Monday, September 22, 2014
Earlier this year I learned of the work of Richard Rohr. As I recall it now his name came up when I was speaking of the issues I have long had with how the masculine has been embodied and presented to me throughout my life. In my younger adulthood I focused a lot of my attention on addressing the wounds I had developed as a result of the presence of dysfunctional women in my life. More recently, when I returned to therapy in 2013, it became clear quite quickly that I needed to attend to other wounds from my personal history. It was time for me to explore my sense of my masculinity and what it means to be a man in the world of the twenty-first century.
There are many men out there who are doing excellent work to support people in their health and development. Tomorrow I will briefly profile my own therapist, Jeffry Jeanetta-Wark, LICSW. Other men who have deeply touched my own life include Ilarion Merculieff (formerly of the Alaska Native Science Commission), Matthew Fox (advocate of creation spirituality), Christian de la Huerta (breathwork practitioner and conscious personal development proponent), Michael Sigmann (Executive Director of the Men's Inner Journey) and James Gillon, SJ (Jesuit priest whose ministerial experience has included working with the people of Africa).
To be a healthy, balanced man of the early twenty-first century who is truly attuned to the world around him is, in my opinion, to be deeply aware of the deep imbalances around us. Whether you describe these imbalances in economic, political, spiritual, cultural or environmental terms is, in one sense, irrelevant. To be even slightly aware of the many issues pressing for our attention is a challenging matter. Why? I believe it is difficult to be fully present because there is indeed so much that is out of balance. My overarching goal that informs going to therapy is the same one that motivates me to sit down almost every day and write in this blog. I want to experience my own fundamental wholeness by living and breathing in the world as a conscious person deeply aware of the gifts I have to offer.
......
According to the video I cite below Fr. Richard Rohr is an 'internationally renown speaker and conference leader'. He has written extensively (he has published at least thirty books) on the topics of community building, peace and justice and masculine spirituality. Rohr has conducted much of his work in New Mexico.
Father Richard Rohr gave an engaging presentation at Texas Lutheran University on "Falling Upward" on Sunday, September 25, 2011. A YouTube video of his presentation can be found here. The contents of his presentation on that day serve as inspiration for my words which follow below.
Entitling one of his books Falling Upward was a sure way for Rohr to pique my curiosity. Though I do not know whether Rohr personally identifies with the trickster archetype I am inclined to see him and the work he does in the world as befitting a trickster partly due to the fact that he offers a timely critique of institutional Christianity while standing within the institution itself. Who but someone who at least appreciates the trickster archetype would entitle one of his books Falling Upward?
There are several topics Rohr elucidates in his presentation that I find especially compelling. They are:
Defining the Self
Rohr notes that the first half of life is typically defined by the personal work of defining who you are.
Defining your identity can manifest in a number of ways including seeking to belong to groups of like minded and like identifying people, seeking out knowledge to help us define our worldview and experimenting with a variety of ways of living.
Necessary Suffering
Rohr astutely notes the unfortunate reality that attempting to avoid your suffering will almost inevitably bring about much more. In his work as a jail chaplain Rohr has encountered countless individuals who have deeply complicated their future lives and possibilities by getting caught up in destructive behaviors and impulses in their earliest years of life. I think it accurate to say that mature adults are those who recognize that pain and suffering is inevitable but recognize we can nonetheless exert our wills and choose the relationship we will have with our suffering.
Dualistic Thinking
I also find Rohr to be wise because he notes the ubiquitous presence of dualistic thinking and the limiting and destructive consequences living ensconced in such a way of thinking and being can have. Dualistic thinking can also be described as black and white thinking or either-or thinking. I have come to a greater appreciation of the damage that can result from consistently applying dualistic thinking. When making a journey of renewing the self, and especially when healing from life changing trauma, it is critical to reach the developmental milestone where you will accept and celebrate the large and the small victories you achieve. Healing an individual life is a grand project. Such a project takes time, diligence and a willingness to embrace new ways of living and being. The light and darkness of human experience will always be there. I believe it is a measure of genuine maturity to recognize this truth.
Rohr asserts that dualistic thinking is not a measure of wisdom. Wisdom is defined by mature thinking that is 'both-and thinking'. In other words, mature thinking recognizes the abiding presence of the light and the darkness. The darkness and the light both have value. Can you imagine a world in which the cloaking darkness of night never came and gave us pause to sleep such that our bodies and minds can renew themselves?
I also believe that maturity (as exemplified by an individual who generally practices non dualistic-thinking) would not argue with the following observation (noted by Rohr) made by Carl Jung: "The greatest and most important problems of life are fundamentally unsolvable. They can never be solved. They are only outgrown (my emphasis)."
Enlightenment at Gunpoint
Of Rohr's varied terminology I find this term especially compelling. He doesn't use the phrase to expound at great length on his material. And yet I find the imagery very rich. It seems to me that many do not experience enlightenment until they experience an event that is as threatening to the continued existence of the self as being mugged at gunpoint would be.
It's been my observation that many people will not necessarily enter the second half of their lives (and recognize they have done so!) until a truly shattering experience upends their comfortable and comforting daily routines. In other words, crisis often seems to be necessary to inspire people to finally make enduring and healthy changes in their lives.
The First and Second Halves of Life
Though I haven't read any of Rohr's books (yet) I believe I have a good understanding of some of what he devotes himself to sharing with others. A person who has entered the second half of life will reflect deeply on what he can do with the special gift of his life. A 'second half of life person' savors the light and the darkness and can live with the realities of ambiguity, uncertainty and the virtual inevitability that he will make mistakes and not always clearly know how to respond to both expected and unexpected challenges.
I entered the second half of my own life last year.
And so I will leave you today with a few not insignificant questions for a Monday morning:
Are you living in the first or second half of life? Can you dance with the light and the darkness?
Earlier this year I learned of the work of Richard Rohr. As I recall it now his name came up when I was speaking of the issues I have long had with how the masculine has been embodied and presented to me throughout my life. In my younger adulthood I focused a lot of my attention on addressing the wounds I had developed as a result of the presence of dysfunctional women in my life. More recently, when I returned to therapy in 2013, it became clear quite quickly that I needed to attend to other wounds from my personal history. It was time for me to explore my sense of my masculinity and what it means to be a man in the world of the twenty-first century.
There are many men out there who are doing excellent work to support people in their health and development. Tomorrow I will briefly profile my own therapist, Jeffry Jeanetta-Wark, LICSW. Other men who have deeply touched my own life include Ilarion Merculieff (formerly of the Alaska Native Science Commission), Matthew Fox (advocate of creation spirituality), Christian de la Huerta (breathwork practitioner and conscious personal development proponent), Michael Sigmann (Executive Director of the Men's Inner Journey) and James Gillon, SJ (Jesuit priest whose ministerial experience has included working with the people of Africa).
To be a healthy, balanced man of the early twenty-first century who is truly attuned to the world around him is, in my opinion, to be deeply aware of the deep imbalances around us. Whether you describe these imbalances in economic, political, spiritual, cultural or environmental terms is, in one sense, irrelevant. To be even slightly aware of the many issues pressing for our attention is a challenging matter. Why? I believe it is difficult to be fully present because there is indeed so much that is out of balance. My overarching goal that informs going to therapy is the same one that motivates me to sit down almost every day and write in this blog. I want to experience my own fundamental wholeness by living and breathing in the world as a conscious person deeply aware of the gifts I have to offer.
......
According to the video I cite below Fr. Richard Rohr is an 'internationally renown speaker and conference leader'. He has written extensively (he has published at least thirty books) on the topics of community building, peace and justice and masculine spirituality. Rohr has conducted much of his work in New Mexico.
Father Richard Rohr gave an engaging presentation at Texas Lutheran University on "Falling Upward" on Sunday, September 25, 2011. A YouTube video of his presentation can be found here. The contents of his presentation on that day serve as inspiration for my words which follow below.
Entitling one of his books Falling Upward was a sure way for Rohr to pique my curiosity. Though I do not know whether Rohr personally identifies with the trickster archetype I am inclined to see him and the work he does in the world as befitting a trickster partly due to the fact that he offers a timely critique of institutional Christianity while standing within the institution itself. Who but someone who at least appreciates the trickster archetype would entitle one of his books Falling Upward?
There are several topics Rohr elucidates in his presentation that I find especially compelling. They are:
- Defining the Self
- Necessary Suffering
- Dualistic Thinking
- Enlightenment at Gunpoint
- The First and Second Halves of Life
Defining the Self
Rohr notes that the first half of life is typically defined by the personal work of defining who you are.
Defining your identity can manifest in a number of ways including seeking to belong to groups of like minded and like identifying people, seeking out knowledge to help us define our worldview and experimenting with a variety of ways of living.
Necessary Suffering
Rohr astutely notes the unfortunate reality that attempting to avoid your suffering will almost inevitably bring about much more. In his work as a jail chaplain Rohr has encountered countless individuals who have deeply complicated their future lives and possibilities by getting caught up in destructive behaviors and impulses in their earliest years of life. I think it accurate to say that mature adults are those who recognize that pain and suffering is inevitable but recognize we can nonetheless exert our wills and choose the relationship we will have with our suffering.
Dualistic Thinking
I also find Rohr to be wise because he notes the ubiquitous presence of dualistic thinking and the limiting and destructive consequences living ensconced in such a way of thinking and being can have. Dualistic thinking can also be described as black and white thinking or either-or thinking. I have come to a greater appreciation of the damage that can result from consistently applying dualistic thinking. When making a journey of renewing the self, and especially when healing from life changing trauma, it is critical to reach the developmental milestone where you will accept and celebrate the large and the small victories you achieve. Healing an individual life is a grand project. Such a project takes time, diligence and a willingness to embrace new ways of living and being. The light and darkness of human experience will always be there. I believe it is a measure of genuine maturity to recognize this truth.
Rohr asserts that dualistic thinking is not a measure of wisdom. Wisdom is defined by mature thinking that is 'both-and thinking'. In other words, mature thinking recognizes the abiding presence of the light and the darkness. The darkness and the light both have value. Can you imagine a world in which the cloaking darkness of night never came and gave us pause to sleep such that our bodies and minds can renew themselves?
I also believe that maturity (as exemplified by an individual who generally practices non dualistic-thinking) would not argue with the following observation (noted by Rohr) made by Carl Jung: "The greatest and most important problems of life are fundamentally unsolvable. They can never be solved. They are only outgrown (my emphasis)."
Enlightenment at Gunpoint
Of Rohr's varied terminology I find this term especially compelling. He doesn't use the phrase to expound at great length on his material. And yet I find the imagery very rich. It seems to me that many do not experience enlightenment until they experience an event that is as threatening to the continued existence of the self as being mugged at gunpoint would be.
It's been my observation that many people will not necessarily enter the second half of their lives (and recognize they have done so!) until a truly shattering experience upends their comfortable and comforting daily routines. In other words, crisis often seems to be necessary to inspire people to finally make enduring and healthy changes in their lives.
The First and Second Halves of Life
Though I haven't read any of Rohr's books (yet) I believe I have a good understanding of some of what he devotes himself to sharing with others. A person who has entered the second half of life will reflect deeply on what he can do with the special gift of his life. A 'second half of life person' savors the light and the darkness and can live with the realities of ambiguity, uncertainty and the virtual inevitability that he will make mistakes and not always clearly know how to respond to both expected and unexpected challenges.
I entered the second half of my own life last year.
And so I will leave you today with a few not insignificant questions for a Monday morning:
Are you living in the first or second half of life? Can you dance with the light and the darkness?
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