Dillon Ekle Lesson 2

[Dillon Ekle]

This has been a difficult question for me to think about because, at the moment, I am pretty calm about life. That makes it difficult to remember when I’ve been emotionally provoked, even if it may have been earlier today! Emotionally, in general, I tend to burn hot and quick, and not just with anger or “negative” emotions. If something makes me happy, I am intensely happy for a few minutes, and then even moments later it is difficult to recall the feeling or its catalyst. This leads to people telling me I am a poised, composed, and level-headed person, which is true most of the time.

However, some thoughts I had when considering this question included:

I am glad/happy when I get to spend meaningful, one-on-one time with a friend. There is a deep joy that surfaces when I have the chance to both speak and listen to a friend alone, even if it is nothing particularly deep or personal.

I am angry when people accuse other Christians of “ignoring the Bible” or similar, when those other Christians have well-reasoned biblical interpretations. As a more general statement, I am angry when people make accusations without ever seriously listening to their targets’ point of view; however, it particularly riles me when people use the Bible to back an agenda and then claim that others are acting out of sinfulness or ignorance if they disagree with the agenda, and no attempt is made to understand why the disagreement exists. I have been dealing with this over the last couple of weeks, so it is in relatively sharp relief in my mind.

[Danny]

Dillon, I really appreciate your desire to do the hard work asked of this study. That work involves deep introspection of self. Many of us desire to “live” through the lens of the false self, that person who we want others to see us to be. We create the false self throughout our lives as a means of coping with the fears of mistrust. However, if we look deep into ourselves, particularly our emotions, we begin to discover those things that provoke our emotions. Often we express emotions when our deep seated values are challenged or threatened. If we can discern how our physical bodies respond to our emotional self, we begin to see how we are created as triune beings in the image of a triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We begin to recognize our true self who is the beauty of God’s creation. We claim the true identity of God’s Beloved.

In Him,
Abbot Dan

[Danny]

Dillon, I really appreciate your desire to do the hard work asked of this study. That work involves deep introspection of self. Many of us desire to “live” through the lens of the false self, that person who we want others to see us to be. We create the false self throughout our lives as a means of coping with the fears of mistrust. However, if we look deep into ourselves, particularly our emotions, we begin to discover those things that provoke our emotions. Often we express emotions when our deep seated values are challenged or threatened. If we can discern how our physical bodies respond to our emotional self, we begin to see how we are created as triune beings in the image of a triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We begin to recognize our true self who is the beauty of God’s creation. We claim the true identity of God’s Beloved.

In Him,
Abbot Dan

[carol newbern]

Good Morning Dillon,

At this moment, I too am in a calm spot in my life. Reading about the Dark Night of the Soul now, didn’t resonate as well as if I were in a crisis or depression. I certainly don’t want to stir up anything:0

The friendship/relationship piece is a good reminder to me to make the time…no agenda…to find the joy in relationship with others.

Thanks, carol

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