"God is the Seeker"

Two of the books I got at Loome's the other day are fantastic. I'm working on The Inner Eye of Love by William Johnston, and Search for the Meaning of Life: Essays and Reflections on the Mystical Experience by Willigis Jager. Both books are written by Catholics (monks and/or priests) and delve into mysticism and esotericism; but there is also a great openness to the wisdom from the Eastern spiritual traditions like Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Jager's book even appears to mix in ideas I've seen from the works of Fritjof Capra - the intersection of quantum physics with mysticism, or the idea that science doesn't have to be anathema to spirituality. I highly recommend these books, and I've only read the first chapter of each!

Here's some food for thought from Jager's book:

The quest for the meaning of life, the search for our true essence, or - as we Christians usually say - for God, is part of the basic principle of evolution. Actually it isn't a search at all. Rather the Divine is unfolding in us and through us. The Divine comes to consciousness in us. We think that as human beings we are on a quest for God. But we're not the ones searching for the Ultimate Reality. Rather it is the Ultimate Reality that causes the dissatisfied yearning and the search in us. God is the seeker. God awakens in us. We ourselves can't do anything; we can only let go so the Divine can unfold itself. We can only "get out of God's way," as Eckhart says. The essential nature reveals itself if only we don't prevent it. And if there is a redemption, then we are redeemed from being possessed by our ego so that our real selves can spread their wings.

Wow. "God is the seeker" and redemption from our own ego (rather than from our sins/mistakes) - these are really new ideas to me! That blew me away! I will keep reading and let you know what I'm thinking about. This is cool.