Replies

Thank you so much for this introduction Zhenbao. Your line, “I had been struggling with inner thirst for spiritual guidance which can vest my life with meaning and direction and tell me what love is” really touches me deeply. I feel this quest as well. I’m also very happy to hear that you have been enriched by the course and that it lines up with other thoughts and experiences. And how beautiful is your story of healing! I’ll listen to your Cobb & Friends talk for sure.

It is absolutely an great absence in this course to not have been able to cover gorgeous traditions like Taoism and Confucianism.

Thanks Charles!

I really like this Bill! I have dabbled a bit in Kastrup, but not enough to really understand Idealism deeply. But I too have had an intuition about both panpsychism and idealism being true. You’ve described this possible link to Vedanta in a way that really makes sense to me.

What you write about the Materialists makes me laugh because, as Jung wrote, there is no Archimedean point to which we can step outside of our consciousness to determine if consciousness exists.

Great discussion! In talking of the Trinity, I just want to share that I love Richard Rohr’s description of the Trinity as a Divine Dance. It is certainly a process in his view, a circling dance (perichoresis) of Love. He talks about each member as a “persona,” linked to the Latin meaning of personar, to sound through, as a theater actor used the ancient mask to amplify their voice.

In terms of personification, Rohr also talks about this in the Universal Christ. That God as an abstract idea, even of Love, is too distant to really move us. We need a personified image, a face, like that of Jesus, to fall in love with God (and life). I would think this is the role that Ganesha plays. We can only devote ourselves to a Someone, not some abstract idea of Something.

Thank you for sharing the link of Dr. Long’s story. Very moving indeed.

Thanks Jason. Yes, it is so invigorating to see someone adding to and expanding their tradition, and understanding it as a living tradition. If only all religions would be open to this! The tradition of midrash is one of the things I appreciate most about Judaism.

Charles, I really appreciate this reflection! Looks like I must read some Nobo, as I find it quite interesting.

Thanks for this Michael. I’m not sure I understand your second use of the term Moksha (which is about liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth). Did you mean Lila (that is the view that the cosmos is the play of God/Brahman)?
Because the monotheistic traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) see a stronger distinction between God and world, they typically don’t see the world as “play” or “illusion,” but as something real on it’s own, an artifact made by the creator. Hinduism sees the world as an emanation of God, without that clear distinction. Process theology sees us as co-creating with God, and so active in God’s creative life. But not as an emanation, generally.

I agree, Scott, that Dr. Long’s presentation gave me new insights into those terms and I’m glad it did for you as well.
I’ve not yet read Griffin’s book on parapsychology, philosophy, and spirituality, but it’s on my shelf just waiting for me to have some time to get to it. John Buchanon points to it a good bit in his new book, Processing Reality, which is quite good. Anyway, good ideas in there about how subjective unity might go beyond bodily life. So there may be something in there from a process perspective to help us understand karma. Though not sure.

Thank you for this reflection, Rolla. I’m glad to hear that this class both opened new doorways of understanding and pointed you toward an earlier trauma that may need some attention.
And yes, so many who have abused their role as “gurus” or “teachers.” This links to me also to the horrific abuse we’ve seen in the Catholic church and others as well. It’s all too easy for “leaders” to fall into power games and use their power over others for selfish purposes.

Thanks for this reflection, Gordon. You’ve asked some good questions.
I agree that it would be interesting to find someone working with a process perspective on the Qur’an itself.

Very nice. I’ve heard good things.

All good!

Charles, thank you for this. Yes, I agree with Durkheim completely. A similar view was written here about neoliberalism by George Monbiot, and it’s also excellent. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/12/neoliberalism-creating-loneliness-wrenching-society-apart

Great points raised here, Jason, and I appreciate Charles’ response as well.