Mind’s Travail

This essay outlines ecstatic naturalism and its associated theology of deep pantheism. Ecstatic naturalism centers on the distinction between nature naturing (nature perpetually creating itself from itself) and nature natured (the world's many orders). Nature naturing's pulsating potencies are equated with concepts such as Schopenhauer's will, Peirce's firstness, Jung's transcendental psychoid, and Whitehead's creativity. Deep pantheism rejects both theism's fully transcendent deity and panentheism's deity both in and beyond nature. The "deep" refers to the otherness of the unconscious depths of nature. Theism is retained only for finite gods and goddesses as archetypal images, with the Great Mother symbol grounding the human psyche. The mind's travail involves precarious transitions between finite, embedded mind in nature natured and awareness of unconscious depths via nature naturing.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to map out the perspective of ecstatic naturalism and its corollary theology of deep pantheism. Ecstatic naturalism begins and ends with the fissuring between nature naturing (nature perennially creating itself out of itself alone) and nature natured (the innumerable orders of the world). Nature naturing and its pulsating potencies could also be named: der Wille (Schopenhauer), firstness (Peirce), the transcendental psychoid (Jung), and creativity (Whitehead). Deep Pantheism rejects theism, with a fully transcendent deity, and panentheism, with its deity both in and beyond nature. The “deep” in my form of pantheism refers to the otherness of the unfathomable depths of the unconscious of nature. The theism entailed is that of gods and goddesses, finitely located, that are archetypal images. The symbol of the Great Mother is a premier locus for grounding and enveloping the human psyche. The travail of mind involves the fitful and precarious transitions between finite and embedded mind within nature natured and the emergence of an awareness of the depths of the human, cultural, collective, and natural modes of the unconscious via nature naturing.