Going Deeper Part 2
November 23, 2024
Going Deeper Part 2
The hunger of our hearts gives us the will to go deeper. We want more of what feeds us. When I first learned about the Enneagram, it pulled many things together, wove many loose ends, and helped me understand the inherent amalgamation between psychology and spirituality. Because of its clarity, I experienced its powerful truths directly. Several times in my life I was hungry for more after being introduced to something deeply gratifying. The Enneagram keeps me hungry for more. Hunger for anything animates our will for it.
In the spiritual life, our hearts hunger for deeper realms because we need answers to deeper questions. Perhaps we have gaping holes in our understandings, and we hunger for wholeness. Maybe we do not have enough factual information, so we are hungry for more knowledge. It could be that we have our thoughts but no tried and true experience—so we hunger for the knowledge that experience gives us. We may hunger for harmony in our relationships. We may realize the “why” of something, but we do not know the “how” to bring it about. Our hearts are hollow concerning these things, and they are starving for the answers.
When we satisfy the hunger of the heart, we grow. Yes, we find truths that go beyond previous understandings.
I recall that in my first year of theology school, I wrote a paper for a class course in systematic theology taught by Professor Theodore Runyon. In going over the paper with him he said, “Joe, you sound irritated, frustrated, and bewildered in this paper; your old beliefs have exploded like a bomb, and all the pieces haven’t fallen to the ground, so you can’t even begin to put them together again. This must be a terrible place to be… a no man’s land without the comforts and ‘certainties’ you used to rely on. You are finding a way to live in a new world. There is no way you can do this without being uncomfortable, discovering new ideas, and putting all your information together. Then, and only then, can you use the old and the new ideas to build a new frame of reference.”
Hungry for those new ideas, I spent hours and days reading and exploring new worlds of thought. I entered conversations with professors and fellow students in search of their thoughts and how they solve their crises of faith. Finally, I built a new belief structure. It has transformed several times since then, but I trust the process thanks to a wise professor who fed my hungry soul with new truths.
Spiritual practice: What bewilders or frustrates you? What would it be like if you dispensed with some of your old ways of categorizing and figuring it out? Try opening space for new ways of conceptualizing this dilemma and see what answers or places of peace come to you.
Self-inquiry: What are some reasons why you would not want a crisis of faith?
Dear God,
I am so thankful for what Dr. Runyon did for me. I will never forget when, out of love, he told me he had been in the same place as I. He gave me hope in the wilderness; he became a fellow journeyer when I felt so alone. I am so grateful. Amen
