Yes, what is being described here, trying to avoid difficult feelings whenever they show up by supposedly spiritual means is what is known as 'spiritual bypassing' and is common in many eastern faith traditions. It is a type of 'numbing out' by self-absorption. But if we say that having bad feelings is always a problem and they need to be gone, we set ourselves up to be ever vigilant to noticing them and hence we become even more sensitive to having such feelings. Avoidance makes one ever more mindful of what you are avoiding. Accepting or allowing such feelings to be there in the background and giving our attention to what we truly value neutralizes the agony of being held hostage and stuck. It's going to be all right. This too will pass. I am not going to fight the tar baby today.
In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus seems to be saying don't even bother trying to demonstrate your relationship with your Father until you have reconciled with the brother who "has something against you". To me it is not at all clear who was the offender and who was offended in the sentence. Just fix it. Why, yes, Cain, we ARE our brother's keeper!
So much for leaving a trail of hurts in your wake as you seek to anesthetize your own pain.
This has been an excellent series. Thank you.
Yes, what is being described here, trying to avoid difficult feelings whenever they show up by supposedly spiritual means is what is known as 'spiritual bypassing' and is common in many eastern faith traditions. It is a type of 'numbing out' by self-absorption. But if we say that having bad feelings is always a problem and they need to be gone, we set ourselves up to be ever vigilant to noticing them and hence we become even more sensitive to having such feelings. Avoidance makes one ever more mindful of what you are avoiding. Accepting or allowing such feelings to be there in the background and giving our attention to what we truly value neutralizes the agony of being held hostage and stuck. It's going to be all right. This too will pass. I am not going to fight the tar baby today.
In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus seems to be saying don't even bother trying to demonstrate your relationship with your Father until you have reconciled with the brother who "has something against you". To me it is not at all clear who was the offender and who was offended in the sentence. Just fix it. Why, yes, Cain, we ARE our brother's keeper!
So much for leaving a trail of hurts in your wake as you seek to anesthetize your own pain.