THOMAS C. FOX -  East and West: In spirit the world is one [emphasis GCS]  (Sp. II)

Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? -- 1 Corinthians 3:16

How many times have we heard we are “temples of the Holy Spirit”? Or that “the Spirit dwells within us”?

I’ve pondered the meaning of “the God who dwells within.” It is a notion embedded deep within our Catholic tradition, as scripture attests.

It is also a concept contained in several Eastern religious traditions. What if we stopped seeking and came to recognize that which we seek is already within, already a part of us from the start?

Admittedly, this is hardly an original insight. Yet to come to terms with its larger meaning might take some time.

What if the time we took to learn something new about the spiritual life were better spent pondering what we already intuitively know? What if we believed we possess the potential to grasp the fullness of meaning by, say, doing nothing?

What if what is really required is to listen more to what we know within? Or said differently, we became human beings?

Don’t underestimate the struggle to end the struggle. We are taught to struggle and if we didn’t enjoy it, we wouldn’t be so good at it. Or bad at it.

Occasionally when I am asked to give a talk I demur. I say I have run out of words. Do I speak in jest? Maybe not.

For some months I’ve spent time interviewing spiritual authors.

These interviews have led to a series of podcasts on the NCR Cafe Web site at NCRcafe.org.

I’ve enjoyed the gig, talking to people tuned to the Spirit about how they see life. Interviews lead to interviews, as I ask each person for a name or two of a contemporary spiritual author he or she respects.

Among the most common shared paths are these: mindfulness, acceptance, gratitude, inclusiveness and compassion. Each of these is worth a chapter, book or library. And those libraries can be found around the globe.

Finding Spirit within

This wisdom can also be found within. Not exactly new stuff or something you might not already know. As hosts of the Spirit, are we not called to discover, or rediscover, or grow more aware of what most of us already sense deep within us?

I’d like to think so.

So I found myself beginning some recent talks by saying my purpose is not necessarily to say anything new, but rather to rekindle insights listeners already have. I postulate that the truer the ideas I share, the more they will ring true with the audience.

“That’s right.” “I knew that.” “Absolutely.” “You mean I’m filled with love? Not broken? Not disconnected?” I get some of those reactions and maybe I’ve helped unleash the Spirit within.

So after 30-some minutes, if I’ve said nothing new but my audience is filled with a new sense of energy, confidence, hope, I see that as a sign of success.

This is altogether different from any prosperity happy talk. It has nothing to do with material gain or a betterment program. It has more to do with breaking down old habits that separate us from experiencing Divine Mystery and then channeling Divine Mystery in our daily lives.

Generalities dissolve

In the course of my interviews I’ve discovered the larger “East” and “West” generalities often dissolve on close inspection. That is to say, within the West one can find so-called Eastern traditions going back centuries. And likewise, in the East so-called Western thought patterns are found everywhere.

This caveat aside, it might be said that traditional Eastern spirituality seeks enlightenment, awareness or understanding while Western spirituality seeks truth and right acts. Eastern spirituality offers the mind as a means to wisdom; Western spirituality offers the mind as a means to knowledge. Eastern spirituality offers contemplation as a path to emptiness and it is within emptiness that fullness follows. Western spirituality traditionally offers more vocal prayer and a cultivation of spirit that emerges out of good works and community. It is arguably more outer-directed.

What the East is trying to say, it seems, is that we need instead to quiet ourselves, to look within. We need to carve out more listening time. We are whole, if not one, to begin with. Cultivate the Spirit within. Spirit says: “Seek less.” Learn instead to be. In some cases the effort of seeking God, while grace-filled, Eastern teachers suggest, might get in the way of true discovery. Why? Because, in part, we might overlook the gift of wonder we are to begin with.

Consider, then, the Catholic teaching that the Spirit resides within, that we are filled with the Spirit, that we are “temples of the Holy Spirit.” Is it in this understanding of Spirit, in this spirituality of immanence, that East and West converge? The Eastern path suggests that nothing “outside” is needed to complete us, that we are already whole.

The Spirit is not lacking; is not incomplete; is not inadequate. Then does it not follow that each of us shares a wholeness? The same Infinite Mystery?

Eastern practices

Several Eastern traditions have been especially helpful to me in my personal exploration of Spirit: the practice of proper breathing; the cultivation of meditation; the development of body awareness. Let me explain.

Many Eastern contemplation practices begin with awareness of proper breathing. Just as water is an accepted source of life, so, too, is the air we breathe. Breathing, then, means life itself.

Eastern meditation practitioners teach the importance of focusing on one’s breathing as a way of quieting the mind, allowing one to move more deeply into meditation.

My own meditation practices have involved various forms of silent contemplation. Sometimes these periods of contemplation involve the use of a mantra; sometimes not. Sometimes they involve conscious Christian thoughts or words; other times not. But they share a common path: the purposeful emptying of self. In the emptiness the Spirit is given room to be heard.

Buddhists go a step further. They teach that the self is an illusion. They say that living with this illusion is the root of all suffering. I’ve come to understand what they mean while remaining ambiguous about the notion of “self.” We are not God. We are not separate from God. We are, rather, of God. We are within God and God is within us.

Nevertheless, the Buddhists have a point. I have heard it said another way: Ego is spelled E.G.O., and some say this stands for “edging God out.”

Some of my most creative insights come out of contemplation. All sorts of mundane and even profound insights pop up when I take regular time to turn off the outside noise. I figure that nearly every waking minute of my day is influenced by outside forces. Why, then, can’t I take 15 minutes a day to be influenced by inside forces?

Admittedly, it is not always easy to do. Finding regular time, say, for 15 minutes at the outset of the day or before going to bed sometimes seems a bother. But engaging in the practice undoubtedly is rewarding.

A total silencing allows for a deepening relationship with the Spirit. The time allows listening and over a period of time, a growth of spiritual conversation that emerges from a deeper awareness of the Spirit within.

Jesus and silence

Jesus took time for this practice. We know he found it necessary to retreat into the desert to spend time alone. The spiritual gurus I’ve spoken with, almost to the last one, regularly practice extended meditation.

Practices vary. I sometimes do another form of practical meditation I call “notebook” meditation. In notebook meditation I try to silence my mind by jotting down on a yellow pad of paper the thoughts that enter -- as they always do -- to break up the silence. Sometimes what I jot down proves helpful in prioritizing my schedule. But the process of jotting down some words has the practical effect of dismissing them from mind. Less clutter and one can return to the silence where the Spirit dwells -- and speaks, if we listen.

Finally, the Eastern practice of yoga, which has grown more popular in the West in the past quarter century, is another pathway to the Spirit that involves inner awakening. While seemingly an active exercise, yoga involves an inward focus of mind. Yoga, at its core, is a meditation technique that focuses on breathing while moving through a series of body poses that build physical strength -- and awareness.

Each meditation session, meanwhile, ends with an extended relaxing pose, or shavasana. In this pose the deepest meditation is to take place.

What the East, then, seems to be reminding us is what many of us have known since our early Catholic childhood: that the “kingdom is within” and that we need to take the exploration of this kingdom seriously.

As “temples of the Spirit” we are one with, not separate from, the Spirit. If we take time to live this insight it can reshape our spiritual lives. Matthew Fox stressed the idea by reminding us that the Original Blessing preceded Original Sin by 15 billion years.

Being one with the Spirit, being “temples of the Spirit,” we lack nothing -- but, perhaps, awareness. And out of this awareness many fruits of the Spirit can grow. National Catholic Reporter October 31, 2008

Thomas C. Fox, former editor and publisher of NCR, is interim executive editor of the publication. His e-mail address is tfox@ncronline.org.

THERE ALSO:

Gandhi and Jesus - The saving power of non-violence Terrence Rynne We need a new, nonviolent understanding of salvation (vs 'died for our sins') Gandhi was focused more on praxis than on theory

(Mentioned) Leo Tolstoy The Kingdom of God is within you

Tich Nhat Hanh The world we have - a Buddhist approach to peace and ecology Hope for the planet is grounded in the "interbeing" of all things. Serving our small self and destroy the large self.