A Cosmic Shift

All Christians are supposed to be people who wholeheartedly seek God. However, in most Christian's minds what happens is a looking back on past behaviour with sorrow and contrition and a supposed amendment of life. But neither Jesus nor John the Baptizer advocates looking back. Metanoia means a revolutionary opening of one's eyes to the presence of God in the present and future. Here there is no self-invention, but only God. This is initiated by a profound, direct experience that is external to oneself...even something that is imposed on the person. And it is maintained by the perpetual dying to oneself and denying of oneself. It is anything but an intellectual exercise in circumspection. This is literally what meta- (change) and -noia (mind) means. And that is precisely what the contemplative life is all about.