Open yourself to spiritual mystery through images

Read Thomas Moore's column "The Spiritual Imagination" in the March-April 2017 issue of Spirituality & Health magazine. He states:

"Here is how I see the imagination playing a central role in the spiritual life. Human beings have a natural pull deep into actual life with all its complexity and challenges. It’s wonderful — I call it soul. But we also have an instinct to explore and taste the mystery of it all and the highest, most ideal and sublime values. That is the spirit. But that mystery can’t be defined or placed in a test tube. We approach it through images that bring us close and give us good hints about the elusive element we’re searching for. The imagination — all those stories and parables and rituals — serves the spirit and gives image to the unnameable. To worship the image or confuse it with facts is to miss the very point of spiritual expression."

Moore recommends, "There is a great deal to learn about the imagination, and the best way to begin might be to read one of the sacred stories, as story, and open yourself to the mysterious state of mind in which the story places you. Steep in it, live with it, talk about it, make it one of your own."