ARE YOU RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL? September 27, 2009
Posted by cosmicsandbox in Religious commentary, Spiritual Transformation, The Real Jesus.Tags: intolerance, Jesus, Letter of Law, Love Enemies, Religion, Spiritual
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RELIGIOUS OR SPIRITUAL
We hear many people today say, “I am not religious. I am spiritual.” What is the difference? Aren’t religious people spiritual? The spiritual group perceives religion as being a rigid belief system of rules that discourages, if not forbids, acceptance or investigation of other religious faiths. That perception is based on prejudiced statements by the religious establishment down through the ages such as, “The equal tolerance of religions is the same thing as atheism.” Pope Leo XIII, 1885.
Our weary world has been suffering under the crushing weight of religious intolerance for millennia; long before Pope Leo issued his limiting edict. Whenever any ideology is taken literally, it can foster hate and division. Literally following the Law to the letter doesn’t prevent one from verbally assaulting another soul. In fact, that is what Jesus accused the priests of his day of doing. He put the Spirit of the Law above the letter of the Law.
Following the Law religiously is different than experiencing the Spirit of the Law. Spiritually we can feel a heart connection to our fellow man, even if we don’t know him or what his religious or political beliefs are. This is because we are born with inherent empathy, which is our Soul/Spirit. But when we go unconscious or get buried under stress, then it is all too easy to stay in our heads, setting ourselves apart and judging others with different beliefs as being wrong, defective or just plain evil.
If anyone stands up and says, “Wait a minute. This action we’re taking doesn’t make sense from a compassionate, loving perspective.” they are labeled a rebel, a heretic or a subversive. Our self-righteous judgmental minds definitely don’t want to hear things like “Love your enemies. Do good to those who despitefully use you. Turn the other cheek. If one takes your coat, give him your cloak also.” as Jesus taught.
Since we all have a mind, we are all guilty of falling into its divisive clutches and existing in the limited thinking box that separates us from God and each other. But we have also been gifted by our Creator with the Spirit; and It is omnipresent Love residing within our hearts. In fact, all world religions have the same Golden Rule. Where religions have failed is in hiding this magnificent Truth from the masses by teaching exclusivity and separation. They shun unity and cooperation with those of different beliefs.
Our views of religion and the spiritual could expand if we viewed all sacred scripture as poetic love letters written to each individual human soul. Scripture, like poetry, was created using symbols and metaphors to fully express the essence of its meaning. It wasn’t intended to be taken literally. Emotions and deep spiritual truths cannot be dissected and understood by the reasoning mind. They are only experienced in the Soul.
To really appreciate and benefit from religious texts one must embody them as one would take in a work of art. If just read as a linear history or a doctrine of social behavior, the transformational purpose is lost, its power made impotent. To fully experience the Spirit of scripture, one must be willing and able to understand the symbolic and metaphoric meanings of the words and pictures they paint in our mind’s eye.
Read the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament. It is written to be read on many levels of meaning. On one level, it is a poem of the wedding of King Solomon to his bride. On another level, it is about the symbolical marriage of the Creator with us, His creation. It is a lavish description of the intimate and extravagant devotion God has for the beloved, which is you and me.
This indescribable Love is the unconditional love we all long for. We continually seek it from one another, but rarely if ever find it in human form. This is because we were created to receive this deeper love from Spirit first, which enables us to love and accept ourselves. The more we are able to receive the unconditional love of Spirit and “fill our cup”, the more we are able to love and accept others because our “cup is overflowing”. It is a spiritual experience. It is not a religious doctrine.
CHRISTMAS – BIRTHDAY OF LIGHT December 14, 2009
Posted by cosmicsandbox in Religious commentary, Spiritual Transformation, The Real Jesus.Tags: Christians, divine child, Jesus, Light, Saturnalia, Virgin Birth, Winter Solstice, Wise Men
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Many of our holiday traditions are borrowed from earlier traditions. For example, the Winter Solstice marks the beginning of the long dark winter nights and the symbolic death of the sunlight on December 21st. The sun is then “reborn” on December 25th, which is the first day it appears to remain in the sky longer.
Most likely Jesus, the Light of the world, wasn’t born in December. However, early Christians in the Roman Empire, to avoid persecution, celebrated his birth during Saturnalia, the holiday honoring the birth of the Sun god, on December 25th. Christmas, or Christ-mass, celebrates the birth of the Christ Light into the dark world bringing hope of “peace on earth and good will toward men” as proclaimed by the angelic choir on Christmas Eve.
We can miss a lot of the deeper meaning of traditions, rituals and their symbolism if we only focus on the literal details of the story. For example: in a symbolic sense, each of us is a type of a virgin mother, pregnant with a child of light in our souls that is yearning to be born into our dark world. This child is innocent, perceives no separation between itself, the Divine or others, lives in the present moment and is full of joy and wonder. This is the real, true essence of each of us. It has remained perfect and whole, unaffected by all the storms or traumas of our lives.
Why aren’t we aware of this part of ourselves? It has been hidden deep within our hearts, buried under a lifetime of conditioning and worldly cares. Our divine child can be coaxed out at Christmas because it is a time of joy, bright light, festive music, vibrant colors, succulent sweetness and infectious play. Can we allow the birth as Mary did? Will we stop our disbelieving lives and set aside time to let our sacred Child Self of light be born?
Just as in the Christmas story, our world isn’t ready for this birth of light. There is no room being made for its arrival. No one seems to know or care about it at all. The world is too busy stumbling around cursing the darkness. Like Mary, each of us must be willing to give birth to our precious child of light alone, witnessed only by a few shepherds and cattle in a manger. The Sacred only shows up in humble mangers, not castles of convenience.
It doesn’t matter whether or not anyone else understands the miraculous transformation happening within us. A select few humble, unassuming type people like the shepherds will notice the light in our eyes and the spring in our step. They will rejoice with us. However, the ones we thought would notice our transformation and be happy about it either ignore us or would rather dispose of us. These unfortunate souls are trapped in fear, negativity and cynicism. They would rather put our light out because it reveals their fears and anxiety. They become furious that we can be joyful and peaceful in spite of the darkness in the world.
Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to keep the Christ child safe from King Herod’s murderous rage. Society, like Herod, is fearful that it can’t control the free spirit inherent in the children of light. The powers that be know they can never enslave one who knows in their heart they are free. This is why it is vital that we stop at this time of deep reflection and make space for Spirit to birth the Light within us and out into the world.
When we do accept our sacred Self, the three wise men will come bearing gifts of grace. They are divinely guided to find us wherever we may be. They offer us gold for divinity or Christ consciousness, frankincense to transform the mundane into the miraculous, and myrrh for humility and continual dying to our small selves. These wonderful wise men are symbolic of the sages, teachers, mentors and guides that grace our lives at every stage. They remind us that we are never alone; and that there is no limit to how far our Father/Mother God will go to make sure the divine child not only survives but thrives.