SPIRITUAL EXPLORATIONS – 278

WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS

+ This is a post on the style of The Way of Reason as we continue to explore Heavenliness through the lens of the 12 styles of the Mandala process created by Edward Bastian.  There are 2 more Mandala styles to explore after this: Relationships and Wisdom. After that, we move on to the 9 Attributes of Heaven.

+ .. recently, the Dalai Lama has proposed that there is a shared underlying purpose for both scientists and spiritual practitioners. Both yearn to discover the deepest truths of existence. Indeed, the Dalai Lama’s own Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism provides a twenty-year long curriculum that blends rigorous intellectual study with serious spiritual practice. Their method has remarkable similarities to other spiritually inspired intellectual traditions, like the Habad Hasidic tradition of Judaism and the Jesuit Order of Catholic Christianity. The Way of the Reason was exemplified in the ancient academy of Plato who saw logical inquiry as a means to eternal wisdom, goodness and happiness.

-- Edward Bastian

+ Well, as I pointed out in the last post, the only resource I have collected on the Way of Reason is what Ed wrote in his chapter on this style.  So, I offer  more of Ed’s wisdom on this style.  I would add to Ed’s mention of three great intellectual traditions among the world religions my own denomination which has a strong heritage of intellectual understanding: Presbyterian.  A great book written with immense thoughtfulness by a Presbyterian theologian is Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology by Daniel L. Migliore.  I studied under him back in the early 70s when I was a seminarian at Princeton Theological Seminary.  I will add this resource to my collection of resources on The Way of Reason.  So, now I have doubled my resources in this collection.  And I will go even further by adding that wonderful quote by Einstein which Ed lifted up in his introduction to this style: “Science without religion is lame, and religion without science is blind.”

+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.

+ The 7 steps of InterSpiritual Meditation by Edward Bastian are listed in SE21 and SE213. They are described fully in his book, InterSpiritual Meditation.

+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos:

·         Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes)

·         15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process

·         2 hour lecture & conversation

+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice.  And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page.  Maybe you can help.  Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.

+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html