Love this excerpt: "It’s a stark realization to reach the summit and discover the truth. We stand there, look around and say, “Is this all there is?”
All the books you've mentioned like Second Mountain, Richard Rohr's and anything written by James Hollis clarify my thinking and put me in such an enlightened mood. I love anything that touches on purpose. But then after that, the hard part begins where I need to shift my life towards that purposeful sentiment. That's when it becomes tough. To get out of where I am and walk towards where I want to go.
Lately I've been thinking about the relationship between transcendence and immanence and how both are necessary for an integrated life. It's vital to transcend reality (little "r") and recognize Reality (capital "R"), but that's only one movement in the play. It's the turning around, back toward life, and plunging deeply into it that brings wholeness. But how to do that? That's the question I'm working through myself.
To quote Rilke- “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
Sounds like we’re all trying to live the same question. The question is the journey. we could never trade mystery for mastery. I’m getting a lot more comfortable just saying I don’t know . Once we start to walk out on that way, the way appears. It’s nice to feel I’m not alone here. 🙏❤️
I totally hear you Mo. it makes me think of Maslow’s pyramid and it’s not something we climb once. We must go up and down that thing in different ways every day. In the end survival wins. Being a body in soul often means that the body wins. Those moments where I am in that Transcendence space are blissful. The ironic thing is as soon as I try to hold onto it, it disappears. I can honestly say the second mountain pulls us up. With that said, there are many stops on the way. In the end, I don’t think we are souls “having” a human experience. We are souls “using” a human experience. Somehow the human always wins.
Interesting perspective, Jamie. I've realized lately how limiting explanation and words in this process. Also, how important poetry and art are in evoking a connection with truth. What a mystery all of this is. : )
Great article. I resonated with David Brook’s The Second Mountain. How do we get from the first egoic mountain to that second of deeper essence of authentic spirit? That valley of soul. Rewilding! Your concept intersects nicely with Bill Plotkin’s work on descent to soul. The valley. Like Odysseus who met Hades in the underworld before he could “remember” his way home. We go through those initations and thresholds Plotkin describes in his stages of development wheel. https://www.animas.org/wp-content/uploads/Intro-to-ESDW-for-Animas-website.pdf
Most of us in the west don’t get past stage three of eight! We never get off that first mountain. That second mountain might go even beyond our own authenticity to the true niche of our whole species. That descent to soul for our times is a totally different odyssey.
Love this excerpt: "It’s a stark realization to reach the summit and discover the truth. We stand there, look around and say, “Is this all there is?”
All the books you've mentioned like Second Mountain, Richard Rohr's and anything written by James Hollis clarify my thinking and put me in such an enlightened mood. I love anything that touches on purpose. But then after that, the hard part begins where I need to shift my life towards that purposeful sentiment. That's when it becomes tough. To get out of where I am and walk towards where I want to go.
Lately I've been thinking about the relationship between transcendence and immanence and how both are necessary for an integrated life. It's vital to transcend reality (little "r") and recognize Reality (capital "R"), but that's only one movement in the play. It's the turning around, back toward life, and plunging deeply into it that brings wholeness. But how to do that? That's the question I'm working through myself.
Totally agree! And that question doesn’t go away!
To quote Rilke- “Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
Sounds like we’re all trying to live the same question. The question is the journey. we could never trade mystery for mastery. I’m getting a lot more comfortable just saying I don’t know . Once we start to walk out on that way, the way appears. It’s nice to feel I’m not alone here. 🙏❤️
I don't know either. haha.
I totally hear you Mo. it makes me think of Maslow’s pyramid and it’s not something we climb once. We must go up and down that thing in different ways every day. In the end survival wins. Being a body in soul often means that the body wins. Those moments where I am in that Transcendence space are blissful. The ironic thing is as soon as I try to hold onto it, it disappears. I can honestly say the second mountain pulls us up. With that said, there are many stops on the way. In the end, I don’t think we are souls “having” a human experience. We are souls “using” a human experience. Somehow the human always wins.
Interesting perspective, Jamie. I've realized lately how limiting explanation and words in this process. Also, how important poetry and art are in evoking a connection with truth. What a mystery all of this is. : )
Great article. I resonated with David Brook’s The Second Mountain. How do we get from the first egoic mountain to that second of deeper essence of authentic spirit? That valley of soul. Rewilding! Your concept intersects nicely with Bill Plotkin’s work on descent to soul. The valley. Like Odysseus who met Hades in the underworld before he could “remember” his way home. We go through those initations and thresholds Plotkin describes in his stages of development wheel. https://www.animas.org/wp-content/uploads/Intro-to-ESDW-for-Animas-website.pdf
Most of us in the west don’t get past stage three of eight! We never get off that first mountain. That second mountain might go even beyond our own authenticity to the true niche of our whole species. That descent to soul for our times is a totally different odyssey.
https://www.dailygood.org/story/2766/the-descent-to-soul-an-overview-of-the-terrain-bill-plotkin/#:~:text=This%20is%20a%20field%20guide,in%20the%20contemporary%20Western%20world.
We are all in need of Rewilding! It’s the only way home. The door only opens to the inside.