Tag Archives: ego
Love Is Our Nature
Peacemakers Love Is Our Nature Sunday, September 15, 2019 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. —Matthew 5:9 Before you speak of peace, you must first have it in your heart. —St. Francis of Assisi [1] Much of Christianity seems to have forgotten Jesus’ teachings on nonviolence. We’ve relegated visions… Continue Reading Love Is Our Nature
Nodding to the Shadow
Shadow Work Nodding to the Shadow Wednesday, September 11, 2019 I want to emphasize that the shadow is not inherently evil or wrong; it varies from culture to culture. In the United States today, white dominant culture prizes competition, urgency, individualism, niceness (or avoidance of conflict), and logic. Other values and ways of being, such… Continue Reading Nodding to the Shadow
Finding Our Life
Heaven Now Finding Our Life Wednesday, May 1, 2019 Anyone who wants to save his life must lose it. Anyone who loses her life will find it. —Matthew 16:25 This passage from Matthew is a very strong, almost brutal statement from Jesus. It has perhaps been discussed, dismissed, misunderstood, and conveniently forgotten more than almost… Continue Reading Finding Our Life
Dying to Ego’s Delusions
Dying Before You Die Dying to Ego’s Delusions Tuesday, April 2, 2019 Dying to the false self before our physical death allows us to be reborn as our more authentic and soulful selves. Today James Finley, one of CAC’s core faculty members, reflects on how hard it is for our ego to surrender to the… Continue Reading Dying to Ego’s Delusions
From Naïveté to Wisdom
Growing in Christ: Week 2 From Naïveté to Wisdom Sunday, March 24, 2019 To grow toward love, union, salvation, or enlightenment (I use the words almost interchangeably), we must be moved from Order to Disorder and finally to Reorder. ORDER: At this stage—our “first naïveté,” if we are granted it (and not all are)—we feel… Continue Reading From Naïveté to Wisdom
The Performance Principle
Growing in Christ: Week 1 The Performance Principle Friday, March 22, 2019 Religion in the second half of life is finally not a moral matter; it’s a mystical matter. While most of us begin focused on moral proficiency and perfection, we can’t spend our whole lives this way. Paul calls the first-half-of-life approach “the Law”;… Continue Reading The Performance Principle
Relinquishing Ego
Growing in Christ: Week 1 Relinquishing Ego Thursday, March 21, 2019 God’s seed is in us. If it were tended by a good, wise and industrious laborer, it would then flourish all the better, and would grow up to God, whose seed it is, and its fruits would be like God’s own nature. The seed… Continue Reading Relinquishing Ego
Individuation
Growing in Christ: Week 1 Individuation Wednesday, March 20, 2019 I first learned about the two halves of life from Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (1875–1961). Today we’ll hear from a Jungian analyst, James Hollis, who is saying the same thing I am trying to say, but better. Hollis writes: The second half of life presents… Continue Reading Individuation
The Container and the Contents
Growing in Christ: Week 1 The Container and the Contents Monday, March 18, 2019 Theologically and objectively speaking, we are created in union with God from the beginning (e.g., Ephesians 1:3-9). But it is hard for us to believe or experience this without a healthy ego and boundaries. Thus, the first part of the spiritual… Continue Reading The Container and the Contents
