Dark Splendor

Robert P. Vande Kappelle

Description

Mistakes, disappointments, suffering, and heartbreak can prevent us from growing physically, emotionally, even spiritually, or they can propel us to a new way of life. Building on the contributions of therapists, holistic healers, and spiritual mentors such as Richard Rohr, James Hollis, Elizabeth Lesser, Bill Plotkin, Ken Wilber, and Thich Nhat Hanh, Dark Splendor takes us on a journey into "depth" spirituality, exploring the two halves of life, noting how the perspectives and experiences of the first half of life either leave us frozen emotionally and spiritually, or serve as stepping stones to the vibrant maturity called "the second half of life."
This "further journey" is not chronological, nor does one magically stumble upon it at midlife or in times of crisis, though these often serve as catalysts. The second journey is largely unknown today, even by people we consider deeply religious, since most individuals and institutions remain stymied in the preoccupations of the first half of life, establishing identity, creating boundary markers, and seeking security. The first-half-of-life task, while essential, is not the full journey. Furthermore, one cannot walk the second journey with first-journey tools. One needs a new toolkit. Dark Splendor provides the transformational tools that help transport us to the mystery and beauty of the second half of life.
The world is more magical, less predictable, more autonomous, less controllable, more varied, less simple, more infinite, less knowable, more wonderfully troubling then we could have imagined being able to tolerate when we were young.
--James Hollis
God comes to you disguised as your life.
--Paula D'Arcy

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Theology
• Spiritual Growth
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Devotional
• Devotion
• Theology
• Spirituality
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Wipf and Stock Publishers
• Date de parution: 29 juin 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781498230766
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Dark Splendor
Spiritual Fitness for the Second Half of Life
Robert P. Vande Kappelle




DARK SPLENDOR
Spiritual Fitness for the Second Half of Life

Copyright © 2015 Robert P. Vande Kappelle. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8 th Ave., Suite 3 , Eugene, OR 97401 .

Resource Publications
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8 th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401

www.wipfandstock.com

ISBN 13 : 978-1-4982-3075-9
EISBN 13 : 978-1-4982-3076-6

Manufactured in the U.S.A.

Unless otherwise noted, Bible quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible , copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.
Table of Contents Title Page Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Part I – Developing a “Rule of Life” Chapter 1: Models for Life’s Journey Chapter 2: Types of Spirituality Chapter 3: Developing a Plan that Supports Spiritual Growth Part II – The First Half of Life Chapter 4: Essential Tasks for the First-Half Journey Chapter 5: The Middle Passage (The Work of Midlife) Part III – The Second Half of Life Chapter 6: A Second Simplicity Chapter 7: Regaining Soul Chapter 8: Soulcraft Desiderata Appendix A: Qualities of the Second-Half Journey Appendix B: Practicing Presence: Helpful Methods Appendix C: Walking the Wire: A Sermon Bibliography



To students in my Special Studies courses
in spirituality at Chautauqua Institution
(Chautauqua, New York)




If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.
—Gospel of Thomas, 70
The greatest and most important problems of life are fundamentally
unsolvable. They can never be solved, but only outgrown.
—Carl G. Jung
I have an inner self of which I was ignorant. Everything goes thither now.
What happens there I do not know.
—R. M. Rilke
Sin happens whenever we stop growing.
—St. Gregory of Nyssa ( 4 th century Eastern Christian theologian)




Preface
Midway this way of life we’re bound upon,
I woke to find myself in a dark wood,
Where the right road was wholly lost and gone.
—Dante Alighieri
A journey into “the second half of life” awaits us all. This “further journey” is not chronological, nor does one magically stumble upon it at midlife or in times of crisis, though these often serve as catalysts. The second journey is largely unknown today, even by people we consider deeply religious, since most individuals and institutions remain stymied in the preoccupations of the first half of life, establishing identity, creating boundary markers, and seeking security. The first-half-of-life task, while essential, is not the full journey. Furthermore, one cannot walk the second journey with first-journey tools. One needs a new toolkit.
How can you know you are entering the second half of life? The following road markers are quite reliable: when you
• experience new urges
• sense a new vision
• are ready to let go of old securities
• are ready to risk giving up the patterns of the past for the promise of the future
• are as focused on the “inner” life as on the outer dimension of life.
While individuals can describe their experience of the second journey and even serve as mentors, they cannot define or outline the journey for others. This is due both to the uniqueness of the journey and to a subtle factor, known by generations of mystics and spiritual masters but elusive to many of our contemporaries: one does not choose this second journey; rather it chooses you. It finds you by means of your soul, your personal center and true home, the source of your true belonging. The soul comes to our aid through dreams, deep emotion, love, the quiet voice of guidance, synchronicities, revelations, hunches, and visions, and at times through illness, nightmares, and terrors. This is the identity that defines you, aligning you with your powers of nurturing, transforming, and creating, with your powers of presence and wonder. It is the soul that guides you, preparing the way and declaring you ready for this further journey.
If you haven’t acquired conscious knowledge of your soul, you haven’t yet learned of its power. To experience this power, which serves as a bridge to the second half of life, you must first get to know more thoroughly the place in life you already inhabit. This place consists of your relationships and roles in both society and nature. One achieves this knowledge and intimacy through the practice of mindfulness, learning to dwell deeply in the present moment.
This talk of the first and second half of life is not new. It has been embodied for centuries in the scriptures, tales, and experiences of men and women who found themselves on the further journey. At this point I must issue a disclaimer: I am not a psychiatrist, a counselor, a therapist, or a spiritual director, so if you are expecting advice or insight from a psychological professional or a mystical mentor, this book should not be at the top of your reading list. My training is in theology, particularly biblical theology, though my teaching, writing, and chaplaincy work have brought me some degree of competency in world religions, global cultures, and Christian spirituality.
This book has been incubating for a long time. During training for the Christian ministry I began to realize that without some direct experience of God, it was nearly useless for me to talk about religious reality to modern women and men. My quest continued with many ups and downs, but gradually I found a level path that kept me grounded through the highs and lows. It contained elements of three quite different approaches; the first was the writings of the masters of the devotional life; the second, the understanding of the psyche presented by depth psychology; and the third, my own religious practice. What became clear is that every religion has its origin in some primal encounter with the transcendent, as it presented to an individual or to a tribe. Out of that encounter an image arose that bridged between the mystery and the perceiving consciousness. Over time, the ego tends to privilege its own constructs and confuse them with external reality, or confuse them with the mystery. Our finite sensibility cannot ultimately know infinite mystery. We have, however, an experience of transcendence, and call it by the name God. But what we call God is not the name or the image but the profound energy behind the image, which gives rise to the numinous encounter. What is experienced is our images of God, or the profundities of nature, or states of psychic transport, not the source from which they arise, the source that remains, in the words of theologian Karl Barth, “Wholly Other.” The chasm that occurs between fundamentalism and atheism would be greatly reduced if this could be affirmed. Sadly, the quality of public discussion of spiritual matters has been so poor that great masses of modern humans have discarded what lies deepest within—their own religious yearning.
The pages that follow describe insights, disciplines, choices, and priorities that characterize “first-” and “second-half-of-life” experience, including wisdom I gained from teaching courses on spirituality at Washington & Jefferson College and to adults at Chautauqua Institution. I am deeply indebted to scholars who mentored me through theological and psychological writings, but also to generations of students who inspired me through journals, presentations, and class discussion, pressing me for clarity and always for truthfulness.
This book is not a method of study or a “cookie-cutter” approach to spirituality. In other words, you will not find here a set of rules for “being” more spiritual. In my estimation, spirituality doesn’t work that way. Guidelines are helpful, and the experience of others can be beneficial, but ultimately it comes down to you, to your needs, experiences, and longings. It might be helpful to think of Dark Splendor as a window or mirror into your soul, which, like a thermometer or heart monitor, allows you to examine your current spiritual state, including the desires and experiences that led you to the present moment, and to determine further spiritual goals (based in part of the “longings” of your heart). Identifying those longings is part of the spiritual journey.
The subject of guiding and accompanying others on their spiritual journeys poses many problems. First of all, I must admit how little I know about this God of love who transforms us into citizens of the Kingdom of Love. Furthermore, having glimpsed light in the darkness, I confess to being in the shadow or in darkness much of the time. In addition, I am confronted with the inadequacy of my own spiritual life, finding within cowardice and fear, anger and lack of compassion, selfishness and pride, ignorance and confusion. At times I am confronted with the presence of evil, both within me and around me, which threatens to destroy my hope, joy, and equanimity. And then at times I am again in the great wilderness of doubt. Thankfully, these very experiences of inadequacy often force us back to the journey and to our spiritual home.
Wisdom traditions worldwide say there is no greater blessing than to live the life of your soul, the source of deepest personal fulfillment and of greatest service to others. The soul is the locus of authentic personal power—not power over people and