"No one wants to be lonely, even if we sometimes like to be alone. It is written in our bones to want to be connected with others, to be in relationship, to feel close to others.

A Celtic Approach to Spirituality

"When I consider desire for closeness to the divine, a sense of God's presence, being spiritually touched by the beauty of creation, being connected to all of life, and finding joy in worship with others, I think of versions of St. Patrick's Breastplate, an ancient Celtic prayer. During my years in Ireland, I found the northern coastal scenery absolutely spectacular. In that sun-starved place with harsh winds from the north, the ocean touches the rock-faced cliffs and the green hills meet the sea. It doesn't surprise me that this prayer arose from that place, especially given the way with words that the Irish have. 'God's arms around our shoulders, the fragrance of the Holy Spirit in our nostrils, the conversations of heaven's company on my lips . . . a home for God in my heart.' Or: 'Christ above me, Christ below me, within me, in those I meet.'

" Celtic Christianity in its original forms took the connection to all of life that the early Celtic peoples celebrated and found that this could be expressed and enriched in Christian form.

"The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale was designed to measure 'relationship with the transcendent,' so, not surprisingly, the whole set of sixteen items addresses the theme of connection.

Connected to All of Life?

"If we ever feel 'connected to all of life' (3), just what is it that we feel connected to? Other humans, the grass under our feet as part of the whole of the natural world, life as extending beyond our planet and out into the stars? People in the past and future? All of life colored by religious language, such as God's breath? This question gives us an opportunity to explore connection in a creative way.

"The musical group Bowerbirds has a song and video, 'In Our Talons,' that brings home our connections to each other and all of life in the natural world. It addresses environmental concerns in the context of care for one another. Does connection to all of life connect us to the ground of being, God in the world? Or do we perceive it in a less theistic context? When we feel intimacy with the natural world, does it bring with it a transcendent connection? Feeling your toes in the mud or wiggling in the sand, feeling the wind on your cheek and smelling the scent of burning logs, enjoying the touch of an animal nuzzling into the palm of your hand.

"The natural world in and of itself is ephemeral, as we are. Trees die. We will die. Somehow the connection we feel to other people and the natural world must stretch beyond the ephemeral — a spiritual experience, a connection to all of life that somehow transcends our transitory nature. We can see value in all of life that has eternal significance. Some people envision connection with a hidden wholeness, a term used by physicist David Bohm. Others sense connection with Hagia Sophia, 'Αγια Σορια, Holy Wisdom.

"Some religions seem to address the disconnect that we often feel between ourselves and the natural environment better than others. Native American religions, for example, emphasize the connection we have to the earth and living creatures. Hinduism has specific ways of envisioning our connections with animals and encouraging the connection to our own bodies as a part of the natural world. But this connection to the natural world is not absent in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Theologians of these traditions continue to creatively articulate how God and nature relate to one another. Franciscan spirituality envisions and describes this connection with all of life effectively and creatively. St. Francis's song addresses 'brother sun, sister moon.'

"All experiences of connection are not the same. We can artificially create an oceanic sense — for example, using hallucinogens — and lose ourselves in this way. This may remind us that such a sense is possible, but I think that without natural links to ordinary life, a cohesive and transcendent framework, and a grounding in the ordinary, the effects are likely to be ephemeral and disorienting. This approach may create openness to the transcendent in daily life or may just create a greater sense of existential loneliness once we are no longer under the influence of the drug.

"Do you ever feel connection in the context of the natural world? If so, what is it like for you? When is it most palpable and nourishing for you?"