When talking to people about their inner lives and how they pray and process, I find that I have talked to no one who fits into any kind of preconceived all size fits all spirituality. Each person is unique in how they deal with the mystery of who they are and how they relate to God. I believe that the concept of God is like the concept people will have towards any public figure. It varies from one person to another. So perceptions of the public figure will be positive, others negative and still possibly the majority will feel indifference. Yet in spite of this, the public figure will exist in his own right, no matter how others relate or think or him or her.
Our perceptions of others change as we change. That change can come from the fact that we may develop some sort of personal relationship with the public figure and learn that many perceptions are based on other relationships, as well as what one is told or taught. The more we know another human being, the deeper the mystery gets, until we learn that they do not fit into any kind of box that we try to put them in. The same goes for anyone.
When we seek to have a relationship with God the same process needs to be gotten through, though it may take a long time. God is a generic term, when we have a relationship that is personal, and then it becomes less generic and more specific. For many God is an impersonal force, or a God who does not interfere with our lives. As the relationship deepens and openness is achieved and trust develops, the pilgrim finds that the statement: “God is love’, is actually true.
People often like to stay at a very childish level of understanding when it comes to the questions about ‘Ultimate Reality”. No matter what ones path is unless there is some form of study and meditation, the relationship becomes truncated and often grows into indifference. Any relationship has to be worked on. In a marriage, two people can live in the same house, yet they can become more estranged from each other as the years pass if there is no effort to grow in their relationship.
In the Christian Scriptures, Jesus often uses human analogies to express our relationship with God and the Fathers’ dealings with us. He uses language we can understand and based on some truth because we are made in the Image and Likeness of God. It is that image and likeness that allows us to, or perhaps better put, propels us, to seek deep loving relationships with others. Yet it is only Infinite love that will in the end satisfy our longings.
I believe that one reason that human relationships can be so frustrating is because we unconsciously seek a finite relationship to satisfy the need for the Infinite. The human journey is a difficult one. The further we go from the center, I believe the more chaotic it gets. This is not about ‘religion’, but about a deep spirituality that allows one to live out of ones tradition in a life giving way for oneself as well as for others.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
