Right Brain Faith, Left Brain Religion

The ordinary worldlings are easily perturbable or easily agitated because they utilize the function of the left brain and neglect the usage of the right brain. The left brain is noisy and spiritually ignorant; the right brain is appeased, or nirvanic. and is insightfully wise. A sage or saint is a gnostic or 'discerning one' because he or she is adept at utilizing the right brain functioning to unlock the gate to the world of spiritual or mystical wisdom. Spiritual or mystical wisdom rectifies the human mind, improves, enhances and even perfects human character formation. This is the pragmatic value of spiritualism or mysticism regulating fallible mundane life.

Wong Weng, Buddhist monk.

I've been contemplating the premise that the truth of the bible and the Christian experience does not live in the left brained, theologically outlined and unassailable, cross-referenced texts and scriptural references, proven and substantiated in support of the doctrines of men. Faith and the spiritual experience isn't intellectual, or 'left brained' at all, and when it tries to constrain it that way, it fails. It may even be that the experience of God is only fully grasped as an expression of the more deeply felt, and then shared, 'right brain' experience. In the former, mere religion is expressed. I would add that the hierarchy of regional, national, or international church denominations are the exact WRONG expression of faith and spirituality that comes out of the 'left brain' experience. So, it is much more than mere thought, but the function of both sides of the brain, the left being fully integrated with the right-brained, wholistic, kinetic, visual, abstract, metaphorical, imaged, and natural experience in order to be complete.

Not ignoring spirit and soul, or heart, but to simplify the distinction, isn't it perhaps there, in the right brain experience, that our deepest agreement in the expression of the Spirit of God within us is felt, where our experience is unencumbered by intellectual interference? It may be that this is where, in worship, prayer, communion, in relationship, that we experience it not just as thinkers, but as right brained and expressive humans first (ONE thing we all have completely in common), then as integrated right/left brained individuals, and finally, in fellowship, as groups, and as the body of Christ, more powerfully related because of the deeper, shared experience and understanding. Ignore, or emphasize one side of the brain or one of the steps too much, and you get chaos.....or denominations....or whatever.

Take the word water as an example of how this might work, both in experience, and in the scriptures. Left brained: H2O, Hydrogen and Oxygen in liquid form, a solvent, necessary to sustain life on earth. Doesn't quite capture the human experience of water, does it? Certainly not the deep "mystical" experience of the indwelling Spirit. In the bible though, how many times and ways is the word used, and how many ways is it interpreted, used as an analogy to point to deeper truth, in parables and in simple statements? A LOT, right? As humans, we may agree on the scientific explanation of water, but we all have the same experience, even a pre-conscious experience of water. It is, after all, other than dust, what we're made of. That may be why it is so often used, and so effective and exemplary in our faith.

We all share it, it's universal to humans. Our experience of it is identical, in our feelings about it, our enjoyment of it, our fear of it, on and on in our imaginations and in our images, even if our verbal descriptions of it differ. When it's used in metaphor, even in different contexts, we all bring our basic human, and common experience of it, (refreshing, renewing, relieving, maybe even dangerous, etc.) to the metaphor or analogy and we understand the reference on a much deeper level than purely analytical, but in a primal, and natural way. Our deep knowing of water, and of other shared images and "feelings" in humanness, say much more to us in non-verbal form than just the words we read and say. While it's perhaps not as easily shared, it is much more universal as an experience. Just try describe the moment a person dives into cool water from a hot arid beach to someone who's never experienced it. Some may find ways to do it, but nothing they say could be more effective to communicate it than just diving in.

Maybe that's why it makes such a powerful metaphor in the bible, and why it figures so prominently in our rituals and references. So much of what Christians experience is actually in common in spite of apparent differences in form. It seems to me that there is so much in the experience of it that is common on a right brained, image and feeling basis, that the left brained explanations, the words are almost not necessary, and in fact, are where the most complicated of traps lie.

So, how would all that manifest itself? It would be too easy to just call that normal fellowship and say...."oh well, it's obvious, you just need to put your butt in a pew and be in fellowship." I think it goes well beyond a church community, a body of believers, or even a "movement", to the truest expression of the body of Christ. I think that in a powerful way, it goes to our authentic and integrated expression of the Kingdom of God.

Suffice to say, I've got lots more on this to think and pray about, myself. Just ignore the crazy person........


God Bless and Keep You,

James