 | The Christian symbols, rituals, practices and mystical teachings and how
they may provide guidance for our spiritual path. |
| The Christian archetypal journey, with its stages and states, as a model
for the soul’s development. |
| The mystery and miracle of the union of the human and divine, so central
to this tradition and its vision of the human being. |
| Various ways of understanding, experiencing and relating to Christ, from
Jesus as a human spiritual model to the Cosmic Christ. |
| The cycle of wholeness contained in the sacred time and space of the
liturgical year. |
| The shadow aspects of Christianity; how they wound us, and ways of
healing. |
| Recognizing the transformational process of crucifixion and resurrection
within our lives and as a means of realizing the Christ within us. |
| The correspondences between the sacraments and the operations that are
fundamental to alchemy. |
| The marriage of the masculine and the feminine within the inner life of
the tradition and the need for healthy and whole models of men and women. |
| Examining love, suffering, guilt and sin within Christianity. How our
understanding of them shapes our sense of God, the world and ourselves. |
| Engaging a relevant vision of Christianity that meets the critical needs
and issues of our time, such as globalization, ecology, the re-emergence of
the feminine, materialism, and the loss of soul. |
| Those who are called to the mystical, mythic, and symbolic elements of
Christianity. |
| Those who have never encountered a form of Christianity that accented
spiritual experiences and development. |
| Those who had an authentic and meaningful experience of the tradition in
their childhood but were later wounded or alienated. |
| Those who looked to Eastern religions for a mystical way and now are open
to experiencing an inner path through Christianity. |
| Those who are drawn to a spiritual life within the tradition but do not
seek involvement in an institutionalized form of religion. |
| Those looking for spiritual community within the soul of Christianity
while honoring the truth of the other traditions of the world. |
The Format of the Program
The program will meet four times per year, with three weekend meetings
starting on Friday evening and continuing until early Sunday afternoon. There
will also be a five-day session that will include a retreat period. Each of the
meetings will focus on a theme that will be amplified through spiritual
practice, teachings, creative experiences and small group sharing.
Orientation of the Program
The approach of the course is to honor the profound and particular
contribution that Christianity offered to humanity. However it will not be
viewed as a superior religion or one with an exclusive claim to the truth.
References will be made to the teachings and practices of other tradition for
the purpose of enriching our understanding and acknowledging the emerging global
awareness of our time.
Elements of the depth psychology of Carl Jung will be included because of the
value that Jung placed on symbolic life and religious instincts within the human
being. The acknowledgement of the shadow also helps our spirituality to be whole
and integrated.
The orientation of the program means teachings from a variety of Christian
mystics will be offered with an emphasis on Tiehard de Chardin. The study of
theology, dogma, scriptural analysis and the historical development of
Christianity will not be central to the course,
This
program is an in-depth journey into the symbolic life contained within
the Christian tradition with an emphasis upon discovering an inner path of
spiritual development. Our focus is on the mystical dimensions of Christianity
instead of the organized religion or institutional Church. We shall seek ways of
fostering intimate relationships with the divine in place of the pain of
separation from a remote and distant God. Spiritual practices and teachings that
invite us to participate in the experiences of the divine presence will be
explored. Together we shall seek a living God who can be found in our own
hearts, discerned in the meaning of our lives, felt in our soulful relationships
and engaged in the glory and mystery of the creation. The program will be
offered as either a one-year or two-year program, depending on Atum's schedule
and the desire of the program sponsors.