Revelation or Wishful Thinking?
I have not had a clear, powerful spiritual revelation. There have been intuition and insight shaping my present state of spituality. I do belive there are those have had such life-changing revelation affirming for them belief in one creed or another by a vision, voices heard, out of body experiences, feelings of being directed; guided, saved or found revelations. And there is a history of mystics who have become spiritual teachers themselves, such as Christian mystics, Meister Eckhardt, Hildegard von Bingen and others of all religious traditions
I do wonder, however, if some such "super sensible" experiences may have come about from subconscious influences; wishful thinking; a desire for comfort, peace and certainty, or desperate life situations. However, those who have had such revelation, must come down from the proverbial "mountain top" to live by what they now "know," or believe has been revealed as abslute truth, and some may be compeled to evangelize.
Of course, there does not have to be a clear revelation, a one may to interpret literally sacred texts, such as the Bible or Koran. I have sensed from early on that no one religion is the "true" one, though most claim to be. Neither do I believe that an organized religion is a prerequisite to be a good, moral human being; however, I cannot imagine being so without having embraced values to live by, often contained in religion, but also to be intuited and/or found elsewhere: literature, philosphy, pyschology, history, science to name a few.
I believe in freedom of thought, which means not blindly following the dictates of any authority. Coming to values and principles on our own often involves a healthy balance of openness, curiosity, obervation, skepticism and researching while holding questions instead of seeking answers. Spirtual growth can mean a re-orientation at times as we discover insights that feel right, make sense to us.
I realize I may be considered hard-hearted as I resist any one religious tradition per se, that I am not willing to submit to authority, that I cherry-pick what to believe or not. I have been accused of being a "free thinker," which was not meant as a compliment, but is, in fact an accurate description. I have been given the gifts of free will, and the capacity to learn "how' to think instead of "what" to think.
What Kind of God Don't You Believe In?
A friend with a clear understanding and practice of her faith once asked me, "What kind of god don't you believe in?" It made me think that the version" of god I learned was contradictory. I could not have describe in then, but since realized it was a patriarchal, anthropomorphic god who micro-manages, responds arbitrarily to the prayers of his faithful, having ignored those of his "so called" chosen people who implored him from concentration camps. I do not believe in a go who created human beings to worship and adore him, with a pre-ordained "elect" group to be saved, while others were created only to be damned.
I am could believe in god at all, it would a god as gather. If, as experience tells me, an ideal father guides, encourages, supports and comforts his children, is fair, compassionate and unconditionally loves through thick and thin. Fathers guide children to a certain point, then must trust that all that has been given and taught will bear fruit. They also realistically expect that children will make missteps, experiment, may make unwise choices, act impulsively or disobey, as Adam and Eve are said to have done t
I've always questioned too, if god is omnicent/all knowing, certainly he could not have been surprised that his creations disobeyed him. A wise father/parent realizes that, unfortunately at times, their children must learn from adversity, which often increases consciousness and conscience. This is why I believe that this and other biblical stories are imaginative pictures/metaphorical lessons to be contemplated, not taken literally.
Problems and problem-solving develop from encountering unexpected situations, whether we make what seem like good or unwise choices. Learning to cope is part of becoming an adult and more fully human. At times, we find that what we thought was a wise choice turns out poorly, and that an unwise one has led us in a more positive direction. Trying to do the "right thing" or what we have been told to do does not always lead to the desired results, thus the expression learning from "the school of hard knocks."
In the Judeao/Christian traditions we are told that we were "created in God's image," which may embody many interpretaions and metaphorical implications, e.g., we have the capacity for god-like qualities. I like to think it means we are co-creators who also able to "bring things into being," and that we all have gifts we are born with or can develop to create the good, the beautiful and true, as artists, musicians, writers, poets, and others have ever done with the gifts they were born with or developed over time, reminding us that our essence and our mission on earth is greater than minds can ever comprehend or even imagine.
Fundamentalism - Never
Fundamentalism of any kind narrows and limits knowledge of self and the world. As mentioned above, many people may live admirable, moral lives without organized religion or reference to sacred texts, having developed values from other sources, such from family, culture, and education.
Belief and Reason
My spiritual life has developed from my collective life experiences and influences including my formal and informal education; my realtionships and interactions with others, my study and research based on my interests, my observations, my questions and my doubts, and my own "revelations." Very influential for me have been the psychological, sociological and anthropological perspectives of Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung and Erich Fromm, to name of few. Campbell, in his twelve-year research in three volumes, The Masks of God, posed a question I identified as a key reason I have rejected fundamentalism: "Are modern civilizations to remain spiritually locked from each other in their local notions….and traditions of...myths, stories, and religions, which essentially drive us 'diametrically apart?'" It seems that, yes, they are, as we largely remain focused on our differences, rather our similarities, causing all manner of conflict, often with attempts to limit or take away freedoms by wishing to force others to live by one or another of these traditions--either in families, communities or governments.
It has been a long time coming, but currently a large percentabe of Americans are either supporting of open promoting "Christian Nationalism," including from elected officials, ignoring the First Amendment to the Constitution: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Campbell's point exactly! We must remain free to pursue, within the limits of law, the freedoms of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" as we see fit. We all know how it turns out in countries with theocracies: elimination of choice, censorship, loss of civil rights, especially for women and children. Ironically, the frightening idea of Christian Nationalism is exclusive, not includisive as the Christian and other religions have a version of "Love your neighbor; Judge not, least you be judged; What is done to the least of our brothers and, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. a rabbi noted this last spiritual proclamation is the torah, the rest is explantion.
The Brain is Wider than the Sky
"Our task now is to learn that, if we can voyage to the ends of the earth and there find ourselves in the aborigine, who most differs from ourselves, we will have made a fruitful pilgrimage. . . .We [will] have come to the end of a long journey and see that the stranger we meet there is no other than ourselves," which is the same as saying that we find Christ in him [and in ourselves]" (Thomas Merton). This is also what the greatest spiritual leaders and advocates for humanity have brought us and taught us through the ages.
"Our task now is to learn that, if we can voyage to the ends of the earth and there find ourselves in the aborigine, who most differs from ourselves, we will have made a fruitful pilgrimage. . . .We [will] have come to the end of a long journey and see that the stranger we meet there is no other than ourselves," which is the same as saying that we find Christ in him [and in ourselves]" (Thomas Merton). This is also what the greatest spiritual leaders and advocates for humanity have brought us and taught us through the ages.
I believe the people in our lives, are the ones we came here with and for, and we teach and learn reciprocally from and with them,and beyond to our "neighbors, brothers and sisters (which is everyone else). Though I do not believe in the stereotypical descriptions of heaven and hell, I can imagine that in an "afterlife" we may be made aware of all that we did or did not bring into being in our time on earth, maybe experience our transgressions, large and small as they have affected others and ourselves. My truth tells me we are not here or were created solely to be obedient, to worship a creator, especially out of fear of sin or punishment--hopefully more as results of choice and experience, consicously striving to live virtuosly to pursue and develop our higher selves, respect and embrace the humanity of others and become fully human--through whatever experiences, resources and sources support that effort.
I believe it is part of spiritual life to be aware of and grateful for all that we have been given, and to treat everyone with abundant compassion and fairness, supporting the freedom to chose how to live, work and love, all of which contribute to the health of ourselves, our communities, our country and our world.
My spiritual life has been a blending of beliefs--a synthesis--somewhere between reason and imagination, inspiration and intuition, embracing everything that supports the common good. Our spirit, mind, body, heart and soul can not ultimately be understood, defined or contained in any one way to live, any one book or any one philosophy. For me, Martin Buber has said all that one can say with certainty related to belief:
Real faith means holding ourselves open to the unconditional mystery which we encounter in every sphere of our life, and which cannot be comprised in any formula. Real faith means the ability to endure life in the face of this mystery. . . . I do not accept any absolute formulas for living. No preconceived code can see ahead to everything that can happen in a man's life. As we live, we grow and our beliefs change. They must change. So I think we should live with this constant discovery. We should be open to this adventure in heightened awareness of living. We should stake our whole existence on our willingness to explore and experience.
Every day I experience ambiguity, paradox, and moral dilemmas. I behold the beauty of nature and the cosmos. I am grateful for the goodness, kindness and love of my family, friends and sometimes of "strangers." I am painfully aware of the tragedies and suffering occurring at every moment, near and far. And I contemplate with sorrow what I has been lost to me, as well as the joy of what may still lie ahead to receive.
It is through my writing that I am able to sort out and clarify what I have experienced, what I think, feel and wish to do and be. There are such complex, diverse, subtle, nuanced and mysterious elements in life that inform our moral/spiritual lives. We must affirm, as philosophers and theologians have throughout the ages, that the source is One; the emanations are many, which is to say, infinite--"just the weight of God."
The Brain—is wider than the Sky—
For—put them side by side—
The one the other will contain
With ease—and You—beside—
The Brain is deeper than the sea—
For—hold them—Blue to Blue—
The one the other will absorb—
As Sponges—Buckets—do—
The Brain is just the weight of God—
For—Heft them—Pound for Pound—
And they will differ—if they do—
As Syllable from Sound
For—put them side by side—
The one the other will contain
With ease—and You—beside—
The Brain is deeper than the sea—
For—hold them—Blue to Blue—
The one the other will absorb—
As Sponges—Buckets—do—
The Brain is just the weight of God—
For—Heft them—Pound for Pound—
And they will differ—if they do—
As Syllable from Sound
~ Emily Dickinson
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