I know basically nothing about Catholic metaphysics or Martin Heidegger. At the same time I wanted to understand the essence of your post. What strikes me is how the experiential dimension - feeling the presence of Joan- actually enlivens the metaphysics rather than opposing it. Doctrine can explain the “what” but it is often the mystical experience that makes us want to understand the “why”. It bridges the head and the heart. Am I even close in my understanding? What am I missing?
I think you're exactly on target, Cheryl. Too often we think of the mystical and "relational" as something opposed to the "rules and definitions." I often hear of the spiritual or mystical being opposed to the religious--doctrine, rules, definitions. Or that the religious "rules" stifle the mystical experience. My own experience is something that reveals a very different relationship. That the mystical enlivens the metaphysical as you say, it does not run counter to it. Sure, the "rules" alone can make for a very flat world empty of relational meaning. But my experience with the nearness of Joan did not require that I abandon the rules, only that I be open to a different understanding, one that complements the rules. Yes, I think you are spot on!
I know basically nothing about Catholic metaphysics or Martin Heidegger. At the same time I wanted to understand the essence of your post. What strikes me is how the experiential dimension - feeling the presence of Joan- actually enlivens the metaphysics rather than opposing it. Doctrine can explain the “what” but it is often the mystical experience that makes us want to understand the “why”. It bridges the head and the heart. Am I even close in my understanding? What am I missing?
I think you're exactly on target, Cheryl. Too often we think of the mystical and "relational" as something opposed to the "rules and definitions." I often hear of the spiritual or mystical being opposed to the religious--doctrine, rules, definitions. Or that the religious "rules" stifle the mystical experience. My own experience is something that reveals a very different relationship. That the mystical enlivens the metaphysical as you say, it does not run counter to it. Sure, the "rules" alone can make for a very flat world empty of relational meaning. But my experience with the nearness of Joan did not require that I abandon the rules, only that I be open to a different understanding, one that complements the rules. Yes, I think you are spot on!