Turned around

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 07 June 2006 08:05:12

I mentioned the other day that I had gone to a life coaching workshop when I was at Wychwood which turned out to be a session run by a guy who was also a spiritual director, and it all spun my head slightly.

The reason for the slight head f**k was all down to context and language. I have grown up and live pretty much within an evangelical subculture, where I am used to hearing certain language used in a certain way to convey a certain message. It is a message which is aimed at outsiders but is presented primarily to insiders using particular language and packaged in a particular form which makes sense to those who are part of the subculture. There is an understanding that certain levels of experience and understanding will increase as participation within the group (Christian maturity) increase.

So imagine how I feel when I go to a seular festival and find a workshop that I think is actually going to be a bit New Age and hippyfied is actually giving the general population deeper spiritual (Christian) truths than I have heard for some time, in an easily accessible way, which does not draw up barriers, exclude people or assume some hierarchy of experience and knowledge.

Rather being wrapped up in 6 W's, 4 P's or being Purpose Driven, etc, etc all the kak was stripped away. The idea of how to know your inner calling was explored in an hour. Within that hour scripture was quoted, but not in some scary way - rather the Psalms were described as 'Poems written 3000 years ago' and participants were told not to get hung up on the religious language. In that tent there were no insiders or outsiders, rather we were all people on a journey. Deep spiritual truths were taught in an way which was accessible to all, and which threatened none.