Module 25: The Direct Path

9/10/2018

Welcome to Module 25! Author and mystic, Andrew Harvey, is our guide for this unit, one which points us toward the mystical path of spiritual unfoldment for seekers of all traditions. His passion for this path is evident throughout the book as he shares his own mystical journey. He also offers seekers a roadmap to follow as they deepen their personal understanding and experience of direct connection to the Sacred.

You can download the module here:
http://www.awakenedliving.com/SGTI/Module25.pdf

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"The soul grows by its constant participation
in that which transcends it."
Gregory of Nyssa

10 Comments

Jeffrey Phillips

9/11/2018 10:55:06 am

RQ (Harvey interview)

1. If I understand his comments (and the RQ) correctly, Harvey's three ways to walk the direct path are a. allow yourself to fall in love with Mystery, b. realize that you are not born flawed, but with "original blessing" (Matthew Fox's phrase), and c. develop a map to move from understanding yourself as a human being to a divine human being.

Yes, I understand these to be true yet challenging, especially in light of most understandings of Christian theology. It is reasonable to think that a path whose purpose, means, and goal is Love begins with Love. I appreciate the phrase "falling in love with Mystery." It is almost sounds like "falling in love with love," which is what lovers do in the earliest stage of their relationship. They are not so much in love with each other as they are in love with the idea, possibility, and feeling/reality of love itself. It seems to be me that this is a reasonable place to begin the spiritual journey - jumping into the abyss of faith (Kierkegaard) in which we trust that divine love is actually there and possible for us to experience directly.

Fox's concept of "original blessing is not new to me; I think I first encountered it in seminary in the early 1980s. However, it remains difficult for Christians because of the ubiquity of the doctrine of "original sin." Even those of us who are not keen on "doctrine," "sin," and certainly "original sin" still have a deep-seated sense born in the Christian tradition that there is Something Not Quite Right with people. We can call it ego and its effects, or "the human condition," or "human nature," but I, too, struggle to explain why we are That Way - tending toward selfishness, meanness, disease, brokenness, imperfect knowledge, etc. I would like to re-read Fox's book and re-think this issue because I am of two minds about it. I look forward to seeing what further light Harvey's book can shed on it. A Buddhist monk recently told me that "peace of mind" (or "neutral mind") is our birthright. It's all those other things (happiness and insults and hurting knees and deaths) that come along and seek to take it away. But it's always there and re-discoverable through meditation. It's always there because we were born with it. I WANT to believe this!

Yes, we need a plan. I'm a planner. I believe this! I love maps! I'm a geography nerd, so I think this way. The idea of moving from human being (which is already a good thing to be) to a divine human being is invitational. It says that there's more, and it's good. It's about recovering our divine nature/image/likeness, which I have nothing but excitement for. It sounds like we're trying to become God, but I don't think this is exactly what Harvey and other mystics mean. It means what it says: "divine human being" - a fully enfleshed human being with all the problems and joys of being mortal who is, at root, simultaneously suffused with sacredness, holiness. "Lord, make me more holy" (a hymn I love) sounds like "Lord, make me perfect," but perfection is not the same as holiness. Holiness means to be filled with God, and to know it and live it. Imperfection will always be there. In fact, that's how the divine shines through.

2. What's most intriguing to me about Harvey after I listen to the interview but before I read the book is the path itself. He lists so many ways, means, practices, etc. It makes me realize how much I have to learn about these, and then makes me wonder if I'd be willing to actually try them, and maybe even devote myself to them. The body practices are especially intriguing to me. I'm a "in my head" person, and know that this is a great strength as well as a great liability. Of all human beings, I need to get out of my head and into my body, and it sounds like Mr. Harvey may be a good teacher in that regard. Of course, this is related to "sacred feminine," "goddess," and "divine mother" imagery/language that is not new to my head (I've heard about it since seminary, saw a lot of it in India, and there's always Mother Mary), but is new to me in terms of experience and application to me personally. Again, this is intriguing as I hope I will gain much from not only reading what Harvey has to say about it, but maybe finding a way to incorporate it into my own practice. It is scary and thrilling! At the same time!

Likewise, Tonglen, the Tibetan theory/practice of receiving and giving, intrigues me. We were introduced to it before, but I hope to read more about it in Harvey's book and be able to incorporate it somehow into my daily life and pastoral work. It is touching my heart at the moment!

9/17/2018 09:52:02 pm

RQ ("the Christ"). Harvey's description of his vision of Christ (p. 24) reminds me of a number of things. One is it seems born of something deep within his personal background and family emotional field. He was born to devout Christian parents, and this vision is happening as a response to his father's deathbed conversation about his sincerely held Christian faith. So, the reality of a living Christ is somehow already within him. Our religious roots are important and probably impossible to leave, even if we want to and have good reason to. Second, this Christ is the "Cosmic Christ" of Christian mystical and theological (and even biblical) understanding. As such, this Christ is not the Christ of exclusive dogma but of inclusive, interspiritual equivalence to Krishna, Buddha, etc. - a Christian cipher for Universal Reality/Transcendence/Consciousness. Last, Harvey's Christ is also the historical Jesus of Nazareth. He doesn't go into detail here, but he does affirm Jesus' message of a revolutionary Kingdom of God that defies death, injustice, and violence.

I can affirm each of these understandings of Harvey's understanding of "the Christ." Jesus didn't come to form a church, or a one true religion to get people to believe in him so when they die they can go to heaven. He came to make the world a better place. But there's also the Christ of faith who sees in Jesus a unique universal figure that represents the best of all wisdom traditions and all human yearnings for divine love. All this is more likely to make sense to someone who is born into the language world, that world of symbols and rituals and myths that is Christianity. That is my home base, and it seems to be Harvey's, too - at least to some important extent.

9/17/2018 10:04:15 pm

RQ (Harvey, p. 23). Yes, of course, but I need and want to explore this more deeply. Will we have a module on this - on integrating the spiritual and political? I think Harvey has a lot to offer on this topic, and look forward to reading him further to see what he has to say about it. I keep reading here and there about connections between social justice and spiritual work, but I'm hungry for more. Rohr got appropriately political in some of his summer daily devotions this year, but didn't seem to work on integrating the two (although I do recall one or two comments about this). I recently read a few meaningful lines about this in a book on Christian spiritual direction, but I am looking for a book that goes deeper - perhaps with different essays and voices from different faith perspectives.

Harvey's comment reminds me of what liberal Protestants have always said - that religion is personal, but never private. It's got to be engaged with the world for its transformation into the Kingdom of God. The problem with my tribe isn't the public part; it's having any understanding at all of the personal prayer part. Liberal Protestants may pray less than atheists (not counting prayers said in public worship). In many ways, we're functional atheists. The real action isn't in the interior life; it's making a difference in the world. People devoted to the contemplative life in my tradition are rare and often regarded as weird. People who intentionally seek to integrate inner life with the political are not to be found. Or are they?

9/17/2018 10:17:46 pm

RQ (Resistance). Well, I'm no fan of reincarnation (or any after life as traditionally understood), but what surprised me to the point of laughter was Harvey's insistence that you simply HAVE to believe in reincarnation to make any sense of the rest of what he has to say. Really? That's like saying, "If you don't believe in reincarnation, STOP READING and stop thinking that you have any chance of developing an authentic spiritual life. In a book that probably has no use for dogma of any other spiritual tradition, he seems to regard reincarnation as an unquestioned article of faith and those who don't/can't believe in it as spiritual idiots. Rather than get angry about this, though, I just laughed at it because I know enough from our other readings that blind belief in reincarnation is not necessary to have a growing, dynamic, God-saturated faith. I also know this as a Christian who, unlike 99.99% of other Christians, does not think it necessary to believe in heaven and hell to have a robust and meaningful faith in God revealed in Christ. Harvey wrote this book in 2000. I wonder if he would be so dogmatic today on this topic. By the way, I do understand why reincarnation is necessary in the Buddhist and Hindu theological system. I just know that you can still have a system, even when what seems to be a lynchpin in the system is removed. This is because all these "systems" are metaphors and pointers to that which is ultimately beyond description, and all metaphors/mythologies/symbols/rituals/pointers are imperfect. Thus, none of them need be taken literally or dogmatically. It's just surprising that this is coming from someone who is otherwise so obviously open-minded about the worlds of religion and spirituality.

Barbara Buckley

9/21/2018 06:29:55 pm

I’m with you on this Jeffrey! I was startled by Harvey’s insistence on belief in reincarnation. I personally am curious about the concept ( and often refer to my past lives in a lighthearted way) but required belief?! Never. ( but then I’m not one for absolutes about any of this)!
I’m lately more interested and believing in the unconscious transmission of traits, gifts, challenges etc through multiple generations!

9/17/2018 10:33:32 pm

RQ (personal Direct Path). Harvey's concept is not a new one. It reminds me of the reforming tendency in every religion. Buddhism was a reforming movement out of Hinduism. The Hebrew prophets (and, later, Jesus) were a reforming movement within Judaism. The Protestant Reformation was a reforming movement out of Catholicism. Mormonism, Sikhism, etc. can all be understood this way. Ralph Waldo Emerson emphasized finding God directly without the aid of churches, ministers, creeds, rituals, etc. And now we have SBNRs who think they are the first generation to say that they don't need an institution to find God because its institutions that have "ruined" God anyway. So I'm skeptical of authors who jump on this bandwagon of using the spiritual insights of religious traditions while trashing the structures that have kept these traditions alive for thousands of years.

On the other hand, I appreciate Harvey and all the authors who are basically saying that each person has to figure this out for herself - because that is also true. And it probably needs to be figured out these days in a larger context than the tradition of one's birth. Like our other interspiritual authors, Harvey draws from a rich ocean of philosophical, historical, and theological resources, as well as his own unique path which has spanned many continents and decades and wisdom traditions. I also look forward to exploring his "Eighteen Sacred Practices" because sometimes it's hard to plow through the theory without having something practical to make the concept come alive.

9/17/2018 10:53:59 pm

RQ (understanding the Direct path as a spiritual guide). I like his four-step journey into the spiritual life (falling in love, engagement, sacred marriage, birthing) because they remind me of the previous unit's emphasis on growth and development. This is what we should be listening for as we receive our seekers. One step leads to another. The previous step is just not needed any longer, and it proceeds to another. It's a journey toward spiritual maturity, and, although no journey is alike, it is helpful to read various authors' namings of different stages along the way.

As mentioned in my previous RQ comment, we will be seeing a lot of seekers who resonate with Harvey's understanding of "religion" as stifling and fostering of dependence, and who hanker for the freedom of a "direct path." Again, many people wrongly think that they are the first ones to go off the grid and blaze a brand new spiritual trail. They are not. But my job as a spiritual guide is not to point this out to them, but to honor their excitement, dread, and guilt about seeking a "direct path," and help them pursue it.

A very "big picture: observation about Harvey and all the books and articles and audios and videos we have been exposed to this last year: each one helps expand our own spiritual vocabulary so that we have actual words to use that might help people put their own experiences into words. How do we talk about this? How do we think about this? It takes words, and my own spiritual vocabulary has expanded greatly this last year (not the words themselves, but how to use them in the context of interspiritual spiritual growth and expression). Despite each author's unique "take" on these words and concepts, there is a remarkable continuity between them. "Ego," for instance, is one that has come up enough in each author that I think I know what it means! And that means I can use it accurately and confidently so that it might help someone else use that word in their own spiritual growth process. Harvey seems to be yet another convincing reinforcer of this rich - and mostly consistent - interspiritual glossary. For this I am grateful.

9/17/2018 11:01:51 pm

What I mean is that when we have a name for something, the thing itself becomes real to us. That's why an accurate vocabulary is critical, especially in an area such as interspiritual spirituality in which the naming of such things is not evident in the broader culture, nor is it something most of us were raised with. Words and concepts matter. Being able to articulate something, especially something "squishy" like spirituality, makes it concrete and alive. And if the words means something to us, there's a chance they might mean something to others as we use them consistently, accurately, and passionately.

9/21/2018 09:32:18 pm

RQ (Harvey, pp. 269-279).

His vision is broad and, as we Christians say, "eschatological." He rightly points out that it is never enough for any spiritual system to be just "for me." If it's a self-improvement project, or for the purpose of self-vindication or proving the rightness of one's religious tribe, it's not true spirituality. Harvey says what all the mystical teachers say: it starts with the individual, and then expands to the family, the neighbor, the world, the social system, and, ultimately, the universe and all beings. If there isn't a social and cosmic dimension to it, I'm not sure it's spirituality.

He, like other authors we've been introduced to, maintains that humanity and the planet are at a point of decision and possible transformation. There's something in the zeitgeist, and a lot is at stake, they say. Maybe I'm not spiritual enough (or just too pessimistic - or is it realistic?), but I often think this is just wishful thinking. Or worse, I think it's a ploy to get people to buy their books and go to their expensive events. Harvey wrote his book in 2000. If humanity and the planet were on the verge of a spiritual breakthrough in 2000, what happened? 9-11, the economic downturn, the Irag War, accelerated global warming, Trump, increasing global income inequality. I suppose it's better to have a hopeful vision of the present and future than a dour one, but it's hard to see that the Age of Aquarius is about to dawn. (Come to think of it, that was supposed to happen in 1969 - and didn't.)

Harvey is more realistic than others (say, Eckhart Tolle). He says that we can choose life or destruction, and that the path of interspiritual mysticism is the path of life, healing, peace, and justice. He admits that if we choose wrongly, we will all die, maybe in just a few dozen generations.

I do have a sense that people are more open to the global, multi-faith spiritual path than ever before. They seem to know that religious institutions, religion-as-dogma-and-belief, and religion as mine-is-right-and-yours-is-wrong is disappearing, and yet, they seem to be open to a broad, inclusive, life-affirming spirituality that does not require scientific or philosophical "proof." If it's not the Age of Aquarius, then it might be post-modernism. Still, I hope that whatever spiritual future the planet has will not abandon the specific traditions ("religions") that Harvey (and others) draws from.

I give Harvey credit for consistently citing the sources of his multitudinous practices and exercises. He points toward a future that is interspiritual in the best sense of the term, by which I mean acknowledging that humanity did not get to where it is and where it is going spiritually from a New Age movement that started in 1980, but from Hindu, Jewish, and Shamanistic roots that are so old that no one knows how old they are.

That's what I think about that!

rebecca rosher

9/24/2018 06:32:25 pm

1.Fall in love with the mystery. To fall in love with mystery is to cultivate love at the core of my being. It is falling in love with the beauty of unknowing and undoing. It is the serenity that comes with being in the presence of the Divine, and seeking it out.
2.All born with an immense blessing. We are a gift for all, not a burden. Our interactions are gifts and representative of the divine within each of us.
3. Clear understanding of human being vs. divine human being. This includes creating a flexible plan to move between these two planes.

Christ seems to include and/or be defined as a wholeness. There is an understanding that there cannot be simply a journey of the mind without understanding a journey of actions, and how the two can balance.

While trying to understand the authors point, the phrase integration of all things seems to be on the verge of most of his writings, political being included in that realm. I have questions on what the author means by his own public commitment to transformation (of a variety of types) looks and sounds like. I am also curious if he believes this is mandated. I feel like I might need more clarity before deciding if I agree or not with him, however, even after reading, I am interested in learning more about his thoughts.

I don't think I necessarily have resistance to his teachings, I haven't found his style of communication super enticing for my own learning.
That can serve as a form of resistance.

After reading, I think my understanding of the Direct Path is that there is no Direct Path, but yet, all Paths are Direct. Feeling comfort with this ambiguity can definitely help me be more understanding to the individual journeys with seekers/companions.

As I think back on the words of the author, I think his vision is continued expanded consciousness and growth, both collectively and individually. The author, and his/her vision, as I understood it reminded me of Wilbur and the Theory of Spiral Dynamics put into action.

Module 25: The Direct Path

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