Terry Patten – Beyond Awakening
Omtimes: How does the prayer you teach differ from traditional prayer?
Terry: Contemporary progressive spirituality has had a clean break with prayer to an imaginary mythic god like the bearded fellow on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. As a result this kind of spoken intimacy with Spirit has been unavailable for many of us.
Recognizing an ultimate nondual, evolutionary panentheist view opens up the space to restore that intimacy with God. And a special focus of my work is to open up that secret blessing or prayer which contains the nuclear power of the heart and which reinvigorates and transforms people’s spiritual life.
I teach a new kind of prayer that is not a speaking to an image or idea of God. Instead it is alive to the mystery of the infinite depth of this present moment. It is speaking with an open heart to that Source of Grace in a way that expresses our actual authentic relationship to that One, through gratitude, through communion, through a request for the blessings of clarity and courage that allow us to grow more
Omtimes: Your website lists you as an “Author, teacher, (R)evolutionary.” What is the significance of the parentheses around the “R” in Revolutionary?
Terry: I consider myself an evolutionary- but also, a revolutionary. Violent overthrow of government is not at all something I advocate or want to be associated with.
But to awaken to the nature of this moment is to recognize that revolutionary, that is, rapid evolutionary change, is absolutely necessary. And my work is dedicated to helping to catalyze that change, in part with the heart, but on as wide a scale as possible.
