Tag Archives: tension
The Edge of the Inside
The edge of things is a liminal space. Continue Reading The Edge of the Inside
Change Is Never Comfortable
How can we envision a new world when we have never fallen away from the old? Continue Reading Change Is Never Comfortable
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Three: Weekly Summary
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Three Saturday, August 29, 2020 Summary: Sunday, August 23—Friday, August 28, 2020 To arrive at the Reorder stage, we must endure, learn from, and include the Disorder stage, transcending the first naïve Order—but also still including it! (Sunday) I was always being moved toward greater differentiation and larger viewpoints, and simultaneously… Continue Reading Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Three: Weekly Summary
Necessary Boundaries
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part One Necessary Boundaries Monday, August 10, 2020 Law, tradition, and boundaries—what I call Order—seem to be necessary in any spiritual system both to reveal and to limit our basic egocentricity. Such containers make at least some community, family, and marriage possible. Boundaries seem to be the only way that human beings… Continue Reading Necessary Boundaries
Emancipation
Inner and Outer Freedom Emancipation Wednesday, June 17, 2020 For the kinds of freedom and liberation that are needed today, I am going to use the word “emancipation.” Instead of focusing on the mere personal freedoms enjoyed by individual people, emancipation directs our attention to a systemic level of freedom. With the exception of those… Continue Reading Emancipation
Hope and Humility
Politics: Week 2 Hope and Humility Wednesday, July 18, 2018 At a time when our politics may seem bleak and hopeless, poet, peacemaker, minister, and scholar John Philip Newell offers us both encouragement and challenge: We live in a moment of grace. Through the hedges of our divisions we are beginning to glimpse again the… Continue Reading Hope and Humility
Creative Political Tension
Politics: Week 1 Creative Political Tension Tuesday, July 10, 2018 I see our species’ collective shadow on full display today in the United States, exposing intolerance and bigotry at deep levels. Under the guise of avoiding political correctness, truth-telling has been twisted into fear-mongering and scapegoating. When humans cannot face and embrace the insecurities inside… Continue Reading Creative Political Tension
Watching the River
Action and Contemplation: Week 1 Watching the River Tuesday, May 10, 2016 To live in the present moment requires a change in our inner posture. Instead of expanding or shoring up our fortress of “I”—the ego—which culture and often therapy try to help us do, contemplation waits to discover what this “I” consists of. What… Continue Reading Watching the River