Thomas Keating: The Secret\nEmbrace\nPart Two<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything\nMatters<\/strong>\nThursday, \u202fOctober 29, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Only the Divine matters,<\/em><em><br>\nAnd because the Divine matters,<br>\nEverything matters.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \n \n \n \u2014Thomas Keating, \u201cWhat Matters\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The simplicity\nof the final poem in <\/em>The Secret Embrace<em> speaks eloquently\nof what I (Richard) know more deeply to be true with every passing year. It\u2019s\nthe incarnational message at the heart of the Gospel: everything belongs! It is\na Christ-soaked universe. As we near the end of this series, Cynthia Bourgeault\nshares her understanding of Thomas Keating\u2019s final legacy to us. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\nOctober 2018, two weeks before he died, Thomas Keating emerged briefly from\nfour days in what appeared to be a coma to deliver an extraordinary final\nmessage beamed straight to the heart of the world. [1] Acknowledging that \u201can\nextraordinary moment of civilization seems to be overtaking us,\u201d he urged the\nhuman family to scrap old approaches based on religious or political dogma and\n\u201cbegin a new world with one that actually exists,\u201d a world whose truth is\nguided by \u201csilence and science\u201d and whose heart is revealed in a universal\nresurgence of human compassion and creativity. \u201cWe need to find ways to make\nthese really happen,\u201d he said. \u201cI leave this hope in your hands and hearts\ncoming as a real inspiration from the heart of God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two\nmomentous years later, his words seem more prophetic than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of\nthe many insights Thomas Keating has given us in these poems, two gifts stand\nout in particular. The first is that he has completely reframed the traditional\nChristian notion of God, offering us a powerful new roadmap with which to make\nspiritual sense of our contemporary world. In this short poem of eleven\nlaser-like words, Thomas smashes through centuries of theological barricades\nseparating God from the world and contemplation from action, offering instead a\nflowing vision of oneness within a profoundly interwoven and responsive\nrelational field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To\nhave this universal wisdom affirmed so forcefully by one of Christianity\u2019s most\nrevered elders creates a powerful new incentive for a compassionate\nre-engagement with our times. Practically speaking, <em>the map affirms that our actions, our choices, our\nconnections bear more weight than we dare to believe. <\/em>We are neither isolated nor\nhelpless but immersed in a great web of belonging in which divine intelligence\nand compassion are always at our disposal if our courage does not fail us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second gift\nawaiting us in these poems is their powerful reaffirmation that the access\nroute to all new beginning comes by leaning into the diminishment, stripping,\nand emptiness. Not by trying to distract ourselves, anesthetize ourselves, or\nuse our spiritual tool kit to re-establish the status quo. New beginning is\nintrinsically disorienting and anguishing; it builds on the wreckage of what\nhas been outgrown but not yet relinquished. As the veils are lifted and our\nfamiliar reference points dissolve, it is only on the timeless path of\nsurrender (a.k.a. \u201cletting go,\u201d \u201cconsenting to the presence and action of God\u201d)\nthat we find our way through the darkness and into the new beginning. Godspeed\nand know that we travel the path together!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace Part Two Everything Matters Thursday, \u202fOctober 29, 2020 Only the Divine matters, And because the Divine matters, Everything matters. \u2014Thomas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19448,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447\/revisions\/19448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Only the Divine matters,<\/em><em><br>\nAnd because the Divine matters,<br>\nEverything matters.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> \n \n \n \u2014Thomas Keating, \u201cWhat Matters\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The simplicity\nof the final poem in <\/em>The Secret Embrace<em> speaks eloquently\nof what I (Richard) know more deeply to be true with every passing year. It\u2019s\nthe incarnational message at the heart of the Gospel: everything belongs! It is\na Christ-soaked universe. As we near the end of this series, Cynthia Bourgeault\nshares her understanding of Thomas Keating\u2019s final legacy to us. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\nOctober 2018, two weeks before he died, Thomas Keating emerged briefly from\nfour days in what appeared to be a coma to deliver an extraordinary final\nmessage beamed straight to the heart of the world. [1] Acknowledging that \u201can\nextraordinary moment of civilization seems to be overtaking us,\u201d he urged the\nhuman family to scrap old approaches based on religious or political dogma and\n\u201cbegin a new world with one that actually exists,\u201d a world whose truth is\nguided by \u201csilence and science\u201d and whose heart is revealed in a universal\nresurgence of human compassion and creativity. \u201cWe need to find ways to make\nthese really happen,\u201d he said. \u201cI leave this hope in your hands and hearts\ncoming as a real inspiration from the heart of God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two\nmomentous years later, his words seem more prophetic than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of\nthe many insights Thomas Keating has given us in these poems, two gifts stand\nout in particular. The first is that he has completely reframed the traditional\nChristian notion of God, offering us a powerful new roadmap with which to make\nspiritual sense of our contemporary world. In this short poem of eleven\nlaser-like words, Thomas smashes through centuries of theological barricades\nseparating God from the world and contemplation from action, offering instead a\nflowing vision of oneness within a profoundly interwoven and responsive\nrelational field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To\nhave this universal wisdom affirmed so forcefully by one of Christianity\u2019s most\nrevered elders creates a powerful new incentive for a compassionate\nre-engagement with our times. Practically speaking, <em>the map affirms that our actions, our choices, our\nconnections bear more weight than we dare to believe. <\/em>We are neither isolated nor\nhelpless but immersed in a great web of belonging in which divine intelligence\nand compassion are always at our disposal if our courage does not fail us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second gift\nawaiting us in these poems is their powerful reaffirmation that the access\nroute to all new beginning comes by leaning into the diminishment, stripping,\nand emptiness. Not by trying to distract ourselves, anesthetize ourselves, or\nuse our spiritual tool kit to re-establish the status quo. New beginning is\nintrinsically disorienting and anguishing; it builds on the wreckage of what\nhas been outgrown but not yet relinquished. As the veils are lifted and our\nfamiliar reference points dissolve, it is only on the timeless path of\nsurrender (a.k.a. \u201cletting go,\u201d \u201cconsenting to the presence and action of God\u201d)\nthat we find our way through the darkness and into the new beginning. Godspeed\nand know that we travel the path together!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace Part Two Everything Matters Thursday, \u202fOctober 29, 2020 Only the Divine matters, And because the Divine matters, Everything matters. \u2014Thomas […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19448,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19447\/revisions\/19448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}