By Randy Morris, PhD
An experience that is common to participants at Journeys is the strong sense of solidarity that is created while on a wilderness trip or experiential weekend. What heads out as a group of strangers often returns to base camp with deep friendships that seem more intense than much longer relationships back home. The same phenomenon often occurs in large weekend events that involve ritual and soul work. An energetic field is constellated and participants report tremendous connection and compassion as a result of engaging in deep and sometimes difficult emotional work as a group. The very word ‘compassion’ means a ‘suffering’ (-passio) ‘with’ (com-). This feeling of connection is a hallmark of healthy cultures. The fact that it is so rare is an indication of our broken society, in which online friends can seem closer and ‘more real’ than in-person friends.
In listening to Journeys participants dialogue with each other about their sacred experiences in nature, both in the moment and in reunions years later, I am struck by the way the normal course of time dissolves. As the story unfolds, the participant’s ‘soul work’, consisting of shared moments of overwhelming feeling and intense insight, seems to be happening again in the moment of telling. This is made possible by ‘deep listening’ in the presence of a true ‘soul friend’, one who ‘listens their way’ into the heart of the other, sees their inner light, and wants to support the radiance that is trying to grow there.
The mythologist Michael Meade says that an old term for the human soul is ‘the light hidden in darkness’. (1) There is no greater blessing than to have one’s inner light seen and witnessed. In the Jewish tradition of friendship, Meade says, the ‘angel of friendship’ is constellated when the spark of life in one person meets the spark in the other. Their lights are conjoined, which adds more light to the collective light of humanity. In these dark times, the light of creation wants to grow, but it can only do so through the light of the souls who are alive today. The work of Journeys is to provide conditions where these kinds of soul relationships can thrive.
To what end? Is there an aspirational goal to the work of Rite of Passage Journeys? Perhaps the best articulation of the overall purpose of our work comes from the cosmological vision of Martin Luther King, Jr. King is best known for his work on behalf of social justice. But what is often overlooked is the ecological and cosmological origins of his vision of the Beloved Community. King wrote, “As nations and individuals, we are interdependent. It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. What affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.” (2)
This is a worldview that was far ahead of its time and it contains just the healing balm we need for our fractured world. As articulated by Drew Dellinger, whose doctoral dissertation was entitled, “The Mountaintop Vision: Martin Luther King’s Cosmology of Connection,” King’s cosmological vision has the capacity to unite the quest for ecological sustainability with the quest for social justice. (3) If social justice is human love made visible, then ecological justice is cosmic love made visible. The Beloved Earth Community is a vision of a world made whole through a cosmology of justice in which interdependence and compassion are woven into the fabric of the cosmos itself.
The universe, in King’s view, has a moral dimension, and it is “on the side of justice.” (4) In this sense, Justice is a dimension of the cosmic life force itself. In its embrace, everything belongs. Everything co-arises together and is dependent on everything else, whether human or more-than-human. It’s not ‘The Beloved Human Community’ but ‘The Beloved Earth Community. We are all in this together. This is not a simplistic version of everyone just getting along with each other, but an all-inclusive and radical vision in which the inner light of the human soul, the subjectivity of rocks and trees and the bright light of the sun each have their rightful place, their ecos, their home, in a universe that yearns for justice. When all are in ‘right relation’ with each other, the desire of the universe for justice will be fulfilled. In a world made dark by greed, ignorance and violence, this is a startling vision of hope and guidance for the future. (5) By encouraging deep soul work in order to enhance a sustainable earth-human relationship, Rite of Passage Journeys is striving to do its part to foster the Beloved Earth Community.
Endnotes:
Taken from Michael Meade’s excellent podcast on “Angels of Friendship”, Living Myth Podcast #101, at www.mosaicvoices.org.
From Martin Luther King, Jr., “A Christmas Sermon on Peace,” in James Washington, ed., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr., (New York: Harper Collins), 1986, p. 254.
Drew Dellinger, “Dr. King’s Interconnected World”, New York Times Op-Ed, Dec. 22, 2017. For more of Dr. King on cosmological justice, see Drew Dellinger’s website at www.drewdellinger.org.
This is a common refrain in King’s work. A concise statement of it can be found in King’s essay on “The Power of Non-Violence” in A Testament of Hope, pp. 13-14.
For more on developing ‘right relationship’ with those with whom you disagree, see King’s sermon, “Loving Your Enemies” in Strength To Love, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press), 1963.
