Midlife Spirituality

Ascent and descent: the journey of the soul

This group aims to explore the energies, struggles and spiritualities arising from the transition from the first half to the second half of life. It notes that faith and life take on a strikingly different aspect, the way becomes less clear.  ‘I don’t know where I’m going but neither am I lost’ remarked one member of the group. What we believe in and how we pray seems to be disconcertingly unsatisfying and appears to be shifting. 

Writers speak about the journey which formerly was about ascent - making a mark and way in the world, developing a sense of self or ego - but which then changes into descent - a sense of letting go, of poverty, an integration and of compassion.  See ‘The two halves of life: how did we get them so mixed up?’  What happens in us when such changes occur?  Do I misinterpet them, do I resist them?  Is a message of ascend, and more ascending, of More and Again of the same actually the journey for the soul?

History

We have been meeting since August 2007, going public at Richard Rohr’s visit to Edinburgh in June 2007. We invite any who wish to explore, share, learn and reflect on this one particular (peculiar!) stage in human and spiritual development – mid life. We meet on the last Wednesday in the month. See Events for details and booklist for reading materials we have used. Click here for a downloadable information flyer.

Topics explored to date, most recent first

• Rediscovering Friendship- Fidelity through changes
• Waiting- Why wait?  What are we waiting for?
• Jesus and the archetypes- All of life is archetypal.  Jesus therefore had within himself all the patterns of being, relating, growing, and ministering that all people have. (Janice Brewi)
• Relinquishment and synchronicity- Where there’s surrender synchronicity tends to follow (Cynthia Bourgeault)
• Relinquishment and unlearning- To attain knowledge, add things every day.  To attain wisdom, subtract things every day.  (Lao Tsu)
• Landscape and the soul- What imprints have landscapes made on your soul?
• Nature and the soul- Discreetly, secretly, someone is saying here I am, here I begin (Kenneth White)
• Silence- What does it feel like to be silent before God and others?
• Hospitality and the Eucharist- Eucharist living, Liturgy and life
• Hospitality- Creating space between people.
• Distance and intimacy - The unitive life.  “Entering deeply into the soul so as to enter more deeply into humanity and the mystery of God himself. (Peter Feldmeier)”
• Stages of Faith - “Faith is a verb, a process of becoming, involving our loving, trusting, believing, acting, suffering, valuing, knowing, committing. (Alan Jamieson)”
• Looking at the whole- “Am I arriving, processing, resting, leaving, going?”
• In and through the body - “The body is a doorway into inner space or presence”
• Acedia- “Torpor and the refusal of joy.  The word literally means “not caring,” or being unable to care”
• Gender and Spirituality: Androgyny-  “Religion is always, in one sense or another, about making one out of two”
• Gender and Spirituality- Ascent and Descent for Women and Men
• Lost -  “The old skin splits”, “We live by shedding”
• Exhaustion - “Why am I so tired?”
• Thresholds and conversion - “if we wish to live freely and expansively we must learn to die or diminish, take some risks.”
• Beauty - “In the experience of beauty we awaken and surrender in the same act.”
• The Body - “Our rootedness, our sense of place and space, is profoundly bodily”
• Generativity and stagnation - “Caring is the greatest thing, caring matters most.”
• Transition - Infatuation and enchantment– Nesting and manipulation - CRISIS - Resolution and Integration
• Letting go - “The signs of transition are a resurgence of immense fear, so the temptation is to return to the tried and tested.  Which is half right.” 
• Play - “It takes the four seasons of our life to develop the art of doing all things playfully; that is, religiously.”
• True and False Self - “Somewhere, somehow, we began to live as if we were separate, alone, and in danger.  Once afraid, we constructed a self out of that fear and have been steadfastly defending it ever since’”
• Heritage and Lineage - “What was my instructive upbringing in the faith? In what ways did it help?  In what ways might it have hindered?  We have got to start ‘conservative’ with certainty and boundaries” 
• Orientation, Disorientation and New Orientation through the Psalms - “Disorientation..an abrupt or slowly dawning acknowledgement that constitutes a dismantling of the old known world and a relinquishment of safe, reliable confidence in God’s good creation…ragged, painful disarray and abrasive”
• Forgiveness - Lord, transform our prejudice, nurture our growth, deepen our questions, widen our view, challenge our comforts…May our thoughts make us explorers.
• The Return to Wonder - Seen it all, done it all, heard it all.  Mid-life, the “the no more bullshit passage”.  Cynicism and the the simple love of all things
• Leave-taking and Homecoming- The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you
• Mapping the journey - “I needed to be humbled, cooked in the tears of loss, for any deeper life to emerge”
• A new space - Second growth: Discontent, restlessness, doubt, despair, longing as signs of growing pains

Our format will typically be:

• Eating together.
• Creating space to comment on our own reflections since last we met.
• Listen to a few tracks from a CD (Ronald Rolheiser, David Whyte, Kathleen Norris, James Finlay say) or refer to some pre-emailed reading material (Alan Jamieson, Anne Brennan & Janice Brewi, Walter Bruggemann, Thomas Merton, John O’ Donohue..) on one aspect of the mid-life transition.
• Discuss what we have heard or read; what has stood out for us.  What memories and questions have they stirred?
• Offer personal space to pray; to meditate on relevant poems (eg Mary Oliver, R S Thomas), images, extracts or work with some art and craft materials.

Find out more

See the resources section for a list of sources used.

If you would like to come to any of the meetings or would like more information, please contact Andrew and Kirsty Hook.