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I think some kind of experience of God is necessary for mental and emotional health. You basically don’t belong in the universe until you are connected to its center, and one word for that center (and everything else by implication) is “God.” When you live in the false self you are “eccentric,” or off center. You are forced to try to make something the Center that is not the center—yourself. It will never work in the long run, because it is not true. A part can never pretend to be the Whole. The edge cannot act as if it is the Center.
Your relative identity, or false self, is not bad; it is a necessary starting place—which we fall in love with—and so it passes for everything. Its only real problem is that it is not the True Self, while thinking that it is. If you do not have some experience of your True Self in God, by which to relativize and limit your false self, it has to pose as the real thing—and tries to get away with it. But it cannot work. It is not true, and will finally disappoint you.
Adapted from CAC Foundation Set: Gospel Call to Compassionate Action
(Bias from the Bottom) and Contemplative Prayer (CD, DVD, MP3)
The Daily Meditations for 2013 are now available
in Fr. Richard’s new book Yes, And . . . .
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Beyond the Bird Bath:
Richard Rohr Teaches the Courageous Heart
of the Franciscan Way
7-week self-paced, online course
October 2 – November 19, 2013
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- Cultivate Franciscan wisdom and healing in your daily life.
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- All are welcome—Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, and individuals from any sacred path!
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“This course has been a profound insight for me into understanding and experiencing the presence of God.” — LP, online learner
Preview a teaching from Fr. Richard, learn more, and register at cac.org. |
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