Matters Of Spirit

Religions are constructed around Spirituality.
Now, Spirituality is a universal thing. It is not a thing that can be learned or fully described. It is something which must be experienced. It is a moment of clarity, a moment when we "plug in" the Holy "puzzle piece" which is within each one of us. It is a moment when we see things with infinite perception. It is a thing William James described as "mysterium tremendum". It is variously described in religions as: "the filling of the Holy Spirit", "Enlightenment", "drawing down the moon", and so forth. It is an overwhelming moment of absolute clarity of purpose -- when everything makes sense to us.
This moment is something which must be felt, and not thought about. For the moment we think about it -- the moment we realize it's happening and we try to understand it -- it fades. It is a moment of perfection, and perfection is so difficult to hold on to.

Spirituality is a fulfillment of purpose. It gives meaning to our lives. It answers questions and gives direction. It is a moment when we exist in harmony with the universal whole. It is a time when we understand it all, for the briefest of moments.
And Spirituality is the moment we take the Sacred within ourselves and connect it with the Sacred outside ourselves. For the Sacred exists within all things. And through our connection with all things we are made more complete.

No Bad People

There are no bad people.
Oh, there are ignorant people: people who just don't know; people who just don't understand. There are people who are full of fear. There are angry people. There are hateful people. And there are desperate people.
But there are no bad people.

Give and Get

In our world, so much emphasis is made on having things. It is leftover from the instinct to conserve -- like squirrels gathering nuts to survive the winter that never comes.
But we live in a world where our basic needs are filled. We can survive quite comfortably. And yet, we still try to fill that desire to simply "have".
Once again, our "evolutionary holdover" instinct sets upon us, and we endanger ourselves and others. For all this wanting is greed -- a desire to have no matter what the consequences to oneself or to others.
Greed is the very basis of our society. So much selfishness. And so many suffer for the extreme selfishness of so few.
We celebrate our holidays by teaching our children to want even more. And we spend ourselves into debt trying to fill the hunger we've created in them. The cycle goes on from generation to generation.
And we forget how to conserve at all!

Where is the compassion? Where is the love? How can we continue to think only of ourselves?
How can we forget that we are all interconnected through the Web of Life?

Revisiting the Garden

Many people today miss the points of their own mythology. Interestingly enough, the Creation/Evolution debate becomes nonexistent if we examine the Biblical Creation stories in their mythological context.
Perhaps the most telling tale in the Bible is the "Garden of Eden" story. This story is unique to Judeo-Christendom, as the "6 Days of Creation" story is a copy of the Babylonian Enuma Elish. The "Garden" myth focuses on the origin of suffering, for in this story all is in balance until mankind eats of the Tree of Knowledge and is then cast out of the garden.
Sadly, many believe this story is a literal tale, and so they miss the whole point of the myth. As myths use metaphors to tell their story, much of the "Garden" story becomes very clear when we but try to understand the symbols.
The Garden, it seems, is a peaceful and perfect place. This is where the animals and plants are. Here is where all is beautiful and in balance. Here is where the Tree of Life is. Here, also, is where God walks.
The Garden represents a time when we were in balance with the animals. It is a metaphor for a time when we were no different from animals. A time when we were emotionally-driven creatures -- not the somewhat rational creatures that we are today.
In the Garden we were cautioned not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. But the serpent, long a symbol of transformation and rebirth, encouraged us to do otherwise. And so, by eating of the Tree of Knowledge we were transformed from reactive creatures into active ones. That is to say that we went from lives of simply reacting to instincts and emotions to lives of active change. And so we began to shape the patterns of our own lives.
And so the "Garden" story represents the moment when we separated ourselves from the Animal Kingdom -- the time when we became human.

"Season of Blood"

Four birds dropped from the sky,
And the twin brothers fell.
The eagle was wounded to the heart,
And the air stank with the dark stench of death.

Stunned Silence.
Fear. Anger. Hatred.
Retribution.

Holy War: Profane Peace.
Comfortless Caves: Contemplation. Conviction.

Traitors to the Nation.
Traitors to humanity.
A torrent of tears
in a Season of Blood.

Suicide bombers
to defeat the Undefeatable.
Fear. Bigotry. Retaliation!
No Peace! And no Justice.

Mothers cry,
And their children can't play together...
In peace.

To The Terrorists

To the terrorists I say: Who gives you the right to decide who should live and who should die?
You claim to be killing infidels, but in fact you are killing your own siblings! You claim Holy War, yet there is nothing holy about war.
You kill those you believe do not share your beliefs and yet the dead can never learn your beliefs.
You do not see the sacredness of life or understand its gift. And so you make yourselves, not the holy martyrs, but the damned!

Religion is Not the End-all

Religion is not the goal: it is the journey.
Religion is not the answer: it is the process.

Religion is the discipline we use to answer the great question of "Why?" It is a toolkit with which we try to get at spirituality. And the spiritual moment is the goal of our whole endeavour.