One of my all time favorite shows is, "The Office." Its not only hilarious but has a lot of heart and some seriously great characters. Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight on the show was a guest on one of my favorite podcasts this week and so naturally I was excited to listen. I really didn't know anything about him as an individual and so I was pretty surprised when he started talking about spirituality and his beliefs because I related to so many things he was saying. It is rare to find an actor in Hollywood who is so open and intelligent about life's big questions. He is a member of the Bahai faith. I had never heard of it before but here is the definition from their website of what they believe:"Throughout history, God has sent to humanity a series of divine Educators- known as Manifestations of God- whose teachings have provided the basis for the advancement of civilization. These Manifestations have included Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad. Bahau-ullah, the latest of these Messengers, explained that they religions of the world come from the same Source and are in essence successive chapters of one religion from God. .Bahá’ís believe the crucial need facing humanity is to find a unifying vision of the future of society and of the nature and purpose of life. Such a vision unfolds in the writings of Bahá’u’lláh."
Sounds interesting right? I like the unifying message of this - that the same message of love and light and peace has come from these great leaders of world religions and it has come from the same God just in different manifestations. I'm not sure that I believe any of their other beliefs but it intrigues me none the less. I feel like my journey to find what I truly believe when it comes to spirituality involves a lot of picking and choosing from different religions although organized religion in general turns me off. If I was held at gunpoint and forced to choose a religion, I would choose Buddhism because that most closely captures what feels right to me. Rainn Wilson defines spirituality as "anything monkeys don't do." What exactly does that mean? Well, his explanation was so eloquent that I know will mess it up but the gist of it was that it can include anything that we do on a daily basis that is not a necessity such as eating, sleeping, breathing, etc. I took it to me that spirituality can encompass the intangibles like love, joy, kindness, morality but also creating art, writing and reading and listening to music. I really like that explanation because I am struggling so much with what to identify myself as. I can't really label it and that has been frustrating me. Throughout my life I have tried many different belief systems on for size and I think its ok to take what resonates with you and leave the rest.
My own spiritual journey began very young. I was raised Catholic and forced to go to church every Sunday until I was 18. When I turned 18, my mother told me it was my choice whether I wanted to continue going and the next Sunday, I blissfully slept in and never went back to another Sunday mass ever again. I just didn't buy the mythology of the Catholic faith. I questioned everything at a very early age. Also, mass was really boring, the priests were old fashioned and I hated the smell of incense. But on a serious note, it didn't make any sense to me that we are born sinners and we have to ask for forgiveness. For what exactly? There is too much black and white without plausible explanations for things. Being gay is wrong and so is birth control. The Bible was not meant to be taken literally and even if it was, it was written thousands of years ago by a bunch of white men. Don't you think its a little outdated? Its opinion and not fact to me. The kind of blind devotion that this type of religion demands has never been my M.O. I also think that the Catholic church can be very damaging to young people - they preach that sex outside of marriage is wrong, but also talking about your best friend behind their back is also wrong. The spectrum seems way to vast to comprehend. Read between the lines - everything is a sin! I grew up not trusting any decisions I made because I thought they would all lead to sin. Pretty fucked up if you ask me. Hence, why I walked out of the church at 18 and never willingly sat through another mass again.
In high school, I had a great religion teacher who introduced me to a whole new host of world religions like Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and several more. While I found it fascinating to see the differences, many core beliefs remained the same. There was messages of love and devotion and service to others even though the path and symbols are different. In my 20s, I dabbled in Buddhism. I bought books and read as much as I could about but in the end while much of it resonated with me, I didn't believe wholeheartedly. More importantly, it didn't FEEL right. My parents and I went on a trip to Amish country and I remember being so utterly fascinated by the way they lived and how they shunned all modern conveniences. I was hungry to know more. I felt like this through so much of my 20s - exploring religions felt like a hobby of mine. I would get wrapped up in studying one thing or another and not because I felt like I wanted to be part of one particular religion, but because I really truly wanted to understand what made people devote their life to a certain religion. What is it in a person that makes us seek out and then some to ultimately find the intangible thing that will make sense out of life? Ultimately those who follow organized religion want to be told what is right and what is wrong. We all are looking for a moral compass of sorts to guide us through this confusing, overwhelming life.
The point where things really started to change for me in my spiritual journey was on a trip to Sedona, Arizona in my late 20s. I was moved not by the multiple churches that populate the area but by the landscape and the feel of the place itself. I felt a peace there - it seemed to live in the ground and in the beautiful red rocks. I went to psychics and got my aura read but what I really remember is standing on a hiking path amidst this beautiful natural world and feeling chills up and down my arms and spine. The earth was speaking to me; not a god in the sky sitting on a throne. I was so struck that I could feel this way being in a place and not a man made one but a natural one. That had never really happened before. I thought, "Wow, THIS is what people must feel like when they are in a church!" I feel like this sometimes by the ocean when the waves are washing over my feet or hiking the white mountains of New Hampshire. Paganism has much of its roots in the natural world. Pagans believe in mother earth and many of their rituals are celebrating nature. There are many other things Pagans believe that I don't. Again, here I am picking and choosing.
My most recent dabbling in religious and spiritual things has been the most profound however, and I think its because I'm at a place in my life where I am ready to accept what works for me and not label it. Here is what I do believe: I believe in reincarnation and that the purpose of us coming back to earth is to learn and our lessons are about embracing love and conquering fears. reincarnation. I believe that humans and animals and all other living things are connected and we all have the divine in us and that manifests as intuition, kindness, love and service to others. I believe in having a moral code of conduct and for me that is; being kind to everyone and treating everyone equally including animals and nature.This is also includes forgiveness, empathy, compassion, justice, loyalty and peace. I believe that there is something else after we die, there are other planes of existence. I believe that prayer can include anything that is creative or just asking the universe for help. I believe we all have a specific purpose in life and we are here to fulfill that and to learn and grow into our potential. I believe in spirit guides. I believe that there are things we can't identify with the senses but that we can feel.
On the flip side, here is what I don't believe: crystals that have all these crazy powers, a god that sits in the sky and tells us what is right and wrong and punishes us when we make the wrong choice, organized religion, wars in the name of god, blindly believing something without thought or doubt, coercing others to believe what we do, condemning people for life style choices, telling people how they live is wrong.
Most importantly, I feel like my spirituality is evolving all the time and I am learning and growing with it. I will never have all the answers nor do I think I am meant to.
Sounds interesting right? I like the unifying message of this - that the same message of love and light and peace has come from these great leaders of world religions and it has come from the same God just in different manifestations. I'm not sure that I believe any of their other beliefs but it intrigues me none the less. I feel like my journey to find what I truly believe when it comes to spirituality involves a lot of picking and choosing from different religions although organized religion in general turns me off. If I was held at gunpoint and forced to choose a religion, I would choose Buddhism because that most closely captures what feels right to me. Rainn Wilson defines spirituality as "anything monkeys don't do." What exactly does that mean? Well, his explanation was so eloquent that I know will mess it up but the gist of it was that it can include anything that we do on a daily basis that is not a necessity such as eating, sleeping, breathing, etc. I took it to me that spirituality can encompass the intangibles like love, joy, kindness, morality but also creating art, writing and reading and listening to music. I really like that explanation because I am struggling so much with what to identify myself as. I can't really label it and that has been frustrating me. Throughout my life I have tried many different belief systems on for size and I think its ok to take what resonates with you and leave the rest.
My own spiritual journey began very young. I was raised Catholic and forced to go to church every Sunday until I was 18. When I turned 18, my mother told me it was my choice whether I wanted to continue going and the next Sunday, I blissfully slept in and never went back to another Sunday mass ever again. I just didn't buy the mythology of the Catholic faith. I questioned everything at a very early age. Also, mass was really boring, the priests were old fashioned and I hated the smell of incense. But on a serious note, it didn't make any sense to me that we are born sinners and we have to ask for forgiveness. For what exactly? There is too much black and white without plausible explanations for things. Being gay is wrong and so is birth control. The Bible was not meant to be taken literally and even if it was, it was written thousands of years ago by a bunch of white men. Don't you think its a little outdated? Its opinion and not fact to me. The kind of blind devotion that this type of religion demands has never been my M.O. I also think that the Catholic church can be very damaging to young people - they preach that sex outside of marriage is wrong, but also talking about your best friend behind their back is also wrong. The spectrum seems way to vast to comprehend. Read between the lines - everything is a sin! I grew up not trusting any decisions I made because I thought they would all lead to sin. Pretty fucked up if you ask me. Hence, why I walked out of the church at 18 and never willingly sat through another mass again.
In high school, I had a great religion teacher who introduced me to a whole new host of world religions like Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and several more. While I found it fascinating to see the differences, many core beliefs remained the same. There was messages of love and devotion and service to others even though the path and symbols are different. In my 20s, I dabbled in Buddhism. I bought books and read as much as I could about but in the end while much of it resonated with me, I didn't believe wholeheartedly. More importantly, it didn't FEEL right. My parents and I went on a trip to Amish country and I remember being so utterly fascinated by the way they lived and how they shunned all modern conveniences. I was hungry to know more. I felt like this through so much of my 20s - exploring religions felt like a hobby of mine. I would get wrapped up in studying one thing or another and not because I felt like I wanted to be part of one particular religion, but because I really truly wanted to understand what made people devote their life to a certain religion. What is it in a person that makes us seek out and then some to ultimately find the intangible thing that will make sense out of life? Ultimately those who follow organized religion want to be told what is right and what is wrong. We all are looking for a moral compass of sorts to guide us through this confusing, overwhelming life.
The point where things really started to change for me in my spiritual journey was on a trip to Sedona, Arizona in my late 20s. I was moved not by the multiple churches that populate the area but by the landscape and the feel of the place itself. I felt a peace there - it seemed to live in the ground and in the beautiful red rocks. I went to psychics and got my aura read but what I really remember is standing on a hiking path amidst this beautiful natural world and feeling chills up and down my arms and spine. The earth was speaking to me; not a god in the sky sitting on a throne. I was so struck that I could feel this way being in a place and not a man made one but a natural one. That had never really happened before. I thought, "Wow, THIS is what people must feel like when they are in a church!" I feel like this sometimes by the ocean when the waves are washing over my feet or hiking the white mountains of New Hampshire. Paganism has much of its roots in the natural world. Pagans believe in mother earth and many of their rituals are celebrating nature. There are many other things Pagans believe that I don't. Again, here I am picking and choosing.
My most recent dabbling in religious and spiritual things has been the most profound however, and I think its because I'm at a place in my life where I am ready to accept what works for me and not label it. Here is what I do believe: I believe in reincarnation and that the purpose of us coming back to earth is to learn and our lessons are about embracing love and conquering fears. reincarnation. I believe that humans and animals and all other living things are connected and we all have the divine in us and that manifests as intuition, kindness, love and service to others. I believe in having a moral code of conduct and for me that is; being kind to everyone and treating everyone equally including animals and nature.This is also includes forgiveness, empathy, compassion, justice, loyalty and peace. I believe that there is something else after we die, there are other planes of existence. I believe that prayer can include anything that is creative or just asking the universe for help. I believe we all have a specific purpose in life and we are here to fulfill that and to learn and grow into our potential. I believe in spirit guides. I believe that there are things we can't identify with the senses but that we can feel.
On the flip side, here is what I don't believe: crystals that have all these crazy powers, a god that sits in the sky and tells us what is right and wrong and punishes us when we make the wrong choice, organized religion, wars in the name of god, blindly believing something without thought or doubt, coercing others to believe what we do, condemning people for life style choices, telling people how they live is wrong.
Most importantly, I feel like my spirituality is evolving all the time and I am learning and growing with it. I will never have all the answers nor do I think I am meant to.
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