Paul Smith, author of Integral Christianity and Is Your God Big Enough? Close Enough? You Enough? talks with Clint about the dimensions of the Christian contemplative path, as understood and aided by an Integral perspective of state-stages and points of view. Rev Paul has contributed valuable insight that is essential for the future of Christian mysticism, incorporating much of the work of Ken Wilber, along with his own experiences of higher states of consciousness, to demonstrate that, yes, the Christian tradition has always allowed room for what Integral theory calls the causal, witnessing, and non-dual states. Some key take-aways for us were:-Often spiritual seekers who have pursued meditation into higher states in a tradition other than their own will experience stress until they make peace with the tradition in which they were raised. This is especially important for Westerners born and raised Christian who since abandoned Christianity for another path, yet continue to experience an unresolved anxiety.-Biblical references to "Spirit" translate best to what we would call "consciousness," allowing this usage of the word to account for what Buddhists might call "Emptiness" or "Oneness," and other traditions might call something else. There is no reason to think that you HAVE to stop following Christian tradition once you experience higher states.-Often people who practice centering prayer and contemplative spirituality have stopped praying altogether. Rev Paul has some great insights about approaching God in the first person (as God), second person (to God), and third person (about God).For more on what we do at Contemplative Light, check out contemplativelight.com

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