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Spirituality Page

My idea of Spirituality does not have a name. It does not have "rules," but rather principles. It does not tell a person how to dress, how long or short one should wear their hair, whether men must or must not wear facial hair, what to eat, when to fast. It does not demand sexual abstinence or excesses. There are no rituals, ceremonies or memorized prayers. It is not written down in sacred text. My idea of spirituality is not set in stone, but rather lives and breathes in the heart, where Spirit dwells.

It recognizes truth in many ways, but mostly by understanding and feeling the truth of a statement or belief. It allows the Seeker to seek in his or her own way, and to find in his or her own time. It lets the Seeker decide when and how to find what he or she needs to understand. It allows for time off to pursue less spiritual matters, and it allows for deep retreats and searching.

To me, to wrap spirituality in a cloak of religious doctrine and dogma is to smother the Truth, not to bring it to the light of day. More people in our history on this planet have died for the sake of religion than for any other reason. It is still happening today. Each true religion teaches of peace and love, yet most religions also teach that theirs is the "One True Religion," that none others have any validity. Why must this be so? Because each bit of Truth that makes its way into our consciousness is so precious, that those who receive the message become "The Keepers of the Truth." They are canonized as "special" and "Ordained by God" by their followers, and vilified as "evil" by their detractors (usually those who prefer the "old order"). For a particularly insightful and hilariously satirical example of this, rent the video, "Monty Python's the Life of Brian."

There is a lot of truth to a bumper sticker I have seen: "I used to be a Christian, until my karma ran over my dogma." If you're looking for me to tell you what is True, you've come to the wrong place. I am willing, however, to tell you what is true for me. If that doesn't mesh with what is true for you, that's alright, too. We each have our truth to live, and if we aren't living our truth, then is it really true for us? Try a little experiment: write down 25 things that you think are true, perhaps rules your religion demands you to live by, perhaps ways that you think people ought to live and act toward each other. Then look at your list and see how many ways you live this truth. You'll have to be brutally honest with this one. My brother-in-law is Catholic, yet he and my sister used birth control to determine the timing and number of their children. So, for him, the Catholic doctrine of not using any form of birth control other than abstinence is not truth. Give it a try. I'm sure you'll find at least one or two instances where your dogma and your Truth don't quite mesh.

This seems a difficult task for many who call themselves Christian, as most will say, "Oh, I envy my neighbors their new car, when I must drive this 10-year-old clunker because I can't afford a new one," or "Well, I have committed adultery, even though it is against the Ten Commandments," or "I cheat on my taxes, but doesn't everybody?" The point is, why claim a religious belief if you don't live its doctrine? Most Christians I have met are very judgemental and negative toward people of other "faiths," or of no "faith." They say that they are commanded to bring as many people to the Faith as they can, yet they ignore the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which talks about a man of another faith (a pagan, by the way), who stops to care for a man who has been injured, without first asking what that man's faith is, or even caring. The Samaritan helped the man because he needed help. He didn't stop to think whether the man "deserved" his help, he simply did what was needed.

So, along your journey on your quest for Truth, stop to think a while about what is true for you right now, and look at what was true for you several years, perhaps decades, ago. And consider this: if your beliefs and understandings have changed over the years, isn't it possible that they can still change yet again? The truth doesn't change, but our understanding of it may. It is this understanding which should guide us on our paths, not somebody else's expression of "Truth." However, somebody else may put words to our truth which we had not yet found. We are all students and teachers, for we teach that which we most need to learn.

On another note, I must state that I have met many Pagans who are as "fundamentalist" as any Southern Baptist or Pentacostal I've ever met. It seems that these Pagans have become Pagan in order to get as far away from Christianity as possible. They have no tolerance for any Christian or Christian wisdom (yes, there is some wisdom and truth in that religion), and can actually come off seeming to despise all Christians for the sake of their faith. To my way of thinking, this is very damaging to their own spirit. I have walked through old and wonderful cathedrals, admiring the workmanship and spirit which went into the creation of such glorious places of worship. I am awed by the Presence which I sense there, no matter which of these old marvels I am visiting. Spirit does not only dwell in one house or another, it dwells in many houses, churches, temples, lodges, campfires, hearts. You don't need a special place or time to find Spirit, for it is everywhere all the time, here/now. How you find it is your task. What you call it is up to you. How you use the information is for you and you alone.

You know a bit of my truth, if you've already read other pages on this site. What is your truth?

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