som e thoughts

[Michael Hanley]

I have enjoyed the discussion recently concerning Communion, the existence of
God, etc.
I have noticed that the last two books I have read have been attempts by
authors to deal with issues related to these subjects. Perhaps a some of you
may be drawn to these resources.
The first was "Why Religion Matters" by Huston Smith and the second, "Reading
the Bible Again for the First Time" by Marcus Borg. Smith is struggling with
finding a place for the world of the spirit in a scientific worldview and
Borg is trying to find a method of reading Scripture which is both modern and
respectful of the faith communities who wrote the works.
I am going to be traveling the camino in a couple of weeks and I was
reminded, by those of you who have spoken of the rain you experienced, of an
experience I had years ago in the boundary waters canoe area of Minnesota. We
had been traveling all day through the rain. We were soaked, tried and
generally miserable. As we sat on a log and rested I began to experience a
most amazing feeling of well-being and joy. It was as if I was connected to
everything and everything connected to me. I was the ground, the rain and
myself all at the same time. Perhaps that kind of experience can happen
again. I would certainly welcome it if it happened.
Thanks for listening.

Michael+