Moments ago a small group leader was in the office asking permission to photocopy a handout I’d distributed at our prayer retreat last fall, hoping to give it to her group as they discussed prayer in the first chapter of Asphalt Jesus. Considering that I had just received an email from a congregation member seeking to do the same thing, I thought I’d post that handout for anyone who wants to use it. Feel free to distribute it however you like. The handout elaborates on my reference in Ch 1 to the many voices that seek to weigh in with their opinion at our inner table.
SOME VOICES WITHIN
Based on a compilation by Rev. Bruce Van Blair
There are only nine here, but you no doubt have others:
1) THE PARENT (conscience) Stern disciplinarian; you should be more compassionate and considerate of others. Jiminy Cricket – “Let your conscience be your guide” (sorry, but I believe in God)
2) THE FREE-CHILD (creative, but not very responsible or realistic)
3) THE PEER GROUP (popularity) Co-workers – friends – best friend – spouse – children – respected sibling
4) THE PRAGMATIST (security – survival – here and now) Practical, worldly-success advisor
Logic – common sense – “As far as I can see . . .” (How far is that?)
Boss – lawyer – financial planner – business associate
5) THE PESSIMIST (shadow – life negator – destroyer) Accuser – guilt producer
You’re no good – nothing works, or lasts – it isn’t worth it
6) THE HERO (idealist) Who are your heroes?
7) THE ACCUSER/SATAN (The Ventriloquist – The Liar – The Short-Cut Artist)
Satan can imitate the wording, but not the tone, of the Spirit’s “voice” – that is, patience
and affirmation and comfortes would give away the false note in what Satan is doing
Satan cannot mimic the Holy Spirit very long – cannot be calm, quiet, with your deepest
spiritual self-interest at heart, getting you in tune with God
If Satan pulls that off very well – he’s working against himself
Best not to get too stuck or too fascinated thinking about Satan
Do not “fear” Satan – fear God! The fear Satan of is the beginning of all foolishness.
Show a little disrespect
THE HOLY SPIRIT
God’s appeal is deep and clean and “good” – hard maybe, but beautiful
It is calm – reassuring – no guilt or fear that is not “situation reasonable”
“Who do you most want to please?”
Who is your audience?
9) THE TRUE SELF (identity of what you will become – “Higher Mind”) Soul – will
You are born with more than you realize (wisdom – archetypes – identity – purpose)
But you have to find it – call if forth
Education for techniques and information – Prayer/meditation for wisdom and truth
Our object is to get the True Self (higher mind – will – soul) into the chairperson’s seat – and keep it there. You cannot control the Holy Spirit, or decide when or what the Spirit will communicate. The Soul within will listen – and respond – with much comment from the other voices at times. But if you put your True Self in charge, and get to know, appreciate and respect the other voices, and listen to them but not let them control or bully you, that is what you can do. The rest is up to the Spirit.
Remember: You cannot pray or “know God” above the level of your own self-awareness. To know thyself and to develop spiritually is the same path. You must spend some time alone, in reflection, on a regular basis, if you want to make friends with yourself. And if you do that, you will also encounter the One who made you – and Who knows who you really are, and what you are here for.
#1 by Calvin's Knights on April 30, 2009 - 1:31 am
Our group thought of a few other voices that may resonate:
The Humorist
The Worrier
The Caretaker (may be similar to the parent)
#2 by Deb on April 30, 2009 - 11:39 am
Our small group focused on discernment Tuesday, sharing experiences and thoughts about knowing when the “voice” we hear is the voice of God. We found the 10 principles for discerning the voice of God helpful (pages 9-11), but questioned whether suicide bombers might not claim “a sense of joy or profound peace” or believe they are “acting in their true self-interest”. Reza Aslan (How to Win a Cosmic War: God, Globalization, and the End of the War on Terror) suggests that “Hasib Hussain…was a zealot, acting alone” believing he was “called by God to renew his faith by shedding the blood of unbelievers”. Aslan describes this act as imprudent, misguided, misplaced love, but we’re still left thinking about the distinction between Hussain’s listening and ours!
#3 by theologyontapomaha on April 30, 2009 - 4:00 pm
Yes, giving license to suicide bombers is always to be avoided (!) – and is truly a risk when one emphasizes using subjective personal experience as a guide to discernment. Of course, what is the alternative to using one’s personal experience? We can either use that, or use the subjective personal experience of someone else who, from our subjective personal experience, gives us the perception of authority.
To me, what suicide bombers are likely doing is NOT following what leads them to deep peace and joy. I think they are “absolutizing their own hysteria” (as Ann Lamott would say) and/or letting some “higher” authority’s voice override their deepest instincts. It’s kind of like when Christians say, “It makes no sense to me that God would torture people in hell for eternity, but I don’t make the rules. God does.” Their gut tells them otherwise, but they pay more attention to the preacher/religious leader and/or a highly selective use of 2000+ yr old writings in scripture.
Back to the suicide bomber: even if one believes that one can authentically find deep peace and joy while envisioning brutal violence, death, and terror being inflicted on others, I do give an incredibly important (to me) “safety mechanism” in Asphalt Jesus on p. 9 (first full paragraph):
“One of the basic checks-and-balances mechanisms I use to gauge whether or not I’m on track is to ask if whatever I believe I’m being led to conclude or do ‘looks like Jesus.’ This is not quite the same as asking, ‘What would Jesus do?’ (often abbreviated WWJD). After all, Jesus might do a lot of things I’m not specifically called to do. I ask, instead, ‘Does the action I’m feeling called to take look like something that Jesus, as revealed in Scripture and in my experience of his ongoing presence (the risen Christ) would do?’ If not, the red flags start waving mightily.”
Bottom line: Even with safety mechanisms in place, discerning God’s will is always risky precisely because it’s subjective. We’re fully capable of getting our signals crossed and making mistakes that truly can hurt ourselves and others (Which is always a good argument for moving in small, slow steps and continually asking the Spirit for reconfirmation – principles #2 and 5) . It’s just that the alternatives to using our subjective experience seem so much less appealing and so much more dangerous …
#4 by theologyontapomaha on April 30, 2009 - 4:04 pm
Cool! And in light of our last worship series on the Seven Deadly Sins/Lively Virtues, one can add at least fourteen more. Of course, these fourteen may simply speak though the other voices:
The voices of Pride or Humility, Envy or Gratitude, Anger or Faith, Greed or Generosity, Gluttony or Temperance (mindfulness), Sloth or Hope, Lust or Love!