Contemplation is a process of becoming more aware of own interior with the goal of a deeper connection with the Divine. We sometimes refer to these contemplative practices as esoteric, meaning that they take us within. Many assume that esoteric practices are the most effective if not the only way to encounter the Divine.
The School for Living disputes this notion and observes that we find evidence of the Creator in the midst of our lives in the everyday world of consensual reality. We can harness the insights that come from living in a consensual world to deepen our relationship to God. For this reason we speak of the School for Contemplative Practices as one that teaches esoteric disciplines, and the School for Living as one that teaches exoteric disciplines.
Exoteric practices are sometimes in the form of rules for how we relate to the physical world, as for what we eat [no meat on Friday, keeping kosher] and how we dress [shaving heads, covering heads, removing shoes]. The focus of the School for Living is on the relational world. It attends to how we behave with and toward each other.
By way of example: we have been told that we should forgive each other as God forgives us. We sometimes think that means to “forgive and forget.” Actually, the admonition is to “forgive and remember not,” but even so, just what does that mean? So one of the meetings scheduled for this spring is on the twin disciplines of apology and forgiveness.
To start we are going to take a long view of the nature of significant relationships and what we do to strengthen them and heal them [December 6]. Then we will consider whether we are finished with our own development or whether there might be more for us, what that more looks like, and how we might bring a fuller experience of living into our awareness [December 20].
I hope you can join us. Please sign up by following the link on the calendar tab at SacredSoup.org or by going to http://eventactions.com/ea.aspx?ea=Rsvp&invite=0t5r0m11n7axf0pnehh2g33ztufu0c2a4t8ndjpjhsmec34j4hze and signing in there.
