August 12, 2004
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7 Paths to God
I was browsing in Barnes & Noble while waiting for a friend when I spotted this tiny book by Joan Borysenko. Not really a coincidence. Honing my own spiritual path has been much on my mind of late. Most of my life a painting of my idea of the purpose of my soul could have been accomplished with a splattergun. From childhood on a farm with radical leftwing political parents, to checking out a few churches in high school, to flowerchildhood exploration of world faiths plus charming New Age hobbies, to experiencing the world through chemical lenses, to the surrender to a higher power of my recovery, and finally to a rounding up and review of all I’ve learned and used, I have yet to really buckle down. So titles like this one catch my eye. Turns out to be a little primer of a number of kinds of spiritualities and encourages choosing two of them, one primary and one secondary, upon which to focus. And these are in a nutshell:
1. Earth and Home – Those who see god in nature, who give food and shelter and nurturing of everyday needs, who have a strong sense of place, and who take care of the environment and all its creatures.
2. Creativity – Those who are blessed to receive the gifts of art, music, writing, etc. and who enjoy giving them to others and nurturing these gifts in others.
3. Service – Like Dylan said, “you gotta serve somebody.” These are the people who find a vision and follow it with passion in the effort to serve others. Example – Martin Luther King, Jr.
4. Heart – The practice of loving god by loving one’s neighbor as oneself and both as god, valuing goodness enough to meditate and pray for it regularly, valuing lovingkindness and forgiveness, and finding a devotional practice.
5. Discipline – Following a particular spiritual practice and its precepts to the letter – the 10 commandments, the Buddhist precepts, the Torah and the Talmud, etc.
6. Contemplation and Transformation – Deep meditation, mindfulness, contemplation and prayer as a vocation – like in a monastery. Having a teacher, attending retreats.
7.Nonattachment – The path of the bodhisattva who has achieved a state of grace, universalizing faith and nonattachment , who can see the beauty in all traditions and paths.
Gives me plenty to ruminate about. Hope I haven’t freaked anybody out. Have a sweet sweet day.
Deep Thought: Someday I would like to make a movie that makes people laugh and makes people cry, and then makes them leave the theater in a quick and orderly manner so that others may come in.
Today I am grateful for: Dental insurance
End of Day – 9:04 pm
+ = Kerry and Bush both in Portland tomorrow. Stay tuned.
- = Found out I have to have back to back root canals on side by side teeth and the freaking dentist can’t get me in for 3 weeks!
Comments (10)
I hope no one would be freaked out. It sounds lovely.
It doesn’t freak me out. I can’t identify with a secondary belief system, but the rest makes sense.
what a great blog. And a fantastic picture. How have you and the kitties been doing with the heat? Man it’s been so hot over here.
interesting paths…seems like everybody is at the dentist this week..
I think those seven paths are absolutely the way, whatever way you “think about God” Very enlightening thoughts, thanks for sharing them.
Thanks. As for a secondary belief system, I don’t think the author has in mind being able to be Catholic and Jewish at the same time, for example. What she says is that a primary path is one through which our major contribution to the world is made and which comes naturally to us; whereas a secondary path is meant to develop qualities that will support the primary path. I could go on, but it would be best to just read the book.
I survived a near death experience so I am so where you are now…spiritual exploration and meditation.
I will get that book for a friend who loves Joan B.
Ever read The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas? Very small book, all the answers. Backed up by physics. I would say it’s my bible, but I seem to have misplaced all my four copies quite a while ago.
T (my film would make people in front of me sit down or blink out of existence at the end so I could finish reading the credits.)
Haven’t we all been on each one of those paths at various times in our lives? Beautiful, thanks…
Love the picture. Goes very well with your words. Well said.