January 22, 2006

Rev. Henry Ticknor
Unitarian Universalist Church of the Shenandoah Valley

What Type Are You?

Let’s start this morning with a little survey. With a show of hands, how many of you are right handed? Left-handed? How many prefer dark chocolate? Milk Chocolate? White chocolate? How many prefer white wine? Red? How many prefer summer to winter? Winter over summer?

Now, let’s get a little more personal and here you may want to listen to both options before making up your mind.

Do you prefer to be engaged in social situations in which there is a free flow of conversation and ideas or do you prefer to be engaged by the inner world of ideas, information and thoughts?

In other words to you respond favorably to such words as social, expressive, broad, outward and many or do you feel more closely aligned with words such as private, quiet, inward, concentration and few? Do you consider yourself to be an introvert or an extrovert?

Like the ancient masks of comedy and tragedy, each of us has two faces. One is directed towards the outer world of activities, people and things while the other is directed toward the inner world of thoughts, interests, ideas and imagination.

The Psychologist Carl Jung was one of the first to discuss how each person is influenced by his or her preferred behaviors.

He suggested that as adults our experiences with the world begin to overlay our core personality and this is when the blending of nature and nurture becomes more evident.

For some this process of "learning" serves to strengthen what is already a dominant personality type; for others it opens new ways of perceiving and acting.

Katherine Briggs whose name we recognize from the popular and widely used personality inventory that bears her name—The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, later adapted his ideas. I think it’s interesting that one of her first essays on the topic was titled Meet Yourself Using the Personality Paint Box.

The idea behind the Myers-Briggs indicator is that in making choices about everyday life we are inclined to have preferred ways of behaving.

The Myers-Briggs Inventory essentially asks four questions: Where, primarily, do you direct your energy? How do you prefer to process information? How do you prefer to make decisions and how do you prefer to organize your life?

As we have seen some of us are extroverts and some introverts. This just means that some of us prefer to act first and think later while some prefer to think and reflect on a situation before they act.

While extroverts tend to feel deprived when they are not interacting with the outside world introverts regularly require a certain amount of "private time" to recharge their energy. For the extrovert coffee hour after the service is wonderful. For the introvert it can be dreadful.

The second area looks at how we process information. Sensing types prefer clear and concrete information while intuitive types are comfortable with ambiguous or fuzzy information.

Sensing types prefer using common sense and creating practical solutions while intuitive types prefer using their imaginations and creating new possibilities. Some of you prefer sermons that touch on the big questions while others much prefer factual, historical or issues-based talks.

A third area explores how we prefer to form conclusions and to make decisions.

Some instinctively reach for facts and logic in forming an opinion while others make use of personal feelings and consider the impact of their decision on others.

Some rely on critical and objective analysis while others look for consensus and are swayed by popular opinions. Some in the congregation enjoy the use of poetry and metaphoric language while an one engineer once said to me, "I’ve never understood a single poem you have read!"

And the forth area looks at how we approach the outside world.

Some of us plan all of the details before moving into action while others of us feel more comfortable with just planning on the go.

Some prefer to complete tasks in a nice orderly and sequential way while others are comfortable multitasking and enjoy a rich variety of experiences.

Some find comfort in targets, deadlines and routines while others instinctively avoid commitments that interfere with flexibility, freedom and variety. For some the order of service is to be followed as closely as possible while others prefer worship that is more free form, varied and spontaneous.

Now just as the Myers-Briggs suggests that we all have different ways in which we relate to the world. Peter Tufts Richardson, in his work Four Spiritualities, A Psychology of Contemporary Spiritual Choice suggests that there is no one spiritual path that is right for everyone.

We tend to look at our own spirituality in terms of the religious traditions we have inherited. Yet similar patterns of faith and practice can be found in all of the world’s religions.

Richardson, utilizing the personality traits associated with the Myers-Briggs identifies four types of spirituality common to the world’s religions. He assigns them the following names—the Journey of Unity, Journey of Devotion, Journey of Works and the Journey of Harmony.

In his introduction, Richardson writes, "One fact is clear: We live in an emerging interfaith culture for one humanity on one planet…the idea that religions can exist in splendid isolation without positive reference to one another is obsolete and even dangerous."

He concludes, "In an interfaith world we need a common language for mutual understanding and appreciation."

So left me try and capture each of these approaches to spirituality and religion. Remember, today, as in the past, when I use the word "spirituality" I am referring to is our need to ask the big questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Why must I die and so forth.

Richardson characterizes those who are on the Journey of Unity as being on a quest for a universalizing principle that binds all of creation together. These folks tend to be interested in inter-faith dialogue and finding the similarities between the world’s religions.

They tend to believe that Truth (with a capital T) is a global concept that can be expressed in honest and clear language.

Individuals on the Journey of Unity are very involved with issues of social justice. They are energized by the exchange of ideas and education rather than by direct action such as marches and demonstrations.

Additionally, these folks prefer worship that is uncluttered and free of rituals and they prefer a worship space that is simple and yet inspiring.

Richardson suggests that those on this spiritual path are "on a quest for great organizing principles that bind life and nature into one unity." He uses an anecdote about Albert Schweitzer to illustrate his point.

Schweitzer was on long boat ride somewhere in Africa, "struggling to find the elementary and universal conception of the ethical which I had not discovered in any philosophy."

He spent many hours filling up many sheets of paper with his thoughts. He tells what happened next.

"Late on the third day, at the very moment, when, at sunset, we were making our way through a herd of hippopotamuses, there flashed upon my mind, unforeseen and unsought, the phrase ‘reverence for life.’ The iron door had yielded: the path had become visible."

The Journey of Unity, Richardson tells us, always tries to boil complexity down to simplicity.

To complement their need for principles and truth, those on the Journey of Unity are also driven by a strong sense of justice.

Principally they are engaged in what the great Unitarian minister, Theodore Parker, has termed "remedial justice." They want to be engaged in conversation about social action and social justice and they believe strongly that education will go a long way to right the wrongs they perceive in society.

For those on the Journey of Unity the use of science and reason are essential in understanding a person’s place in the universe. Richardson sites Buckminster Fuller as one of the great proponents of the Journey of Unity and says, "While Fuller called himself a ‘design scientist’ his work was eminently ethical, religious, and spiritual. He believed that the purpose of life of what he called "learning a living."

The second Spirituality described by Richardson is the Journey of Devotion.

In some ways individuals on this path are the direct opposite of those on the Path of Unity.

Those on the Journey of Devotion are concerned not so much with global issues as they are with the issues of the here and now.

Unlike those on the Journey of Unity who prefer worship that is uncluttered and free of rituals those on the Journey of Devotion are comfortable with prescribed ways of behavior, established rituals, and well adorned places of worship.

In worship those on the Journey of Devotion prefer hearing true stories about real people than being engaged in more global concepts and theories.

To these individuals the idea of a personal pilgrimage to find their spiritual roots is very appealing.

Spiritual growth is grounded in personal experiences that form one’s world view. Richardson quotes Joseph Campbell as telling Bill Moyers, "I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive."

Richardson comments that this "experience of the rapture of being alive" is the heart of experience based spirituality.

Additionally, those on the Journey of Devotion are often attracted to ways of simplifying their lives. They feel content when their homes, their friendships and their relationship to the world are in good order. Or as the well known Shaker hymn states it:

'Tis a gift to be simple

'Tis a gift to be free

'tis a gift to know

'just where we want to be,

and when we find ourselves

in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley

love and delight.

Finally, those on the Journey of Devotion are drawn to direct service to others.

In the words of Mother Teresa, "Love cannot remain by itself—it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service. Whatever form we are, able or disabled, rich or poor, it is not how much we do, but how much love we put into the doing; a lifelong sharing of love with others."

The third spiritual path is called the Journey of Works. Those attracted to this path pay attention to facts and details. They are the realists among us. They find comfort in ideas like balance, prudence, duty, and above all else, fairness. To those on this path work is an expression of the self.

According to Richardson, "The Journey of Works is practical and involves a lifetime of effort, a constant and responsible attention to leading a productive life."

Followers of this path commit themselves to the building up of institutions and prefer to support the whole organization rather than providing direct service to individuals. Rules for living such as the Ten Commandments are popular with those on the Journey of works. They find comfort in the establishment of covenants. They have a strong sense of order.

Those on this path believe that their spirituality is informed by their sense of good works. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks to this notion of work as a sacred practice when he writes:

I enjoy taking my time with each dish, being fully aware of the dish, the water, and each movement of my hands. I know that if I hurry in order to go and have a cup of tea, the time will be unpleasant and not worth living.

That would be a pity, for each minute, each second of life is a miracle. The dishes themselves and the fact that I am here washing them are miracles! Each bowl I wash, each poem I compose, each time I invite a bell to sound is a miracle, each has exactly the same value."

In a Unitarian Universalist context those on the journey of works are often the ones who make the coffee, plant the gardens, and show up and quietly do whatever needs to be done. Perhaps the simplest expression of this journey is just this: To live is to act.

The fourth and final spiritual approach described by Richardson is the Journey of Harmony.

Drawing from the writings of Emerson, Richardson writes, "Those on the journey of harmony see humanity as an essential part of the flow of a great spiritual stream that runs through all of life and through the forests, fields, sun and stars. This stream propels us into time and into the emergence of new life in ourselves and in the world, life attuned to the divine in the world."

Those on this path are often attracted to a form of mysticism that confirms the harmony of life in the world. They would suggest that while we may not be able to understand all of the mysteries of life there is a coherence that gives meaning to our lives.

They love exploring life’s many possibilities and are often perceived as switching from one religion or spiritual practice to another. They will cull what they can from Hinduism, paganism, Native American Spirituality, and Christianity.

Often they will combine the elements they like best from each of these practices. In some ways, those on the Journey of Harmony are perceived to be the visionaries, the peacemakers and the "carriers of the banner of tolerance among traditions."

So which of these types best describes your own approach to religions, spirituality and church life?

Do you posses a great vision of what this congregation might be? Do you have faith that in due time this vision will be realized?

Are you most content doing the work of the congregation? Is your joy in planting a garden or teaching a child?

Are you willing to be the one who brings order and planning to achieve the dreams of the congregation?

Or are you the one that says, "Slow down. Let us enjoy the work of this church for what it is here and now. Let us remember that what we do each Sunday is done in community and helps to build our lives.

And during coffee hour when the four different types are talking about worship this is what they each might say:

"Boy, I really like deep, intellectual sermons that pose questions and develop issues that require me to engage in strenuous mental gymnastics."

The other responded, "I disagree. I don’t want to hear a lot of facts and details, I want to be moved, and uplifted. I want to be inspired to be a better person."

And the third responded, "Enough with the sentimentality and the emotional, let’s stop being prodded and do something concrete to make this world a better place."

And the fourth simply said, "Let’s stop talking and just sit in silence that each of us may know what is true for ourselves."

These four responses illustrate the diversity of belief that is the strength of our Unitarian Universalist congregations.

We are not isolated individuals possessing only one worldview; we are a company of seekers simply striving to find the answers to what it means to be alive.

It is through our differences and not our similarities that we are strengthened. Because we are open to a variety of paths, our journey is always open to new possibilities.

When we come together in this place on Sunday morning we meet at the crossroads of our lives. We come together as priests and prophets; teachers and students; dreamers and doers. We come together to help one another navigate in this often confusing world. Give me your hand and I will give you mine.

Amen and Blessed be.