Powerful, Ever Present, But Poorly Understood
The formal, dictionary and doctrinal definitions don’t help much in terms of grasping the presence and power of the Spirit in our own lives, let alone in the events that shape the world around us. Yet, without an adequate understanding of the Spirit’s reality, Christianity will remain in deep trouble.
True. But with out a personal experience with or of the Spirit one’s understanding of the Spirit remains only cognitive. This experience involves affect and transrational awarness. I would also suggest that it is a whole-body experience. This is, in my opinion, because the human body is the interface between the world of Spirit and the world of matter. To paraphrase the statement often attributed to Bro. Andrew, to fully realize the person of the Spirit we must “practice the presence of the Spirit.” This may be done by fully orienting oneself to God through prayer or meditation by asking to be filled with the Spirit, and by then attending to the rational or transrational thoughts that occur. This awarness continues by becoming aware of the physiological sensations or the affective states that follow. The Spirit communicates all of the time. Practicing the presence as briefly described above, enables one to sense the Spirit.
I agree completely that experience of the Spirit is “whole-body.” And, further, that prayer and meditation are crucial practices that help one go beyond the merely cognitive. Thanks for posting.