…when thou prayest, enter into thy closet.. (Matthew 6:6)
Unfortunately, blogs are the antithesis of closets.
This post is an experiment in exposure. Sometime early last month before weather (the conversational safety net) began to predominate my psyche and blog, I was going to add a couple of Most Memorable Hermits to my list, but I kept procrastinating because both are spiritual teachers and I have some fairly deep-seated inhibitions over “talking about religion.” It is so easy to offend.
Now that I no longer have weather to hide behind, I’m stalled out again, so I’ve decided to just blat out some of my own beliefs first (to put what I say about the two hermits in context). I’ll then add the two hermits in rapid succession and see what happens.
Perhaps those I offend will forgive me. Linear time is a bit illusory in the blogosphere, but perhaps by Sunday I’ll have deleted the posts, acquired a pseudonym, stopped blogging all together, or been struck down by lightning. Here goes:
I believe in an immanent and transcendent Divine Creative Field – universal consciousness, oneness, allness, some sort of divine essence – call it God if you want, I usually do not though I am not put off when others do.
I DO NOT believe in a pathologically megalomaniacal, vengeful bearded white dude sitting on a throne somewhere passing judgment on the behavior of humans and punishing any that don’t conform to his dictates.
Although I believe there are threads of positive, universal moral, ethical and spiritual truths to be found in the writings of all of Earth’s major religions, I DO NOT BELIEVE any one religion’s “Word of God” is more accurate than any other. I consider words themselves human constructs – when translated and politically redefined through generations of evolving circumstances, written works have been known to stray from the original – occasionally missing the author/speaker’s original intent completely.
I believe this Divine Creative Field is accessible to each one of us with or without religious hierarchy, ritual or dogma.
I believe in the eternal continuity of spirit (though not necessarily the continuance of individual identity). Spirit to me is energy – divine energy, the essence of creativity, peace, unconditional love, compassion and forgiveness – that which motivates us to transcend our animalistic instincts and be more – call it a Soul if you want, I usually do not, though I am not put off when others do.
I believe in the power of forgiveness, love and compassion for ourselves and all others as the best path to understanding and transcending the way things have been, accepting the way things are and improving the way things will be.
I believe we all come into the world truly innocent (even the bad guys) – each and every one a perfect creation of the divine field – and after we get here, things go to hell or heaven, or any combination thereof, both of which exist, are accessible, and can be experienced and seen right here on Earth – no separate PLACES to go to.
I believe life is a learning opportunity for each of us. An opportunity in which we can choose to express the divine rather than the animalistic. Our individual responsibility for making those choices, every day, makes every day judgment day. To me, Immanent Divinity essentially means “You are God.” That makes each of us eternally responsible – Karma by any other name.
I believe in the enormous power and potential of the intellect, reason and science. I also believe the intellect (and thus reason and science) can be inherently limited by (often unacknowledged) subjectivities. I support organizations such as The Institute of Noetic Sciences which attempt to integrate and bridge the gap between science and spirituality.
I believe no human, not scientist or religious leader, knows the absolute truth about what happens to us when we die. The ultimate commonality among all humans is we don’t get to find out that particular answer until we die ourselves. Since I believe there is some continuity of consciousness, I personally like to think the first thing that happens at death is we relax and have a good laugh – laugh at all the silly hoo-hah in which we were over-invested while alive. I look at death as an opportunity for an adventure of discovery. Of course, I don’t know anything for sure, so I acknowledge the possibilility that death is an absolute end – but if that is true, there’s still nothing to fear because there will be no way to mind being dead.
I think very few us get to feel like we got everything done before the moment of our death arrives. Therefore, I believe it is extremely important to express love, compassion and forgiveness right now – even before you get all that other stuff done.
I believe evolution is an vital element of creation.
I believe in the ultimate beauty and awesome power of nature which reminds us to practice humility and provides us with life’s playfield upon which we are granted the opportunity learn to do better.
I believe in inclusivity not exclusivity.
I believe in some universal and eternal connectedness of consciousness, including the extension of this connection beyond mortality of the individual. I believe this connectedness of consciousness is sometimes accessible to each of us and may account for many “unscientific” human psychic phenomena (PSI).
My belief in this universal connectedness includes some confidence in the concept of reincarnation – wherein one’s divine essence chooses to serially manifest as specific life forms within particular life circumstances to best address individual or collective karmic resolution and to grow spiritually. I tend to believe we incarnate and bond in groups (switching roles and relationships like playing different parts in a play). For me, this particular quirk of magical thinking empowers me to conquer grief over the loss of loved ones and forgive those who choose to play bad guys (whether they do it through ignorance, childhood programming, psychological deficit or simply to provide invaluable though uncomfortable lessons for the rest of us).
I believe animals are a part of this universal divine connectedness. I believe most animals are fully capable of experiencing and expressing emotions, including but not limited to love.
I practice meditation with some regularity.
I devote about 20 percent of my available reading hours to the investigation of spiritual and philosophical concepts.
I’m a pro-choice, feminist. (Ouch, that oughta alienate a few followers.) This, of course, excludes me from membership in most (though not all) religious organizations. However, if I was a joiner, I suppose I’d be a Taoist or a Unitarian, but I’m not a joiner. Although I understand and appreciate the value of fellowship and communion, my hermit nature resists participating.
I try to honor those threads of positivity common among the world’s major religions. I try to forgive those negative aberrations which recur so loudly when religions are used as tools of political power – locally, regionally, nationally or globally. I believe manipulative and oppressive regimes (religious or otherwise) are expressions of animalistic territoriality and have no relationship to divinity. I try not to judge others by their religious affiliations. I try not to judge entire religions by the bad behavior of a few loud fanatics within each fold.
I feel extremely fortunate to have been born into and reside in a society which actually values and legislates freedom of religion (though not freedom from religion). The discourse that results from the cultivation of this freedom aggravates me from time to time, and at other times seems just silly – but it is a variety of discourse that we should all prize – the option isn’t even available to much of the world’s population.
That’s the basics. I spilled out a lot more than I thought I would. Forgive me, if you can. If not, may you find peace within your system of belief.
