An On-going Story

We live in interesting times

Is there a connection between Consciousness, God and Panpsychism?
Can you relate to what I have written? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

I am now 87. I have been on a journey through Christendom that began as an adult 65 years ago in an Anglican Church in the UK (read Episcopalian in America), despite rejecting the teaching of the TRINITY that I received when I was 13 (with hindsight that is a significant story in its own right).
I walked away in the early 1970’s after having been treasurer of the local church for 5 years.
I was concerned by what I saw as a lack of ‘radical’ Christianity, combined with an inability to get answers to some of my questions. I guess I’ve gone on asking some of the awkward questions to which there are no easy answers.
I subsequently spent some 20+ years as a member of a Sabbath-keeping Christian Church before a church-split in 1995 ‘destroyed’ our own family of 14 related by marriage. 
I was ‘forced’ for the second time to reconsider just about everything I had ever been taught.
It was then that I was introduced to Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism as practised in America with its emphasis on Fear, Guilt and Shame. I had never believed in the traditional teaching of hell and I had long understood that the early chapters of Genesis were myth and symbolism (as understood by C S Lewis and J R R Tolkein).
I’ve never had any formal theological training and I’ve never had a leadership role within a church.

Here is a brief resume of My Story (from 1995 to 2019). Let’s now jump ahead to 2019.

It was in 2019 after listening to Barbara Brown Taylor talking about her new book, ‘Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others’ that I made a decision to get away from all the divisive, denominational theology that had been so much part of my life for so long.
It was shortly after this that I saw Two Posts on Facebook from a man who had spent 30+ years in and around Pentecostal and Charismatic churches in the UK but who described himself as a very active Anglican and an ‘armchair theologian’.
It was some time later that I realised that these two Posts reflected something of my journey the other way round (I’ve commented elsewhere on my blog about this).

What followed was another wilderness experience. I was then very interested in Spiral Dynamics and the Enneagram. It was in 2021 that I was introduced to thoughts around The Power of the Intuitive and the suggestion that the two greatest mysteries were:
The Origin of the Universe and The Origin of Consciousness.

It was then in April 2022 that I listened to two speakers who come from what I think of as the opposite ends of the ‘Christian’ spectrum.
I listened to a presentation entitled Christianity Expanding into Universal Spirituality by Don MacGregor who is a retired Anglican Priest who had previously been a University Chaplain and a Science Teacher.
I could relate to so much of what Don was saying, but I could never have imagined the impact that was then going to make on my thinking.

At about the same time I listened to Aaron’s ‘Easter’ Podcast. This was a heartfelt attempt by an Evangelical leader to explain why he was walking away from ‘Evangelicalism’.
I have had the privilege of sharing something of several similar stories over the last 20 years.
I’ve since been able to learn more about Aaron’s story.

Aaron also introduced me to the story of Egregores. I’d love to hear the thoughts of others.

During the summer I came across the blog of an author who is trying to find a publisher for his new book:
The Way: Meaningful Spirituality for a modern world by Larry Jordan.
I’m simply going to let Larry describe the book himself.
Chapter Summary Part 1
Chapter Summary Part 2
Although we have been on very different journeys, I can relate to just about everything that Larry has written. We have both been significantly influenced by the work of Barbara Brown Taylor.

Over the last few months I have watched a significant number of presentations about the coming together of science and spirituality and the potential place of panpsychism.
I’ve long had a bit of a reputation for asking some of the awkward questions to which there are no easy answers. Panpsychism seems to hold some of those answers.

As I have said elsewhere on my blog:
It was in 2013 that I started attending U3A (University of the Third Age) classes where I was introduced to Philosophy, Psychology, Counselling, History of Christianity, History of Religion, Buddhism and Islam – just 2 or 3 hours a week for 4 years. I’ll leave the reader to imagine the impact that might have had on someone who had left school at 16; who had always been a ‘workaholic’; and who had been a computer programmer and business analyst starting in 1967 (said to have been the perfect job for someone living with Asperger’s Syndrome). I see all of this as the beginning of my real education.

In Consciousness and Intuitive Intelligence I have included some of my own reminders as I continue the journey.

I have a story to share and I’d love to learn what others are experiencing at this time.
I’d appreciate any thoughts you might have.