I can only imagine what you are feeling about this, but I do know that inquiry along these lines can only be healthy, and if followed through will bring deeper understanding.
Thanks. Of course I wonder if I'm ready for the deep end of the pool yet, or if I am in way over my head?
Maslow wrote about what happens in groups that follow on behind a founder who has had a peak experience, usually they become somewhat dogmatic and superstitious about the things the founder has said.
I seem to recall something like this, but we didn't delve deeply into Maslow's musings at the upper end of the hierarchy. It seems business has little to gain from that end and finds a great deal to feast on (and feast well) in the lower end of the hierarchy.
Every mystic in history couched his experience in terms that his fellows understood, usually religious terms.
Looking deeply, you won't find much real difference between St. John of the Cross and Rumi for example.
I have heard of Rumi and know nothing about him (her?). I would be interested if you would like to present a brief comparison...
Further I think it important in the growth of an individual when they stand up and say " I respect all that my elders have taught me, and the traditions are of great value, but now I would open my mind to all the possibilities of reality and inquire what is real"
Perhaps. I am also aware that such...bravado...can come at great cost. Many are those in history who were martyred that dared challenge the status quo and the institutional monster. We have a certain freedom *now* to consider such things, but that freedom came with a price, a price that transcends traditional patriotism and political boundaries.
It does not leave my thoughts, that I might inadvertantly tread into genuine heresy or blasphemy. G-d knows if no other that that would be the last intent of my heart. I do not challenge for the mere sake of challenge, for ego, or for self-righteous justification. My challenge is not *me* centered. It stems from years of observation, collecting pieces here and there that do not add up. When puzzle pieces do not fit regardless of how often and sincerely I am assured that they do, and I have turned these pieces in every manner possible to try to fit them *as I am told* and they do not...I am left with little other conclusion. <shrugs>
Or, as I like to put it, "why do cows say mu?"
(The feeling of emptiness that follows a great religious experience doesn't really cover it. Some call it 'the great doubt.')
It's like the Coming Full Circle thread.
Very well Seattlegal, please tell me, why do cows say MU?
I don't know that I can say my feelings to this are the result of any great religious experience...unless by great you might mean cumulative, as in over the course of many years. I remember reading that thread, and it would probably serve me well to reread, but this crisis of faith is not a new thing to me. I have been skirting the edges of this *no-man's land* for a long time, about 5 years or so I would say, with no clear distinctions one way or another of which way to turn. I just feel like I want to cut out all the crap and get to the raw essence. Maybe G-d is like a hot summer sun and religion is like sunscreen, and maybe I am daring to go naked without sunscreen and risking turning lobster red from head to tail...but it just seems like a risk worth taking.
Somehow, Phillipians 4:11-13 seemed to help me out in that regard:
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
You never cease to amaze me with how you are always able to pull just the right passage with the proper nuance. I love this passage, it always speaks to me on a very visceral and intimate level. It strikes home.
G-d has laid many challenges before me in my life, but I am confident He has never laid any obstacle that could not be overcome. G-d helps those who help themselves; G-d loves doers of the word, not hearers only. G-d also appreciates when we go to Him for assistance. He will lead if we but only ask diligently, sincerely and with a contrite heart.
I have long asked for wisdom and understanding. It always seemed to me the noble and courageous path. It is well that foresight is not so clear as hindsight...if I had only known beforehand what the price and burden was for the prayer I offered, I would likely not have asked. It isn't a path for the faint of heart, or those who need to be led by others. But then I suspect those like you, Paladin and China Cat know this as well as I do, even if you might word it a bit differently.
