Quaker Larry Lynn Southard has released a new book, Wayfaring: A Guide to Guidance, that has a new slant on the way we should refer to God.

The best way to appreciate Larry’s views is to go to the author directly in a Q&A. We’re sure you’ll find the discussion interesting!

What inspired you to write Wayfaring: A Guide To Guidance?

What inspired me in the first instance was an undeniable urge pressing me to put pen to paper. Several other factors no doubt played a part: the fact that, since my childhood, being guided has been an issue; the fact that I really and truly wanted to know how to access divine guidance; the fact that I have some small facility for writing; the fact that I’m retired and had the time to put toward it; and the fact that I knew better than to ignore the directive.

How did your personal journey influence the book’s development?

Various influences in my life helped to shape the book. Being born and reared in the Bible Belt of the USA certainly laid a foundation. 

The Bible from my formative years, and The Gospel of Thomas from later life, both played a large part in shaping the book, specifically those passages concerning how to follow the will of God. 

For a number of years I was an enthusiastic member of a hillwalking club. The book takes its title and its theme from my wayfaring days traversing the hills and valleys of Munster in Ireland.

Since my college days in the 1960s, Eastern approaches to religious thought have been of interest. Daoism plays a major role in the book for two reasons: firstly, Daoism addresses Wayfaring’s premise directly: namely, how to put oneself in a position to respond to God-as-verb, and, secondly, the teachings of Jesus and Lao Tzu significantly overlap.

Being a Friend myself, Quakerism plays an important role in shaping the book, particularly through the influence of Friends’ testimonies.

I admire Douglas Adams’ imaginative writing in his Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. The Hooloovoo – the hyper-intelligent shade of the colour blue – servers as an important metaphor for much of the thought underlying Wayfaring, to wit, consciousness does not require a body to exist.

Could you explain the concept of God as a verb, or “the Way”?

Must God be a noun, an objectification that is given a name, cast in a human mould and who is made to reside in the far beyond? While we accept the impossibility of capturing God’s image in a carved idol, we can be absolutely resolute in rendering it mentally graven. 

Wayfaring conceives Divinity as being more verb-like than noun, which it calls “the Way”. As a verb it is never still, always moving, always to hand. God as verb is experienced as Supereminent Emerging, as Interactive Hyper- Intelligent Process, as a Sagacious Unfolding, as an Inexhaustible Guiding, as Sacred Prompting that we can perceive and in which we can participate . As an omniscient phenomenon of Divine Ordering, that which is God is happening in, through, around, and between us. God becomes the Living Expression of all that is transpiring while all is still evolving. We are not separate from it, we are part and parcel of it.

Why did you choose this framework instead of traditional portrayals of God?

With regard to guidance, to participate in God as Divine Unfolding holds many advantages compared to belief in an objectified deity. To name but a few:

·      By participating in God as verb one perceives the reality of the Divine through living it, rather than relying on belief or given precepts.

·      Because the Way is always immediate and at hand, right here right now, it is easier to discern and follow leadings rather than trying to decipher instructions from afar.

·      The Way’s guidance resembles an on-going two-way conversation rather than a prayerful monologue.

·      By its very nature participating in God enhances the feeling of “God-with-me” rather than having to wonder when, where and if He is going to show up.

·      Jesus identified himself with the Way… if getting close to Jesus is important to you, get close to the Way so that by walking the same path he walked you walk closer to him.

For these reasons, participation in God as verb makes living a guided life far easier than belief in an objectified deity.

How do the teachings of Jesus and Daoism intersect in your book?

The most significant way Daoism impacts the book is by directly addressing Wayfaring’s premise. The focus of the book is not on Daoism per se, but rather its teachings about how to put oneself in a position to allow following. Wayfaring applies that aspect of Daoism’s tenets to our own tradition rooted in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.

The doctrinal convergence of Jesus and Lao Tzu is another important interface within the book. Appendix 2 offers a textual analysis of the 5 Gospels and the Dao De Jing, comparing 32 themes over ten pages that show close agreement on the following topics:

Compassion, riches, love, simplicity, non-judgement, seeking and finding, rejecting violence, patience, beyond erudition, becoming as a child, the snare of possessions, the enlightened wanderer, to save one’s life, total commitment, following the Way, caring for nature, the light within, the well built construction, avoiding  boasting, a defiling mouth, the end of desires, living without harm, spiritual water, showing mercy, suffering rejection, the use of power, and acting contrary to the Divine.

The level of detail required to establish if Jesus encountered Daoist teaching  is shrouded in the mists of time; nevertheless, circumstantial evidence renders Daoist influence an intriguing possibility. 

What significance does this convergence hold for modern spiritual seekers?

The significance for today’s seeker is that the teachings of this Daoist sage and this Jewish religious reformer work together to teach us how to respond to God-as-verb. God as verb (the Way) shifts the emphasis from what one might believe about God to actually participating in God. The willingness to listen, to experience, and to obey the promptings of the Way become the litmus test of spiritual awareness rather than what one believes. The Way is meant to be embodied, invested, and enacted as a part of who we are, so as to be able to say as did Jesus, “I am the Way.”

You mention “Action Nouns” as a key concept in your book. How do these spiritual processes help readers engage with divine guidance more effectively?

The spiritual processes labelled by action nouns (i.e., the Spirit, the Logos, the Light, the Kingdom, etc) are simply aspects of the flow of a pervasive non-material divine Consciousness, which has the capacity to guide us. The processes themselves are not discreet stand-alone entities that act apart from the Way no more than lively, creative, bright, and capable are stand-alone entities acting apart from the person they describe. By daily entering the flow of this Consciousness, we encounter “the Spirit” by enlivening as we ourselves become enlivened; we participate in “the Logos” by rightly ordering as we ourselves become rightly ordered; we engage “the Light” by enlightening as we ourselves become enlightened; we enter “the Kingdom” by transforming the base into the exemplary as we ourselves become transformed. 

How does Wayfaring relate to Quaker beliefs and practices?

Wayfaring relates to Quaker practices and values in a number of ways. The very premise of the book is a quotation taken from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Faith & Practice.A quotation from Britain Yearly Meeting’s Quaker Faith & Practice finishes the Introduction. The overarching format of the book takes the form of Advices & Queries, a format with which Friends are well acquainted. Wayfaring references Friends’ testimonies as an important factor in helping to shape the book. Appendix 4 describes the basic workings of the Quaker business method. Note 28 describes two aspects of the guided life of Quakers. The role of silence and silent worship is highlighted. There is a section heading in the Advices on “Preparing Heart and Mind”, and a section heading in the Queries on “Worshipping God”. The fact that I have been a Friend for more than 40 years, having served as an Elder, hopefully gives Wayfaring at least in some small measure a somewhat Friendly ambience throughout.

What role does the Quaker testimony of S.T.E.P.S. play in the book?

The acronym S.T.E.P.S. stands for the Quaker testimonies of Simplicity, Truth, Equality, Peace, and Service. The primary role of these testimonies in Wayfaring is that they are seen to accord with the effective force of the Way. Each promotes an inward spirituality that fosters real-world progress worthy of human beings as emanations of the eternal Way.

Simplicity: “Living Simply” is a section heading in the Advices . It advocates simplifying as your first consideration before acting. To simplify dispels busyness, promotes vision, and clears the decks for accomplishment.

Truth: Because of its capacity to reveal deep spiritual insights, scripture bundles the Truth with the Life. Query 69 – “Living the Truth and the Life” – asks the question “What for you constitutes the depth of that Truth – what does it reveal to you?”

Equality: Advice 9 – “Perceive At A Higher Level” – states that by recognizing the Way in yourself and in others, “You realize that in your essence you are equal in spirit with everyone else on the planet – including the elite, including the poorest”.

Peace: “Living Peacefully” is a section heading in the Advices. Advice 90 –“Refusing Violent Force” – states “Wayfaring refuses to use violent force to accomplish its will.”

Service: “The Well-Concerned Life” is a section heading in the Advices. Advice 70 – “The Wayfarer’s Role” – reads “The proper role of a Wayfarer in the world is to enkindle, to uplift, and to transform the base into the exemplary while curbing that which defiles.”

What practical advice would you give to someone who wants to “put themselves in a position that allows following” and start wayfaring in their daily life?

Consciousness does not arise from the system; the system arises from Consciousness. That is bedrock for Wayfaring, and John 1:1 agrees: In the beginning the Living Expression was already there ¹ … not Someone who expressed, but a non-corporeal divine Consciousness that has never stopped expressing, that has the capacity to guide us, and that the book calls “the Way”. Jesus embodied the Way supremely. The good news is that to the best of our abilities we can too. Wayfaring: A Guide To Guidance tells how.
(1. The Passion Translation)

Wayfaring is a practice. It is not an intellectual exercise nor a set of beliefs. The book is a handbook, a reference guide that aims to help you to practice putting yourself in positions that allow guidance. The more you practice, the better you become.

Keep in mind that to follow God in verb aspect, you embody God by doing God. Perceiving and participating become the litmus test for religious engagement rather than believing in God. To embody that which is God begins to make sense of Matthew 5:48, But you are called to something higher: “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (The Voice Translation)

There’s nothing new about Wayfaring. It’s old-hat. It’s ancient wisdom. Isaiah counselled 2800 years ago how to intuit the Divine will: 

“Your ears will hear sweet words behind you,

‘Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go,’

whenever you must decide whether to turn to the right or the left.”
(Isaiah 30:21, The Voice translation)

God as verb communicates those sweet words not as a noun, not as a person, not as a thing, but as a kind of understanding, a feeling of rightness, a sense of know-how resident within your body. Focus intently on the physical. Promptings come variously – a felt sense, an inward voice, a pressing urge, a stop in the mind, a hunch, a sensation of love and light, etc. Those sweet words will come uniquely to you.

Over and over again, you’ll encounter in Wayfaring the words “God” and “the Way”. It is paramount to remain mindful that both words are labelling a hyper-intelligent Ordering, not entities. To allow the Way to order your life makes for clearer priorities, a life of adventure and a failsafe against recklessness.

If nothing seems to be turning up for you, do not wait around for something to happen. Simply follow your usual routine of getting on with the getting-on, but with your feet on the ground and your antennae in the air. Because you are of the Way, it is of you, and knows your condition. Allow it to choose. Patience is a virtue.

The one word that sums up a life of Wayfaring is “allow”. You allow …  and allow … and allow. After you finish allowing, allow again – but do not confuse it with laissez-faire. You allow in order to enable the Way to guide you toward the person you are meant to be, doing the kinds of activities that are proper and right for you to do. Trust it. Its reward is great: a life that is meaningful, purposeful, satisfying, and fulfilled.

***

In summary:
Inspired by a lifelong quest for divine guidance, Larry Lynn Southard’s Wayfaring: A Guide To Guidance explores God as a verb—the ever-moving “Way”—and how to live a guided life through participation, not belief. Drawing on Jesus, Daoism, and Quaker values, it offers practical steps to embody divine wisdom daily. 

Check out the dedicated page for the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia for more interesting topics.

Wayfaring: A Guide to Guidance is available in hardback from the IP Shop.