Listening to Jan's first introduction which led me into the next section. I wanted to share with you with a few thoughts which poped into my head. As about the role spirit plays into experience of theology.

For me in a practical way. I have not picked up a bible for years; until now - for this course. They was all collecting dust. Even though they are in my view before bed, staring at me. There they remain. I know, I should not say this, but I just don't feel the need. Not that I have read everything and know everything - far from it.

As I have said before, I was a pastoral Assistant. But know longer bother. Ok, perhaps I should of chosen a few more nice words. Ok. As I am no longer actively interested in church life.

Do I actually, feel as if I have a connection with God - Yes, I do.

I may no longer do things threw the church, or act on it's behalf.

Just may be through the many years of church experance and training. It still lies deep inside me, working in the back ground so to speak.

I may no longer have the badge of the church. But in my quiet way, I try and go about serving the lord in little ways - not noticed, in the back ground. My be just listening; making a cup of tea; helping someone at thier point in need.

If, nothing happens in my day. Meaning just the usual stuff of work, eat, sleep, shoping, gardening etc, and now these studies has slipped into my life. There is one thing that does not leave me - prayer!

You will not see me rushing to church for it. But I think it was St France's who stated - 'prayer without seaching'. Ok I think that one is harder to do than it sounds. How can you prayer while driving a bus? I can only do one thing at time. I can't multi task. However, I do find myself praying many times throughout the day. Not on my knees. But while working and doing stuff. If the bus is empty, going dead to another point. My prayer could lead me to singing or chanting. I read somewhere, is it me tapping into God or is God tapping into me?

I am looking forward in studying the next section of 'Experence', in what it reveils, and hopefully, says to me.

The holy spirit helps us to understand and interpret scripture, and to understand how we should apply scripture in our lives.

• Is the Holy Spirit the Cinderella of theology?

I grew up in a high-church Anglican church where the service format was very rigid, and I think the holy spirit was basically omitted from church, except in the words of the Nicene creed. I then spent time in a Quaker community, where the holy spirit was the driving force behind worship. I think I am learning to understand what ‘the holy spirit’ means in my faith journey as an adult in the church.

• What impact does this have/ might this have?

In my high-church Anglican church, I think omitting the holy spirit stopped people applying scripture to themselves or their lives - leaving church and faith as something left in a box for Sundays.

By contrast, in my Quaker community, I think the focus on light/ love/ the holy spirit led some people to focus overly on themselves and sharing what things meant for them personally - e.g., taking up a lot of the ‘air time’ in a silent meeting for worship, by talking often or at length, because the spirit had moved them to do so. I was reminded of this in the Karkkainen book chapter, where Augustine is quoted: ‘Suspicion will always arise when someone speaks on his own account ‘from within’… The Spirit does not speak on his own’. I therefore loved the comment around needing a broader community involvement to discern / test the leadings of the Spirit.

Thinking about Spirit-filled discipleship as including the life of the mind, I believe learning for a higher mind, learning how to think more clearly can help unneeded clutter of thought fall away so what inspires us spiritually can light our path.

I appreciate the way the Holy Spirit can arrive there first for people, before they even knew a warm heart was needed. It can come through prayer. It reaches us, it inhabits verses of scripture for us. The Holy Spirit, I believe, is life, spiritual life.

Not going to lie, the differences in ideas between the Eastern 'from the Father' and Western "from the Father and the Son' seem minimal and semantic at best - which might explain why there is a degree of confusion going on here... But see if this helps you find a path through the weeds...