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Tag Archives: growth

Doubt: A Necessary Tool for Growth

Unknowing Doubt: A Necessary Tool for Growth Monday, February 1, 2021 My good friend and colleague Brian McLaren’s recently published book, Faith After Doubt, shows how doubt and periods of unknowing are necessary for spiritual growth. Brian proposes a four-stage growth process of Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony. He writes: Doubt, it turns out, is… Continue Reading Doubt: A Necessary Tool for Growth

Our Cosmic Mother

The Cosmic Egg Our Cosmic Mother Thursday, January 28, 2021 The image of the “Cosmic Egg of Meaning” is in some sense maternal, with each dome nestled and held by something larger and more powerful than itself. This is an ancient idea that may be helpful to our postmodern psyches, allowing us to embrace the… Continue Reading Our Cosmic Mother

Pulling Back the Veil

A Time of Unveiling Pulling Back the Veil Sunday, January 3, 2021 The future, however, is finer than any past. —Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Making of a Mind If you are anything like me, there is some part of you that was relieved to turn the calendar over to 2021. The new year puts… Continue Reading Pulling Back the Veil

The Ability to Hold Paradox

Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Three The Ability to Hold Paradox Monday, August 24, 2020 Beyond rational and critical thinking, we need to be called again. This can lead to the discovery of a “second naïveté,” which is a return to the joy of our first naïveté, but now totally new, inclusive, and mature thinking. —Paul… Continue Reading The Ability to Hold Paradox

Going on the Full Journey

Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Two Going on the Full Journey Friday, August 21, 2020 This journey from Order to Disorder must happen for all of us. It is not something just to be admired in Abraham and Sarah, Moses, Job, or Jesus. Our role is to listen and allow, and at least slightly cooperate with… Continue Reading Going on the Full Journey

Dying as Disorder

Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Two Dying as Disorder Thursday, August 20, 2020 Dying is not extraneous to life; it is a part of the mystery, and we do not understand life until we stand under death. —Richard Rohr There may be nothing more disordering than being diagnosed with a terminal or chronic illness. It upends… Continue Reading Dying as Disorder

Disorder: Stage Two of a Three-Part Journey

Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Two Disorder: Stage Two of a Three-Part Journey Sunday, August 16, 2020 Last week’s Daily Meditations focused on Order as the first stage of healthy development. To continue growing, we must go through a period—or even many periods—of Disorder. The pattern of transformation involves at least some measure of suffering. Part… Continue Reading Disorder: Stage Two of a Three-Part Journey

The Universal Pattern

Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part One The Universal Pattern Sunday, August 9, 2020 It seems quite clear that we grow by passing beyond some perfect Order, through an often painful and seemingly unnecessary Disorder, to an enlightened Reorder or resurrection. This is the universal pattern that connects and solidifies our relationships with everything around us. This… Continue Reading The Universal Pattern

Freedom: An Infinite Possibility of Growth

Inner and Outer Freedom Freedom: An Infinite Possibility of Growth Monday, June 15, 2020 The spirituality of CAC faculty member James Finley has been deeply influenced by the writings of Thomas Merton (1915–1968). In this passage, Jim explores the paradoxical wisdom that true freedom does not come from following our own will but in knowing… Continue Reading Freedom: An Infinite Possibility of Growth

Courage in Times of Trouble

Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross Courage in Times of Trouble Monday, April 20, 2020 Tessa Bielecki is a Christian hermit in the tradition of the Desert Mothers and Fathers. Co-founder of the Spiritual Life Institute, she was a Carmelite monk and Mother Abbess for almost 40 years, establishing experimental monastic communities of men… Continue Reading Courage in Times of Trouble

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