Expansion
“Bringing
together all the great systems of spiritual wisdom, practice,
insight, reflection, experience, and science provides a truly
integral understanding of spirituality in its practical application
in our lives, regardless of our tradition.”
Wayne
Teasdale
There was a great social and spiritual upheaval in the middle of the twentieth century when many
disparate traditions moved out of their original cultures and into
the predominately Christian western world. People such as Paramahansa
Yogananda, George Gurdjieff, in the 1920's, and the Dalai Lama and
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950's brought yoga, meditation and the
spiritual teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism to America. These
traditions moved into the mainstream in the 1960's when The Beatles
became adherents of Transcendental Meditation, and with the opening
of the Esalen Institute at Big Sur, CA, where the Human Potential
movement began. Counter Culture advocate Richard Alpert left his
position at Harvard and his prominent Jewish family, and became the
guru Baba Ram Dass. Later still, Coleman Barks translated the
mystical poetry of Rumi, a 12th century Persian Dervish.
And poet, Robert Bly, launched the mythopoetic men's “Green Man”
movement. Vietnamese Monk, Thich Nhat Hahn began to write and teach
in the US. Today, yoga classes can be found in elementary schools,
and gyms, and retirement centers. Proponents of Buddhism and Taoism
number in the millions in the US, and folks like Oprah Winfrey and
Deepak Chopra bring eastern religious teachings and traditions to
network television and pod-casts everyday. This infusion of deep,
sometimes mystical, spirituality has enriched us tremendously.
Most Americans now
practice some form of what Wayne Teasdale (The Mystic Heart) calls
“integral spirituality.” That is, they incorporate the practices
of other religions into their preferred spiritual tradition, with
yoga and meditation being the most common. In my opinion, this is a
very good thing since it brings us into deeper relationship with the
sacred—especially the sacred within us. It helps us to focus away
from consumerism, and resist the all-consuming market forces that
drive our culture, by highlighting the importance and power of
transcendent spiritual experience. Whatever we can do to expand our
definition of reality, and to include in our everyday lives a
practice that calms and grounds us will produce a “kinder, gentler
world.” They also have the added benefit of enhancing our health,
increasing our altruism, making us more conscious of our environment,
and, in general, just making us better people. I'm for that! I'll bet
you are, too.
In the Spirit,
Jane
No comments:
Post a Comment