The problem with Religion
My wondering mind and me. OK here is the ride. I was working on something else when a wave, really a tsunami, of profound thought and deeper inquiry captured my mind. I was open to hearing and the lesson asked me to explore as well. Instead of just shoveling in a concept I was beaconed to be more interactive.
Some
would say it would be more disciplined to finish my other essay and then devote
myself to a new creation. That is the
problem with education and religion. It often remains in a non-expanding box. The
sea is calling me and I am catching that wave.
This perfect wave might return but often those ideas and deep duck dives
are lost when we don’t go on the journey. Maybe I should just do the dishes but like the
poor, the dishes are always with us. Right?
I should vacuum but my baby begs to be held. Each new mom learns that. Right?
I have friends of all
religions. Wonderful people. I was going
to say that there are the main ones in my world. Jewish, Catholic, Buddhist, Mormon. Baptist. My
grandmother was a staunch Baptist and I went to summer Bible School most years.
I would begin to butt heads with my Grandmother during my teens. I was reading
a great deal and there were huge conflicts.
It seems hard to find people who started out
in religious families and remained true to those belief systems. It is perhaps good to begin in a family that
allows the organization of beliefs to create some structure. Flying without structure might not be wise
especially in the beginning. Flying
might require a good compass to prevent getting lost. Yogananda and Sai Baba
both refer to our
“ monkey minds” and that meditation requires focus. Both of those teachers were monumental in
helping us “Westerners” expand our perceptions.
It illustrates “religion” in the negative to say Paramahansa Yogananda
devotes and Sai Baba devotees would not be comfortable in the same room. As students
they both adhered to a framework of beliefs. To compare those two indoctrinations
would require a book the size of War and Peace. OMG. Just a small essay can barely do that justice
and yet both teachers were amazing. Could each religion serve as a concept puzzle
piece in a grand mosaic? There is a bigger
picture that allows for all beliefs and designs? Maybe, but it seems that the rough edges
would be smoothed the more enlightened and expanded one becomes. In context many statements become true. Jesus said "Whoever is not against us is for us" (Luke 9:50; Mark 9:40). But in
another biblical chapter he is quoted as saying: “Whoever is not with me is against me” (Matt. 12:30). In my summary I hope to
tie up some loose ends.
Is anything really
new?
My son painted a group of
Sunflowers. Jason was a magnificent artist. He could pull
deeply from the wealth of his imagination. His painting is on the
top. And I compare it to Van Gogh’s Sunflowers as well as a vase of
real sunflowers. Nothing beats nature? Gorgeous all. I respond
better to Jason’s use of color. It doesn’t seem to matter who painted it as
long as it speaks to the heart. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
We as creators can draw on all the concepts and make them
new just by running them through our interpretation. We are all
divinely inspired. Abraham/Ester Hicks has said this and I
paraphrase; wait until you feel the power of inspiration to do or create. It
is hard to make yourself be creative. And sometimes it is like
watching a parade pass by if you deny that chance to create. Try
catching a wave. I believe we are all meant to be surfers. I
was listening to Leonard Cohen’s lyrics from Suzanne. https://youtu.be/gUXC_dhQHzY. For
me the sunflowers are the children leaning towards love and like Jesus we all
are sailors on a sea that shall free us one day. We will be free when we have
learned something that kindergarteners know. I think that is believing in
yourself and don’t pay attention to the nay-Sayers. Perhaps
Shakespeare and Cohen embody spirituality beyond religion. They certainly
did ponder the human condition.
There will be no end in sight for this essay accept to end it. My
grandmother was lying in her hospital bed saying good bye to all of us. She
knew she had very little time left in this world. My mother did not
want to hear it. My mom said, “you are going to be fine”. Mom
left. My grandmother said to me, “We have argued over really small
things, like religion. This is the most important message; we love
each other and that is eternal.” I walked out and as I passed by the
waiting room I saw her brother sitting there. It dawned on me that
he died 10 years ago. I had a lump in my throat and guilt too. I
had taken her for granted. She died a few hours later and all the arguing
vanished.
Love is the bigger concept. People will continue to
divide over beliefs. In love we can allow others to grow and develop
their own conversation with God. Neale Walsch said “you got God all
wrong”. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0191NE1XI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
God will be more and more the next breath we take and less and
less an entity out in space somewhere. At least that is what I think
and Neale thinks that way too. Jesus summed it up when he mentioned the
love commandment and doing unto others as we would have done to us. We
have all made mistakes so it is true that no one should cast that first stone. Let’s
see: We are sailors who live in glass houses on a sandy beach? I
think that is good enough. There is no end to the learning and the expansion.
