Awakening to Wholeness is a series of prompts, reflections, and teachings about how holding the tension of opposites can help us to heal division and experience wholeness. If you feel moved to share your own reflections, we invite you to email us with the subject line “Wisdom of Opposites” or tag us on social media with #EHoPWisdomOfOpposites.
The inner work of tending to the tension of opposites is powerful. When we engage in the subtle yet hard work of tending to opposites, of learning to recognize them, of easing into a balancing of them, of letting them stretch and form us, then we contribute a powerful force of good in the world.
At the same time, the tension of opposites can also contribute negative forces into the world. Clinging, defending, collapsing, and ignoring the tensions of opposites reveals the destructive power of tension. Clinging to my way in a friendship can ruin the friendship. Defending our way as a nation can provoke divisions. Collapsing the distinctiveness of peoples can cause genocide. Ignoring the dignity of any living being results in terror.
As finite human beings, we cannot avoid sorrow, nor can we prevent tragedy. But we can choose to let go instead of cling. We can choose freedom over defense. We can hold on, rather than collapse. We can choose to face reality rather than ignore what is. We must choose to feed the wolf of good and starve the wolf of evil.
We are called to keep vigil, to stay awake, and not go back to sleep.
Contemplative Questions
We offer the following questions as prompts to help you reflect on the presence of opposites in your spiritual practice and your life.
- Think of a time when the tension of opposites led you to cling, defend, or ignore the reality of a situation. What happened? What did it feel like?
- In contrast, think of a time when you recognized the tension yet chose openness instead of clinging to old ways, freedom instead of defensiveness? What happened? What did it feel like?
- What teachings, practices, or people support you in contributing positive, not negative, forces to the world? How do you choose to feel the wolf of good and starve the wolf of evil?
Join the conversation! If you feel moved to share your reflections, we invite you to email us with the subject line “Wisdom of Opposites” or tag us on social media with #EHoPWisdomOfOpposites.
You can now sign up to have every post in the Awakening to Wholeness series delivered directly to your inbox. Subscribe here.
Christine Luna Munger
Christine Luna Munger, PhD currently serves as the director of the Episcopal House of Prayer. She previously served as Coordinator of the Spiritual Direction Certificate and Professor of Theology at St. Catherine University. She regularly writes, teaches, and leads group prayer sits at EHoP.
You must be logged in to post a comment.