B>Introduction

1. What are some important insights for the church from Tony Schwartz’s introduction?
2. Schwartz writes, "I wanted to continue to participate passionately in the world, but I also wanted passionately to connect to something deeper in myself and others." (pp. 8-9) What are the implications of such a position for the church? What associations with Scripture does this quote trigger?
3. One definite position of our post-modern culture is "experience first, assess later." (p. 12) What are some positive aspects to such a position? What are some potential negative aspects?
4. Schwartz writes, "transforming lifetime beliefs and behaviors requires an ongoing practice — disciplined techniques for breaking through fixed patterns and penetrating to deeper levels of truth." (p. 13) What disciplined techniques do we engage in that transform lives in our church? How can we improve?
5. Reflect on the statement, "the way people define the nature of self dictates how they envision the purpose of life." (p. 15) Share your interpretation and understanding of this concept with the group.

1. Tony Schwartz’s foray into meditation began from "practical rather than ’spiritual’ motivation." What factors contribute to the attitude that things spiritual or mystical are not practical?
2. What place does meditation have in Christian discipline?
3. What were some of the positive results of drug research in the 1950’s and 1960’s for spiritual seekers?
4. How do you feel as you read the accounts of psychedelic drugs, holotropic breathing, and the Maharajji experiences? Why do you feel this way?
5. Reflect on (and share) what the phrase "It is better to become Christ than to visit him"(p.54) means to you. What biblical passages or images come to you as you reflect?
6. Ram Dass’s Be Here Now" had become something of a young seekers’ bible." (p. 64) Look at the list of reasons Schwartz gives. What lessons might the church learn from this short list?
7. What impresses you about the account of Ram Dass? What concerns you?

1. "I was drawn. . . by the prospect of being among others who are genuinely committed to more complete lives." (p. 75) This is a common statement of young spiritual seekers. In what ways does the church offer this to spiritual seekers? What changes or improvements need to be made for this to be a reality in your church?
2. What do you believe to be the appeal of the teachings of Perls (pp. 93-98) and Schultz (pp. 98-105)?
3. In what ways do you agree or disagree with Schultz’s statement, "The latent abilities, hidden talents, and undeveloped capacities for excellence are legion . . . Joy is the feeling that comes from fulfillment of one’s potential." (p. 99)? Can you think of any biblical teachings that address this idea?
4. Like Ram Dass, Michael Murphy concludes that the key to lasting change is the practice of a set of disciplines to reinforce new insights and behaviors along the learning curve. (p. 105) What are the essential disciplines for sustained spiritual growth? Why? What do the different disciplines provide?
5. On pages 113-114, Schwartz provides a list of the ways that Michael Murphy cautions can subvert a balanced search for wisdom. How have you encountered these traps in your own spiritual journey?
6. As you reflect on the chapter on Michael Murphy and Esalen, what important insights do you gain about the potential of your church for helping people grow spiritually?

1. How does Elmer Green’s hypothesis "that conscious knowledge and understanding represent just one level of intelligence and that a complete life also depends on tapping the nonverbal powers of the mind, body, and the unconscious" (p. 119) fit with your understanding of the teachings of Jesus and the Christian faith?
2. What impresses you about the story of Elmer Green and biofeedback? What are the questions or concerns you have?
3. The accounts of sexual abuse and impropriety on pages 135-137 indicate one danger of elevating an individual to divine status. What are some other dangers of putting total faith in an individual (human) spiritual leader?
4. Reflecting on the three chapters in Part One, what are some common threads or themes? What ideas have you found particularly compelling? What ideas most concern you?

Part Two -- Chapter 4

1. Betty Edwards points out that often people can’t see what really exists because they have such strong preconceptions about what they believe they ought to see. (p. 169) Reflect on and share experiences in your own life or your church where preconceptions make it hard or impossible to see new possibilities.
2. What "cognitive shifts" (p. 170) have you experienced in your life? In what ways do you associate cognitive shifts with your church? your spiritual development?
3. In your experience, does the church primarily stimulate left hemisphere experiences, right hemisphere experiences, or a balance of the two? What examples support your opinion?
4. Discuss the positive aspects and perspectives of Betty Edwards’s teaching methods. (pp. 174-183) How might we apply these methods in faith formation and spiritual development?
5. Look at the various lists of categories of creative breakthrough on pages 184-185. How are these lists similar to the stages of spiritual maturation and faith formation?

Chapter 5

1. Talk about occasions in your life where emotional or psychological stress manifested itself in physical distress or disability.
2. Schwartz states a fundamental belief that "what is healthy for the mind, emotions, and spirit consistently appears to promote physical health. Conversely, what’s unhealthy for the mind, emotions, and spirit tends to make one more vulnerable to disease and less able to recover from it successfully." (p. 199) What do you think about the interdependency of physical, emotional, and spiritual health? What examples have you experienced in your own life?
3. What implications does this chapter have for the "healing ministries" of the church?
4. Do you see yourself as a "Type A" or a "Type B" personality? (pp. 205-209) What are your reactions to the correlation of types to heart disease?
5. Given the results of David Spiegel’s study that indicates "Social support may be an important factor in survival," (p. 214) what are some implications for our understanding of Christian community, fellowship, outreach, worship, and evangelism?
6. Good spiritual directors never offer guidance that does not include body and mind as well as spirit. What changes might occur in worship, education, faith sharing, stewardship, and so on by adopting such a holistic approach to spiritual formation?
7. "[Dean] Ornish has come to believe that the single most important factor in ’opening’ the heart is the degree to which people are able to find a greater sense of meaning, contentment, and connectedness in their lives." (p. 230) How important to overall health do you believe it is to have a clear sense of purpose for your life?

Chapter 6

1. Discuss Timothy Gallwey’s statement, "my goal is self-discovery, not self-improvement." (p. 239) How does this statement align with your understanding of what it means to be a Christian? In what ways is it problematic?
2. Jerry Alleyne says, "the more you stay in the moment, the more alive you become and the more anything you do is enjoyable. The key is to make everything important." (p. 245) How might Christian disciples adapt this philosophy?
3. Alleyne’s comment (p. 247) that "Wanting is a cancer" has far-reaching implications. In what ways have you experienced wanting as a cancer? What does the gospel have to say about "cancerous wanting"?
4. Cite some biblical parallels to Jerry Alleyne’s and Jim Loehr’s attitudes to live in the moment, setting aside both past and future. (pp. 247-257)
5. If "images are far more effective than words in giving the body complex commands,"(p. 256) what are some implications for the way we pray, worship, study, teach, and preach?

1. The Old Testament is filled with the language of dreams and visions. Dreams are believed to contain valuable messages. What do you believe to be the value of dreams? What are the benefits of interpreting and analyzing dreams?
2. In recent years, the benefits of faith formation in small groups have been explored and discussed. Most spiritual leaders agree that individuals grow best in community settings within smaller, more intimate groups. Pioneers in dream work have discovered the same thing. What are some of the benefits of discussing and analyzing dreams in small groups?
3. Schwartz speaks of a significant learning about dream groups. "I began to see how automatically I projected my own prejudices, opinions, hopes, and fears onto another person’s images and by extension how I bring these subjective feelings to interactions in all my relationships." (p. 286) What lessons can we learn from this insight about communication in general and the way that we share our faith in small groups?

Part Three -- Chapter 8

1. Schwartz reports that he "was drawn to vipassana (Buddhism) by its intellectual clarity, psychological focus, and elegant simplicity." (p. 306) Reflect on your own spiritual development. How would you complete the statement, "I am drawn to Christianity by its . . ."? Ask other members and/or visitors of your fellowship how they would complete the statement. If you know people of other faiths or belief systems, ask how they would complete the statement.
2. Jack Kornfield found great personal benefit by withdrawing from the world, but it left him ill-equipped to interact socially with others. (pp. 313-315) What are the fundamental benefits of personal, private, spiritual practice? What are the potential shortcomings? What are the fundamental benefits and shortcomings of corporate, communal spiritual practices?
3. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche says, "We can deceive ourselves into thinking we are developing spirituality when instead we are strengthening our egocentricity through spiritual techniques. This fundamental distortion may be referred to as ’spiritual materialism.’" (p. 316, from "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism") What ways do you lapse into spiritual materialism? In what ways do you see others lapse into spiritual materialism?
4. What parallels do you see in Christianity to vipassana and metta meditation? (pp. 324-329)
5. The behavior of spiritual leaders sometimes does not align with their teachings. (pp. 135-137, 317-318, 333-334) Should spiritual leaders be held to different standards of conduct, honesty, integrity, and so on than other leaders? Does the failure of a spiritual leader to practice what she or he teaches lessen the teaching’s truth or value?
6. Reflect on the statement "institutionalizing the search for meaning almost guarantees that a certain amount of dogma, doctrine, and hierarchy will ultimately replace the free, unfettered search for truth." (p. 335) Share your thoughts and insights. If true, is this necessarily a bad thing? If false, how so?

1. Ken Wilber approaches the relationship of science, psychology, society, and spirituality from a position of integration instead of attempting to make one more "right" than the others. What is compelling about this vision of integration? What is problematic?
2. Look at the seven shared truths (p. 354) and the ten developmental stages (p. 354-356) that Wilber lays out. How do these align with your understanding of the Christian faith? Read through the letter to the Ephesians. How does this Pauline theology compare with Wilber’s higher levels of development? (p. 355-356)
3. Wilber says of the spiritual life, "each of us has to take the actual journey, in our own way, in our own time, at our own pace." (p. 374) How does this statement relate to your own spiritual journey?

Chapter 10

1. Schwartz writes of the Enneagram, "it is both humbling and enriching to discover that there are at least nine different ways of perceiving the same experience." (p. 377) What important lessons about diversity, community, fellowship, and working together are contained within this statement?
2. Share your understanding of George Ivanovich Gurdjieff’s theory that "most people become so identified with their personalities that they lose all connection to their true selves." (p. 379) In what ways do you agree or disagree with this thesis?
3. What is your reaction to the concept that our personalities develop as defensive mechanisms — means of survival? (pp. 379, 389)
4. Reflect on the description of the nine Enneagram types (p. 390; for a fuller description of the nine types, reference the works of Don Richard Riso). On casual reflection, do you see yourself in any of the brief descriptions? Share your reactions and insights.
5. The work of Hameed Ali focuses beyond personality to "our essential nature." (pp. 406ff) When we lose sight of our true nature, it leaves "holes" that we try to fill in a variety of ways. Ali believes that what we use to fill the holes is what becomes known as our personality. Only by looking beyond personality to our deeper selves can we reclaim our essence. Reflect on this concept and share your ideas. Compare this way of thinking with Jesus’ injunction, "Strive for his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well (Luke 12:31, NRSV)."
6. Hameed Ali says, "We’re not interested in making people feel better. We’re interested in helping them find the truth about themselves." (p. 419) What would change in the church if we adopted the position that we do not exist to make people feel better, but to help them find the truth about themselves, about God, and about God’s purpose for their lives?

Conclusion

1. Schwartz reports that, "only when I began to move out of my head and into my heart did I start to feel a change . . ." (p. 421) What are some ways we can better balance head and heart experiences in worship, study, fellowship, service, and other practices of spiritual formation?
2. Schwartz offers a credo for postmodern seekers with, "What I’m most committed to is searching for my own truth." (p. 422) This reflects our cultural climate in a simple, but powerful way. What are some positive ways of interpreting Schwartz’s statement? What are some negative ways?
3. Scanning the list below, how do the learnings of Tony Schwartz compare with your own as you reflect on your journey toward wisdom and wholeness?
   • Wisdom requires deep awareness of self and others.
   • A complete life requires the integration of mind, body, heart, soul, and spirit.
   • No amount of wisdom counts for much unless it leads to changes in behavior.
   • True wisdom leads to a deeper engagement with the world.
   • The path to wisdom leads us away from being judgmental.
   • We cannot avoid dealing with deep and painful issues.
   • Wisdom requires that we learn to control our thoughts and emotions.
   • Acceptance is the cornerstone of wisdom.
   • Pay attention to your body -- it is a barometer of the whole person.
   • Being right isn’t as important as being real.
   • The road to wisdom is often an obstacle course.
   • Real discovery and change requires sustained and committed practices.

— Dan R. Dick is a former staff member of the General Board of Discipleship.

Return to the review of What Really Matters

(October 25, 2000)

    Text Only Version