The entire “Grace had other plans” paragraph profoundly reflects my own experience—feeling massive, universal love; knowing God and understanding that He had pursued me; realizing that the Holy Spirit had been the energy that had guided me the entire way; and “shit, I am a Christian.” For me it was an incredible and rare moment of deeply comprehending the “I-Thou” and experiencing that participatory Greek middle voice in which I am certainly not the subject yet I matter to God more than I could previously fathom. Thank you for sharing about your journey and for inviting the world through your words into kenotic self-emptying for the sake of sacrificial love.
"Jesus healed people in their brokenness, at times using spiritual experiences. But he also challenged us all on this: our religion and spirituality are useless when they do not become transformed into gifts beyond ourselves. When our psychedelic experiences do not lead us to acts of sacrificial love but merely more psychedelics, when we do not take up our cross of self-denial but justify self-indulgent spiritual extravagance, we should be deeply suspicious of our integration, and indeed, our whole psychedelic approach."
Beautiful. Reminds me 1 Corinthians 13. And even the parable of the debtor who was forgiven. To me psychedelics and spirituality can have a gravity that can scare me--towards giving one's life away for love. It's been a bit of a point of existential crisis and contention for myself lately. Exactly what to do, what is sacrificial vs. what is neglecting my own self care. And what is self care vs. inflating an ego based on comfort.
I'm glad I've found your substack.
The entire “Grace had other plans” paragraph profoundly reflects my own experience—feeling massive, universal love; knowing God and understanding that He had pursued me; realizing that the Holy Spirit had been the energy that had guided me the entire way; and “shit, I am a Christian.” For me it was an incredible and rare moment of deeply comprehending the “I-Thou” and experiencing that participatory Greek middle voice in which I am certainly not the subject yet I matter to God more than I could previously fathom. Thank you for sharing about your journey and for inviting the world through your words into kenotic self-emptying for the sake of sacrificial love.
"Jesus healed people in their brokenness, at times using spiritual experiences. But he also challenged us all on this: our religion and spirituality are useless when they do not become transformed into gifts beyond ourselves. When our psychedelic experiences do not lead us to acts of sacrificial love but merely more psychedelics, when we do not take up our cross of self-denial but justify self-indulgent spiritual extravagance, we should be deeply suspicious of our integration, and indeed, our whole psychedelic approach."
Beautiful. Reminds me 1 Corinthians 13. And even the parable of the debtor who was forgiven. To me psychedelics and spirituality can have a gravity that can scare me--towards giving one's life away for love. It's been a bit of a point of existential crisis and contention for myself lately. Exactly what to do, what is sacrificial vs. what is neglecting my own self care. And what is self care vs. inflating an ego based on comfort.