It is not unusual in theology classes to talk about self-transcendence or, for that matter, God’s transcendence. If we are talking about God, transcendence typically describes as the belief that somehow God is above or beyond our world. Of course, these ideas of “above” or “beyond” are indeed descriptive. They might be metaphorical or poetic ways of saying that God is “more” than the world. These days I prefer the language of universe to world. In my mind universe encompasses a bigger cosmology. We know there are many universes in our galaxy and the many other galaxies.
When we use the language of transcending ourselves, it is similar to God. Self-transcendence is a good way to talk about being more than self-absorbed or operating purely out of self-interest. I would be kidding myself if I deny that some element of self-interest is in play in much of my life. And I believe it is the same with most people, if not all. Self-interest does not necessarily mean a bad thing. But we have to be really careful.
I think self-interest is healthy when it directs us to a good end. And self-interest is healthy when it does not come at the expense of someone else, some community or our world. Right now a good example of the latter is our use of natural resources and our reticence to acknowledge and do something about climate change, etc. In this case self-interest probably is doing some damage----if not to us directly, at least to our children.
In this case transcendence is what we would choose to trump our self-interest where our self-interest is causing some harm. Transcendence means we are willing to give up something we may want in the moment because of the destructive probability of our self-interest being destructive. We can get at our self-interest by examining the things we want. Or more tellingly, we can get at our self-interest by monitoring what we do routinely and asking if our routine causes any harm to others, other communities or our world. To get at our self-interest requires a commitment to honesty.
I am very aware of how often and easy it is to rationalize our behavior. Our rationalizations are typically our “cover-up” to make what we are doing seem acceptable or, at least, within the range of acceptability. Our rationalizations are normally our way of arguing for the status quo---meaning we don’t intend to change and not changing is ok. Our mind is incredibly creative when it comes to rationalizations! And if we belong to a group which is also rationalizing, that has amazing power. It is one thing for me to feel ok about something. It is another thing to be part of a group that feels ok. Nothing short of a crisis is likely to bring change in this situation.
Extending ourselves is related to transcendence. To extend ourselves is like transcendence in that it takes us away from ourselves. Extending literally means putting ourselves in “tension” with something out there. Extending ourselves usually is not about self-interest, which is more about “intending,” i.e. intending to get what I want.
In this reflection I want to argue that extending ourselves can be a good thing. And the way I want to talk about it extending myself means intending something good for another person, the community and/or our world. Extending ourselves intends good for the other. It is a virtue in that sense. As I think about it, two great ways of extending ourselves are in love and in service. Let’s look quickly at each of these.
Unless it is narcissistic love, love is an extension of ourselves. For the Greeks there are three other kinds of love, besides narcissistic love. There is eros, which usually has to do with passion---sex being only one manifestation of passion. There is philos, normally associated with things like brotherly love and friendship. And there is agape love, which is the self-sacrificial love we see in Jesus and beings like him. All of us are capable of all three kinds of love. And by loving in these three ways, we extend ourselves to another in good and creative ways. And we can love our world---our environment---in this fashion, too. I like the way Gerald May puts it in his book, Will and Spirit. “Love is the will to extend oneself to further another’s spiritual growth” (129)
Service is the other way we can extend ourselves. While I recognize service can be done for selfish reasons, from wanting to look good to feel good, authentic service is done solely for the good of the other, for our community and/or for our world. It is done for the interest of the other, not my own self-interest.
I would go so far as to say love and service are at their core spiritual. The both mimic how God is at work in our lives and our world. The good news is love and service can be taught and encouraged. In fact, if we don’t teach and encourage, we are in trouble. They are the antidotes to self-interest. And self-interest is the doorway to selfishness. And if we are all operating from that perspective, this is a sad state of affairs that will soon get even worse.
Extending ourselves is a good idea. But it is an even better action.
When we use the language of transcending ourselves, it is similar to God. Self-transcendence is a good way to talk about being more than self-absorbed or operating purely out of self-interest. I would be kidding myself if I deny that some element of self-interest is in play in much of my life. And I believe it is the same with most people, if not all. Self-interest does not necessarily mean a bad thing. But we have to be really careful.
I think self-interest is healthy when it directs us to a good end. And self-interest is healthy when it does not come at the expense of someone else, some community or our world. Right now a good example of the latter is our use of natural resources and our reticence to acknowledge and do something about climate change, etc. In this case self-interest probably is doing some damage----if not to us directly, at least to our children.
In this case transcendence is what we would choose to trump our self-interest where our self-interest is causing some harm. Transcendence means we are willing to give up something we may want in the moment because of the destructive probability of our self-interest being destructive. We can get at our self-interest by examining the things we want. Or more tellingly, we can get at our self-interest by monitoring what we do routinely and asking if our routine causes any harm to others, other communities or our world. To get at our self-interest requires a commitment to honesty.
I am very aware of how often and easy it is to rationalize our behavior. Our rationalizations are typically our “cover-up” to make what we are doing seem acceptable or, at least, within the range of acceptability. Our rationalizations are normally our way of arguing for the status quo---meaning we don’t intend to change and not changing is ok. Our mind is incredibly creative when it comes to rationalizations! And if we belong to a group which is also rationalizing, that has amazing power. It is one thing for me to feel ok about something. It is another thing to be part of a group that feels ok. Nothing short of a crisis is likely to bring change in this situation.
Extending ourselves is related to transcendence. To extend ourselves is like transcendence in that it takes us away from ourselves. Extending literally means putting ourselves in “tension” with something out there. Extending ourselves usually is not about self-interest, which is more about “intending,” i.e. intending to get what I want.
In this reflection I want to argue that extending ourselves can be a good thing. And the way I want to talk about it extending myself means intending something good for another person, the community and/or our world. Extending ourselves intends good for the other. It is a virtue in that sense. As I think about it, two great ways of extending ourselves are in love and in service. Let’s look quickly at each of these.
Unless it is narcissistic love, love is an extension of ourselves. For the Greeks there are three other kinds of love, besides narcissistic love. There is eros, which usually has to do with passion---sex being only one manifestation of passion. There is philos, normally associated with things like brotherly love and friendship. And there is agape love, which is the self-sacrificial love we see in Jesus and beings like him. All of us are capable of all three kinds of love. And by loving in these three ways, we extend ourselves to another in good and creative ways. And we can love our world---our environment---in this fashion, too. I like the way Gerald May puts it in his book, Will and Spirit. “Love is the will to extend oneself to further another’s spiritual growth” (129)
Service is the other way we can extend ourselves. While I recognize service can be done for selfish reasons, from wanting to look good to feel good, authentic service is done solely for the good of the other, for our community and/or for our world. It is done for the interest of the other, not my own self-interest.
I would go so far as to say love and service are at their core spiritual. The both mimic how God is at work in our lives and our world. The good news is love and service can be taught and encouraged. In fact, if we don’t teach and encourage, we are in trouble. They are the antidotes to self-interest. And self-interest is the doorway to selfishness. And if we are all operating from that perspective, this is a sad state of affairs that will soon get even worse.
Extending ourselves is a good idea. But it is an even better action.
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