When the topic of religion arises in a conversation, people often want to know "What ARE you?" In other words, they expect us to identify ourselves with ONE particular tradition. However, many of us these days do not identify with only one historic tradition. Instead, we find our religious identity composed of the elements of at least SEVERAL different traditions, and of various elements of LIFE ITSELF. On the other hand, many of us DO have roots in a particular tradition, and we continue to view the world (often unconsciously) through the filter of that tradition. Indeed, the elements of that tradition continue to inform the way we look at all of the other traditions as well. Concurrently, we also continue to embody - often on a daily basis - various meditative practices that are rooted in that particular tradition.
How do we reconcile these contrasting impulses?
Perhaps we can find the beginnings of an answer to this dilemma when we consider an alternative view of "the self." Traditionally, we tended to view ourselves as a singular, static "thing" or identity. But what if the "self" we talk so much about is more a WEB of different intersecting trends than a singular "thing"? What if our identity is simply a unique and particular way of joining the different STRANDS of life? What if - to borrow the Buddhist image of the "Net of Indra" - we are more a "node" composed of intersecting strands of life than a singular billiard-ball self? What if the self is actually A RELATIONSHIP? In other words, what if we are less a "noun" and more a set of intersecting "adjectives" or "adverbs" that are continually ferried back and forth between one another? Thus, for example, I could view myself as the continually-moving node of intersection between a "fatherly," "husbandly," "pastorally," "Euro-American," "Armenian," "Scorpio," "Enneagram Type FOUR," "wilderness explorer" way of doing and seeing things.
Similarly, perhaps we can view our religious identity less as a singular thing, and more as a particular way of joining several DIFFERENT traditions. Thomas Moore, in his book, "A Religion of One's Own," calls this "living in a CROSSOVER place." Speaking personally, this would mean that my vocation is one of ferrying back and forth the insights both of the Christian Mystical or Contemplative tradition in which I am trained, and the Wilderness or Nature Spirituality aspect of my soul that is rooted in my love of the landscapes of the American West. This crossover place also includes elements of Buddhist, Native American, Sufi, Taoist, and perhaps a dozen other perspectives. Accordingly, I am called less to BE one or two of these perspectives, than to BECOME a particular way in which the insights of each cross over into one another. Here, my religious identity is less in being a "noun" than in becoming a "verb" that moves back and forth between several different poles. Thus, I am more a "between" than a "thing."
Do you find yourself in a "crossover" place? If so, what spiritual traditions are YOU called to dwell between?
Photo: A Ponderosa Pine is seemingly rooted between two cliffs; Zion National Park, UT; August 31, 2014
How do we reconcile these contrasting impulses?
Perhaps we can find the beginnings of an answer to this dilemma when we consider an alternative view of "the self." Traditionally, we tended to view ourselves as a singular, static "thing" or identity. But what if the "self" we talk so much about is more a WEB of different intersecting trends than a singular "thing"? What if our identity is simply a unique and particular way of joining the different STRANDS of life? What if - to borrow the Buddhist image of the "Net of Indra" - we are more a "node" composed of intersecting strands of life than a singular billiard-ball self? What if the self is actually A RELATIONSHIP? In other words, what if we are less a "noun" and more a set of intersecting "adjectives" or "adverbs" that are continually ferried back and forth between one another? Thus, for example, I could view myself as the continually-moving node of intersection between a "fatherly," "husbandly," "pastorally," "Euro-American," "Armenian," "Scorpio," "Enneagram Type FOUR," "wilderness explorer" way of doing and seeing things.
Similarly, perhaps we can view our religious identity less as a singular thing, and more as a particular way of joining several DIFFERENT traditions. Thomas Moore, in his book, "A Religion of One's Own," calls this "living in a CROSSOVER place." Speaking personally, this would mean that my vocation is one of ferrying back and forth the insights both of the Christian Mystical or Contemplative tradition in which I am trained, and the Wilderness or Nature Spirituality aspect of my soul that is rooted in my love of the landscapes of the American West. This crossover place also includes elements of Buddhist, Native American, Sufi, Taoist, and perhaps a dozen other perspectives. Accordingly, I am called less to BE one or two of these perspectives, than to BECOME a particular way in which the insights of each cross over into one another. Here, my religious identity is less in being a "noun" than in becoming a "verb" that moves back and forth between several different poles. Thus, I am more a "between" than a "thing."
Do you find yourself in a "crossover" place? If so, what spiritual traditions are YOU called to dwell between?
Photo: A Ponderosa Pine is seemingly rooted between two cliffs; Zion National Park, UT; August 31, 2014
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