The movement to full wisdom has much to do with necessary shadow work and the emergence of healthy self-critical thinking, which alone allows you to see beyond your own shadow and disguise and to find who you are "chosen in Christ from the beginning of the world" (see Ephesians 1:4ff). The Zen masters are saying the same thing when they speak of "the face you had before you were born." This metaphysical self cannot die and always lives in God; it is your True Self, and is probably what we mean by the soul. -- Fr. Richard Rohr, "Daily Meditation," July 15, 2016
There is so much in this very first paragraph of Rohr's "Meditation" today that I had to pull it apart for myself in order to more fully ponder it.
For whatever it's worth:
The movement to full wisdom has much to do with necessary shadow work and the emergence of healthy self-critical thinking, [healthy self-critical thinking does not originate in the reasoning mind...it comes from our turning our thoughts within, to God. Positive thinking about our self is all well and good and can be achieved through self-help books, psychiatry, various programs, etc., but we remain on the reasoning mind level which is either/or thinking. It is not healthy self-critical thinking which returns us to us...it is singularly of God.] which alone allows you to see beyond your own shadow and disguise and to find who you are "chosen in Christ from the beginning of the world" [This is my "before conception" blinding flash of the obvious and is an example of "nothing is original to me." To my knowledge, I never heard of "chosen in Christ from the beginning of the world" and yet when "before conception" came to me, I knew it to be true and have relied on it since. The Zen masters are saying the same thing when they speak of "the face you had before you were born." [Same goes.] This metaphysical self cannot die and always lives in God; it is your True Self, and is probably what we mean by the soul. [This then is the place we return to at the completion of this journey...it "always lives in God." From which place, according to me, we will set forth again...and again...and again. We keep coming back until we get it right. Then we will return to rest in God. This is why we so diligently seek now for ego deflation in depth (to loose our little self and let it go)...the fewer our journeys, the sooner our rest in God. To me, this is why death as we know it is nothing to fear and suicide is to be avoided at all cost...we'd just have to come back and clean up that mess.]
Thank you.
There is so much in this very first paragraph of Rohr's "Meditation" today that I had to pull it apart for myself in order to more fully ponder it.
For whatever it's worth:
The movement to full wisdom has much to do with necessary shadow work and the emergence of healthy self-critical thinking, [healthy self-critical thinking does not originate in the reasoning mind...it comes from our turning our thoughts within, to God. Positive thinking about our self is all well and good and can be achieved through self-help books, psychiatry, various programs, etc., but we remain on the reasoning mind level which is either/or thinking. It is not healthy self-critical thinking which returns us to us...it is singularly of God.] which alone allows you to see beyond your own shadow and disguise and to find who you are "chosen in Christ from the beginning of the world" [This is my "before conception" blinding flash of the obvious and is an example of "nothing is original to me." To my knowledge, I never heard of "chosen in Christ from the beginning of the world" and yet when "before conception" came to me, I knew it to be true and have relied on it since. The Zen masters are saying the same thing when they speak of "the face you had before you were born." [Same goes.] This metaphysical self cannot die and always lives in God; it is your True Self, and is probably what we mean by the soul. [This then is the place we return to at the completion of this journey...it "always lives in God." From which place, according to me, we will set forth again...and again...and again. We keep coming back until we get it right. Then we will return to rest in God. This is why we so diligently seek now for ego deflation in depth (to loose our little self and let it go)...the fewer our journeys, the sooner our rest in God. To me, this is why death as we know it is nothing to fear and suicide is to be avoided at all cost...we'd just have to come back and clean up that mess.]
Thank you.
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