Thursday, October 7, 2010

Living with Ambiguity as a Spiritual Process

"Living with ambiguity is a form of intellectual honesty, of humility. It is only when we admit that we don't know that we are receptive to what lessons may be taught. In some strange way, it also brings an inner peace since we are no longer fighting reality to maintain our inner fantasies on how things should be. While I am characterizing it as an intellectual process, it also has spiritual implications, since only an open mind is capable of hearing God."

- Andy Piereder

3 comments:

ji said...

Wow. So many of us do have "inner fantasies of how things should be." I wrote in my journal just the other day that my level of learning on a particular point might be entirely adequate for me at this point in time -- and the Holy Ghost might even confirm it to me as truth -- but someone else might have a differing level of learning, also confirmed to him or her as truth by the same Holy Ghost. This will all be worked out as we both progress towards a perfect understanding, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. We must all be open to continued learning, and we must all seek to strengthen the faith of others.

Clean Cut said...

Reminds me of a favorite quote:
"The mind is like a parachute. It only works when it's open."

Papa D said...

I really like that quote, CC.

ji, your comment nails something I believe strongly - that the Holy Ghost testifies of what is "true" both in an absolute sense and in the sense of "true north", meaning "pointed in the proper direction". Thus, if something wil bring someone closer to God and godliness, it can be confirmed through the light of Christ AND the Holy Ghost. That is why some things I believed in the past still can be seen as good, right and even true - even though I no longer believe them in the present. It's also why I have no problem believing that some of the things I have written here might not be what I will write in the future, as I continue to learn line upon line, precept upon precept.