Overcoming dualism - Spirituality with your cell phone!

Wow, Mynhardt is posting some REALY thought provoking stuff at the moment!  His question about whether one should switch off one's technology for a day made me think.

Please read his post here.

However, I would like to post my response to him below - it expresses some of my current thinking on an 'integrated' spirituality that does not negate or escape my daily life, but rather embraces it, filling it with greater depth and meaning.

I have a slightly different view - in one of my books 'An uncommon spiritual path:  The question to find Jesus beyond conventional Christianity' I make a case for the fact that we far too frequently develop unreal, life negating, spiritual disciplines.

Simply stated, we entrench a dualism between life and spirituality.  We think, like the Gnostics did, that in order to truly discover God and ourselves in God we need to escape the world and its demands, intrusions and expectations. I'm not sure that this is healthy.

I think that they way of Jesus was to come into the world, not to escape it - this is the essence of the incarnation.  It is costly, difficult and requires great discipline to remain focused, committed and connected to God in the midst of the everyday hustle and bustle.

So, here's what I'm thinking - indeed, we need to find ways to manage our technologies so that they don't end up managing us.  But, my iPhone, blackberry, and iPad are all tools that I use to cultivate relationships, facilitate engagement and reflection, and even to consume life giving 'content'.

I think that it would be much more important for me to find ways to encounter people, places and the God of people and places within this daily rhythm, rather than escaping it...

That being said, I still take a 4 day directed silent retreat each year to 'silence the noise' in my spirit...

Conspiring for Hope!

Dion

As always I would love to hear your views, inputs, and perspective!

Comments

[Deneys]

Hi Dion

Have you heard of Opus Dei? It is an organization whose goal is to help people to become holy while living in the midst of the world, by turning their work and daily activities into occasions to meet and love God. In other words, it is not necessary to leave the word or to do extraordinary things in order to become holy, but rather, God is waiting to be found in the most ordinary and seemingly mundane details of daily life. You should visit their website to find out more. I think you will find much that will encourage your thoughts on this topic. www.opusdei.org