TOPIC OF INQUIRY
PRIMARY INTENTIONS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
RESEARCH METHOD
PARTICIPATION
CONFIDENTIALITY
COPYRIGHT POLICY
Topic
of Inquiry
The
aim of this research is the exploration of the
experience of seeking, receiving, and following
divine guidance. The term "divine"
refers to an Ultimate Reality that is believed to
be a sacred source of wisdom and understanding
(Huxley, 1944; Wilber, 1981; Wilson, 1991).
"This Reality is both knowable and
mysterious, transcendent and immanent, unchanging
and passionate. He or she may be encountered as a
personal, loving God, as impersonal Being, or as
Truth, which is neither being nor non-being. It is
a Unity, yet has many manifestations"
(Wilson, 1991, p. 45).
The
world’s religious and spiritual traditions
perceive this divine Ultimate Reality in various
ways: There is the pantheon of spiritual forces
and beings of the Shinto, Taoist, and Shamanic
traditions; the one Divine Being and its host of
divine agents and agencies of Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam; the impersonal
transcendent being or source known as the Tao in
Taoism, Brahman in Hinduism, and Tathata in
Buddhism; or an imminent presence, quality or
force variously referred to as the Atman in
Hinduism, the Buddha Mind in Buddhism, the
Indwelling Spirit in Christianity, and the
Shekhinah in Judaism (Labowitz, 1996; Smith, 1991;
Wilson, 1991).
This
Ultimate Reality has also been depicted outside
the traditional systems of spirituality and
religion as a non-denominational Higher Power like
that of the 12 Step programs (Alcoholics
Anonymous, 1976). It has also been viewed as a
higher, deeper, and/or transpersonal part of
ourselves (Assagioli, 1976; Wilber, 2000). The
metaphors of higher and deeper "…are
useful, because they…emphasize different aspects
of a consciousness that is greater than any
conceptualizations" (Wilber, 2000, p. 110).
"The word transpersonal has its etymological
roots in two Latin words: trans, meaning beyond or
through, and personal, meaning mask or façade, in
other words, beyond or through the personally
identified aspects of self" (Braud &
Anderson, 1998, p. xxi) or our limited ego self,
and toward a more expansive, higher, deeper,
and/or greater transpersonal Self. This
transpersonal Self has been theorized as being the
ultimate source of our wisdom, a channel for an
even higher source, and/or a simultaneous unitive
reality of Self and the Divine (Assagioli, 1976;
Jung, 1969a; Wilber, 2000).
This
divine Ultimate Reality, in all its perceived
forms, is considered to be a source of
inspiration, wisdom, guidance, and truth. Most of
the world’s religious and spiritual traditions
attribute many of their teachings to have come
from a divine source and have created rituals and
practices to enable one to connect with this
Reality. Many mystics, saints, artists,
philosophers, politicians, warriors, and
scientists throughout human history have claimed
to have received guidance from a divine source (Alschuler,
1987, 1993; Hastings, 1991; Hymer, 1990; Jung,
1961; Van Dusen, 1974). The central topic of this
inquiry is this human endeavor to seek a
connection to this divine source and follow and be
in harmony with its essence.
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Primary
Intention and
Research
Questions
The
primary intention of this study is to explore and
map the territory of this experience of divine
encounter and guidance. Since it is widely
accepted that the only way to know the Divine is
through direct experience (Huxley, 1944; Van Dusen,
1996; Walsh, 1999), the central focus of this
inquiry is on the "experience" of divine
guidance. This experience is viewed as having
three core components or processes: The experience
of seeking; the experience of receiving; and the
experience of following.
This
tripartite nature of the experience of divine
guidance is the same pattern of experience
inherent in the mythic journey, rituals of
initiation, the creative process, and the sacred
stories of the world’s spiritual traditions; it
can be found "in the vast, almost oceanic
images of the Orient, in the vigorous narratives
of the Greeks, [and] in the majestic legends of
the Bible" (Campbell, 1949, p. 35). One
separates from the world and seeks the divine
other; then receives the gift of inspiration,
revelation, transformation, and/or initiation; and
then finally returns to the world to make manifest
what has been received (Campbell, 1949; Hymer,
1990).
The
primary research question addressed by this
inquiry is: What are some of the qualities,
patterns, and developmental stages experienced by
an individual as he or she attempts to seek,
receive, and follow divine guidance? Secondary
questions include explorations into the
relationship between divine guidance and methods
of preparation, modes of communication, means of
discernment, issues of surrender and faith, the
manifestation of inspired intention and action,
and the fruits of the experience.
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Research
Methods
The research methods
being employed in this
study includes a process of researcher heuristic and spiritual self-inquiry in
which I, the researcher, explore the topic through daily practice,
spiritual autobiography, and immersion in the literature. Additionally, nine (9) long-term spiritual practitioners from various
psycho-spiritual traditions were interviewed for this study.
This web site is an online extension of this inquiry, as
I share my own experiences and reach out to receive the
experiences of others. The process I am employing in this
online extension of the research is a combination of the
medium of digital storytelling with the organic research
method.
Digital storytelling is the
emerging art form that blends the new digital medium with
the ancient art of storytelling. In this digital
storytelling process we share our stories around the
digital campfire, inspiring others with our stories, and
being inspired by the stories of others. Using the
organic research method, selected stories will be honored
as a sacred gift and will be presented in their original
form, using the person's own words.
The data gathered from this website, the
interviews with spiritual practitioners, the literature, and my
self-inquiry will be analyzed for universal, particular, and
contextual patterns of experience.
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Participation
You are invited to
participate in this study by submitting personal stories
of your own experiences of seeking, receiving, and
following Divine guidance. I recommend exploring this
site and reading some of the stories of others before
submitting your own story. Once you have a sense of the
experience we are exploring, you can go to the Submit A
Personal Account page and follow the
instructions.
It is expected that
participation in this study will give you the benefits of
personal self-reflection as you search for and explore
your experiences of Divine guidance in your life. These
benefits may include the experiencing of an expanded
awareness and/or understanding of the influence of spirit
within you and around you. You may discover a greater
appreciation for the people and experiences in your daily
life. Additionally, it is my hope that the offering of
our stories will afford us the opportunity to receive the
gifts that come from the sharing of experiences and ideas
related to our seeking, receiving, and following Divine
guidance.
If you decide to
participate in this research, you may withdraw your
consent and discontinue your participation at any time
during its conduct and for any reason without prejudice. Selected stories will be
posted on this web site for others to share and will be
included in the final presentation of this research
project.
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Confidentiality
If you decide to
participate in this study all information received from
you will be kept confidential as to source. Your identity
will be protected by the use of information coding and
fictitious names. All references to your identity will be
kept in a secure location, accessible only to me, the
researcher. In the reporting of information in published
material, any information that might identify you would
be altered to ensure your anonymity.
You may select to
have your material published with your real name by
stating this intention with your submission.
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Copyright
Policy
Participation in this study automatically
gives the researcher the rights to publish your submitted
materials in both the online and printed presentation of
this research study. You retain the rights to use your
personal stories in your own writings.
Readers are asked to honor these
sacred stories of Divine guidance, and not copy these
materials for monetary or commercial purposes.
All documents posted on this site
are fully copyrighted by the researcher, Mark Allan
Kaplan. All stories on this site remain the property of the authors.
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