Human Development
Way of transcendence
Description:
Stripping away the projections and fantasies one has of God there is revealed, not an empty nothingness but a deeper truth. Union with God is not mediated through an image, nor is there a sense of distinction or separateness. God is no longer the purely external. Meister Eckhart indicates two veils which must be stripped away in order to reveal the truth.(1) The material world. Not only is God not the limited, material things such as money, security or status, He is not the liturgy which one prefers, or a particular way of devotion, or even a particular way of life such as that of a monk or nun. There must be detachment towards all these things.
(2) The mental, imaginative and emotional life. This refers especially to the religious area of life, to prayer, worship, theological and spiritual study. The images and symbols associated with this life are perfectly valid. But if one is called to do so, one should also use inward prayer not involving images or concepts. That one consciously needs this kind of prayer is a sign of aptitude for the spiritual way. One needs to be shocked into an awareness of the inadequacy of one's own idea of God. God is not even good or wise in our own, limited, understanding of these terms. Even the personal images of Trinity, of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, even of God Himself, have to go. Ultimate reality has no name, cannot be described through images, cannot be ascribed any qualities. Sceptics and unbelievers may also be on the path if their rejection of religion is of limited symbols as they hinder perception.
The depth of God beyond God is reflected in the depth of the self. Emphasis is on what in the self is most like God and how that likeness can be heightened and transcended until it becomes unity. Not only does God call us to this unity, but there is within the soul an element of affinity with God. Being in the image and likeness of God is not only with the persons of the Trinity but there is also a self within the self that has an affinity with the God beyond God. This ground of the soul is the true image of God within man, it is that in man which is neither this nor that. This true self is unrelated to roles and functions, to thoughts and emotions, it is the 'I' which watches them all, detached and serene. This [permanent self] is a refuge from the tyranny of thoughts and emotions. Acting from this permanent self or ground of the soul is the only true action, all other "action" is actually reaction in response to external stimuli. No longer caring about past or future, one is aware only of the present moment as it impinges on eternity.
Thus, what is normally regarded as the self must be stripped away in order to find the true self within. Without goal or ambition, not doing anything or being anything, one has to learn simply to be. Without even the goal of finding the true self, the true self is found. The journey into the depths of the self is the same experience as the journey into the depths of God. Paradoxically, it is having discovered the fundamental reality that one melts and flows out of one's self to be a person. As a person, one participates in the mystery, the secret, of communion with the Three-in-One, the Trinity. Following the way of transcendence we find that, although seeking God from outside means that He retreats within, if we seek Him within He affirms Himself without. As opposed to standing within the world, when God appears wholly transcendent and other, one stands within God and the world is other, a pale, imperfect reflection of that truth in which one lives and makes one's home.