Eric Butterworth is so clever with titles and metaphors that sometimes I need to look up words in the dictionary to make sure I understand what he is saying. Merriam-Webster defines "concentric" as, 'having a common center (such as concentric circles).'
In his book titled, "The Concentric Perspective" (subtitled "What's in it from me"), Butterworth tells us that in order to understand concentrics, we should "draw two intersecting lines that form two cones touching at the points, indicating the inmost center where Being is in the process of being you" (The Concentric Perspective 61). This helps me to understand the subtitle, and his use of the concentric metaphor to emphasize, with a visual, that there is a point of us that touches God. Unfortunately, when I think of concentric circles, I think of circles that nest one inside the other, like Russian Babushka dolls. But I get the idea, and Butterworth uses different scenarios to instruct us on the use of the 'concentric perspective.'
There are so many great chapters in this book -- that's Eric Butterworth for you, even when his metaphors don't work, his teaching is still a light in the darkness (pardon the metaphor). Why is that? It is because Eric Butterworth empowers us. My two favorite chapters are chapter 4, "Giving and Forgiving" and Chapter 7, "From Will to Willingness."
In chapter 4, Butterworth illustrates how we can be forgiving of someone who is particularly difficult. He tells us, "Do you recall the first time you tried to catch a baseball? You held your arms rigid, and when the ball reached your hands, you grabbed at it tightly as though fighting it. This resulted in bruised fingers or stinging hands, and usually a dropped ball. But, when you eventually learned the correct technique, you held your arms loose, and when the ball touched your hands, you grasped it gently but firmly and allowed your arms to give slightly with the forward motion of the ball" (Ibid. 38-39). Butterworth explains that just as we learn to catch a ball, using forward motion to gently go with it; we can 'keep our emotions flexible, absorbing the sting without hurting ourselves.' I think this teaching is classic Butterworth 'go with the flow' theology that also seeks to remind us that it is not what happens to us that matters, but what we do with it.
My favorite teaching, however, is in chapter seven, "From Will to Willingness." I await my teacher and classmates concurrence, but I do not recall in the books we read, Butterworth ever talking about 'God's will.' God's will is a subject difficult for Unity practitioners because it implies a separate God that randomly lays down good or bad for us. Butterworth says it this way: "[God's will] comes from an erroneous concept that God has a mind separate from yours and mine, and that, out of some capricious intent, God may will something contradictory to the desires of our hearts" (Ibid. 76). I don't know about you, but I love the words, "the desires of our hearts." Do you mean to tell me that God's will is the desire of my heart? Here is what Eric says, "It is important to wake up to the realization that the will of God could never intend for us anything other than that which is highest and best ... It is the natural flow of the life process ... The will of God is the ceaseless longing of the Creator to perfect Himself in that which is created" (Ibid. 76).
In our Pastoral Counseling class, we are reading John Sanford's, The Kingdom Within. I remarked to a few students who were in both classes that Sanford's ideas are so brilliant, that next to The Kingdom Within, one of Butterworth's books seems a bit light weight. (That is a term we use at the law firm to mean not so smart.) But guess what? Butterworth tells us in the above quote what it takes Sanford an entire chapter (chapter 2, "The Treasure of the Kingdom of God") to relate in his book: We here to both find the treasure that is the Kingdom of God and to enrich it through the 'desires of our hearts.'
I have truly enjoyed reading Eric Butterworth this term, and I will miss him until the next time I take or teach one of his books. One thing I know to be true: "The ultimate gift to you is God's gift of the creative flow of the whole being of God" (Ibid. 113). Eric Butterworth lived these words, and so can I.
In his book titled, "The Concentric Perspective" (subtitled "What's in it from me"), Butterworth tells us that in order to understand concentrics, we should "draw two intersecting lines that form two cones touching at the points, indicating the inmost center where Being is in the process of being you" (The Concentric Perspective 61). This helps me to understand the subtitle, and his use of the concentric metaphor to emphasize, with a visual, that there is a point of us that touches God. Unfortunately, when I think of concentric circles, I think of circles that nest one inside the other, like Russian Babushka dolls. But I get the idea, and Butterworth uses different scenarios to instruct us on the use of the 'concentric perspective.'
There are so many great chapters in this book -- that's Eric Butterworth for you, even when his metaphors don't work, his teaching is still a light in the darkness (pardon the metaphor). Why is that? It is because Eric Butterworth empowers us. My two favorite chapters are chapter 4, "Giving and Forgiving" and Chapter 7, "From Will to Willingness."
In chapter 4, Butterworth illustrates how we can be forgiving of someone who is particularly difficult. He tells us, "Do you recall the first time you tried to catch a baseball? You held your arms rigid, and when the ball reached your hands, you grabbed at it tightly as though fighting it. This resulted in bruised fingers or stinging hands, and usually a dropped ball. But, when you eventually learned the correct technique, you held your arms loose, and when the ball touched your hands, you grasped it gently but firmly and allowed your arms to give slightly with the forward motion of the ball" (Ibid. 38-39). Butterworth explains that just as we learn to catch a ball, using forward motion to gently go with it; we can 'keep our emotions flexible, absorbing the sting without hurting ourselves.' I think this teaching is classic Butterworth 'go with the flow' theology that also seeks to remind us that it is not what happens to us that matters, but what we do with it.
My favorite teaching, however, is in chapter seven, "From Will to Willingness." I await my teacher and classmates concurrence, but I do not recall in the books we read, Butterworth ever talking about 'God's will.' God's will is a subject difficult for Unity practitioners because it implies a separate God that randomly lays down good or bad for us. Butterworth says it this way: "[God's will] comes from an erroneous concept that God has a mind separate from yours and mine, and that, out of some capricious intent, God may will something contradictory to the desires of our hearts" (Ibid. 76). I don't know about you, but I love the words, "the desires of our hearts." Do you mean to tell me that God's will is the desire of my heart? Here is what Eric says, "It is important to wake up to the realization that the will of God could never intend for us anything other than that which is highest and best ... It is the natural flow of the life process ... The will of God is the ceaseless longing of the Creator to perfect Himself in that which is created" (Ibid. 76).
In our Pastoral Counseling class, we are reading John Sanford's, The Kingdom Within. I remarked to a few students who were in both classes that Sanford's ideas are so brilliant, that next to The Kingdom Within, one of Butterworth's books seems a bit light weight. (That is a term we use at the law firm to mean not so smart.) But guess what? Butterworth tells us in the above quote what it takes Sanford an entire chapter (chapter 2, "The Treasure of the Kingdom of God") to relate in his book: We here to both find the treasure that is the Kingdom of God and to enrich it through the 'desires of our hearts.'
I have truly enjoyed reading Eric Butterworth this term, and I will miss him until the next time I take or teach one of his books. One thing I know to be true: "The ultimate gift to you is God's gift of the creative flow of the whole being of God" (Ibid. 113). Eric Butterworth lived these words, and so can I.
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