Meditation on Sacred Garden Community’s Transmodern Foundation

Written By: Bob “Otis” Stanley

Introduction: SGC’s multi-lineage foundation, moving from Modern to Transmodern

Sincere religious community moving away from master lineage into Least Dogma, dispositional values, shared practice and direct experience

 This essay outlines the religious and philosophical foundations guiding SGC’s dynamic, unitary yet pluralistically informed religious lineage. By agreeing to limit shared faith to “Least Dogma” supported by shared commitment to an attitude of care, respect and trust, SGC opens up a space for communication about beliefs and practices within an environment that ensures no-one can dominate each other (or the church) with their views. This supports rich conversation, while it simultaneously reduces the church’s ability to control personal beliefs or practices outside of the church. This framework asks church ministry and membership to reflect clearly on their own beliefs, to be aware of one’s ideological biases, and to avoid insisting on adherence to one’s own personal values, which may conflict with other church members.

SGC’s dogma, values and practices develop historical and emerging threads in modern, post-modern and meta- or transmodern religious and epistemological philosophies, exploring how we might usefully rethink sharing, learning, knowledge… and faith… in a new era. SGC represents a shift from metaphysical demands for a traditional “master narrative” or master lineage focus that has been a characteristic of modernity. SGC offers a simple but philosophically sophisticated shared faith, where “Least Dogma” (sensitive to positionality and epistemological limits) is leavened by a humble, continual learning emphasis - grounded in ethically guided, aspirationally non-dominating communication across diverse member lineages. This radically inclusive trans-modern approach to metaphysics and communication is supported within SGC by our shared faith, values, practice, and direct experience of the Divine.

Modernity has frequently recognized "master narratives" or metaphysically specific and dominating lineages as conditions to identify authentic epistemological perspectives (and religious practice). Sacred Garden does not create a new master narrative nor does it claim a superior syncretic lineage. Moving past metaphysical, religious and cultural domination that can be associated with master lineages of modernity, SGC operates within a guiding and constraining shared faith that we call “Least Dogma.” This faith and supporting framework centers potentially diverse cultural practices, experiences and reflections upon the Divine through emphasis on Sacramental practices and values that, while not claiming fundamentalist infallibility, are effective enough to support open and ongoing learning and experience of the Divine. Importantly, this focus implicitly de-centers the importance of required consensus around detailed yet geographically and/or historically constrained metaphysics (within an otherwise diverse community). This approach aligns with some metamodern and transmodern perspectives that suggest communication across diverse lineages, guided by ethical and hermeneutically-informed principles, can improve conditions and processes for epistemology, that is, for religious and philosophical truth-seeking. (JF Lyotard, HG Gadamer)

Globalization and Emerging Epistemologies

Sincere religious faith, practice and experience within culturally diverse communities

In our globalized era, exposure to diverse lineages and practices is unprecedented. Philosopher Jürgen Habermas’s ideas on “positive postmodern” ethical communication, personally introduced to one of SGC’s founders (Bob Otis, author of this document) in the 1990s, have evolved into “metamodern” or “transmodern” concepts. The term “transmodern” highlights potential for intersubjective learning, recognizing the value of critically and ethically sharing and discerning across diverse personal and collective knowledge. We may be entering a time when new transmodern epistemological and religious frameworks emerge, allowing us to learn from each other within a “hermeneutic spiral” that supports growth in both individual perspective and collective understandings, with less domination associated with modern master lineage oriented frameworks. (J Habermas, L Ceriello)

In this context, identifying with a single, narrow master lineage informed by detailed metaphysical belief may become less compelling. For instance, must one adhere to extensive specific, often exotic, religious and/or related metaphysical dogma to engage sincerely with Sacraments recognized by diverse traditions around the world? Should one be required to convert to a specific existing “mainstream” or “indigenous religion” to practice with global or near-global Sacraments, risking exclusion from other, perhaps more self-authentic perspectives on the Divine? Adherence to a pre-existing lineage should not be demanded of a religious practitioner or emerging religious tradition, if it is sincere, well-formed and defensible. (J Carse)

Community-Based Faith and Practice

Shared Faith, Virtues, Practice and Direct Experience of the Divine

How may a dynamic “fractal” lineage ground itself within a formal religious doctrine and dogma that focuses primarily on intentionally simple and generalizable dogma, consistent ethical standards, disciplined practice and direct experience rather than on detailed and narrowly specific metaphysical lineage? 

SGC’s lineage is “fractal,” complex, dynamic, growing and evolving with its members’ experiences. While we adhere to “Least Dogma,” our lineage encompasses a global diversity of traditions. SGC’s core dogma is formal and specific - but it is “least” - simple and generalizable. This framework emphasizes practice and direct experience, encouraging learning within a respectful, inclusive environment. By restricting our epistemological consensus only to Least Dogma, we can integrate diverse experiences and insights as a community, while avoiding ideological domination. (R Barthes)

Confirmed members of SGC adhere to “Least Dogma,” a framework that facilitates direct experience of the Divine while encouraging ethical values and responsible practice. We share a common set of ethical values of care, respect, integrity and trust. Recognizing that these may be culturally biased, these values may be refined over time! These aren’t Divinely inspired… but they are sufficient to guide our engagement. Finally, we educate our community in steps for good practice with the Sacraments of our church. Our ordained ministry and practitioner community are immersed in this practice and its steps (Navigation, Preparation, Initiation, Practice, Integration, Community Integration) as a common focus for our Sunday services, educational courses, workshops, etc.

Broadly, following our core “Least Dogma” SGC is able to explore with discernment and benefit by insights from diverse lineages without imposing them as dogmatic claims, fostering a safe environment for learning and sharing without ideological dominance. This approach reflects a positive postmodern or transmodern ideal of ethical communication, promoting healing across epistemological differences.

Emerging Entheogenic Religious Traditions

Require sincere and distinct faith, grounded in generalizable standards for safe and effective practice

Effective religious practices that facilitate direct experiences of the Divine may emerge independently of narrowly specific lineages. If we can agree to bring a humble approach to our own sharing of perspective about the Divine and pathways to Divine Presence, while taking a discerning but open approach to the dogmas that others bring… the way may be increasingly opened to experiencing the Divine and to learning from each others’ diverse lineages and experiences. 

 Some standards for entheogenic religions, such as adequate preparation, safe practice, effective integration of entheogenic experiences (preferably within an experienced community), may be critical across lineages. It is SGC’s hope that, as we learn from our membership’s diverse and dynamic lineages to create our unique fractalage, we will also be able to learn and share from other faith traditions. Emphasizing transparent and potentially generalizable practical standards while broadening our perspective beyond dominating master lineages can enhance our religious seeking and finding.

 SGC’s understanding of religion aligns with William James’ definition as “Religion is the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual(s)... so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the Divine” (W. James). SGC extends this definition to include sincere communities gathered with shared faith and practices intending Divine relationship. Note that this definition does NOT demand adherence to a specific pre-existing religious lineage.

The founding ministry and community of SGC are engaged in essential religious practice, seeking and finding direct relationship with the Divine through careful and respectful engagement with our Sacraments. Along with global and diverse practical and tradition-based justifications, our shared faith guides our recognition, consecration, requirement for, and practice with these Sacraments. Confirmed members of SGC share this faith:

“We are open to the possibility that, engaged carefully and respectfully, the Sacraments of our Church can connect us to direct experience of the Divine, within this lifetime.”

With respect and appreciation, amen, aho, ase, acha, hayaya, bi la kaifa, so may it be.

References:

- Lyotard, Jean-François. The Postmodern Condition. University of Minnesota Press, 1984.

- Gadamer, Hans-Georg. Truth and Method. Seabury Press, 1975.

- Habermas, Jürgen (1990) [1983]. Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action. 

  Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-58118-3.

- Ceriello, Linda. Metamodern Mysticisms: Narrative Encounters with Contemporary Western 

  Secular Spiritualities. Rice University, 2018-04-19.
- Carse, James P. New York : Penguin Press, 2008.ISBN 9781594201691, 1594201692

- Barthes, R. (1957). Mythologies. Paris: Seuil.

- James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. Longmans, Green & Co., 1902.