E-Course by Contemplative Outreach Sessions 6,7,8,9,10 and 11
Our Basic Core of Goodness
“This basic core of goodness is capable of unlimited development;
indeed, of becoming transformed into Christ
Our basic core of goodness is our True Self.
The center of gravity is God. …God and our True Self
are not separate.”
– Guidelines for Christian Life, Growth and Transformation, #1-3 (excerpts), Open Mind, Open Heart
“And, hence, it’s the question of relaxing into the being that you actually are, or
relax into the ground of your being,
which is God’s expression of himself in our particular uniqueness.”
– Thomas Keating, The Great Banquet: All Are Invited
In Sessions 6 and 7 Father Keating emphasizes the joyful truth that we are
created in the image of God. Session 6 includes an invitation to
join a teleconference with Fr. Keating, Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler, and Fr. Carl Arico
and Session 7 Includes a 28 minute audio
interview with Fr. Keating recorded on March 11, 2014. We
are encouraged to practice contemplative listening or listening with the
ears of the heart. We are encouraged to continue affirming our own
goodness and the goodness of others.
We =
are…
…GOOD
…CHOSEN
…KNOWN
…Infinitely loved as we are
…Invited into God’s own life: the fulness of being
E-Course by Contemplative Outreach Session 8
Where Am I?
“We have the choice of two identities: the external mask which seems to be real and which
lives by a shadowy autonomy for the brief moment of earthly existence,
and the hidden, inner person who seems to us to be nothing, but who can
give himself eternally to the truth in whom he subsists. It is
this inner self that is taken up into the mystery of Christ, by his
love, by the Holy Spirit, so that in secret we live in ‘in Christ’.
-Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
“The marvelous story of creation is not just about Adam and Eve. It is really about
us…Where am I in relation to God, to myself, and to others?
These are the basic questions of human life. God is asking
us to face the reality of the human condition, to come out of the woods
into the full light of intimacy with him”
– Thomas Keating, The Human Condition
Session 8 includes a conversation from the
film Invitation from God. In this short video
Father Keating explains five levels of consciousness that are possible
for human beings:
Ordinary Awareness
Spiritual Awareness
True Self
Ground Unconscious
Divine Indwelling
Again, throughout all of the sessions we are encouraged to join in the practice of image gazing
with Frederick Franck’s beautiful Tao of the Cross: IV Jesus Meets His Mother,
V Simon of Cyrene Helps Him Carry the Cross and
VI Veronica Wipes His Brow
We ask ourselves how unity in community supports humanity
and how are we called to serve one another in love
E-Course by Contemplative Outreach Session 9
What God Wants Is You
E-Course by Contemplative Outreach Session 10
The Old and the New
E-Course by Contemplative Outreach Session 11
The Healing Remedy
These sessions teach about the human condition, how our false selves develop and the impact of the
false self on every day life – separation from God, other people and all
creation. When we repent or change the direction we are looking for happiness
we are led into deeper levels within our
True Self…
“As soon as you let go of even a little bit, a crack occurs in our consciousness and some of the divine
presence insinuates itself…The longing for God breaks through the
crust of the false self and our defense mechanisms…And you (begin to)
get an authentic, integrated view of yourself that is very realistic
about your faults and over dependencies…
What He wants is you — that is, the deep you, the you that is beyond the superficial self of
your resume and the ego self of your emotional life –the you of
the True Self, which is a manifestation of God’s image in you. The
spiritual journey is about finding out who you really are.”
– Thomas Keating, Transformation in Christ
Father Keating describes how
the Divine Therapist leads us over time into liberation and empowerment.
But we must face the dark side of our
personalities in all of its forms of self centeredness…unless you
deny your inmost self you cannot be my disciple.
…”If we truly love God, we can love our neighbor as we love our True Self. The whole
movement from the tyranny of Egypt to the promised land in the book of
Exodus is a parable of the movement from the tyranny of the false self
through the desert of purification into (illumination and beyond) –the
promised land of interior freedom.
…To love one another as Jesus has loved us…. This is to love others in their individuality,
uniqueness, personality traits, temperamental biases, personal history,
and in the things that drive us up the wall, to love our neighbor, in
other words, just as they are with each one’s grocery list of faults,
unbearable habits, unreasonable demands, and impossible characteristics.
The new commandment is to accept others unconditionally;
that is to say, without the least wish to change them.”
-Thomas Keating, Awakenings
Post by Nancy Moran
