Creative Chaos: The Surprising Mystery of Time, Self, and Meaning Paperback - 2019

From the publisher

Chaos may seem an unlikely source of creativity, but below its senseless surface lies a swirling depth of possibilities. Every person enters a world that is already filled with symbols, meanings, and stories. No-one starts with a blank canvas, rather, we find ourselves thrust into a matrix of narratives. Yet, something truly new is possible amid this chaos. Time is a space in which these stories can be reassembled, reinterpreted, and ordered in a way that gives particular meaning to my life.

Our stories can be more than a reflection of reality; they can transform experience, inspire new action, and in so doing, transform our reality. "And the word became flesh." That is how the gospel of John describes the event in which divine ideas became tangibly real in the person of Jesus. Text, words, and ideas are not meant to remain intangible - they are searching for embodiment.

This book is a journey through thousands of years of symbols and narratives that point to the underlying reality of our existence. We follow the development of consciousness through the stories humans have told, beginning with myths that are older than the Scriptures. The biblical text marks a definite progression in human awareness, and within the context of the Bible itself ideas continue to develop.

The perspective given here might be new for many, but the aim is to provide more than simply an alternative interpretation of Scripture. Rather, I hope to show the connection between the inherent human capacity to create meaning, the depth of the text we have at our disposal, and the measureless gift of the Spirit of truth drawing us forward. An inexhaustible mystery lies enfolded in each of us. How it unfolds in your story is an unprecedented unique event. This living narrative reached a crescendo in Jesus. In him, we see the mystery unfolding in flesh and we receive an invitation to share in his consciousness.

Each of the chapters in this book is a progressive step in understanding and opening up human consciousness. Ultimately we want to receive the kind of unitive awareness, Jesus spoke of when he prayed: "I have given to them the glory you have given me, that they may be one just as we are one."