The Holy Longing

by Zweig, Connie

• ISBN13: 9781585422043
• ISBN10: 1585422045
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-02-10
• Publisher: Tarcher

Summary

What is the urge that drives people to search for God, to join religious movements, or to undertake a spiritual practice? In her counseling work with clients from every religious denomination, Connie Zweig found that this universal yearning-a secret feeling with many disguises-often lies hidden at the source of our life stories. The obscure object of desire calls us to follow it, and we respond, even unknowingly. We pursue a romantic union, imagining that it will finally meet our deepest needs. Or we long for the light of God and undertake a demanding religious practice or discipleship, hoping that it will quench our thirst. But sometimes our religious yearning goes awry. We may attribute it to an authoritarian personality who abuses us, leaving us feeling shocked and betrayed. Or we may direct our holy longing to another world, devaluing the pleasures of human life. Or worse, like cult members or fundamentalists, we may mistake death for transcendence and sacrifice our lives for paradise. If you feel a gnawing yearning beneath your other yearnings no matter how many desires you satisfy; if you feel disillusioned with traditional religions but seek spiritual values and practices elsewhere; if you or a friend or family member suffer from religious abuse but long to rekindle the flame of faith, then this book can guide you from spiritual innocence through loss to spiritual maturity.

Author Biography

Connie Zweig, Ph.D., is a Jungian-oriented counselor and non-denominational minister in Los Angeles. She is the coauthor of the bestselling Meeting the Shadow and Romancing the Shadow. She has taught nationwide about human spirituality, religious abuse and disillusionment, and shadow-work.

Table of Contents

Prologue: My Longing for the Light: A Meditation on Up	1	(16)
PART I BEFORE THE FALL A Guide for Faithful Believers	17	(108)
The Holy Longing	19	(26)
Awakening to Holy Longing	26	(5)
God Longs for Us a We Long for God	31	(5)
The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Sufi Poet Rumi	36	(9)
Longing for God: The Hidden Object of Desire	45	(24)
The Changing God-Image: Involution or Down	48	(10)
The Changing God-Image: Evolution or Up	58	(5)
The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Hindu Master Ramakrishna	63	(6)
Longing for the Human Beloved: The Search for Romantic Union	69	(22)
Beloved as Parent: The Psychology of Love	74	(5)
Beloved as God: The Archetypes of Love	79	(5)
The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Sufi Lovers Majnun and Layla	84	(7)
Longing for the Divine Human: The Search for Spiritual Communion	91	(34)
Priest or Teacher as Parent: The Psychology of Spirituality	94	(11)
Priest or Teacher as God: The Archetypes of Spirituality	105	(10)
Priest or Teacher as Divine Human: The Teacher-Student Relationship	115	(2)
The Inner Marriage: A Story of Holy Longing in the Christian Saint Catherine of Siena	117	(8)
PART II AFTER THE FALL A Guide for Disillusioned Believers	125	(100)
Meeting Spiritual Shadow: Darkness on the Path	127	(56)
Encountering the Spiritual Other: The Breakdown of Communion	132	(17)
The Consequences of Spiritual Abuse	149	(5)
Uncovering Patterns of Abuse	154	(10)
Who Is Susceptible to Spiritual Abuse?	164	(6)
Meeting the Shadow of Addiction	170	(3)
Death and Transcendence	173	(10)
Midlogue: My Longing for the Dark: A Meditation on Down	177	(6)
Rekindling the Flame: Shadow-Work for Spiritual Abuse and Disillusionment	183	(42)
Communal Shadow-Work	185	(7)
Separating from a Teacher and Imago Dei	192	(3)
Reclaiming the Light	195	(2)
Reclaiming Independent Thinking	197	(4)
Reclaiming Authentic Feeling	201	(2)
Reclaiming the Body	203	(3)
Reclaiming Action on Our Own Behalf	206	(3)
Reclaiming Images of the Divine	209	(12)
Finding Our Spiritual Myths	221	(4)
Epilogue: Creativity as Practice	225	(6)
Index	231