Types of Christian Spirituality...
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play...
Comments
When I realised that my younger son was closing in on puberty, I felt much as you do when you are getting to the end of your dessert, and you start taking smaller and smaller spoonsful to make it last longer. I found myself metaphorically doing that with the last of my "little boy". I'm so glad I did, because in his teen years, he has become most truculent and unaffectionate.