Dialogue with a Druid (About the Relationship Between the Mystical Life and Faith Community)

Carl:

Absolutely we agree more than disagree — I still think we see eye-to-eye 98% of the time. And I am far more supportive of people shifting from one wisdom tradition to another (have done it several times myself!) than simply abandoning community in favor of “do-it-yourself” spirituality (which is, let’s be honest, what a lot of folks are doing these days). 

My one thought in response to your last comment would be that sometimes interspirituality or interreligious dialogue might be more helpful than just a wholesale changing of religious identity. Community really is the key here. I’m in such a vibrant and exciting Jesuit/Catholic community that I can’t imagine being somewhere else — and I have great latitude to go hang out with the Buddhists or write about my experience with Paganism, etc. etc. and it’s all good. I realize many people don’t have that kind of creative and supportive community. Like I said previously, it’s religion *at its healthiest* that can support us all the way up the mountain. And so many people just don’t have access to that kind of healthy community. So there’s a sensibility in leaving a toxic or dysfunctional community. But there’s also a danger: that we become community-hoppers, bolting every time the situation becomes demanding or difficult. It takes great discernment to know when to leave because the community is dysfunctional, versus when to stay and try to help heal the dysfunctional community, versus the community actually isn’t that bad and the dysfunction is found within! So really another important part of the mix is discernment, which almost always needs at least two pairs of eyes to really work.

Thanks for a great thread.

Aaron:

Funny enough that’s almost exactly what my Druid mentors said. To be a Druid one doesn’t have to abandon their faith. They strongly encourage integration, because faith is evolving. And you used my favorite word. Interspiritual. That’s actually where I feel the Spirit leading me. I find my Christian background and the teachings of Celtic Christianity (the writings of J Philip Newell and John O’Donahue are beautifully helpful, you should definitely interview Newell on encountering silence if you can) integrate well with druidry. And although druidry has become my main private practice, I still attend an episcopal church on Sunday. Because my family loves it and the priests are my friends. And communion is beautiful and speaks to my soul, and it’s open table there. Yes, wonderful discussion. Thank you my friend.

Carl:

The thread on Facebook ended with Aaron’s last comment. But since I’m reposting it to my blog, I’ll take the liberty of giving myself the last word. I appreciate that Aaron was so gracious about “agreeing to disagree” — that seems to be in short supply these days, so it’s good when two parties can find their way to that place. So rather than try to make a final argument for my point of view, I’ll just let the dialogue stand. Should those of us who are drawn to the mystical and contemplative heart of spirituality make an effort to remain grounded in one wisdom tradition? Or should we expect to “outgrow” the need for faith community? Put another way: how do we discern when it is time to abandon a faith community, whether in the interest of embracing a different path, or simply “flying solo”? Surely, we can answer these questions in many ways. But I hope we will all continue to wrestle with what these questions represent, and how we each feel called to respond.

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