Humans fight. They engage in disputes and quarrels. They take up legal battles. They engage enemies at the ballot box or shout soapbox challenges in the public square. Humans fight bloody civil wars and destructive wars between nation states are common. World Wars are not unknown. Spiritual warfare with agents of evil adds to the list of clashes.
While I was developing the Divine Collaboration dispute resolution protocol, I came to appreciate the importance of a Reality Check, a deep dive into a disputant’s worldview. As a mediator I wanted to know what does the disputant consider real or unreal? What was their personal philosophical viewpoint of reality?
In mediation it was important to grasp how disputants viewed the events that led to conflict. We need to understand the lens through which a disputant views life, so that we might also view through that lens. In order to facilitate conflict resolution, we needed to get a glimpse of how the party was viewing life.
As I was reviewing the Reality Check step, a tongue-in-cheek idea came to mind: could “Reality Docents” accompany visitors on a tour of the Museum of Life? In a way, such Reality Docents exist: Spiritual Directors who help others encounter spiritual truths, philosophical concepts, and theological precepts. They introduce influential philosophers, theologians, and scripture that has shaped human worldviews.
Spiritual Formation under the guidance of a Spiritual Director might very well include a comprehensive exploration of the Nature of Reality. After all, faith and spiritual views must accurately address reality, included Created Reality or there is little value to the study. The student of faith might work with a Spiritual Director to examine multiple worldviews and thus hone their personal philosophy, their unique viewpoint of reality.
Peacemakers who engage in conflict prevention even more than conflict resolution, must enrich the quality and depth of the Reality Check. They are tasked with assisting people to fashion worldviews that promote peace. Such peacemakers encourage an accurate understanding of Creation, knowledge that motivates people to develop personal philosophies, viewpoints that accurately reflect the Reality of the Created world in which we live.