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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Psychology & Religious Experience: Prodigal Son

People experience the Holy in different ways. Bipolar individuals - in my opinion - are uniquely positioned to experience being Without and being Within:  the experience of the Prodigal Son, for these individuals have tasted being depressed then being exalted, being outcast then being included, thousands of times in their lives.

These are uniquely placed to see the Holy as an experience of suffering at being Without, and then the incredible joy at being Within. To such people, their return from Prodigality and their acceptance by the Father and the family is more intense than any dogma or any religious beliefs.

What possibly could a notion like the Rapture mean to someone who has fallen and been embraced so many times already? They have been being gathered in from the wild outlands for years and years. Only those who know what it is to be Without can appreciate the beauty of being Within.

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