Lesson 2: Our Emptiness and His Fullness
The Problem of Spiritual Emptiness
"About the third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis but from the emptiness of their lives." - Carl Jung
"The biggest problem among today's students is emptiness" - Derek Bok
"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So, shall it be among this generation"
Signs of Spiritual Emptiness
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Stress
- Directionless
- Lack of motivation
- Hopelessness
- Identity Crisis
- Purposelessness
- Meaninglessness
Cures for Spiritual Emptiness
"I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for you... to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:19)
Eastern Religions
- Hinduism's goal is to lose your self in Brahman - the state of extinction (annihilation of self)
- Buddhism's goal is to reach enlightenment (Nirvana)
Christianity
"Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians 5:18)
From the Agpeya 3rd Hour:
- "Your Holy Spirit, O Lord, whom You sent forth upon Your holy disciples and honored apostles in the third hour, do not take away from us, O Good One, but renew Him within us."
- "O Lord, Who sent down Your Holy Spirit upon Your holy disciples and Your honored apostles in the third hour, do not take Him away from us, O Good One, but we ask You to renew Him within us."
What does it mean to "renew Him"?
How do I know that I am filled?
When I overflow with the same substance of which I am filled
When I become an instrument of peace to others, then I know I am filled with peace
Instruments/Agents/Conduits of the Holy Spirit