The 1-2-3 of God

Listened to Corey de Vos talking to Ken Wilber on Integral Naked, in an interview entitled "Does physics prove God?".

In the last six minutes of the conversation, Ken gives a breathtaking summary of what could be called integral spiritual practice in response to a request for advice from a person who, after being "immersed in the radical presence of God for months", was now suffering from the loss of that experience.

Ken started by noting that the "Dark night of the soul" is not the period before you find God, but after you have seen paradise and had it taken away.

He then went on to explain that Spirit has three faces, the "I’, the"thou" and the "it", and that there were accordingly three different approaches to a relationship to Spirit:

Third person: the great web of life, the Kosmos. Those moments when the utter grandeur of creation reduces you to zero and yet you feel part of everything that is arising. Third person worship can take the form of cosmic contemplation, awareness of the beauty and grandeur of nature.

Second person: the great Other, Spirit, Presence. This is the approach taken by the Western traditions. Second person worship can take the form of surrender, gratitude, letting go; when done authentically it strips the ego most effectively. The practice is to consent to the presence of God in whatever form.

First person: "I". The ever-present witeness: God in the first person. Meditation practice and inquiry "Who am I?" "Who is it that is aware of the suffering?" The practice is recognising that the pure witness that is aware of this moment is Spirit: I AM.

Immersion in the radical presence of God would be the experiential result of a second-person practice. Loss of that presence would also be experienced through a second-person approach. However, if you shift to a first-person approach, God in the first person is aware of the absence of God in the second person... so direct contact with Spirit can be restored by changing one’s approach.

First person practice is to rest in the awareness of what is arising.

Second person practice is to consent to the presence of God in any form.

Third person practice is to appreciate the great perfection of all that is arising in every moment, whether "good" or "bad".

Keep cycling between these three, the chances are you’ll  catch Spirit somewhere along the route.