The Second Face of God

I was quite surprised how Terri Patten focused in his seminar on Integral Life practice on what Ken Wilber calls the Second Face of God, which is the relationship to the Absolute in an I-You perspective (versus an I-I perspective or an I-It perspective)

He worked out how it is particular a part of our western Greco-Judeo-Christian Tradition to have this second person relationship to the Absolute. This is highly connected to the fact that in the Western tradition the Individuation of us humans, the experience of us being an individual went further than in e.g. in India or China. I found it fascinating to see how this is one of the reasons why prayer plays in Christianity a much bigger role than meditation.

At the same time, in our postmodern spirituality this second person relationship, this Second Face of God is particular weak, It seems that we have “not so much troubles” to experience in meditation how “God is us”  (first person perspective) and also not how “nature is God”  a third person perspective, but me having a relationship to something higher that I have to bow down to, seems to be the ultimate provocation of us postmodern narcissists.

Terri beautifully laid out the foundation how  one can have a post-traditional, post-metaphysical  Thou relationship to this (from an individual incarnated  perspective) ultimate Other (that at the same time does not need to be separate)

He even gave us an exercise, where all of us had to pray in our own words aloud (in a small group of three) – what a challenge to do this!  To express  in public an authentic relationship to the Absolute from this Second person perspective.  It shook us all up. A lot to think about.