Tag: spiritual bypass

I was a guest on the Peace Now Podcast, which explores “the relationship between meditation practice and addiction recovery. We’re interested in the pathways towards liberating change and transformation.” From the show notes: Today I’m talking with Sitaram Dass about meditation practice and grace. We explore a number of interesting topics that can help us…
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If I were to pick one word that is central to my spiritual worldview, it would be Grace. And yet, I often find it to be the most difficult to talk about. It is profound as Truth and simultaneously problematic as a concept. It is a word that points to the deep nature of Reality and our soul’s relationship with God. But any explanation I can possibly think of is problematic if taken literally and applied inappropriately.

For instance, the words, “Everything is Grace,” can be either a soothing balm or a dagger to the gut depending on our understanding and application. They can be used to minimize danger, trivialize the suffering of others, or to spiritually bypass our own journey. They can also be that deepest reminder of our inherent OK-ness, even when our body, mind, and life circumstances are not OK.  They point us to the indestructible nature of Being, even in the face of death.

“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” -Audrey Lorde, Our Dead Behind Us: Poems There is a troubling belief gaining traction within the various spiritual communities I am apart of. In various ways, people are claiming that so-called “identity politics” further separate us…
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