This week, I’ve received a message! Ron sends me some of Richard Rohr’s daily meditations which are thought provoking and insightful. This particular one happens to align with the content of the leadership forum I am facilitating this week.
Summary of Authentic Transformation as quoted from Rohr.
“For much of my life, I’ve been trying to facilitate transformation—conversion, change of consciousness, change of mind. The transformed mind lets us see how we process reality. It allows us to step back from our own personal processor so we can be more honest about what is really happening. Transformation isn’t merely a change of morals, group affiliation, or belief system—although it might lead to that—but a change at the very heart of the way we receive and pass on each moment. Do we use the moment to strengthen our own ego position, or do we use the moment to enter into a much broader seeing and connecting?
Authentic God experience always leads toward service, toward the depths, the margins, toward people suffering or considered outsiders. Little by little we allow our politics, economics, classism, sexism, racism, homophobia, and all superiority games to lose their former rationale. Our motivation foundationally changes from security, status, and control to generosity, humility, and cooperation. “
Transformation Happens
If we think about this in the context of what Rohr is saying, we may consider the fact that those who have faith must still come to accept and manage their relationship with G-d on an everyday basis. This realization positions them as individuals for an evolving mindset. In this frame, we may consider the journey of transformation. As stated, It’s not about a simple change in behaviors, affiliations, or beliefs. It’s about a fundamental shift in how reality is perceived and interacted with at every moment.
The transformed mindset provides a new lens to view reality. It allows for a step back from personal biases and offers a more honest view of what’s truly happening. The question is, are these moments used to fortify an ego, or are they used to broaden vision and deepen connections?
An authentic experience with the divine invariably leads towards service, towards the depths, the margins, towards those who are suffering or considered outsiders. Gradually, politics, economics, classism, sexism, racism, homophobia, and all superiority games lose their former rationale. The motivation fundamentally shifts from seeking security, status, and control to embracing generosity, humility, and cooperation.
This transformation is not a one-time event but a continuous process, a journey that is embarked on every day. It’s about growing, evolving, and opening up to new perspectives and experiences. It’s about not just living, but truly experiencing life in its fullest, most meaningful sense.
Perspective, Considerations, Challenges, and Reflection
What strikes me initially is this idea of facilitating transformation. Transformation is something that seems to be driven by a force outside of oneself. A butterfly is predestined to go through transformation. While a caterpillar may not make it to the chrysalis, it was meant to transform if it had. It could very well be that we are all meant for some form of transformation. Physically speaking, we do transform and replace almost all of our cells in outside of the eyes, brain and heart. This is poetically interesting onto itself.
If transformation is meant to be, we transform. It is not something to be facilitated but accepted and embraced. In other words, we transform and we either accept the many facets of our transformation or we reject them. If we look at this in the context of religion, we could assert that G-d designed us to transform both physically and mentally. We have to decide whether or not to accept it in the same way that we have to accept aging.
If we truly want to embrace this idea, we are meant to transform to dust. The cycle of life takes us through many changes and constant transformation. I think we also have to factor in where we sit in the world regarding social and economic status. Other things to consider are the values that we have as individual’s vs the values we believe that others should have. One example is Sharia law. If we are to ascribe to a particular religious perspective, it does pose the question relative to all the others. For example, if a person as a Jew or Christian is realizing their transformation or even in the way Rohr describes seeking to “facilitate” their transformation they would naturally need to stray from the words written in the bible. As others who are fundamentalist may say the words are irrefutable and they assert their perspective and their will on others. This includes killing and death.
I realize that Rohr means to bring joy, positivity, insightful reflection, to help the people who are connected to him. In this case, the premise of authentic transformation is more about self-realization and self-actualization. This would be in the context of his view, a religious view. A progressive view which employs thought that everything transforms.
Summary Conclusion:
Life is full of seasons. We are in the season of our youth, the season of dramatic change, the season of our middle, the season of our center, the season of our reflection and the season of our end. While these may not reflect every specific time in our lives, they are relative for us to understand that we as individuals go through these changes regardless of how we feel about them. A young mind in an old body is not uncommon as we live a very short life. Within the seasons, we have weather events, storms, and occurrences which may shape our perspective.
From here, we must choose to learn, accept, understand, rationalize and decide and determine acceptance and actualization. Transformation happens but acceptance may not. If the butterfly chooses to reject itself consciously, it would still be what it is. While the universe or in context of Rohr, G-d could have made us a butterfly, we were given the gift of our humanity. This means we have a choice to accept ourselves and seek to understand ourselves and that which is around us. The transformation is always “authentic” because we don’t have any control of it. Our understanding of transformation and the decisions we make concerning our transformation are totally up to us. If we can learn to accept what and who we are, we may be kinder and more considerate of others.
Much Love to you and thank you Ron for the inspiration for this post.