practical spirituality

[jenk]

From a discussion of reasons that popular books on Celtic spiritual traditions, including Celtic Christianity, are so appealing right now:

One of the factors leading pilgrims to rush to the feet of Oriental teachers in the sixties and seventies was a desire for some form of what might be described as 'religious technology'. Most had been brought up in a society which assumed Christianity to involve not only vague beliefs, by even vaguer practices. Attending church, prayer (usually presented as no more than a verbal petition directed 'out there') and a basic code of moral behaviour were the essential requirements. Eastern teachers offered the promise of meditation, contemplation, prayer which involved a sense of communion with the Divine, life-changing spiritual practices and commitments which entered into the very basis of daily life. Ironically, as Western Christianity generally made it more and more easy to be a Christian by eliminating the traditional demands (on the assumption that people would leave if things were too hard), more and more people sought out traditions which imposed strict obligations and made heavy demands.

The search for a Western Christian practice is evidenced not only by the quest for the Celtic tradition, but equally by the amount of material now being published in early Christian traditions of prayer and spirituality. The number of books being published, not to mention courses being offered, on the practice of Christian spirituality has increased significantly in the past ten years. (emphasis mine)

I know part of why I was such a zealous fundie was that a vague religion didn't work well for me. I wanted something to be passionate about, something engaging, something real. My experience was all too similar to the bolded variant - and it didn't work for me. It wasn't enough.

In time the fundamentalism didn't work either, simply because it demanded more than I could manage in terms of behavior. I had always wondered why I so impressed others with spirituality -- I prayed easily, I had no problem reading the Bible thoughtfully (something I now know is akin to Lectio and meditation), and thought communion to be somehow mystical and not at all boring. I heard the praise, but I knew I wasn't what I wanted to be. But I also didn't know how to go further.

Since then I have acquired more. I don't always use them all...but that's okay. I use what I need. :)