Re-visioning the Great Traditions - Integral Post-Metaphysical Spirituality2024-03-29T12:09:05Zhttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/categories/revisioning-the-great/listForCategory?categoryId=5301756%3ACategory%3A14&feed=yes&xn_auth=noDevelopmental Cognitive Neurosciencetag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2017-06-24:5301756:Topic:684112017-06-24T17:09:58.548ZEdward theurj Bergehttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/theurj
<p>I just discovered <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/18789293">this</a> Journal by the above name and it's open access. It's a relatively new emerging field that is rapidly expanding. The first issue of the Journal (2011) gives an overview. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/stalled-the-verge/201403/neuroscience-and-developmental-psychology">This</a> Psychology Today article provides some interesting material. It provides 3 guiding principles for the transition…</p>
<p>I just discovered <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/18789293">this</a> Journal by the above name and it's open access. It's a relatively new emerging field that is rapidly expanding. The first issue of the Journal (2011) gives an overview. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/stalled-the-verge/201403/neuroscience-and-developmental-psychology">This</a> Psychology Today article provides some interesting material. It provides 3 guiding principles for the transition to healthy adult development, topics previously discussed in this blog.<br/> <br/> "The first guiding principle is that it is necessary to 'quiet the limbic system' (van der Kolk et al., 2005) to help emerging adults achieve a greater sense of safety. Quieting techniques facilitate attachments by promoting self-soothing and regulation. This is especially relevant when challenges are associated with trauma, anxiety disorders, and emotional/self-inhibition. Emotional and cognitive learning cannot take place in a state of fear. This also includes protecting the brain from the neurotoxic effects of excess alcohol and substances, lack of sleep or nutrition, and the distorting effects of unteated psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, or psychosis.<br/> <br/> "The second guiding principle is the belief that it is essential to support the psycho-neurobiological development of a coherent self, an organized self, and a self-regulated self (Schore, 2008; Siegel, 1999; Gedo & Goldberg, 1973). This principle puts an emphasis on the processes of self-informed agency, self-directed empowerment, and an adaptive balance of vulnerability, collaboration, and boundaries for self-protection. This second pillar emphasizes the self-actualizing and motivational patterns of the developing individual.<br/> <br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a>"The third and last precept is drawn from neurocognitive modes of decision-making (Noel et al., 2006); therapeutic experiences of processing and problem-solving through emotional states of activation that occur in real-time within meaningful relationships are essential for achieving growth and change. Such experiences exercise and grow the networking between the limbic system and pre-frontal cortex which are naturally primed to sprout through emerging adulthood. Using mindfulness techniques such as "Reaction & Reflection,” while in relation, promote neurocognitive growth and, in turn, facilitate the further development of mindfulness, cognitive and executive functions, and competent self-governance."</p> Collective Enlightenment Through Postmetaphysical Eyestag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2017-06-11:5301756:Topic:685052017-06-11T23:44:50.120ZEdward theurj Bergehttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/theurj
<p><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E8Po4OtZ-lvA12JJ3BCFhcXpmFxlDVTxVJwoRCcK8Dw/edit" target="_blank">The paper</a> Michel Bauwens and I wrote to be in the next issue of <a href="http://spanda.org/publications.html" target="_blank">Spanda Journal</a>. Shared here with permission of the Journal. <span><span><span><span class="UFICommentBody"><span>IPS forum is featured at the beginning to set the postmetaphysical stage.</span></span></span></span></span> The abstract:…</p>
<p><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E8Po4OtZ-lvA12JJ3BCFhcXpmFxlDVTxVJwoRCcK8Dw/edit" target="_blank">The paper</a> Michel Bauwens and I wrote to be in the next issue of <a href="http://spanda.org/publications.html" target="_blank">Spanda Journal</a>. Shared here with permission of the Journal. <span><span><span><span class="UFICommentBody"><span>IPS forum is featured at the beginning to set the postmetaphysical stage.</span></span></span></span></span> The abstract:</p>
<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" id="docs-internal-guid-a9f3f26d-998a-7e78-8948-850c021411b2"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: #222222; background-color: #ffffff; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" class="font-size-2">Enlightenment has had broadly different definitions is the East and West. In the East it is seen as an individual accessing meditative states that transcend the world of form in a metaphysical reality. In the West it is more about individual development to abstract reasoning, which can accurately represent empirical reality but is itself an a priori, metaphysical capacity. Enlightenment in either case is based on metaphysical individual achievements. However the postmetaphysical turn has questioned such premises, instead contextualizing both meditative states and abstract reasoning within broader socio-cultural contexts. Enlightenment itself has thereby been redefined within this orientation and is seen more as a collective endeavor that is collaboratively enacted.</span></p> Gurus and Yogatag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2016-03-13:5301756:Topic:641472016-03-13T01:13:46.330ZAmbo Sunohttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/AmboSuno
<p>Lately my interest in yoga as been mildly catalyzed.</p>
<p>I have usually been somewhat of a dabbler in traditions and disciplines, including yoga. However, stimulated by these eastern traditions at the moment, there seems also to have been deeper-flowing currents of interest and "back-burner" simmering in wait for moments of integration, perhaps, and hibernating readiness to <em>act</em> within the discipline. I feel some of that happening now.</p>
<p>My primary exposure to yoga was…</p>
<p>Lately my interest in yoga as been mildly catalyzed.</p>
<p>I have usually been somewhat of a dabbler in traditions and disciplines, including yoga. However, stimulated by these eastern traditions at the moment, there seems also to have been deeper-flowing currents of interest and "back-burner" simmering in wait for moments of integration, perhaps, and hibernating readiness to <em>act</em> within the discipline. I feel some of that happening now.</p>
<p>My primary exposure to yoga was through TKV Desikatchar and his implicit lineage from his father Krishnamacharya. [As you may know, Iyengar is Krishnamacharya's nephew.]</p>
<p>What is precipitating this post are a couple of quotes, and there are many more on the linked website of Paul Harvey, one of the teachers.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.yogastudies.org/cys-journal/about-paul/">http://www.yogastudies.org/cys-journal/about-paul/</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>This first quote is particularly resonant with me for so many of areas of my life, perhaps partly due to my temperament, character, personality, and even neuroses. Along with "guru", I substitute in physician, guide, parent, surf instructor, momentarily helpful friend, dare I say "God":</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><em>“A guru is not one who has a following. A guru is one who can show me the way.</em><br/> <em>Suppose I’m in a forest and somehow I’ve lost my way.</em><br/> <em>Then I meet somebody and ask, “Can you show me the way home?”</em><br/> <em>That person might say, “Yes, you go this way”.</em><br/> <em>I say “Thank you,” and I go on my way. That is a guru.“</em><br/> <em>– TKV Desikachar</em></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"></p>
</blockquote>
<p>This quote reinforces and explicates a bit the above one. I seem to need that wiggle room in so many areas of my life, to find my own understanding, embodiment, approach, and even glitchy and faulty path, probably far beyond what this lineage and gurus would consider optimal. Hopefully, ... well, ... what can we really say about knowing how to be, even from a refined super-wise tradition. Hah. Ehem:</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><em>“The target of Yoga is ‘svatantra’ which means to discover our own technique.</em><br/> <em>‘Sva’ means itself and ‘tantra’ means technique.</em><br/> <em>The techniques are in oneself and we must discover them;</em><br/> <em>if not we will depend on others. I am sick and I go to the doctor;</em><br/> <em>but finally I must become my own therapist.</em><br/> <em>This is ‘svatantra’.”</em><br/> <em>– TKV Desikachar</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p></p> Reimaging the Sacredtag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2016-01-04:5301756:Topic:631822016-01-04T23:34:45.865ZEdward theurj Bergehttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/theurj
<p>At FB IPS Balder posted on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Sacred-Catherine-Kristeva-Religion/dp/0231161034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451939183&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+kearney" target="_blank">this</a> book. Therein Richard Kearney discusses the return of God after atheism, anatheism, with various philosophers. John Caputo has always been one of my favorites and is featured in chapter 9. Some of that chapter is available to review…</p>
<p>At FB IPS Balder posted on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Sacred-Catherine-Kristeva-Religion/dp/0231161034/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451939183&sr=8-1&keywords=richard+kearney" target="_blank">this</a> book. Therein Richard Kearney discusses the return of God after atheism, anatheism, with various philosophers. John Caputo has always been one of my favorites and is featured in chapter 9. Some of that chapter is available to review <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=dA7TCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA193&lpg=PA193&dq=caputo%20anatheism&source=bl&ots=T69ReD5VP-&sig=ciKbg6Eo_t_w6fJEMNhjv-ktW4w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjB7YfLmpHKAhXIKWMKHbu_B8IQ6AEIQTAF#v=onepage&q=caputo%20anatheism&f=false">here</a>. <span><span class="UFICommentBody">On 196-98 Caputo and Kearney discuss Hegel. Caputo is concerned that like Ricoeur, Kearney might think anatheism is a higher synthesis derived from atheism and theism. Caputo of course questions this sort of reconciliation and it turns out Kearney seems to also, since he wrote in the book of ana-atheism.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span class="UFICommentBody"><span><span class="UFICommentBody">All of which reminds me of the syntegralists in <a href="http://www.integral-review.org/documents/Kupers,%20Deeg,%20Edwards%20Vol%2011%20No%203%20Special%20Issue%20European%20Acad%20Trends.pdf">this</a> piece, who are more in alignment with Caputo than Wilber's Hegelian synthetic orientation.</span></span></span></span> <span><span class="UFICommentBody"><span><span class="UFICommentBody"><span><span class="UFICommentBody">E.g., "Therefore syn-integral bridging does not follow the ideas of a metaphysical harmony, nor an underlying unity-oriented ideal(ism)" (128).</span></span> See <a href="http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/special-issue-of-integral-review" target="_self">this</a> IPS thread for some discussion.</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span class="UFICommentBody"><span><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">Ana-atheism, a triple negative (an=after, a=not, a=not), reminds me of <a href="http://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/forum/topics/ladder-climber-view?commentId=5301756%3AComment%3A42375">this</a> Ning IPS post, and the one after it. The latter post is from the chorus of my song on the Three Veils of Negative Existence:</span></span></span></span></p>
<p><span><span class="UFICommentBody"><span><span class="UFICommentBody _1n4g">That's right, that's right, nothing<br/> And not just nothing, but no nothing<br/> And not no nothing neither.</span></span></span></span></p> Integral Mettatag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2015-12-01:5301756:Topic:629692015-12-01T02:42:14.913ZBalderhttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/BruceAlderman
<p>Layman started a new group on Facebook called Metta-Integral, for exploring issues of compassion, lovingkindness, the cultivation of virtues, etc, from an integral perspective.</p>
<p>On the group, I proposed the following exercise:</p>
<p>Wilber's new "integral mindfulness" work is based on holding each of our prior stages of development -- with their needs and gifts -- in mindfulness, especially learning to 'make object' those structures with which we might still be somewhat identified or…</p>
<p>Layman started a new group on Facebook called Metta-Integral, for exploring issues of compassion, lovingkindness, the cultivation of virtues, etc, from an integral perspective.</p>
<p>On the group, I proposed the following exercise:</p>
<p>Wilber's new "integral mindfulness" work is based on holding each of our prior stages of development -- with their needs and gifts -- in mindfulness, especially learning to 'make object' those structures with which we might still be somewhat identified or merged (leading to different fixations, problematic habits or defenses, etc). Since lovingkindness (metta) meditation is often paired with mindfulness (vipassana) practice, we can imagine a complementary metta practice for each of our stages -- both holding the stage in loving awareness, befriending it, and perhaps also reflecting on the ways that love is expressed through that stage, or supports that stage, as a gift that we might also take into our present. Would you like to do that reflection here?</p>
<p></p> The Girl Godtag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2015-09-03:5301756:Topic:621442015-09-03T20:54:51.171ZEdward theurj Bergehttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/theurj
<p>For those of you not on Facefuck, here's some more wisdom from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thegirlgod/photos/a.247135242001934.50049.246744282041030/867987119916740/?type=1" target="_blank">this</a> post reproduced below with imagery. We've had plenty of philosophical kennilingus around here, so how about some sacred cunnilingus?…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2311750909?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2311750909?profile=original" width="537"></img></a></p>
<p>For those of you not on Facefuck, here's some more wisdom from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thegirlgod/photos/a.247135242001934.50049.246744282041030/867987119916740/?type=1" target="_blank">this</a> post reproduced below with imagery. We've had plenty of philosophical kennilingus around here, so how about some sacred cunnilingus?</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2311750909?profile=original"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2311750909?profile=original" width="537"/></a></p>
<div id="id_55e8b3130e4b99487162953" class="text_exposed_root text_exposed">"Cuneiform", the most ancient form of writing, derives from "kunta" meaning "female genitalia" in Sumerian of ancient Iraq. "Kunta" is "woman" in several Near Eastern and African languages and a Mother Tongue that is being compiled by linguists today. It was also spelled "quna," which is the root of "queen." Since priestesses were known to be accountants/administrators <span class="text_exposed_show">of Temple of Inanna in Sumeria c.3100 B.C. when Cuneiform was first used, it is highly likely that cuneiform was "the sign of the kunta" who kept the books (clay tablets) for the temple economy/redistribution of wealth that evolved from communal economics of ancient mother-cultures.<br/> <br/> So when an abuser calls a woman a "cunt" he is actually calling her a "queen who invented writing and numerals." Girls and women can thus reclaim the words in our language that have been used as weapons against us in emotionally explosive situations. The word "prostitute" (law giver of the temple) and "whore" (houri, Persian, which means a gorgeous semi-divine female that awaits men in the 7th Heaven) are some of the finest compliments a woman can be given.<br/> <br/> Many ancient languages did not have huge vocabularies as we do and the same word had many meanings, according to the context in which it was used. "Kunta" is also the root of kundalini (energy), khan (highest leader of the Eurasian steppe nomads, whose society was originally matriarchal and who still have remnants of a matriarchate), quantity, any words that start with "kw", qu, or kh. Examples: Cunda, mother of Buddha according to Japanese; Cunti-Devi, Goddess of kundalini energy, India; Kunta, means literally one who has female genitalia, and describes a priestess, ancient Sumeria; Kun, Goddess of Mercy, India; Quani, Korean goddess; Qudshu, female priestess of ancient Canaan & Phoenicia, which became the Roman province of Palestine after they conquered it; Quadesha, Sumerian word for a type of priestess. Qu' can also mean love, sensuality, sexuality, the divinity present in all females.<br/> <br/> So, the most interesting conclusion is that the Quran, is actually the book of love for females. Female sensuality is probably the literal translation, but Muslims translate it as "reading or lection", which is also flattering to females because the mothers of Arabs were always their only teachers before Mohammad dictated the Koran. Now they have Koranic schools called "Madrasas", the mother-schools, although they now teach only boys and denigrate women. Almost every value word in the Muslim religion, including "Muslim" is a mother-word, derived from the mother root: Mohammad, mufti, mosque, madrasa, Makka (Mecca), Madina, mukhtar, mujahadeem, mezes, and many, many more.<br/> <br/> Another variation is "quern," a hand-mill used by ancient women to grind grain into flour. The etymology points to housewives of ancient Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Palestine, & Syria, where agriculture began, as the ones who invented bread out of flour by adding a liquid and letting the dough sit for while until air-borne yeasts raised it. When baked in their clay ovens, it resulted in the most remarkable invention of the human race, the staff of life, bread. It was also baked quickly, without waiting for the yeasts to lighten it, and is known today as pita.<br/> <br/> ~Gloria Bertonis, M.Ed. with Carol Miranda, Stone Age Divas: Their Mystery and Their Magic <br/> <br/> Artist Unknown</span></div>
<p><span class="fbPhotoTagList" id="fbPhotoPageTagList"><span class="fcg">— with <span class="fbPhotoTagListTag tagItem"><a class="taggee" href="https://www.facebook.com/ajuogas">Abuto Shem</a></span>, <span class="fbPhotoTagListTag tagItem"><a class="taggee" href="https://www.facebook.com/danilo.maiani">Danilo Maiani</a></span> and <span class="fbPhotoTagListTag tagItem"><a class="taggee" href="https://www.facebook.com/beyonce.derulo.5">Beyonce Derulo</a></span>.</span></span></p>
<p></p> http://nonsymbolic.org/tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2014-11-08:5301756:Topic:588832014-11-08T16:09:43.294Zehttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/e
<p>Got this today in my inbox...</p>
<p></p>
<div>Dear Eric, <br></br><br></br>I work at the leading academic center that researches enlightenment, nonduality, mystical experience, union with the divine, transcendental consciousness, and similar states of consciousness. The academic term for these is persistent non-symbolic experience (PNSE). <br></br>We coordinate, assist, and evaluate psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience research in these areas. Though it is not very well known outside of the…</div>
<p>Got this today in my inbox...</p>
<p></p>
<div>Dear Eric, <br/><br/>I work at the leading academic center that researches enlightenment, nonduality, mystical experience, union with the divine, transcendental consciousness, and similar states of consciousness. The academic term for these is persistent non-symbolic experience (PNSE). <br/>We coordinate, assist, and evaluate psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience research in these areas. Though it is not very well known outside of the university system, amazing work is being done at leading universities worldwide. Collectively millions of dollars has been invested in these studies, and over a thousand research participants are involved on 6 continents. <br/><br/>Over the past couple of years we've seen several major breakthroughs in understanding the scientific elements of non-duality. We see this work as a complement to the work of people like yourself who are helping people with nonduality. As such, we are reaching out to nondual community leaders to formally connect. Please send us an email at nichol@nonsymbolic.org to be added to our register of nondual leaders and practitioners. <br/><br/>We’re about to publish the most comprehensive research on PNSE and would like to invite you and your group members to a free online presentation of this work this SUNDAY, November 9th @ 5:30 PST. Before taking the results to the wider world, we wanted to start by sharing the results of this groundbreaking and comprehensive study with the nondual community that helped to make the research possible. <br/><br/>Please click this link to register for this free event. You can also share this link with your group. <br/><br/><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://webinarjam.net/webinar/go/7343/36511d748c" title="http://webinarjam.net/webinar/go/7343/36511d748c" class="yiv8370355107linkified">http://webinarjam.net/webinar/go/7343/36511d748...</a> <br/>I’ve included a link to our center site below. On it you will find several documents and video links so that you can see the scope and commitment we’ve had to this over the years. <br/><br/><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://nonsymbolic.org/publications/" title="http://nonsymbolic.org/publications/" class="yiv8370355107linkified">http://nonsymbolic.org/publications/</a> <br/><br/>Thanks so much, <br/><br/>Minal Sugandha <br/>Center for the Study of Non-Symbolic Consciousness <br/><br/><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://nonsymbolic.org/" title="http://nonsymbolic.org/" class="yiv8370355107linkified">http://nonsymbolic.org/</a></div>
<div>November 8, 2014 12:15 AM</div> Integral catholicismtag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2014-11-03:5301756:Topic:588592014-11-03T00:17:59.466ZAmbo Sunohttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/AmboSuno
<p>Hi. Though I am not Christian nor specifically Catholic, I have found this presentation from the blog "Integral Catholicism" quite, well, integrative, Integral.</p>
<p>It was a nice surprise for me to feel the call for and a written demonstration of allowing for a plurality of perspectives with then the challenging work of integrating them. I was particularly surprised, probably partly due to my uninformed and skewed knowledge and biases regarding the bible, how biblical quotes did do…</p>
<p>Hi. Though I am not Christian nor specifically Catholic, I have found this presentation from the blog "Integral Catholicism" quite, well, integrative, Integral.</p>
<p>It was a nice surprise for me to feel the call for and a written demonstration of allowing for a plurality of perspectives with then the challenging work of integrating them. I was particularly surprised, probably partly due to my uninformed and skewed knowledge and biases regarding the bible, how biblical quotes did do justice to the integral challenge. Excuse me.</p>
<p>To try to bring this post of mine into alignment with the postmetaphysical theme, I will make a perhaps token pointing to an honoring of the subjective, and of the need to make space for "also"s and the naturally messy "sortof"ness that comes when many diverse perspectival bits are considered.</p>
<p><<Human beings have the right and the duty to follow dictates of their conscience. “<b>Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person</b>”. [CCC 1738] Freedom of conscience is an essential aspect of free will and a key component of the divine plan of salvation. “<b>God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel… By the working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world</b>.” [CCC 1730, 1742]>></p>
<p>If you click the link to the url you will be able to read supporting footnotes if you wish: <a href="http://integralcatholic.blogspot.com/2012/06/healing-great-schism-call-to-unity.html#comment-form">http://integralcatholic.blogspot.com/2012/06/healing-great-schism-call-to-unity.html#comment-form</a></p>
<p>ambo</p>
<p></p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Healing the Great Schism: A Call to Unity</h3>
<div class="WordSection2"><br/><div>As a Roman Catholic Eucharist Minister and prayer group leader I feel compelled to write this open letter expressing deep concern over the troubling evidence of a profound schism and deepening conflict within the Church. In light of recent events there is now little doubt that the Church is in deep crisis. It is in precipitous decline in Europe and shows the beginnings of a similar decline in the United States. Traditional Catholic monasticism (and the rich contemplative tradition it cultivated) is dying out and being reborn outside of the Church. As more and more Christians find themselves rejecting traditional Christian moral teachings on many issues, the Church hierarchy has redoubled its efforts to reassert its authority in civil policy judgments and reign in free thinking Catholic Ministries. Many Catholics, feeling disillusioned and disenfranchised, have left the church, stopped attending mass, or stopped listening to Catholic clergy. Many of us have recently suffered through inflammatory sermons over civil policy issues in our parish churches. This schism is feeding into the polarization of our larger society that has crippled our government and incited incendiary rhetoric throughout the nation’s media and pulpits. It is becoming increasingly clear that there is trouble brewing within the Church- a house divided against itself cannot stand.</div>
<div>The emerging schism is typically framed as a conflict between absolutism to the right of the schism and relativism to the left. Absolutism asserts that there can be only one authoritative standpoint in moral discernment. This standpoint is based upon universal, eternal, non-negotiable laws as interpreted by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Relativism asserts that our moral principles are social constructs that can and should change over time, reflecting evolving societal values and worldviews. This conflict has erupted into a raging battle in the arena of civil policy deliberation. Given the severity of this escalating battle it is important to examine the implications of the Church’s teachings on these matters. In the process we will discover that both mindsets yield important insights, and that the roots of the conflict can be illuminated by a deeper investigation of the rational thought process.</div>
<div>The Church’s claims to absolute moral authority on civil policy issues is based on the belief that the “natural law” -universal, non-negotiable principles, established by God- can clearly and unambiguously guide moral determinations in the domain of civil policy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states: “<b>The natural law states the first and essential precepts that govern the moral life… (it) expresses the original moral sense which enables man to discern by reason the good and the evil… The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good… (it) is universal in its precepts and its authority extends to all men. It provides the necessary basis for the civil law with which it is connected, whether by a reflection that draws conclusions from its principles, or by additions of a positive and juridical nature</b>” [CCC 1954-1959].</div>
<div>The church makes a clear distinction between the domain of natural law and the domain of civil law. Natural law is the universal and eternal “<b>light of understanding placed in us by God at the Creation</b>” [St. Thomas Aquinas]. Civil law is a historical domain ruled by the affirmations of the U.S. constitution, the multi-faceted morass of legal statutes, and the multicultural diversity of ethical beliefs of U.S. citizens. Application of natural law within the domain of civil law requires a process of discernment that depends upon many factors that differ from one individual to another. In order to discern the will of God “<b>man strives to interpret the data of experience and the signs of the times assisted by the virtue of prudence, by the advice of competent people, and by the help of the Holy Spirit and his gifts</b>.” [CCC 1788] The process of discernment is, first and foremost, a rational process, and as a rational process it is rooted in each individual’s personal knowledge and “data of experience”. “<b>Application of the natural law varies greatly, it can demand reflection that takes account of various conditions of life according to places, times, and circumstances</b>” [CCC 1957], confronting us with a “<b>situation that makes moral judgments less assured and decisions difficult.</b>” [CCC 1787] The guidance of the Holy Spirit is constrained by the rational thought process which is biased by our knowledge, experience, beliefs, attachments, values, ideals, and prejudices.</div>
<div>The Church teaches that all human beings are subject to “errors of judgment” in moral discernment. One of the principal sources of error is the “<b>assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience</b>”, [CCC 1792] which is the assumption that one’s knowledge is complete and impartial and one’s vision is all encompassing so that there is no need to seek the “advice of competent people” or to factor the discernments of others into one’s personal deliberations. As we live in a society of ever increasing complexity, the moral discernments we face in the civil domain are becoming increasingly complex and difficult, making the “advice of competent people” ever more crucial to the discernment process. True discernment is impossible without the desire for complete and impartial knowledge. For example, a discernment of the morality of new auto emission standards would have little value without consultation with a scientist who, having studied the available data and mathematical models, can give a competent estimate, to the best of human knowledge, of the magnitude of the human impact of the projected reductions in carbon loading of the atmosphere. Any discernment based on misinformation, even with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is invariably nonsense. Unless one has achieved the station of prophethood, even the Holy Spirit cannot circumvent the law of “garbage in, garbage out”. </div>
<div>We live our lives embedded in increasingly complex networks of political, sociological, and environmental systems. Every civil policy declaration has repercussions that propagate throughout this intricate network, generating positive and negative impacts in the lives of countless individuals. For a complex civil program such the Affordable Care Act (ACA) there are possibly hundreds of factors to consider and carefully weigh (guided by the Holy Spirit) if one is to make a proficient moral evaluation [1]. There are no universal principles that dictate how these various factors must be weighted- all decisions will be rooted in one’s own knowledge and experience. Because each person’s knowledge and experience differ (constituting that person’s unique point of view), each person, guided by the Holy Spirit, can be expected to arrive at a unique discernment when applying natural law in the complex realm of public policy. Even small changes in perspective can, by shifting the weighting of the various considerations and values, result in large variations in the final judgment. Each of us is like one of the proverbial blind men in a room with an elephant, attempting to determine the nature of the beast. One feels the tail and cries, “it’s like a rope!” Another feels the leg and cries, “it’s like a pillar!” Another feels the belly and cries, “it’s like a barrel!” Clearly all of the viewpoints arrive at different discernments, and none are definitive. </div>
<div>The issues that face us today are so complex, and the volumes of information at our fingertips are so vast, that acquiring full knowledge of all the important considerations involved in any moral judgment of civil policy is virtually impossible. This process of efficiently weighing a multitude of considerations and values with an overabundance of information is very challenging- so challenging that most Catholics balk and simply cherry pick one or two factors that suite their disposition and rest their case. By ignoring all contrary considerations and focusing on a single facet of the deliberation one can fabricate the appearance of straightforwardness and the illusion of certainty.</div>
<div>For example, in order to “ensure that Americans nationwide get the high-quality care they need to stay healthy”, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) mandates that most private health plans cover important preventive health care services[2]. These services include estrogen-progesterone treatments which, in addition to their application in preventing pregnancies (which for many women can be life threatening due to pre-existing conditions), are the most reliable and effective treatment for cervical cancer, ovarian cysts, menopause complications, and a host of other women’s health issues. In light of the Church’s teaching that it is the “<b>moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay</b>” [Pope Benedict XVI], many Catholics, guided by the Holy Spirit, have discerned that support for this aspect of women’s health care is consistent with natural law, and that the ACA’s wall of conscience protection surrounding religious institutions is adequate to allay the moral concerns regarding contraception. The Catholic Health Association has endorsed this position[3]. On the other side of the schism a group of bishops led by archbishop Timothy Dolan arrived at a very different discernment by ignoring all human health issues surrounding this health care mandate and focusing exclusively on theological principles concerning contraception. As a result they have declared that the ACA mandate represents an unprecedented attack on religious freedom, called for a “great national campaign” of political and legal protest, and instigated a flurry of federal lawsuits, despite the fact that the Obama administration continues to work with the Catholic Health Association to address the remaining moral concerns of fellow Catholics[4]. Outrage at the bishops’ apparent disregard for women’s health, wisdom, and conscience has ignited widespread “war on women” allegations, helped alienate many churchgoers, and exacerbated the emerging Catholic schism. The ongoing conflict has inflamed acrimonious attacks from the Church’s pulpits and the national media. Incited by the bishops’ call to arms, the Knights of Columbus and various Catholic priests on Fox Network News have called upon Catholics to rise up in defense of religious liberty, implying the need for armed conflict and martyrdom. Moderate Catholic bishops were “very upset” by archbishop Dolan’s “headlong rush to litigation”, expressing concern that certain groups “very far to the right” are co-opting the contraception rules debate in pursuit of a right wing political agenda[5]. An increasingly large number of Americans are viewing archbishop Dolan’s campaign as election-year partisan rabble rousing, undermining the Church’s credibility on moral issues.</div>
<div>This firestorm highlights the crux of the growing Catholic schism. One the right side of the schism a group of bishops asserts that their standpoint on the ACA mandate represents the non-negotiable Word of God. On the left side a large group of Catholics who, due to their unique knowledge and experience, have arrived at different discernments and assert that multiple points of view can and should be considered in moral discernments regarding civil policy. A bishop, whose knowledge is dominated by abstract theological principles, and a Catholic health care professional, who is a competent authority with a wealth of personal experience in the realm of health care, can be expected to arrive at different discernments regarding the moral issues surrounding health care. It is crucial for the integrity of the Church for Catholic authority figures to recognize that BOTH of these discernments are expressions of natural law inspired by the same Spirit. Sermons and other public statements that attempt to rally Catholics to support one faction against the other violate the conscience rights of all Catholics and incite division and discord within the Church.</div>
<div>The Church teaches that respect for the conscience rights of others is a cardinal rule of moral discernment. “<b>Faced with a moral choice… charity always proceeds by way of respect for one’s neighbor and his conscience</b>”. [CCC 1789] Human beings have the right and the duty to follow dictates of their conscience. “<b>Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person</b>”. [CCC 1738] Freedom of conscience is an essential aspect of free will and a key component of the divine plan of salvation. “<b>God willed that man should be left in the hand of his own counsel… By the working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world</b>.” [CCC 1730, 1742] This same Holy Spirit -that descended upon the apostles at Pentecost- is working in us here and now, bestowing a diversity of spiritual gifts upon each of us as members of the mystical body of Christ. The body of Christ has many members, and the perspective of every member is important, particularly the forgotten, the rejected, and the downtrodden. “<b>The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee… Nay much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: and those members of the body, which seem to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor… that there should be no schism in the body</b><b>.</b>” [1 Cor. 4-25] Each of us is endowed with unique spiritual gifts and, by virtue of these gifts, offers a unique perspective on the relationship between the natural law and the affairs of daily life. Thus each of us has an important role to play in the education of the conscience faculty of the body of Christ.</div>
<div>Our Catholic beliefs are intended to bring about the communion of the faithful and join us all in intimacy with Christ. “<b>Unity is the essence of the Church</b>” [CCC 813]. Unfortunately the same beliefs can be used to drive a wedge between those Catholics who share our views and those with a different perspective, creating division and discord within the body of Christ. Jesus warned his disciples against getting caught up in moral crusades [Matthew 5:39-48]. The societal “evil” we feel most compelled to fight is typically a projection of that part of ourselves that is unforgiven, so that in fighting perceived evils we are actually fighting the rejected and repressed parts of our own personality [Matthew 7:1-2]. Jesus instructs us to focus on clearing the barriers to our own vision rather then disparaging the viewpoints of others [Matthew 7:3-5]. We are to give the perspectives of others the same respect that we would expect them to give ours [Matthew 7:12]. This lesson appears to be particularly difficult for those in positions of religious authority. Jesus enraged the clergy of his own religion by ignoring their theological principles in order to serve the health care needs of the people [Mark 3:1-6]. As peacemakers we are called to rise above the distinctions and differences that divide us, but all too often we fall back into defending our theological turf, using our beliefs to fortify the ramparts of our self-image. </div>
<div>Although the Church teaches that the natural law is non-negotiable, every proposition of civil law is and must be negotiable. In a democratic nation all civil policy deliberations must encompass many distinct points of view, each with unique knowledge, values, and perspective on the natural law. We are called to be peacemakers in this process, which will require the humility to accept that our point of view is not the same as God’s and the maturity to acknowledge alternate viewpoints without feeling attacked. We must avoid the “assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience” by recognizing that we all “<b>see as through a glass, darkly”</b> [1 Cor. 13:12], i.e. our knowledge is partial and our perspective is biased. Recalling the analogy of the blind men and the elephant, it should be clear that an unbiased and comprehensive discernment requires the integration of numerous diverse perspectives (with deference to competency in the domains of consideration). The Mind of Christ is vast enough to simultaneously embrace a multitude of diverse perspectives, including those that, due to our limited knowledge and perspective, appear to be contradictory. </div>
<div> The escalating conflict and growing schism within the Church is a clarion call for more enlightened leadership. If the Church is to remain whole we must let go of our crusades, turn our swords into plowshares, and once again embrace the wisdom of all members of the mystical body of Christ. The Church’s enemy is not in civil society[6] -it is in ourselves- in our fear, in our defensiveness, in our condemnation of our bothers and sisters in Christ. “<b>Distrustful souls see only darkness burdening the face of the earth. We prefer instead to reaffirm all our confidence in our Savior who has not abandoned the world which he redeemed</b>.” [Pope John XXIII] Fighting to coerce others to conform to our faction’s interpretation of natural law is a disruptive waste of time and energy that feeds the problem more then the solution. Salvation of the world is in God’s hands. “<b>We firmly believe that God is master of the world and its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God face to face, will we fully know the ways by which -even through the dramas of evil and sin- God has guided his creation to that definitive Sabbath rest for which he created heaven and earth</b>.” [CCC 314] Now, more then ever, is the time to refocus, unite the Church, and rededicate ourselves to the eternal Truth of the Word of God revealed to us by Jesus Christ: “<b>Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me</b><b>.</b>” [Matt 25:34-36]</div>
</div>
<p></p> Anatheism: God After Godtag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2014-11-02:5301756:Topic:588552014-11-02T00:28:57.809ZBalderhttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/BruceAlderman
<p></p>
<p>An interesting interview with Richard Kearney on his notion (and book) of Anatheism: God After God.</p>
<p><a href="http://web.stanford.edu/dept/fren-ital/opinions/kearney.html">http://web.stanford.edu/dept/fren-ital/opinions/kearney.html</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>An interesting interview with Richard Kearney on his notion (and book) of Anatheism: God After God.</p>
<p><a href="http://web.stanford.edu/dept/fren-ital/opinions/kearney.html">http://web.stanford.edu/dept/fren-ital/opinions/kearney.html</a></p> RELIGIOUS BUBBLES: Generative (en)closures vs. "Traditions"tag:integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com,2014-09-22:5301756:Topic:584102014-09-22T17:18:32.932ZLayman Pascalhttps://integralpostmetaphysics.ning.com/profile/LaymanPascal
<p></p>
<p>Generative (en)closures are like assholes -- everybody's got one. </p>
<p>These "magic bubbles" are ubiquitous and universal. Cells, selves & groups of all sorts are energetically engaged in establishing themselves as unique fields of relatively amplified coherence. These fields are partially set apart from their surroundings by a permeable membrane of physical acts, subjective impressions, communication systems and shared spirit. </p>
<p>Yet of all the myriad modes of…</p>
<p></p>
<p>Generative (en)closures are like assholes -- everybody's got one. </p>
<p>These "magic bubbles" are ubiquitous and universal. Cells, selves & groups of all sorts are energetically engaged in establishing themselves as unique fields of relatively amplified coherence. These fields are partially set apart from their surroundings by a permeable membrane of physical acts, subjective impressions, communication systems and shared spirit. </p>
<p>Yet of all the myriad modes of generative (en)closure we find ourselves especially interested in the "sacred" versions of culture. That means we are primed toward events, spaces, objects and forms of practice-communities that are conventionally associated with <em>religious traditions</em>. </p>
<p>However we cannot take these traditions at face value. Why not? Because all they have meaning that meaningfulness is not the particular style associated with the rather loft "integralesque" and complicated vantage point from which these sorts of discussions may issue forth. What cans the notion of a "religious tradition" mean to us?</p>
<p>Knowing the incorrigible habits of integralites, we can predict that such traditions must appear, eventually as metaphorical zones of heightened cultural coherence which are experienced distinctly through the cognitive apparatus of each major developmental layer of human consciousness. </p>
<p>So let us take a quick peek:</p>
<p><strong>AMBER</strong></p>
<p>Conventional popular terminology operates a set of associations which connect these linguistic acts with the mentality of orthodox/supra-tribal/believer-sects. For such people (within us) the production of religious bubbles is normalized into "traditions" which are based upon confessions of membership and the affirmation of standardized nation-like symbolism. </p>
<p>We immediately see that this is the orthodox meaning of famous "traditions" inherited predominantly from nationalistic, racial, sectarian city-state / agricultural-kingdom phases of history... including parts of the world still largely involved in this reality. So Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Shinto, Hinduism, etc. are a vision of generative (en)closures operating at this level and for this type of world. </p>
<p><strong>ORANGE</strong></p>
<p>Modern "enlightenment" mentality typically investigates the abstract mechanism-objects which may appear in the mind under various different names. This extra-cultural consciousness already seriously undermines the conventional assumption of religious bubbles as traditions. It supposes that every individual, regardless of their geographic and ethnocentric origin, is free to select from the big "menu" of normally presumed traditions. And we already begin to require those modifiers such as "seems like" and "almost" (which will become even more necessary at more complex layers) in order to fully clarify the experiential acts which are establishing generative (en)closures of the sacred-group type.</p>
<p><strong>GREEN</strong></p>
<p>Pluralism begins by alternating between realities. It therefore revalues apparent alternatives, folds in the obvious examples of minimized or excluded "others", and quickly moves to begin appreciating the inter-contextual effects operating at the semantic boundaries between interpretations. It proliferates alternatives and meta-models while deconstructing its options into creative sub-components. Here we require quotation marks around the word "tradition" and expect that a variety of Christianities, Buddhisms, Islams, etc. are holding hands with an indefinitely unfolding mixture of neo-archaic, quasi-fictional or hyper-individualistic attempts to performatively enact a religious bubble. The general ambivalence toward the hegemonic idea of a "tradition" arises quite naturally when our consciousness begins to emphasize background ecosystemic networks and the surprising world of unseen ingredients.</p>
<p>Here the definition of a tradition can only be a kind of game-piece in co-creative exchange. Linguistic habits, divergent states of consciousness, the activation of "neurosomatic brain circuitry" and the rise of the relaxed/sensitized universalist ethos requires that: <em>Traditions are "whatever" WE say they are.</em></p>
<p><strong>TEAL</strong></p>
<p>Integrative approaches to religious bubbles must take over and newly explain the complementary validity of the previous phases. It is no longer good enough to imagine that traditions are anarchic mutual constructs any more than it is acceptable to pretend that popular group-designations represent monolithic "traditions" (or even easily comprehended sets of sub-traditions). </p>
<p>A twin task emerges here. We must enfold and validate the previous layers while also asserting a new coherent scaffolding of organic-functional & trans-structuralist "types" which form the REAL traditions.</p>
<p>Religion here must be a temporalized spectrum of transrational tantric wholism dependent upon synchronization, creative appropriation of apparent incommensurability, and and advanced dialectical sensibility. </p>
<p>We assume that different modules/lines of development probably form the basis for a categorization of types of religious bubbles -- enacted in all quadrants and perceived distinctly at each layer of socio-cognitive reality. These basic types are the valid "traditions" when viewed from this level but they must be held alongside the embrace of non-pathological junior levels as well as held open for any degree of pragmatic usage among people whose temperament or prior-level conditioning leaves them instinctively skewed toward inherited styles.</p>
<p><strong>RECAP</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>If we start with <span style="text-decoration: underline;">traditional Traditions</span> and unfold one extra functional layer we discover the tradition as "options" -- modernism. </li>
<li>A further growth & migration reveals that these options do not pre-define our alternatives. They can (and ought) to be unpacked to reveal an indeterminate manifold of alternate options located between, within or off-to-the-side of the hegemonic menu.</li>
<li>Finally (sic) we peer down at all of this from a dizzying height and become struck with the need to re-establish the functional power of traditions on the basis on the alternative manifolds. </li>
</ul>
<p>Um, what?</p>
<ul>
<li>Traditional consciousness presumes a totalized core -- or "real nature" -- of a religion. Often this is associated with a book-dogma or particular famous passages therein. </li>
<li>Modern consciousness wants to know what these different <em>tradition-machines</em> do for different individuals. </li>
<li>Postmodern consciousness wants to include everything and thereby discovers a sliding scale of identities between all the normal and abnormal options. However this <span style="text-decoration: underline;">sliding scale</span> does not acknowledge the anchoring parameters which enable it to operate.</li>
<li>When those are enfolded a new set of structures appears as the justification of previous forms and suddenly we are required to <strong>re-group</strong> <strong>all the groups</strong> according to perspectival and enactive ingredients.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>THE SLIDING SCALE</strong></p>
<p>What do I mean by a "sliding scale" between alternatives? Consider the following two examples:</p>
<p>A cult of Medieval Buddhists practiced meditation in a very interesting fashion. They called upon a compassionate Buddha-of-Light by Name. He had once walked upon the historical earth but now lived in a heavenly afterworld. By getting right with this figure your soul could be reborn in this heaven. Here the grace of illumination is rapidly and easily attained. </p>
<p>Not only does this sound a lot like what we normally mean by "Christianity" it was also noted by Zen Master Hakuin that a profound, insight and hard-practicing Name-Praying Buddhist should be considered to be doing Zen.</p>
<p>The Christian monk named Eckhart prayed to the Virgin Mary in a special way. He made his mind still and empty like a virgin's womb so that an all-pervading and nameless wisdom-power would naturally flow in, impregnating him with a new self -- a "christ" who would feel, see and understand via the christ-mind. That sounds a lot like Zen Buddhism. </p>
<p>Very Buddhist Christianity. Very Christian Buddhism. </p>
<p>Our pluralist consciousness learns to situate people on a sliding scale of alternatives between these major blocs. But we must ask whether or not those blocs are sustainable? If these traditions are so various as to include each other in most practical ways then of what use are they as the reference-group at all? Why situate the sliding scale between them? Why not look for better grouping? Why not look as a zoologist would look -- and not a record-keeping of names would look.</p>
<p><strong>DHARMA & PRACTICE</strong></p>
<p>Nothing is lost when a post-traditionalist deconstructs and (except for pragmatic and respectful gestures) dispenses with the connection between religionized cultural sub-fields and received nominal religious typologies. Just as no magic is lost when we add a rational-technical understanding of the miracles of nature... although our pre-rational sentiments may contract uneasily in the face of such a shift... fearing to lose their bearings on what is most valuable. </p>
<p>So practices, which form the core (or, in some versions, the totality) of a religionized cultural sub-field, persist perfectly well without old-fashioned categorization. In fact they may themselves be the basis, when understood as perspectival and "developmental line" methods, of a superior classification system. </p>
<p>The dharma or logos is understood in traditional models as something like a fixed book of wisdom to be affirmed and ritually duplicated. At more complex levels we may view it as more akin to a bio-electronic conversation. A certain set of the potential algorithms of the universe correspond to the underlying maneuvres which are elaborated as the skills, probings and insights whose total pattern-attractor, including its potential for surprises, constitutes the spiritual and religious and "set". It can be engaged from within any local organismic, energetic or historical setting but, obviously, only in the degree to which those forms permit that generative conversation to occur. Initially some glimpses and experimental practices are more possible than others. Although as they produce depth, growth, coherence and divergence-convergence they tend to look more and more like the whole dharma. Given an unconstrained situation and indefinite time we can suppose that this fractal will eventually regenerate its basic attractor shape. However in contingent circumstances this only goes so far and therefore a great plethora of differences is apparent as the obvious fact. </p>
<p><strong>RELIGIONIZED CULTURAL SUB-FIELDS</strong></p>
<p>Spirituality is the work for personal coherence. Religion is the work for cultural coherence. It entangled, organizes and weds the various genres of social, biological and psychological collective activity in order to fulfill the intrinsically rewarding goal of production apotheotic "renaissance-like" degrees of surplus meaningful and aesthetically unique group empowerment. Because of its wholeness orientation (since we are looking at this phenomenon from a wholeness-level of understanding!) it is supposed to be a generic process working with the general background of civilization in any contemporary epoch. However in practice it appears first (and sometimes only) as sub-zones within the general condition of the culture -- and obviously we mean the total sapient culture of the planet and not the rather meager of local linguistic and thematic geographies. </p>
<p>So religionzed cultural sub-fields of intensified coherence, exhibiting the flavor of religiosity for the current civilization, arise by means of insightful and effortful compliance with whichever of the dharmic algorithms (practices!) can be instantiated effectively in its circumstance. These pools, insofar as they are operating with the same background civilization, are resonant with each other. They may therefore merge by "complement" or "progressive mutual approximation". </p>
<p><strong>ADDENDUM</strong></p>
<p>In addition to this striated vision of religious bubbles we must be aware that multiple types of bubbles may operate with largely overlapping sets of symbols and referents. This is because the actual activity of generative (en)closing, like that experience of a layer of consciousness, is anchored in the style of the context -- the holding -- and not exactly the content which is affirmed.</p>
<p>This is especially pertinent when it comes to social discussion. We have to make two critical distinctions: <strong>active vs. neutral</strong> (or even degenerative), <strong>sacred vs. topical</strong>.</p>
<p>1. The former implies that any communication (which reinforces a boundary by referencing it) might be vibrating with the freshness of new meaningfulness OR basically a mechanical reiteration. For example, the perpetuation of the signifier "Christ" may in one utterance operate to help continue the vitality of a particular religious bubble or it may be indifferent to such a function -- used without spirit in a manner whose effects are primarily (if not totally) inert relative to the establishment of the membrane around a field of cultural coherence.</p>
<p>The slogan "no one is neutral on a moving train" reminds us that non-progressive or non-resonant embodiments of zone-establishing signifiers quickly move from the status of placeholder to the status of underminer. Not carrying it forward frequently operates as if it were destructive. And yet it may use apparently the same symbols or rituals, etc.</p>
<p>2. Our second distinction requires that we tease apart the production of "talk bubbles" from "religious bubbles". Clearly there may be all kinds of overlap but it is not necessarily the case that a particular generative (en)closure is being established when it seems to be appearing in discussion and shared thinking. People frequently manipulate conversation TOPICS in order to discuss other topics which are urgent, titillating or nearby. </p>
<p>Just as any critical discussion of a thinker's positions may be quite valid while not actually pertaining to that person's ideas in any legitimate or comprehensive fashion, and just as the shadow of a celebrity can occupy a place in the politics of cyberspace which has little to do with their actual nature or positions (frequently unknown to the people discussing them) we can find this same pattern of "ghosts in the system" in the study of religious bubbles as well. </p>
<p>Therefore, at minimum, we need to make sure that we do not mistake the transactional economy of conversation -- whether populist, academic or apparently "devout" -- for the symbolic and cognitive processes which support the establishment of a generative (en)closure of the religious-group type. They may or may not be the same in any given instance. A great deal of hesitation is required in front of apparently obvious topics. Even those who appear supportive (and are therefore readily embraced and affirmed) may be supporting a phantom that simply bears an identical name in the discourse.</p>
<p>Hopefully this is all the beginning of a fruitful conversation...</p>