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Seeking
the Light with Mother Clare Watts
By
Rev. Cynthia Clapp
Mother Clare Watts, author of Giving Birth to God: A Woman's
Path to Enlightenment, is the Co-Director of The Order
of Christ/Sophia, an independent mystical order with centers in
nine states. Her book tells of her spiritual journey through living
in yoga  ashrams
and obtaining Sufi training and seeking a Spiritual teacher. Her
search was finally successful when she found teachers in a mystical
Christian order. She tells of her life as a mother, wife, midwife,
graduate student, and psychotherapist, all while obtaining deeply
transformative spiritual training. She eventually became a Master
Teacher and now passes the blessings of the training she received
on to others.
CC: Mother Clare, how did you know to look for a spiritual
teacher in the first place?
MC: I learned about teachers from the Eastern paths, and
therefore began my search for my own teacher there. I was quite
shocked not to find a teacher in the yogic traditions and not
in Sufism, either. Instead I found teachers who could bring me
through all three major initiations and into spiritual mastery
in a Christian tradition. Initially I was very resistant to try
anything Christian, but eventually understood that in that resistance
lay my pride and my reacting to my upbringing. So I gave over
to the teachers God gave me, and found the training for which
I had always longed.
CC: You speak of initiations. I have never heard that
word used in conjunction with a Christian practice. To which initiations
do you refer?
MC: Each of the inner spiritual paths has some form of
the three great initiations which bring the seeker from the outer
world in which they begin their journey into direct relationship
with the God-Self at the center of their beings. In the mystical
Christian tradition we call these three initiations Mystical Baptism,
Illumination and Self-Realization. A student who wants to progress
through all of these needs to be willing to do the transformative
work that is given to them by their teacher, and needs to have
a teacher who has come through those initiations themselves and
is trained and qualified to administer them to others.
CC: Do you tell about each of these initiations in your
book, Giving Birth to God?
MC: Absolutely. I also tell of my ordinations into being
a minister/deacon, a priest and later a Master Teacher. They were
phenomenally powerful experiences and readers of the book tell
me that they feel they got an otherwise unobtainable opportunity
to peer into those experiences and gain some understanding of
them.
CC: What do you hear from people as you travel
around the country about what they are seeking in a spiritual
path?
 MC:
I hear many folks say that they have at this point explored most
of what is available in alternative spirituality. They have looked
into many churches or temples; they have explored yoga and many
other eastern practices. They have studied the powers of crystals,
alternative health therapies, counseling of many kinds, astrology,
numerology, channeling and various other new expressions of spirituality.
What many of these veteran spiritual seekers are saying is that
they now want something with more substance, and they often say
they are looking for something rooted in one of the major religious
traditions.
CC: What else do these veteran seekers want in a spiritual
path?
MC: These experienced seekers have come to know the value
of psychology and the importance of individual counseling, including
addressing their childhood wounds, and getting help with relationship
issues. They have also come to know that astrology is helpful
and real, that reincarnation is true, and that memory healings
and past life work can be necessary to become healed and able
to function fully in their daily lives as well as spiritually.
So today's serious seeker of a path is looking to ideally
have all these elements included in a practice.
CC: Does the Order you co-direct include all of these
aspects, even reincarnation and astrology?
MC: Yes. We teach astrology to all our students, so they
can learn to know themselves and others better. We work with past
lives, when we need to in the process of healing a wound from
the past that is not explainable in this current life. We are
trained in psychotherapy and apply all that has come to be known
to be helpful to those who are seeking wholeness. Each student
receives individual counseling and guidance as they move through
their wounds and into spiritual health. And we are based in the
age-old tradition of Christian mysticism, without the trappings
of the institutions, while still having the great truths and traditions
of a real path.
CC: You keep mentioning mysticism. Can you state in
a simple way what constitutes mysticism, and who are some mystics
whose names we might recognize?
MC: Mysticism is the inner path of each world religion.
In Islam it is Sufism, in Buddhism it is Zen, in Judaism it is
Kabbalah, and in Christianity we simply called it Christian Mysticism.
Mystics are not very interested in theological questions and in
dogma. They are instead interested in having a direct experience
of God, and coming into an ecstatic love relationship with the
God-Self at their center. Famous mystics are Rumi, St. John of
the Cross, Teresa of Avila, and of course all the founders of
those major world religions: Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Zoroaster,
Gautama Buddha, and many of their followers. All practiced the
inner path, and initiated others into following it.
CC: What are the main issues many women face when considering
the possibility of taking on a spiritual practice?
MC: Women who have partners often believe that they should
wait for their partners to want to do a spiritual path with them.
They generally try to cajole their partner into coming with them
to classes or events. They become attached to the thought that
the spiritual path needs to be done together, and they fear that
if they advance spiritually and their partner does not, their
partner may feel hurt or threatened and will leave them. Women
who are single are often afraid that if they become spiritual
no man will want them. In both cases women may hold back their
own spiritual development afraid of the disapproval of a man.
This is very sad, since the truth is that before God we are always
alone, not with a mate, and many women miss out on their entire
purpose for being on earth because they make it dependent upon
their partner. Of course this does not apply to all women, but
it does often arise as an issue with many women.
CC: What barriers are more common to men who are considering
taking on a spiritual practice?
MC: Many men, and once again, of course not all men, are
extremely resistant to allowing themselves to be taught by someone
else. Men often want to do such studies on their own without having
to submit to anyone else's direction or guidance. For this
reason men are generally slower to enter upon a spiritual path
and take on a teacher. Once they overcome this obstacle, however,
and get their egos out of the way, they may progress faster than
women as they move along under the guidance of one who knows,
because they tend to be less afraid than women to take on spiritual
authority.
CC: I have heard that you work with both Jesus and Mother
Mary in your Order?
MC: Yes, we do. We see them as equals, and are so glad
that people have two ways through which to approach the God-Self.
Some people have had such bad experiences with one of the genders
that they still have huge trust issues with members of that gender.
Fortunately, they have another option. If people are afraid of
trusting men, they can perhaps open to Mother Mary; if they are
afraid of women, they can always look to Jesus. It is such a beautifully
merciful gift.
CC: Does your order train men and women equally, and
can married as well as singles enter into the full teachings and
become priests?
 MC:
Yes, both men and women, married and single, parenting and
not-parenting all are welcomed into full training and can become
priests in The Order of Christ/Sophia. What is necessary for such
training is a heart that is committed to placing one's spiritual
growth and one’s service to others foremost on one's
priority list and a willingness to allow the teachers and priests
to teach you and help you transform into a being of light. Our
priests are not ordained simply because they finish the required
course of study. They must, instead, have come through self-realization
and be able to demonstrate their connection with the God-Self
and their ability to receive guidance from within. They must have
very high levels of personal and spiritual integrity, and a great
love for their fellow human beings.
CC: Does a person have to want to be a priest in order
to attend classes and services at one of your centers?
MC: Absolutely not. In fact, it is not even an option to
request to be trained for the priesthood. That is only offered
after much training has already been absorbed and applied, and
then only to those who are ready and desiring of it.
CC: What last words would you like to leave with our
readers?
MC: I want to encourage everyone to decide to incorporate
a spiritual practice into their lives. I recommend that you decide
how much of a spiritual life you want to have, then pick a program
or practice that matches your choice for time spent and results
achievable through this practice. Then commit to stick with your
decision. Make a practice of not violating your commitment to
yourself to attend as many times as you decided to, and to practice
what you chose. Then your life is bound to improve, your peace
deepen, and you will be contributing light to the world.
Cynthia
Clapp is the Atlanta contact for The Order of Christ/Sophia, a mystical
Christian school. Mother Clare Watts is the author of Giving Birth
To God, A Woman's Path to Enlightenment. For info, see their
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Mystical
