There was a time when I did not trust my deeper experiences as
being divinely inspired. I believed that there was only a supreme spiritual
experience for those who have become enlightened as defined by some Eastern
mystical teaching (often seen as the experience beyond experiences). While
radical non-duality is a higher realization than most, it is not the only
experience that matters, or even one that may matter for most.
And as we've come to see, many highly realized beings, through their ethical misconducts, have affirmed the necessary, but not sufficient notion. Moreover, I will add it may not even be necessary for most.
And as we've come to see, many highly realized beings, through their ethical misconducts, have affirmed the necessary, but not sufficient notion. Moreover, I will add it may not even be necessary for most.
As such, I’ve come to appreciate Spitzer’s attempt
to integrate these experiences that we may take for granted. There are many
ways that the Divine appears in us as laid out in the following diagram (taken from his book):
"The above transphysical activities and contents are the mediating ground through which man’s self-consciousness interacts with divine self-consciousness, particularly in the experience of the numen and the sacred, the awareness of moral authority through conscience, and the awareness of a cosmic struggle between good and evil. They are also the vehicle for appropriating and interpreting love (empathy) and beauty (aesthetics) on both the temporal and transcendent level" (Spitzer).
Now, unless you're completely fallen as an infra-human shitehead, you're going to have these experiences quite often. The issue is whether or not you're open to where these events may be arising from. If you can't see beyond your little box, then you are just the box.
And it's not a small boxy matter, because these transphysical activities can affect the way you see yourself, your meaning in life, what sense of dignity you have, and what is your destiny.
But some folks are no fun. All they want to do is disregard the higher, so they can regard them-little-selves. They see their best moments as anomaly or something unreal. Instead, if they could see themselves as potentially as good as their best moments, then things would start to get interesting. Augustine summed it up best when he said, "God is more myself than I myself am."
"If we are open to the full range of God’s interior manifestation, we will see that He is not a disinterested God (e.g., the god of Aristotle or Einstein), nor a dispassionate God (the god of the rationalists), but rather a God who is calling us to develop our virtuous character, and to share it with the world, a world that is in need of everything we could offer—teetering on the brink of darkness" (Spitzer).
We always guided by a sense of presence beyond the temporal and material. The clues are there, we just need to see where the pointing is coming from.
Now, unless you're completely fallen as an infra-human shitehead, you're going to have these experiences quite often. The issue is whether or not you're open to where these events may be arising from. If you can't see beyond your little box, then you are just the box.
And it's not a small boxy matter, because these transphysical activities can affect the way you see yourself, your meaning in life, what sense of dignity you have, and what is your destiny.
But some folks are no fun. All they want to do is disregard the higher, so they can regard them-little-selves. They see their best moments as anomaly or something unreal. Instead, if they could see themselves as potentially as good as their best moments, then things would start to get interesting. Augustine summed it up best when he said, "God is more myself than I myself am."
"If we are open to the full range of God’s interior manifestation, we will see that He is not a disinterested God (e.g., the god of Aristotle or Einstein), nor a dispassionate God (the god of the rationalists), but rather a God who is calling us to develop our virtuous character, and to share it with the world, a world that is in need of everything we could offer—teetering on the brink of darkness" (Spitzer).
We always guided by a sense of presence beyond the temporal and material. The clues are there, we just need to see where the pointing is coming from.