Traditionally, Quakers and Protestants have not talked about formation. I learned that this language is used to describe the process of training Catholic priests and religious---like monks and nuns. A couple assumptions are behind the idea of soul formation. In the first place, it is assumed that humans have a soul. Or, as I like to put it, humans are souls. Secondly, it is assumed souls can be formed. I like the image of formation. It is easy to think of a potter who throws some clay on the wheel and with deft hands begins to form some object---like a cup or pot. The analogy works well when I think about souls being formed.
As Quakers and non-Catholics became more versed in spirituality, clearly some of the language from Catholicism crept into our language. I know in my own case, much of my graduate education came within a liturgical context, i.e. a course taken at a Jesuit institution, or at least my classroom had a significant number of Catholic students. And quite a few times, the professor was Catholic. Looking back, it is easy now to see that not only was my mind being formed; my soul was also being formed.
Soul formation happens through books and other reading material. But soul formation also happens through conversations and other experiences. I did not realize it at the time, but now I can appreciate how significantly my friendships with people different than I am had such a formative effect on my life. Truly I would not be who I am today without the interaction with those folks. It is something I strive to do even in this day.
I seek out folks who are different than I am. I like to be with people who think differently that I think. I want to be with folks who know different things. As long as I hang with people like I am, I learn nothing. If I hang out only with people in my academic discipline, I tend not to grow. Hanging out with folks just like we are inhibits innovation and creativity.
It is not unusual to hear the phrase, “stretching the mind.” I wonder why we should not also use the phrase, “stretching the soul.” Maybe to understand this, we need a definition of soul. Soul is a word that many folks use, but if you ask them what they mean by the word, silence might be the answer! I like the definition that the late writer on spirituality, Gerald May, offers. May says the soul is the “essence of who we are.” It was from him, among others, that I have learned to say that I am a soul.
When we understand it this way, it is easy to understand why the soul inevitably will be formed. It makes perfect sense to talk about human formation. We all know that babies go through a formative process. They are born weighing something like seven pounds, cannot talk and can’t walk. Within a year, all of that has changed. At the end of just one year, the baby may have doubled in weight, has begun to walk like a drunk and jabbers with some sounds that resemble real words. The magic is happening.
So, I wonder, if it is not the same thing with soul formation. It is not as visible as the physical and mental formation we watch in the lives of babies. But it is just as profound. Let’s chart some of the obvious makers of soul formation. Let’s look at three in particular: humility, love and service.
A key characteristic of soul formation is the transformation of the human from an egocentric, self-centered individual into a humble person who habitually thinks of others. We never think of a selfish person as a spiritual person. Somehow spiritual formation asks us to get out of ourselves. The process is one of humbling---not to be confused with humiliation. St Benedict in his Rule has twelve degrees of humility. To become spiritual is to become humble. We need to be formed to grow in this fashion.
The second marker of soul formation is love. We all have read books on love. Suffice it here to say that authentically soulful people are folks capable of love and looking for ways and people to love. Again love is other-centered. Selfish love is not really spiritual love. And there are levels of love. Jesus pointed to the highest level of love, called agape. He was able to love sacrificially. Followers of Jesus are called to the same standard. Buddhists are called to compas
sion. And so for all spiritual traditions.
The third maker of soul formation is service. I know there is some debate among scientists whether babies are inherently altruistic. I don’t know, but most young ones I observe are pretty selfish. Words like “me” and “mine” govern their actions. It is not unusual to watch a young one rip a toy she wants out of the hand of a friend. I think service is learned. And when our souls are being formed, servants are simultaneously being formed. Again I can think of the last supper, as John’s gospel recounts it. Jesus models service when he washes the disciples’ feet. Then, he asks them to do likewise.
When I look at my own life, I realize I am still in formation. I know something about humility, love and service, but I am not a finished product. There is some growing yet to do. I am a work in progress. You probably are, too.
Soul formation is real and it is a lifelong process.
As Quakers and non-Catholics became more versed in spirituality, clearly some of the language from Catholicism crept into our language. I know in my own case, much of my graduate education came within a liturgical context, i.e. a course taken at a Jesuit institution, or at least my classroom had a significant number of Catholic students. And quite a few times, the professor was Catholic. Looking back, it is easy now to see that not only was my mind being formed; my soul was also being formed.
Soul formation happens through books and other reading material. But soul formation also happens through conversations and other experiences. I did not realize it at the time, but now I can appreciate how significantly my friendships with people different than I am had such a formative effect on my life. Truly I would not be who I am today without the interaction with those folks. It is something I strive to do even in this day.
I seek out folks who are different than I am. I like to be with people who think differently that I think. I want to be with folks who know different things. As long as I hang with people like I am, I learn nothing. If I hang out only with people in my academic discipline, I tend not to grow. Hanging out with folks just like we are inhibits innovation and creativity.
It is not unusual to hear the phrase, “stretching the mind.” I wonder why we should not also use the phrase, “stretching the soul.” Maybe to understand this, we need a definition of soul. Soul is a word that many folks use, but if you ask them what they mean by the word, silence might be the answer! I like the definition that the late writer on spirituality, Gerald May, offers. May says the soul is the “essence of who we are.” It was from him, among others, that I have learned to say that I am a soul.
When we understand it this way, it is easy to understand why the soul inevitably will be formed. It makes perfect sense to talk about human formation. We all know that babies go through a formative process. They are born weighing something like seven pounds, cannot talk and can’t walk. Within a year, all of that has changed. At the end of just one year, the baby may have doubled in weight, has begun to walk like a drunk and jabbers with some sounds that resemble real words. The magic is happening.
So, I wonder, if it is not the same thing with soul formation. It is not as visible as the physical and mental formation we watch in the lives of babies. But it is just as profound. Let’s chart some of the obvious makers of soul formation. Let’s look at three in particular: humility, love and service.
A key characteristic of soul formation is the transformation of the human from an egocentric, self-centered individual into a humble person who habitually thinks of others. We never think of a selfish person as a spiritual person. Somehow spiritual formation asks us to get out of ourselves. The process is one of humbling---not to be confused with humiliation. St Benedict in his Rule has twelve degrees of humility. To become spiritual is to become humble. We need to be formed to grow in this fashion.
The second marker of soul formation is love. We all have read books on love. Suffice it here to say that authentically soulful people are folks capable of love and looking for ways and people to love. Again love is other-centered. Selfish love is not really spiritual love. And there are levels of love. Jesus pointed to the highest level of love, called agape. He was able to love sacrificially. Followers of Jesus are called to the same standard. Buddhists are called to compas
sion. And so for all spiritual traditions.
The third maker of soul formation is service. I know there is some debate among scientists whether babies are inherently altruistic. I don’t know, but most young ones I observe are pretty selfish. Words like “me” and “mine” govern their actions. It is not unusual to watch a young one rip a toy she wants out of the hand of a friend. I think service is learned. And when our souls are being formed, servants are simultaneously being formed. Again I can think of the last supper, as John’s gospel recounts it. Jesus models service when he washes the disciples’ feet. Then, he asks them to do likewise.
When I look at my own life, I realize I am still in formation. I know something about humility, love and service, but I am not a finished product. There is some growing yet to do. I am a work in progress. You probably are, too.
Soul formation is real and it is a lifelong process.
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