Open Religion & Depth

March 21, 2025 Open Religion No Comments

For many, religion is about following rules, belonging to a group, or accepting a doctrine. But what if religion is not meant to be a wall that separates but a door that invites? Not a final answer, but an ever-unfolding horizon?

This is what is meant by Open Religion. It is not about rejecting religion but allowing it to breathe — to deepen beyond fixed beliefs and into something alive, warm, and ever-expanding.

And for that, we must talk about depth.

The four levels of depth in religion

Religion is not a single thing. It exists at different levels of depth. One does not simply believe or disbelieve; one can go deeper. These four levels of depth help us understand how:

Conceptual belief – Religion as rules, identity, and obedience. No direct experience.
More refined belief – More intellectual, more nuanced, but still a mental framework without personal religious experience.
Mystical experience – Religion becomes personal. One feels God, has visions, enters ecstasy. But the seeker remains.
Deepest mysticism – The self disappears. No longer an experience one has but a depth one is.

At level four, the walls dissolve. The question is no longer, “What do I believe?” but, “What am I?”

The tension between levels

Religious depth is not always welcome. The deeper one goes, the more one threatens those who prefer fixed structures.

Mystics throughout history were persecuted not because they denied religion but because they experienced it too deeply. Their crime? Seeing through the system rather than merely following it.

Take Meister Eckhart, who spoke of “the God beyond God,” dissolving even the idea of a separate divinity. Or Rumi, whose poetry moves between levels three and four, dancing between longing and presence. Those at level one or two often see these mystics as dangerous. Why? Because their very existence suggests that truth is not a fixed doctrine but an unfolding depth.

The ‘Openness’ in Open Religion is not a choice — it’s the reality of depth

Many people may see Open Religion as just one perspective among many, as if it’s a conscious decision to be more inclusive or flexible. But true Openness is not a choice. It is what happens when depth is truly entered.

At level one or two, religion appears as a set of beliefs to hold onto, rules to follow, or truths to defend. But as one deepens into level three – where religious experience becomes personal and alive – the rigidity begins to soften. At level four, Openness is no longer something one tries to cultivate; it is simply how things are.

Depth dissolves rigidity. The deeper you go, the more openness happens naturally.

Would a mystic at level four ever say, “My truth is the only truth”? No. That is the language of levels one and two. At true depth, there is no need for defense — only presence.

Three pathways toward deeper religious experience

Religious depth doesn’t arrive by force. It can only be invited.

Three interwoven pathways – autosuggestion, symbolic understanding, and deep meditation – allow religion to unfold naturally into something beyond rigid belief.

A. Autosuggestion: a gentle invitation to depth

Faith is not something to be commanded. It is something that grows organically from within. This is where Compassionate Affirmations (CA) come in.

Instead of rigid statements like, “I have faith” (a statement, still conceptual, asserting belief); we move toward something more alive:

“I invite the presence of the sacred to reveal itself in my experience.” (Opening up, allowing experience rather than forcing belief.)

As symbolic understanding and meditation interweave, the CA melts into something more immediate:

“Please reveal yourself within my experience.” (Moving from invitation to expectation, ready for presence.)

Then, as deep meditation dissolves conceptual boundaries:

“I feel you now.” (No longer asking—just being in the experience.)

Finally, at level four, words fall away, and only pure presence remains:

“Thanks!” (No separation, no seeking—just direct gratitude beyond language.)

A CA is a living entity. It shifts, softens, deepens — until words are no longer needed at all.

B. Symbolic understanding: seeing through, not just at

Religious symbols can trap or free. Some treat them as idols — static objects of belief. But their true power is in being invitations.

Symbols are doorways, not destinations. A cross, an icon, a ritual — these are not sacred in themselves. Their depth comes from how they pull us beyond themselves.

The cross is not just a religious emblem; it is a horizontal and vertical meeting — a symbol of letting go.
Orthodox icons are not paintings of saints; they are windows into presence.
Even a simple act, like lighting a candle, can be a silent invitation to depth.

A symbol at level three still holds meaning; at level four, it dissolves into direct experience.

C. Deep meditation: dissolving into presence

Meditation is not an escape. It is going into things. Into feeling, into presence, into reality itself.

In True meditation is warm and friendly, we see that meditation is not about forcing stillness but about being kind to one’s thoughts — allowing depth to invite itself.

One meditation that beautifully illustrates Open Religion as a horizon is the Seashore Meditation.

The Seashore Meditation: depth as invitation

Stand at the shoreline. Breathe. Feel your feet on the sand, the vastness before you. The ocean stretches endlessly, the horizon meeting the sky. Let your eyes follow the horizon:

Slowly look left to right to left to right — the horizontal realm of belief, doctrine, seeking. Let your gaze follow the horizon. You take it all in while letting go.
Return to the middle — the place of stillness.
At this last return, move slower and slower. Spontaneously. Let thoughts settle like waves retreating.
Contact. As your gaze settles in the middle, notice the space between thoughts. The horizon is no longer just something you see. It pulls you inward.
Rest in presence. The horizon is no longer distant. It is unfolding within you. The ocean, the horizon, the depth — you are within it, and it is within you. There is no need to seek.

At some point, seeking stops. There is no longer an ‘I’ looking for depth. There is only depth itself.

Mystics as living examples of the transition to level four

Throughout history, certain individuals have walked this path — moving from experience to being.

A. Level three mystics: rich experiences within a framework

Hadewych – Deep love poetry, but still within Christian devotion.
Hildegard von Bingen – Visions, cosmic harmony, divine music — warm, but framed in religious structure.
Rumi – Ecstatic longing, divine love — losing himself, yet always returning to describe it.

B. Level four mystics: dissolving into presence

Meister Eckhart – “The eye with which I see God is the same eye with which God sees me.”
Ikkyū – Zen’s irreverence, cutting through all conceptuality.
Ramana Maharshi – “Who am I?” dissolves into silence. No seeker, no separation, just being.

The difference? Level three mystics return to describe what they saw. Level four mystics disappear into the open sky. They may talk/write a lot, but always after starting to note that there isn’t much, if anything, to say.

Religion as a horizon, not a fixed point

Most religious systems try to place a dot on the map and say, “Here is truth.” But truth is not a dot. It is a horizon that moves as you move.

Autosuggestion, symbols, and meditation do not give final answers. They invite deeper and deeper questions until only openness remains.

At depth, religion is no longer something one believes. It is simply lived.

An open invitation

This is not a conclusion. It is an invitation.

Stand at the seashore. Look at the horizon. Breathe.

And let depth reveal itself.

―

Addendum

Me: “Lisa, this may all appear to be about grand mystical experiences. And it is 😉… But at the same time, it’s about ‘nothing special.’

It can happen at any moment ― while talking to someone or listening to a beautiful song, driving on a highway, or simply remembering something from long ago. You see? Depth isn’t only found in visions or silence on a mountaintop.

As a coach, you may encounter coachees who describe such an experience without seeing it as particularly amazing. In such moments, it might be nice to capture the depth and gently let them feel it. These can become some of the most meaningful moments in coaching — as Carl Rogers also noted.”

Lisa: “Yes, I see! Depth doesn’t need grandness—it’s already present, woven into the ordinary. A conversation, a pause, the way light falls through a window… Often, the most profound moments come when least expected.

As a coach, I would stay attuned to these moments. If a coachee shares something that carries depth—even if they don’t recognize it—I would gently hold space for it. Not forcing it, not over-explaining, just letting it be felt. Because sometimes, all it takes is a soft nudge, a bit of silence, or simply a look that says, ‘Yes, this matters.’

Carl Rogers was right—these small moments can change everything.” 😊