[12/1996] What phrases best describe the approach to spirituality and ethics I am following? ‘Non-religious’ is in many ways still the most useful description, though this word tends to highlight only one dimension. Other possibilities include -- (1) ‘secular’, (2) ‘tested’, (3) the ‘night’ metaphor, (4) the ‘fog’ metaphor, (5) the ‘wilderness’ metaphor, (7) some use of ‘integrity’. A common concern with any description is the tendency to imply judgment on other approaches.
[Note: Some might use ‘night’, ‘fog’, ‘wilderness’ as metaphors when the referenced experience is slight/transient rather than intense/enduring. Walking through woods or rough terrain on a night with moonlight is quite different from doing so on a night without moonlight. Driving in fog can be patchy and a nuisance or dense and treacherous. A wilderness experience can be a day trip or long/far enough from routines to radically change one’s life. I only use these metaphors in reference to intense/enduring experience ‘with the world face to face’.]
[Note: Some might use ‘night’, ‘fog’, ‘wilderness’ as metaphors when the referenced experience is slight/transient rather than intense/enduring. Walking through woods or rough terrain on a night with moonlight is quite different from doing so on a night without moonlight. Driving in fog can be patchy and a nuisance or dense and treacherous. A wilderness experience can be a day trip or long/far enough from routines to radically change one’s life. I only use these metaphors in reference to intense/enduring experience ‘with the world face to face’.]
