Thank you, again, Klavans unrelated, for doing this fun and great conversation and allowing us a peek into your wisdom and love. If I can put my two cents in as well...which I hesitate to do, but not enough to not actually do it, so here it goes, God is reality. The closer you get to reality, the closer you get to commune in the love and peace of God the Creator. This closeness is fulfilled in its entirety, in this life, in the reception of the sacrament of Holy Communion. As a Catholic, I believe that Christ came and gave his actual body, blood, soul, and divinity and He then is able to live within us, when we receive Him, in physical reality for a short period of time. So in some mysterious way, while the host of the Eucharist exists within us, we are able to become one with God, who is love and reality itself.
Thanks again for doing this project! It makes me feel like we all are not so alone in our Christianity as it is so easy to sometimes feel. I know I went off on my own beliefs in Christianity, and I sincerely hope I didn't put anyone off by doing so. It just felt applicable to the conversation.
Here’s a quick suggestion since I figure there are going to be some readers in this substack. The first time I felt something like what AK seems to be saying is when I read a strange book called Lord of the World (by RH Benson) - fair warning, it’s very Catholic. While I’m not claiming the whole book is amazing, the last few pages completely changed my outlook on the Eucharist. I never used to kneel at church but I can no longer stand when my Lord enters.
AK: “You can’t fake this perception and it doesn’t just happen. I think you have to make a conscious practice of seeing rightly. Prayer can help and God-centered meditation...”
Practicing the presence of God
Practicing The Great Speculation
Matt Walsh gave an excellent talk in a congregation at St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff, Wisconsin. His concluding words were particularly strong and beautiful, encouraging us to pray, to give our attention to God’s presence, asking God to give and increase our longing for God so that God may transform our hearts and conform our lives to God’s heart.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
A break for my business of living was realizing what God was telling me, in a variety of ways, was for me. It wasn't necessarily for others. It was better to cherish these things in my heart so to speak, and not feel the need to universalize my learning to everyone else.
And being brought to remembering, to recognizing afresh God and His sheer goodness.
“Do this is remembrance of Ne.”
I’m grateful for this Klavan-y correspondence as it has given reminders daily this week of what and, actually, of Who, “really matters rather than what only seems to matter” (a line from the film, Places in the Heart)
AK: “Done right, ritual can free the symbolic structures of the mind from the merely personal and give spiritual meaning to physical experience. It can teach us to know the creator through creation.”
The Truth and Beauty of having a sacramental understanding and experience as God uses the the created to impart Himself to us and restore us to His image.
Lewis: “God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it.”
Andrew - imagine my surprise when you got right back to me, after I thanked you for your excellent memoir. Now I am happy to see you here with your son, Spencer.
For ritual “done right“ I highly recommend the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, to be found in every Orthodox Christian church, be it Greek, Russian, Serbian or the Orthodox Church in America, which has Russian roots. There are many flavors in these various ethnic churches, but the words and the structure of the liturgy is always the same, as it has been for 1300 years. A Pearl of great price.
Wigwam reminds me of a tough time I went through when I was stressed and could never sleep well. One night I would have a nightmare that I was a wigwam. The next night I would awake screaming, thinking I was a yurt. Every night it was one or the other.
I finally went to Jordan Peterson for help, and he immediately diagnosed me. He said “It’s simple, you’re two tents…”
A friend: "You know, you can be a critical thinker without having a critical spirit"
Me: "What? You can? I should! How?"
Enter, the Klavans, setting the example: High IQ + Humor + Hope
Thank you, again, Klavans unrelated, for doing this fun and great conversation and allowing us a peek into your wisdom and love. If I can put my two cents in as well...which I hesitate to do, but not enough to not actually do it, so here it goes, God is reality. The closer you get to reality, the closer you get to commune in the love and peace of God the Creator. This closeness is fulfilled in its entirety, in this life, in the reception of the sacrament of Holy Communion. As a Catholic, I believe that Christ came and gave his actual body, blood, soul, and divinity and He then is able to live within us, when we receive Him, in physical reality for a short period of time. So in some mysterious way, while the host of the Eucharist exists within us, we are able to become one with God, who is love and reality itself.
Thanks again for doing this project! It makes me feel like we all are not so alone in our Christianity as it is so easy to sometimes feel. I know I went off on my own beliefs in Christianity, and I sincerely hope I didn't put anyone off by doing so. It just felt applicable to the conversation.
Here’s a quick suggestion since I figure there are going to be some readers in this substack. The first time I felt something like what AK seems to be saying is when I read a strange book called Lord of the World (by RH Benson) - fair warning, it’s very Catholic. While I’m not claiming the whole book is amazing, the last few pages completely changed my outlook on the Eucharist. I never used to kneel at church but I can no longer stand when my Lord enters.
AK: “You can’t fake this perception and it doesn’t just happen. I think you have to make a conscious practice of seeing rightly. Prayer can help and God-centered meditation...”
Practicing the presence of God
Practicing The Great Speculation
Matt Walsh gave an excellent talk in a congregation at St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff, Wisconsin. His concluding words were particularly strong and beautiful, encouraging us to pray, to give our attention to God’s presence, asking God to give and increase our longing for God so that God may transform our hearts and conform our lives to God’s heart.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
A break for my business of living was realizing what God was telling me, in a variety of ways, was for me. It wasn't necessarily for others. It was better to cherish these things in my heart so to speak, and not feel the need to universalize my learning to everyone else.
Thank you for this.
“Practice, practice, practice”
Agreed absolutely.
Practice of God’s presence
Practice awareness of others’ precious “muchness”
And being brought to remembering, to recognizing afresh God and His sheer goodness.
“Do this is remembrance of Ne.”
I’m grateful for this Klavan-y correspondence as it has given reminders daily this week of what and, actually, of Who, “really matters rather than what only seems to matter” (a line from the film, Places in the Heart)
AK: “Done right, ritual can free the symbolic structures of the mind from the merely personal and give spiritual meaning to physical experience. It can teach us to know the creator through creation.”
The Truth and Beauty of having a sacramental understanding and experience as God uses the the created to impart Himself to us and restore us to His image.
Lewis: “God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it.”
Andrew - imagine my surprise when you got right back to me, after I thanked you for your excellent memoir. Now I am happy to see you here with your son, Spencer.
For ritual “done right“ I highly recommend the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, to be found in every Orthodox Christian church, be it Greek, Russian, Serbian or the Orthodox Church in America, which has Russian roots. There are many flavors in these various ethnic churches, but the words and the structure of the liturgy is always the same, as it has been for 1300 years. A Pearl of great price.
And by the way, I just paid my 80 bucks, so this better be good!!! Just kidding, I’ve already gotten about $3.75 worth of entertainment out of it.
Wigwam reminds me of a tough time I went through when I was stressed and could never sleep well. One night I would have a nightmare that I was a wigwam. The next night I would awake screaming, thinking I was a yurt. Every night it was one or the other.
I finally went to Jordan Peterson for help, and he immediately diagnosed me. He said “It’s simple, you’re two tents…”
Week 1 observation:
1) so glad I found Drew first, Spencer, unrelated, second
2) so fortunate to have discovered The New Jersalem
3) so readily subscribed
🎶 Close Your Eyes So You Can See🎶
Lyrics by Michael Card
“there’s a way that a child can look at the world
see through the eyes of the heart
they see meaning beyond the mystery
hear the silence of the stars
so close your eyes so you can see
the way he meant this world to be
and understand with a child like heart
the place we end is where we start
the child is the father of the man
it's the paradox of god's design
so if you would be grown up and mature
let the light of your childhood shine
so close your eyes so you can see
what it must have been like to be
a little girl or boy who knows
and walks with jesus as they grow
https://www.letssingit.com/michael-card-lyrics-close-your-eyes-so-you-can-see-c9swq79
LetsSingIt - The Internet Lyrics Database
C. S. Lewis
“The most intense joy lies not in the having but in the desiring. The delight that never fades, the bliss that is eternal....”