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Start Your Integral LifeLet’s face it, no matter what you believe about your spiritual life, none of us really know what we mean by the phase there is “something bigger than ourselves”. Whether you are experiencing deep spiritual state experiences or long for some more rational explanation of the mysteries of life, as is often said, we will all know for sure at the moment of our death.
In the meantime, gifted spiritual writer and teacher Terry Patten, offers us an ILP module that helps us explore our own inner skeptic, and suggests practices that lead us into a greater awareness of the mystery of life, whether you identify this experience in spiritual terms or not.
First, Terry explores what this perspective on your life force is not. It is not the traditional religious view of a father in heaven depicted in mystical fairytales about an all knowing God, who directs all that goes on in life including yours. It is a view of mystery that goes beyond just belief using evidence based inquiries of knowing that illicit a sense of wonder that enlivens a flat, rational experience of life with love and compassion.
But what is this mystery? Terry points out that we all have thoughts, experiences and emotions that arrive mysteriously every moment of the day. What are those and where to they come from? When we talk about these downloads, we often tie them to a creative inspiration or a spiritual experience. When we are in this state we often refer to it as being in the flow. We also know that the practice of gratitude and appreciation for the blessings of our lives goes a long way towards brightening our days.
In this ILP module, Terry explores how to evoke these experiences that goes far beyond writing them off to chance. And if spiritual language is not the way you explain these occurrences, you don’t have to hold it that way.
Lastly, Terry explores that in this “related” world, many of these experiences are played out in our relationships with others and the natural world. In these moments a sense of wonder, appreciation, possibility and flow can permeate our experience of life.
In this module you will explore:
- The mystery of what shows up in our lives, often unexpectedly.
- A rational evidence based inquiry into these experiences.
- The difference between a pre-rational and transrational view of these experiences.
- The development of transrational prayer as a vehicle for exploring what is arising.
- What opens up in our relationships with others, when we explore the mystery from a transrational perspective.
- How to address the questions that come up in exploring the mystery in this way.
