Monday, October 9, 2017

The abundant well of Unitarian Universalism lies in its covenant

"Spiritual longing is a sort of loneliness for an unknown yet deeply perceived presence. Some call the presence God; some call it peace; some call it consciousness; some call it love. Its source rests in the well of our hearts. When we slow down, quiet the mind, and allow ourselves to feel hungry for something we do not understand, we are dipping into the abundant well of spiritual longing."
-Elizabeth Lesser, The New American Spirituality, p. xiv

John Bradshaw called this longing the "hole in the soul." Clients go to psychotherapy complaining of depression and anxiety and they cannot identify the source of their anguish. In our materialistic society we have been conditioned to fill the hole in our souls with stuff, chemicals, compulsive behaviors, and special relationships. Some more mature souls recognize the anguish as a separation from the godhead, the ground of their being. This awareness sometimes is only a slight glimmer and comes sometimes only on the heals of tragedy.

Sometimes religion provides a path to greater spiritual awareness and sometimes it obstructs our awareness of Love's presence in our lives.

When have you felt that there is something bigger in life than what you had been aware of before? If you pursued it, how did you connect with it?

Many people come to Unitarian Universalism looking for something. That something is a connection which facilitates and enhances the sense of what Lesser calls the "abundant well. The abundant well is contained in the covenant to affirm and promote basic principles. Unitarian Universalism would flourish if a greater sense of focus and mission were placed on this mission.

2 comments:

  1. Spiritual longing is like a person who doesn't get the joke and is perplexed about what is so funny

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  2. People long for all kinds of things: a good hot dog, a cold beer, a comfortable hammock on a warm summer day when its 75 degrees and when you've had 10 hot dogs, 8 beers, and 6 hours in the hammock, then what?

    When he said, "I have no clue," I kicked his ass to the curb. There's more to life, I'm sure.

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