THE PHILOSOPHY OF CENTEREDNESS
When we speak of the Centered Cross in the Unitive Way, we’re not referring to a mere symbol. We’re pointing toward a map of wholeness—a sacred geometry of the soul. Its four arms—Transcendence (upward), Immanence (downward), Communion (leftward), and Agency (rightward)—invite us into a spiritual life that is not one-directional, but multidirectional. We walk upward into Spirit, downward into the body and Earth, outward toward others, and inward into our unique calling. At the center is presence—where all movements arise and return.
But how should we understand these four directions? Are they best thought of as principles, energies, archetypes, or concepts? Each framing offers something valuable. In this post, we’ll explore the distinctions and overlaps, showing how the richness of the Unitive Way emerges when we hold all four lenses together.
Principles: Guiding Truths to Live By
In the most grounded sense, the directions of the Centered Cross can be understood as principles—foundational truths or spiritual values that guide our becoming.
- Transcendence calls us to seek higher awareness, to reach beyond the ego into communion with the Divine.
- Immanence reminds us to honor what is—to root ourselves in the present, in embodiment, in Nature, in the sacredness of everyday life.
- Communion invites us into right relationship, interconnection, and mutual care.
- Agency empowers us to act, create, choose, and show up as our most authentic selves.
As principles, these directions function as a moral-spiritual compass. They help orient our decisions, our practices, and our sense of what a meaningful life entails. You could inscribe them on your wall and aspire to them as daily anchors. They’re practical, ethical, and deeply human.
Energies: Movements of the Soul
Yet the Cross is not just static—it moves. When we experience it as a living pattern, the directions become energies: felt movements or currents within the psyche and Spirit.
- Transcendence lifts—it’s the energy of aspiration, prayer, vision, or awe.
- Immanence grounds—it’s the downward pull into gravity, breath, stillness, or sensual presence.
- Communion binds—it’s the field of empathy, love, and resonance.
- Agency propels—it’s the drive to create, assert, or risk.
These energies don’t merely describe; they animate. You can feel them in your body. One moment you’re being drawn upward into contemplative stillness, the next you’re grounded in the soil, then reaching out to a friend, then picking up a pen to write. To walk the Centered Cross is to surf these energies with awareness.
Archetypes: Living Patterns of the Psyche
Going deeper still, the directions can be seen as archetypes—universal patterns or figures that live in myth, symbol, and the collective unconscious.
- Transcendence may take the form of the Seeker, the Sage, or the Ascetic.
- Immanence may appear as the Earth Mother, the Mystic, or the Sensual One.
- Communion may show up as the Sister, the Lover, the Healer.
- Agency as the Warrior, the Creator, or the Sovereign.
These aren’t mere roles to play—they are inner presences we can commune with, mirror, and integrate. Archetypes give flesh to abstract directions. They help us engage the Cross not only intellectually, but imaginally, emotionally, and mythopoetically.
Working with archetypes means working with story, dream, and ritual. It allows the Cross to become a theater of the soul, where we are both actor and audience in the drama of becoming whole.
Concepts: A Framework for Understanding
And yet, none of this is possible without language and reflection. At the most abstract level, the directions are also concepts: ideas that help us organize experience, map development, and teach the system of the Unitive Way.
Conceptually, the Cross is a fourfold framework that integrates:
- Vertical polarity (Transcendence–Immanence)
- Horizontal polarity (Communion–Agency)
- And the central axis of Presence.
This structure helps situate the Unitive Way within the larger discourse of spiritual philosophy and integral theory. It allows us to compare it with other traditions, clarify our language, and systematize our approach. Without conceptual clarity, the Cross risks becoming a vague metaphor. With it, it becomes a rigorous and flexible tool for transformation.
Which Is It, Then?
So, are the four directions of the Centered Cross principles, energies, archetypes, or concepts?
The answer is: yes.
They are all of these—depending on how you are engaging with them. That’s the beauty of an integrative path. You don’t have to reduce the richness of spiritual life to a single mode of understanding.
- If you’re setting intentions or teaching a group, use the principles.
- If you’re meditating, dancing, or praying, feel into the energies.
- If you’re doing shadow work or dreamwork, invoke the archetypes.
- If you’re writing, designing, or teaching the system, lean on the concepts.
And if you’re just trying to live a more conscious life? Let them all serve you. Return to the Center, and move outward from there, knowing you are walking a path that honors the full complexity—and simplicity—of being.
In future writings, I’ll explore how these four directions can shape everything from our daily routines to our relationships, our activism, and our inner work. For now, may you begin to feel the Cross not just as a symbol or an idea, but as a living map—and may your own soul become its canvas.
You are the Cross. You are the Center. You are the Way.
