I recently came across a quote that reminded me of the spiritual practice of the Via Positiva and the Via Negativa as a way of seeking God in all directions of our lives. These are two methods that encompass the whole of life.
Seeking God in all experiences of living means that nothing is off-limits with God or our Higher Power. Embrace it all; pray with it all. Through this trajectory of integration, spirituality becomes a way of living with vulnerability, transparency, and authenticity.
Life is amazing. And then it’s awful, and then it’s amazing again. And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.
– L.R. Knost
Via Positiva – The Path of Receiving
First and foremost, we are all rooted in the Via Positiva. According to the Judeo-Christian tradition, God created human beings in God’s image, and God called us good. (Genesis 1:27, 31). The way of the good, the Via Positiva, is at the core of who we are. It is also a spiritual moment of wonder, delight, goodness, joy, and gratitude, a path to receiving all as a gift.
Via Negativa – The Path of Letting Go
The other spiritual movement is the path of letting go, of grief, loss, as well as gratitude. This journey is the Via Negativa. Some refer to this time as a dark night of the soul. Yet, a lot of growth happens in the dark. We find God in the loss, the grieving, and in the surrender.
Practice Spirituality in Everyday Life
What does the Via Negativa and Via Positiva look like in everyday life? It is the mindset of a both/and rather than an either/or relationship with God. This perspective is not about classifying spirituality to a particular time of day, location, or one type of emotions and experiences. It is about bringing our spirituality to every aspect of our humanity.
Spirituality is not limited to only the positive moments and joyful times where everything is upbeat with no troubles at all. It is about embracing all of life and leaning into the God moments found everywhere, even in the deep crevices of grief, loneliness, brokenness, pain, and suffering. There are traces of the fingerprints of God throughout life.
The Both/And in Life
The Via Negativa and Via Positiva are about honesty with God both in our empty experiences and our fulfilling moments. When there are times of loss, not knowing where to go or what next step to take, this is the time to pray and invite God into these moments. These experiences are just as important as praying during times of grace-filled goodness and blessing.
Your Turn
A spirituality of the Via Negativa and Via Positiva is about an integrative spirituality where you pray with all the stuff of life, no matter when times are good, when they are terrible, when shit hits the fan, or when the fragrance of beauty overwhelms your life with blessing. It is a spirituality of the ebb and flow of life, the cycle of letting go and receiving while embracing our both/and reality.
The challenge is to live all of life as fully as possible. Bring all of it into the realm of your spirituality. It means that nothing is off-limits with God. God gets it, all of it. And God gets us, every aspect of us – the good, the bad, the ugly parts of life – everything. So pray with it all, because God sees it all, and still calls us good.
Key Takeaways
- The Via Negativa and the Via Positiva are pathways of surrender and receptivity to the fullness of life
- The Via Negativa and the Via Positiva are a spirituality of integration where nothing is off-limits with God
- Lean into the God moments found everywhere in life
What helps you integrate your life experience with your spirituality? What works for you?
I welcome your comments.
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