Resting in the Ground

“...let us remind ourselves that another, metaphysical, consciousness is still available to modern man.  It starts not from the thinking and self-aware subject but from Being, ontologically seen to be beyond and prior to the subject-object division.  Underlying the subjective experience of the individual self there is an immediate experience of Being… It has in it none of the split and alienation that occurs when the subject becomes aware of itself as quasi-object.  The consciousness of Being is an immediate experience that goes beyond reflexive awareness.  It is not ‘consciousness of’ but pure consciousness, in which the subject as such disappears.  Posterior to this immediate experience of a ground which transcends experience emerges the subject with its self-awareness.”

– Thomas Merton, Zen and the Birds of Appetite

“We are each like a well that has a source in a common underground stream which supplies all.  The deeper down I go, the closer I come to the source which puts me in contact with all other life.”

– John Welch, Spiritual Pilgrims: Carl Jung and Teresa of Avila

Apophatic spiritual practice, and the experience that flows from it, is often seen as the pinnacle of the contemplative journey. Resting in the Ground is a comparison of various forms of apophatic practice as understood by practitioners from the world’s major contemplative traditions. “God as Ground of Being,” a phrase popularized by Paul Tillich, but attested to by religious texts throughout history, is used as a synthesizing interpretive concept for understanding what is being experienced during apophatic practice.

Major meditative practices and traditions explored include Centering Prayer and the Christian Contemplative Tradition, Mantram and the Vedantic Contemplative Tradition, Yoga, Sati-Jhana and the Theravada Buddhist Contemplative Tradition, Zazen and the Zen Buddhist Contemplative Tradition, Dzogchen and the Vajrayana Buddhist Contemplative Tradition, Xinzhai/Zuowang and the Classical Taoist Contemplative Tradition, Dhikr and the Islamic Contemplative Tradition, the Jain Contemplative Tradition, and the Jewish Contemplative Tradition.

Also included are reflections on the potential of practicing with agnosticism toward the Ground of Being, how cataphatic experiences may be related to apophatic practice, the embedding of meditation within wider spiritual paths, interpretations of what is sometimes called the “Higher Self” or the “egoless-ego” potentially achieved through meditative practice, and a vision for religious community based on shared silence and the space to practice from within one’s own framework. Resting in the Ground has not yet been released and will represent the eventual culmination of major site content.

A Great Tragedy

“Love makes the ego lose itself in the object it loves, and yet at the same time it wants to have the object as its own. This is a contradiction and a great tragedy of life.”

– D.T. Suzuki, Essays in Zen Buddhism

Tony, unsatisfied with life, decides to leave for a new town.

Perhaps the road will help Tony figure himself out.

The Evangelical Experience

I am a former Evangelical Christian.  Although I am grateful for many ways this tradition has shaped me, I eventually outgrew this conservative brand of faith.  In 2015, The Evangelical Experience was published. The book is broadly broken into two sections. In the first section I attempted to describe modern Evangelicalism from an insider’s perspective. Major topics include an overview of Evangelical doctrine, lenses through which Evangelicals view Jesus, uses and views of Scripture, matters of debate within the religion, and the primary marks of Evangelical culture. The effects of accepting Evangelical doctrine, both positive and negative, are also addressed here.  

The second section of the book documents my own journey into, and ultimately out of, the faith.  Here I included the stories of my conversion, development, experience in seminary, deconversion, and thoughts on possible ways to move forward.  As an appendix I included a journal entry written in the midst of my deconversion which details many of the reasons I felt forced to leave the faith.

Hopefully this book can be a resource for those outside the church who are looking for a better understanding of Evangelical Christianity.  I also hope it can be a resource for current Evangelicals who may be exploring wider religious options.

An Introduction to Centering Prayer

An Introduction to Centering Prayer is a short tract which introduces the reader to the discipline of Centering Prayer.  

Topics addressed include: (1) The History of Centering Prayer and its connection to the anonymous 14th Century work The Cloud of Unknowing; (2) The Method of Centering Prayer as presented by Thomas Keating, including observations and commentary on each of the steps; (3) possible Theological Paradigms through which one may understand the practice; (4) Natural Effects of the prayer; and (5) The Shape of the Journey, especially emphasizing the possible experience of "dark nights" associated with this practice.

This tract is simply intended to provide a brief overview of the practice and lead the reader to further study.  A list of Centering Prayer resources is also included, and many of these works can also be found on the Comparative Resources page of the site.  

Jesus as Apocalyptic Prophet in the Gospel of Matthew

The topic addressed in Jesus as Apocalyptic Prophet in the Gospel of Matthew is, broadly, the apocalyptic nature of the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth.

One position in Historical Jesus studies, arguably the dominant position in the field, is that Jesus of Nazareth is best described as an “Apocalyptic Prophet.” Those who promote this position believe that when Jesus proclaimed the “Kingdom of God at hand,” he was expecting an imminent, universal final judgment followed by the arrival of the eschatological Kingdom of God – an eternal, idyllic existence which could be entered only by the righteous. On this view, a central part of Jesus’ message surrounded preparing oneself for this imminent final judgment.

In this tract, I present an eschatological reading of the Gospel of Matthew. Other topics addressed include: (1) defining the term “apocalyptic,” (2) the expectations of the early Church as demonstrated by various New Testament documents, (3) a reading list of scholars who have come to similar conclusions, and (4) potential implications for the life of faith.

This is a very personal subject for me. At one point, it was the issue that drove me out of seminary. Although Jesus as Apocalyptic Prophet is a well known position in academia, it seems to be virtually unknown to the lay Christian. Whatever one concludes about the historical Jesus, I believe the search for truth entails engaging with this view.

* As of March 2023, all of my books have been made Public Domain. Any individual or entity may reproduce any works for sale without my explicit consent. All e-book versions and manuscripts of the above titles have been made available free of charge here. If you are able, I do ask that you purchase a copy (paperback if possible) from my Amazon Page in order to help support the site.