Let's Start Over
The Radical Spirituality principle of Renewal
A few weeks ago, I wrote about “The Three R’s” that are the Holy Trinity of Radical Spirituality: Return, Remembrance and Reciprocity, or Self, Sacred and Other. Read it Here.
But, over the past several weeks, I’ve been thinking about a fourth ‘R:” Renewal, or the process of being born again.
I’m not using this in the sense of “Born-Again” Christian (though at it’s basis, it’s the same thing — a rebirth, becoming new again). I’m thinking of it on a much bigger - and much more intimate - scale. Renewal means the truth of each moment being an opportunity to begin again, start fresh or over, and a chance to renew our commitment to becoming better people in a world that can reinvent itself so that everyone and everything thrives.
Renewal is another fundamental principle in spirituality. If we didn’t have the opportunity for Renewal, we’d be left in spiritual despair, thinking this was all there was, and we were stuck however we are, wherever we are, with no hope. For this reason, all spiritual traditions talk about Renewal, and many religious holidays are celebrations of renewals (coming from their indigenous roots as observations of natural phenomenon). Think Christmas/Chanukah/New Years/Winter Solstice, Easter/Spring/Passover, and countless others.
I’d also like to consider this post-election period a time of potential Renewal: renewing our values, our commitments and our faith in ourselves, each other, our world.
Of course, Renewal is a process of transformation and change, which I also explored in a few previous posts. All things arise and pass, our universe works in cycles, and each moment is a new one that never existed before. Every breath we take is a Renewal. The world is constantly renewing itself moment by moment, constantly giving birth to itself over and over and over. God is always creating anew. We are always in the process of becoming renewed.
But Renewal in the personal or communal sense doesn’t just happen. It requires certain steps. Going back to my post on the “The Three R’s,” Renewal is only possible through the practices of Return, Remembrance and Reciprocity (and the Ten Words that guide us in those practices). When we reflect deeply on where we have missed the mark and how we can return to what we know is true, explore our connection to that Greater Renewal we might call Sacred, and pay attention to how we treat others (Golden Rule-ish), we have the chance to renew ourselves and the world we live in. Renewal is the action of Hope. It’s the principle of second chances, third chances, hundredth chances, ad infinitum.
In fact, Renewal might be the REASON we do these things (and other spiritual practices). After all, why put the effort in if there is no no hope of a benefit? I’m not suggesting that we do them SOLELY for a benefit, but that underneath it, we sense that by doing them, something will change or transform, hopefully for the better.
That “better” is the chance to start over, to think and be and do differently, to be renewed, restored, revived, returned to a flourishing (or original) state. In every single moment, Renewal is possible.
Deeper Roots
I’m going to do a little Comparative Religion here. Bear with me or skip ahead if you don’t like digging around in texts. Let’s look at these passages from both the Torah and New Testament. Don’t get caught up in the theology - or triggered by it; look at the meaning - how is Renewal defined and achieved?
"They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles' wings; they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint."Isaiah 40:31
"That is why we are not discouraged. Though outwardly we are wearing out, inwardly we are renewed day by day."2 Corinthians 4:16
"Regeneration, or new birth, is being transferred out of the kingdom of darkness, and transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son." Romans 12:1
In all three of these passages, Renewal is a state of flourishing, vitality, enthusiasm, hope and light through a relationship with the Sacred. Here’s how the Bible says to achieve this:
And here, A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-24
In other words, you have to change yourself and your mind, treat others with kindness and generosity, and be in connection to God. Return, Remembrance, Reciprocity, or Self, Sacred, Other as the means of Renewal.
I could go into Catholic doctrines of confession and Eucharist, or into Messianic versions, which would entail the Messiah (Jesus or otherwise) returning to earth to herald a new birth of the world in accordance with the Kingdom of Heaven. But we don’t have to deal with deep theology or wait for the Apocalypse or Rapture to be renewed. We can do it every day.
In the Jewish tradition, literal practices of renewal are built in to the schedule and include the Sabbath, Jubilee Years, and the yearly cycle of Torah readings. In the larger sense, the Torah, Talmud and Kabbalah are always talking about the renewal of the People Israel, renewal of the Covenant, and renewal of the world through Tikkun Olam, raising the sparks of Divine back to their roots through practices such as T’shuvah, T’filah, and T’zedakah (Return, Remembrance, Reciprocity)
Compare these ideas to Buddhist teachings of impermanence, reincarnation, the practice of meditation for refreshing and renewing the mind, and the constant renewal of the Dharma.
The Buddhist principle of continual co-arising means that everything is being renewed constantly. Reincarnation is the way we are literally reborn with opportunities to begin again. Meditation is the way we return to our original selves, connect to Buddha-Mind or Ultimate Reality, and our daily practices are how the Dharma or teachings are renewed in each moment.
In Theravada Buddhist thought, Renewal of life describes the ongoing rebirth and transformation of the Bodhisatta (Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism) through practice. Becoming a Bodhisatta is dynamic journey of renewal progressing toward enlightenment through multiple lifetimes, cultivating these qualities to facilitate personal growth and transformation. And what are those qualities these practices develop? Compassion, service to others, clarity of mind, and self-realization.
For Daoists, Renewal is actually a process of reversal. Daoists strive to return (Fan) to their original state of alignment with the Dao through practices such as meditation and Internal Alchemy (Neidan), which is said to create in a new spiritual embryo/self within. Once achieved, sages develop certain qualities that are associated with the Dao: humility, compassion, sincerity, effortless action, gentleness and vitality.
As it says in the Dao De Jing, verse 39:
In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.
Other Daoist ideas of Renewal are embodied in the Chiao/Jiao ritual or rite of cosmic renewal. This ritual is a cornerstone of Daoist practices and involves the community offering back to the universe or cosmos as an act of spiritual replenishment. It acts as a symbolic renewal and realigns the community with the natural order and cycles of the Dao. This is Reciprocity as a practice of Renewal.
But we don’t have to go to sacred text or ancient ritual to see how Renewal is built in to our lives. The sun rises every day, the moon waxes and wanes, our hair grows after we cut it, plants bud, bloom, die back and bloom again. Science tells us that everything is always arising and falling and arising again in cycles of life and death, creation and destruction, expansion and contraction, and even pop psychology reminds us that we always have the choice to wipe the slate clean and start over. Every day is a new day, literally and metaphorically.
At it’s root, then, Renewal is both the result and the purpose of living a spiritual life, no matter how you slice it. Our spirituality should guide us towards becoming new again, personally, communally, and in understanding of whatever we call Sacred. That’s the whole point. Through our practices of self-reflection, contemplation, and care for others, we can renew ourselves, our communities, and our world…every day. And we need Renewal more than ever right now.
How does your spiritual practice guide you to Renewal?