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− | Hello, I'm David Coward and I guess you are wondering what I am doing in this space. (In case you are questioning my spiritual credentials, here's a picture of me with the dalai llama). I am here for two reasons, first as a contributor (sorry, no money, just an article in the Symposia) and secondly as a friend (almost 30 years now) of Rob, the Supreme Radiant Lord of this domain. Rob and I rose from similar humble beginnings to become what we are today--humble middle aged old men. Personally I started out with nothing and still have most of it left (stolen joke). I am originally from Birmingham, AL and currently live in the outback of rural Mississippi where I work as textbook buyer for Mississippi State University. I am married, no kids, and have a small zoo of llamas, cats, and a possum (that's Southern for "opussum"). | + | Hello, I'm David Coward and I guess you are wondering what I am doing in this space. (In case you are questioning my spiritual credentials, here's a picture of me with the dalai llama). I am here for two reasons, first as a contributor (sorry, no money, just an article in the Symposia) and secondly as a friend (almost 30 years now) of Rob, the Supreme Radiant Lord of this domain. Rob and I rose from similar humble beginnings to become what we are today--humble middle aged old men. Personally I started out with nothing and still have most of it left (stolen joke). I am originally from Birmingham, AL and currently live in the outback of rural Mississippi where I work as textbook buyer for Mississippi State University. I am married, no kids, and have a small zoo of llamas, cats, and a possum (that's Southern for "opussum").[[Image:Celtic4.jpg|right|frame]] |
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− | My religious background is Protestant Christian, but my journey has led through Anglicanism with a strong inclination toward more esoteric forms such as Zen Catholicism (William Johnston, Thomas Merton) and Celtic Christianity, which may contain more myth than history, but nonetheless I am drawn to the idea of the divine permeating nature from below as opposed to the detached trancendence of conventional theology. | + | My religious background is Protestant Christianity, but my journey has led me through Anglicanism with a strong inclination toward more esoteric forms such as Zen Catholicism (William Johnston, Thomas Merton) and Celtic Christianity, which may contain more myth than history, but nonetheless I am drawn to its reputed idea of the divine permeating nature from below as opposed to the detached trancendence of conventional theology. |
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− | For several years my interest has gravitated toward the integral spirituality and general philosophy of Ken Wilber. I first began to lean toward integral thinking in high school and my academic track finally culminated with an MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Western Kentucky University, a program that was consciously integral (though that term was unknown to me at the time). Throughout college and beyond I had accumulated quite a personal library in my quest to connect all of the dots of existence, and then one day I discovered Ken Wilber. His integral system was so plausible and elegant that I found myself in the strange situation of suspecting that most of my library had been rendered obsolete by a small handful of Wilber books. In fact, I sold and donated most of them shortly thereafter, resulting in no regrets and a feeling of spiritual lightness. | + | For several years my interest has gravitated toward the integral spirituality and philosophy of Ken Wilber. I first began to lean toward integral thinking in high school and my academic track finally culminated with an MA in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Western Kentucky University, a program that was consciously integral (though that term was not used). Throughout college and beyond I had accumulated quite a personal library in my quest to connect all of the dots of existence, and then one day I discovered Ken Wilber. His integral system was so plausible and elegant that I found myself in the strange situation of suspecting that most of my library had been rendered obsolete by a small handful of Wilber books. In fact, I sold and donated most of them shortly thereafter, resulting in no regrets and a feeling of spiritual lightness. |
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| + | Considering that I am a "recovering Protestant" as well as a "failed amateur Buddhist" I have long been hard-pressed to categorize myself in any positive way, not that I feel a particular need to be in a category. However, it did become apparent fairly recently that my spiritual path is clearly Franciscan, and has been for several years unbeknownst to myself. The simple zen-like act of daily feeding and caring for a variety of dependent animals, each one a singular miracle, has become no less than a holy communion of boundary dissolution requiring neither intentionality nor effort, altogether lacking the strainings and distractions of meditation, and quite likely the closest I will ever come to finding mystical union in the routine of daily existence. |
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| + | Thanks for visiting my page! |