Replies

Whoops! No problem….I found it!

Charles, Thank you for the link. I will visit it and see how it sits with me. I appreciate the conversation!

I see where you are headed Charles and if one has a belief that God is the “vending machine in the sky” it would indeed lead to disappointment and quite a dark night. However, not all religions perpetuate this image and I think you agree with me and Jason, if I understand correctly, that having the process view does not protect us from dark moments and despair.

I think of it as Julian of Norwich spoke of it. She could feel what she called “oneing” with God, an experience – fleeting at best – that one can not make happen on our own will. An experience where the Divine is so present that there is no space between the Divine and oneself. It is not possible to describe this in words, a feeling of nothing and everything. It is not something that is constant and there are periods where things happen and it can feel that God is not present, prayer is difficult, it is a spiritual “dryness”. Theresa of Avila also describes this in The Interior Castle, as well as you know, John of the Cross. I view it as a searching for what the Divine is luring us to, a period of questioning and not knowing, where spiritual growth and maturity occurs.

I don’t think we are limited our own mortality. Jay McDaniel said that process thinkers have a lot to say about death. He pointed me to the life-after-death section on the open horizons website. You might find some answers there. Jay said in Whitehead’s words that God has “a tender care that nothing be lost”. What we don’t know in this life, you may nevertheless know in a continuing journey after death. Jay said process theology is quite open to images of reunion. I am just learning about process so maybe this is not as complex as some others may put it.

Thanks, Thomas. I’m a little sad there is only 1 more week left for class. I have enjoyed it. The hounds are a lot of fun.

Jace

Jay,

That was so beautiful, it actually made me tear up. Thank you for the link. You are luring me deeper into a process believer.

I find it interesting that I can have a thought about missing something that hasn’t even happened yet! And I am missing something that is not a specific event.

Thank you so much for your response. I’m excited for class tomorrow.

Jace

Thank you so much! That excites me to see. I will certainly read it through.

Yes, that helps. I get it now. I really like the both/and concept. I think it leaves openness, a room for dialogue and interpretation. Maybe it encourages wholeness. I’m very new to process but appreciative to be here and open to learning. I am interested in how it applies to psychology and how it can come from a more heart felt center than a mind centered place.