Going to Talk About the Z-theory

Lisa and I are driving to Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia. There is a young artistic/ surfing/ spiritual community on the eastern shore looking out over the Atlantic Ocean on one of the nicest beaches for surfing up this way. We are friends with the ones who oversee it and host it at their house, Judith and John Brannen. They’ve asked us to come and hang out with them for the weekend. We are having a wine and cheese party tonight, an arts session tomorrow morning, then a dinner tomorrow night. They’ve asked that I come and talk about my z-theory (type “z-theory” into my search box on nakedpastor and all 17 entries will come up if you want to catch up). I’m excited about it because this community has a reputation for being very curious, fun, intellectual, and deeply committed to the value of questioning.

It’s interesting: these past couple of weeks I’ve talked to several “believers” who are keeping up appearances, but who are actually closet skeptics, closet liberals, closet agnostics, closet atheists, closet whatever. My question is, “Why don’t we just come out of our closets?” There is a lot of fear of persecution, rejection and ridicule from the outside. But there is also the terror of what being honest about our doubts and questions will mean to our own spiritual, intellectual and emotional stability. I think we should all find the courage to question. It is easier with support, which is why I encourage this kind of community. But if we have to do it alone, it’s better to be honest than live a borrowed life.

I’m looking forward to talking with a bunch of younger people eager to explore. I’m expecting to be personally challenged myself. I’m a little nervous about articulating the z-theory clearly. Why? Because my years of searching, culminating in the waterfall dream, was a mystical experience for me, a vision of sorts, that completely altered my mind. How does one communicate such things? I’ll keep you posted.