Scripture ~ “For in God we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
Spiritual Focus ~ “Everything is sacred, everything belongs.” Father Richard Rohr, priest, author, teacher, and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation
Breath Prayer ~ Inhale – everything is sacred, Exhale – Everything
Devotion ~ Growing up as a child in the church during the 1960s and 70s, one of the scariest phrases that could be uttered was, “God is everywhere!” As a teenager this was an even more daunting idea, sometimes echoed by parents trying to moderate their children’s behavior. What was not understood by this pithy statement was that God’s presence was a good thing! God is with us to love us, not to judge us. The promise that we are not separate from God’s spirit, that God dwells within us, and we and everything belong is a bold statement that dissolves the sacred-secular divide.
Then and now many people still hold a sacred – secular worldview. The sacred and secular divide means that we separate life’s sacred realms, such as prayer and worship, from the secular, that is, the rest of the world outside of church walls. This idea has sustained the division of church and world, even though the church’s mission is to influence the world for the sake of the world that God creates and loves.
Recent scholarship and experience challenge the idea of this division by proclaiming that we cannot limit God to our own thinking. God’s spirit moves with us whether we are in a church building or at a brewery, whether we sing in the choir or attend a concert. It is the trap of dualistic thinking that tries to divide and separate, as that is how the intellectual ego works best. The wisdom of the heart perceives a flow between sacred and secular that dissolves the divide and recognizes everything as sacred and that everything belongs. When the spirit of God is recognized within our very being, we radiate the presence of God in the world wherever we are.
Without naming a particular divinity, Patanjali’s yoga philosophy also teaches of the sacred nature within all of us. Not long ago, some yogis would hide their practice from family and church friends for fear of being judged as unfaithful. Thankfully, God’s spirit has moved the dial, diminishing the separateness between faith and yoga so that people can tell their story of experiencing God’s presence through their practice. The flow between the sacred and secular dissolves fear and division, manifesting in a sense of union and belonging.
Good Gifts at the Intersection of Faith and Yoga
The Myth of a Sacred and Secular Divide
The Myth of a Sacred – Secular Divide
Scripture ~ “For in God we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:28
Spiritual Focus ~ “Everything is sacred, everything belongs.” Father Richard Rohr, priest, author, teacher, and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation
Breath Prayer ~ Inhale – everything is sacred, Exhale – Everything
Devotion ~ Growing up as a child in the church during the 1960s and 70s, one of the scariest phrases that could be uttered was, “God is everywhere!” As a teenager this was an even more daunting idea, sometimes echoed by parents trying to moderate their children’s behavior. What was not understood by this pithy statement was that God’s presence was a good thing! God is with us to love us, not to judge us. The promise that we are not separate from God’s spirit, that God dwells within us, and we and everything belong is a bold statement that dissolves the sacred-secular divide.
Then and now many people still hold a sacred – secular worldview. The sacred and secular divide means that we separate life’s sacred realms, such as prayer and worship, from the secular, that is, the rest of the world outside of church walls. This idea has sustained the division of church and world, even though the church’s mission is to influence the world for the sake of the world that God creates and loves.
Recent scholarship and experience challenge the idea of this division by proclaiming that we cannot limit God to our own thinking. God’s spirit moves with us whether we are in a church building or at a brewery, whether we sing in the choir or attend a concert. It is the trap of dualistic thinking that tries to divide and separate, as that is how the intellectual ego works best. The wisdom of the heart perceives a flow between sacred and secular that dissolves the divide and recognizes everything as sacred and that everything belongs. When the spirit of God is recognized within our very being, we radiate the presence of God in the world wherever we are.
Without naming a particular divinity, Patanjali’s yoga philosophy also teaches of the sacred nature within all of us. Not long ago, some yogis would hide their practice from family and church friends for fear of being judged as unfaithful. Thankfully, God’s spirit has moved the dial, diminishing the separateness between faith and yoga so that people can tell their story of experiencing God’s presence through their practice. The flow between the sacred and secular dissolves fear and division, manifesting in a sense of union and belonging.
