Polypathy

poly-pathy i would draw a distinction between a sentimentality with its excessive self-indulgences and other experiences of spiritual fervor and even passion that fall within healthy norms of "affective attunement" our tradition has room for a rich diversity of spirituality & piety, all consistent with what are often pronounced personality differences (cf myers briggs, jungian typology & enneagram) thus we affirm even spousal mysticism even the eastern teadtions have prominent devotional paths, such as bhakti yoga i call this poly-pathy, which recognizes diverse affective pathways, just as there are diverse practices - poly-praxy, diverse emphases - polydoxy and so on as celebrated in our abrahamic traditions, christianity, buddhism & hinduism so, these different emphases certainly present within boundaries or norms of orthopathy, orthopraxy & orthodoxy, which recognize that not just "anything goes" even while celebrating a rich diversity of expression & healthy plurality of experience w/in prudent norms & recognizable boundaries of reason to wit, i affirm the father as creator (abrahamic), son as contingency (christian), spirit as relation (buddhist) and god as ground (hindu), hence a tetra-tarian rather than mere trinitarian theology of nature thus, intimacy w/the persons of the trinity can indeed be fervent, passionate, erotic even w/o being maudlin, even as others may experience & express a more vaguely focused affective disposition attuned, for example, to cosmic sensibilities some of us may experience more than one affective pathway as we travel past first fervor, limerance & infatuation on thru second naivete via enchantment, dis-enchantment and re-enchantment w/god in particular or even reality in general (or with one's spouse, analogously, e.g. second honeymoon), which is to recognize intra-personal developmental dynamics thru time in addition to interpersonal personality differences