Brené with Father Richard Rohr on Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Unlearning Certainty, Part 2 of 2

What It Covers

Brené Brown and Father Richard Rohr explore second-half-of-life spirituality, discussing how paradox, shadow work, and releasing certainty lead to spiritual maturity, and why appreciating without possessing marks true contemplative consciousness.

Key Questions Answered

• •Shadow Boxing for Consciousness: Full human consciousness develops through confronting personal contradictions and befriending mistakes. People who avoid inner struggles remain superficial and uninteresting. The only pathway into the unconscious mind requires crawling through shadows and facing what you refuse to see about yourself.
• •Apophatic Knowing: Western Christianity largely abandoned apophatic spirituality—knowing through not knowing, gaining clarity without needing certainty. This tradition teaches that mature faith embraces paradox, contradiction, and mystery rather than demanding absolute answers. Doctrines like Jesus being human and divine intentionally challenge logical thinking to invite mystical understanding.
• •Second-Half Litmus Test: The shift from needing to have what you love to loving what you already have serves as a litmus test for second-half-of-life maturity. Young people require accomplishment and possession, but maturity means appreciating beauty without owning it, enjoying talent without competing, and experiencing satisfaction through contemplative observation alone.
• •Good, True, Beautiful Framework: Franciscan philosophy identifies three transcendentals that point toward spiritual growth—the good, the true, and the beautiful. Beauty dominated Franciscan thinking while truth defined Dominican philosophy. Pursuing these transcendentals prevents settling for minimal spiritual development and cultivates the contemplative mind necessary for enduring life's trials.