewed very skeptically. Some fear that being mystical implies straying from scripture (a pure misunderstanding, IMHO) and from theological orthodoxy. In the very broadest sense, mysticism refers to communion with God. Some use the term union, which again is a scary term to the traditionally minded. I hold to the belief that communion —and indeed, union—is something very much to be sought.
As far as tradition goes, there is a treasury of great Christian mystics whose paths we may follow. They include Origen, Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, John Scotus Eriugena, Bernard of Clairvaux, Francis of Assisi, Theresa of Avila, Ignatius, Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart, John of the Cross, and Brother Lawrence. Some more modern names include Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Merton, and Fr. Richard Rohr (my spiritual mentor in many ways).
A word of caution: looking into at least some of those names, one is likely to see them called heretics. Just remember that heresy is defined by those who hold the power.
As I am beginning to come to terms with mysticism, one of the keys to me is the practice of awareness. We in the West have developed such a dualistic, "either-or" kind of mindset. And to experience any true sense of the presence of God—or any spiritual truth—we need to develop space within ourselves for "both-and" thinking. Another way of looking at this is that we need to get our own minds, particularly our preconceptions out of the way. Only then can we open up to the possibilities of More.
So that's the starting point. I look forward to diving deeper into this practice. And as I said in my initial post, I'll offer some discussion here.
For further reading, I would recommend Richard Rohr's Everything Belongs and The Big Book of Christian Mysticism by Carl McColman (another of my spiritual mentors).

Maiden Voyage

Welcome! Don't know if anyone is going to have any interest in what I have to say here, but maybe some will.

I begin this blog not as an expert in anything (I'm certainly not!), nor as someone who has "arrived" (still enjoying the journey!). I hope to post somewhat regularly, but I won't guarantee every day. Comments are always welcome.

The name of the blog comes from Rush's Power Windows album from 1985. I am a big fan of Rush, and the idea of some type of allusion seemed good for the name of my blog. Plus, I couldn't think of anything original. *grin*

Mysticism is something I've been interested in lately, and I intend it to be a theme of this blog. I'll end with a few lines by the great Neil Peart:


The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown
We suspend our disbelief
And we are not alone...