Transcend and Include

This morning's CAC webcast, "Falling Upward: Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life" felt like a continuation of Wednesday's discussion on Ken Wilber, identity, and levels of consciousness; it was as if someone asked Richard Rohr to comment and expand on our BS. Since many of you weren't there, I'll try to briefly summarize (although mr. schlitz would be a more appropriate person for the task since he has read the book). But anyway, here it goes:

In the first half of life we build our "containers" by establishing our identities and figuring out what we are good at. We construct our own identities by defining who we are not; "who am I?" always implies the question, "who am I not?" In doing so we align ourselves with groups that we come to think of as the best. This stage of life is egocentric and is characterized by dualistic thinking and a desire to understand the rules. Going through this first half of life is necessary. A higher level of consciousness marks the second half of life, it is less egocentric and more worldcentric. In order to move into the second half of life we have to fall, which often involves suffering. We have to challenge and break the rules we have learned. You will not wake up one day and discover you have arrived in the second half of life, rather it is a journey, with steps forward as well as backward along the way.

All of this meshes well with the question posed in the last post (in different words): once we criticize and want to distance ourselves from the groups we are part of, what happens to our identity? I would like to return my membership to certain groups because of the unearned privileges that membership has given me, but this isn't possible. My position in this world was predetermined, I was born white and middle class and I will always reap benefits from these groups and I feel guilty about it. Albert Memmi, who wrote The Colonizer and the Colonized, says that this guilt is inevitable once you become conscious of your privilege in the world. While guilt is a necessary part of the transformation, it is also necessary to move beyond guilt. It seems to me that this is a between the two halves dilemma. Once we move beyond guilt, (not by justifying our privilege, but by giving it up as best we can) we've entered a more worldcentric stage. But, as Rohr (and Paulo Freire) state very clearly, the process is going to be a little painful. Damn. I'm rambling. And I think I got off topic.

A link to the webcast if you're interested (it will be available for your viewing pleasure on Wednesday):
(http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/programs/webcasts/2011webcasts/fallingupward)