Tag: spirituality

the uses of imagination

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The psyche consists essentially of images. It is a series of images in the truest sense, not an accidental juxtaposition or sequence, but a structure that is throughout full of meaning and purpose; it is a ‘picturing’ of vital activities.  

CG Jung

Last year, towards the end of a 10 day meditation retreat with a well known teacher, I sat the Yaza.  The Yaza is an all night sit – from 10pm to 6am the next morning.  The intrepid leader leads the small group through a sequence of traditional sitting and walking meditation, maybe a break for snacks, and the always entertaining yaza march – in which all the yogis line up and march military style around the neighborhood.

Somewhere around 4am, after the march, I was sitting and was visited by an Angel.

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A mystic take on the concept of SIN

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I’ve been thinking lately about SIN – that old favorite device that pits the virtuous against the rest of us.

Growing up in the evangelical church, I was terrified of Sin – there was an overwhelming sense that there was nothing I could do to stop it – that it was always right there waiting to pounce on me.  That no matter what I did, how much I tried to be a good person – there was always a sin following me around.  We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of god afterall.

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Know what you want so you can chart your course

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I’m involved in a lot of different faith communities at the moment, most centered around social media.  In all of them, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a christian group, a secular self help group, or a witchy group – everyone seems to be stuck around making choices about their daily spiritual practices.

This question most often comes up around meditation – some people really struggle with it – but it also comes up around navigating the cornucopia of options out there for the spiritual seeker, which I chalk up to the plain old decision paralysis of the modern world.

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the good heretic

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For a long time this space has been In Secret Knots.

In Secret Knots was mostly focused around a specific brand of spirituality, specifically from a pragmatic Buddhist lens.  Alas, all things change (including me!) and while I’m still highly involved and in love with pragmatic Buddhism, I’ve also branched out in a million ways, with so many new insights and spiritual ideas that no longer fit in the container of Pragmatic Buddhism (or anything really).

The Good Heretic is an idea I’ve been thinking about for quite some time.

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Grief & saying goodbye

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This weekend I’m leaving my apartment that I’ve lived in for 7 years.

It’s hard.  Harder than I expected it to be.

The reasons I’m leaving are all so expansive and good.  In the past several months I’ve bought a house, I got engaged, and I’m moving on to a whole new phase of life.  I’m deeply excited about the future, but as the move gets close I’m also discovering more and more sadness around saying goodbye.  Not just to my apartment, but to a whole phase of life.

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A theory of unified spirituality

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When I talk to people about their spiritual practice, one of the big complaints I hear frequently is “how do I integrate my practice into my daily life?”

I hear this from meditators, but also from other types of spiritual practitioners – it’s as if we have two lives, our spiritual lives and our regular going to work, taking care of kids, doing grocery shopping and sitting in traffic lives.

On a level everyone knows that’s not true, that it’s all the same – but we experience it as separate.  It’s not that nuts then to want to integrate things together, to be able to hold that peace of practice (whatever it is) – as we move through the world.  I mean, isn’t that the point?

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