Dogmatic religious believers give religion a bad name. No wonder then that religious practice sometimes gets equated with hypocrisy and rigid beliefs in outdated doctrine. Perhaps not surprisingly, researchers persistently find that about 25% to 30% of individuals in Western cultures identify themselves as spiritual but not religious. The very word ‘religion’ can act as an obstacle for some seeking spiritual enlightenment.
Yet I have found that religious practice raises my mind to a higher level. It shows me the loftier side of life, a higher potential in myself and inner feelings of delight.
Personal transformation
I want to trust in a higher power of love and wisdom to create a new selfhood in me. Give me patience where I have been impulsive, tolerance where I have been judgmental, kindness where I have been inconsiderate, and many other virtues of an advanced spiritual character.
For Swedenborg, and for many others, this higher power is the origin of all that is good in the universe. He calls this the Divine power of infinite wisdom and selfless love. It is a cosmic love that knows the inherent worth in all people. This is the Divine origin of all human qualities of forgiveness, compassion, and mercy. With this spirit present within our lives, I would say, we can find compassion not only for others but also self-compassion. This kindly attitude will be accompanied by insight into their, as well as our own, foolishness and hurt.
Symbolism of the creation story
Interestingly, Swedenborg interprets the symbolism in the biblical creation story as revealing the process of spiritual re-creation of the individual person. On the 4th day the sun, together with the moon and stars formed. Symbolically speaking he says receiving the sun’s light enlightens our understanding of higher principles and receiving its heat stirs in us a warm concern for others.
We can picture a person newly recognising that there is a higher source of deeper thought and kindness. Swedenborg maintains that this acknowledgment of the head and experience of the heart is critical. For without these, we each will depend only on ourselves to find inner well-being. And this will lead to disappointment, pride, and a sense of something lacking.
Consequently, for him and for me, the religious attitude is to respect, revere, adore, and find sacred this Divine presence.
If we accept Swedenborg’s message many secular approaches make a mistake if they suppose no higher source transforms us. Do you think you can fundamentally change yourself in your own strength alone? Alternatively, do you think that also needed is the power from the universal spirit of Divine love and light?
Religious practice
If we come to appreciate our need for Divine influence and strength to help us inwardly change, then we can make use of regular religious practice. There are several types of practice that might be used. One example used by alcoholics and others is the Twelve Step Programme with its acknowledgment of a needed higher power. The main benefits of such spiritual disciplines are experienced in the quality of daily life although the individual will feel uplifted during the time of the actual practice. Here are three such practices.
Religious practice as reflection on sacred writing
First, a short passage, such as one from the Bible, is selected and read. One considers it as a divine revelation. This is followed by reflection on what the message is for oneself and how it might be applied in daily life. In other words, the religious person does not treat sacred writing as a text to be academically studied but rather as the living words of God.
Devote yourself to the divine reading … seek the meaning of divine words which is hidden from most people (Origen Adamantius, an early Christian scholar)
Do you agree with the writer? For my part, this attitude of mind can help me go beyond elementary thoughts and discover higher wisdom hidden in the literal sense of the actual words and phrases.
I have felt uplifted and inspired whilst silently reciting the biblical text of the Lord’s Prayer and also Psalm 23.
Religious practice as contemplative prayer
Another religious practice is contemplative prayer. This is centring the mind on the silent repetition of one image we find sacred; perhaps a religious symbol, or a special image from created nature.
During the prayer, various kinds of thoughts will likely arise. For example, ordinary wanderings of the imagination or memory, some of which give rise to attractions and aversions. For if your mind is cluttered with these concerns there is no room for the Divine to enter. So when engaged with any of these thoughts, practitioners are asked to ever-so-gently return their attention to the sacred image.
During the prayer, one avoids analysing experiences, harbouring expectations, or aiming at some specific goal. Neither is the aim to produce paranormal phenomena.
However, contemplative prayer does open the mind to the transcendent dimension of experience. Neglecting all such intrusions or worldly concerns enables one to be fully focused on the Divine. It is a way of developing the heart’s stillness which is unbroken by any thoughts. The mind is quietened whilst retaining its alertness.
The prayer serves to deepen one’s awareness of the presence of the Divine. For the Swedenborgian, it is resting in the Lord. And then for example beauty and glory will be the centre of our breathtaking experience.
Religious practice as conversational prayer
A further spiritual practice is conversational prayer. This I would say is talking with a human image of our spiritual source. For Swedenborg, the Lord is this human face of the love and wisdom behind everything.
If we are talking with someone, we need to know something about them. Can I suggest that the Lord showed his divine qualities in his conduct when he was alive as a human being on earth as the historical figure of Jesus Christ? Then, according to the Gospels, he was not striving for worldly outcomes in his life and ministry. He wasn’t into bodily comfort, public acclaim and prestige, his own bodily survival, or even high rates of religious conversion. Instead, he focused on the quality of his interactions with other people from moment to moment. The focus was on healing and sharing his wisdom. He was patient when his followers were slow to understand him, showed tolerance when the religious leaders wanted to discredit him and had forgiveness for people who conspired to kill him.
When we are uncomfortable or inwardly hurting, we just want to be heard. That’s often why people go to a counsellor. In my experience in conversational prayer, I feel someone is listening to me who has my best interests at heart. My Lord consoles and guides me as I genuinely try to turn over a new leaf. I would say we can feel not only the Lord’s presence of empathy but also compassion for our fears and concerns. An inner confidence comes over me that encourages me to ask for forgiveness.
Copyright 2024 Stephen Russell-Lacy
Author of The Great Questions of Life
