Welcome to Spiritual Enlightenment
At some point during my adult years, I looked back on my life and realized I was a fraud. My physical world was drastically out of alignment with my spiritual one. It was similar to cooking an elaborate meal while starving, but not being able to consume it. I grew up in a very strict Christian setting dominated by Southern Baptist doctrines. Church every Sunday, choir, usher board, trustee board, Sunday school, morning service, evening service... the environment was filled with bible-toting scripture-quoting tongue-speaking hallelujah shouting folks! Fortunately, I was exposed to many people of integrity and positive influences that instilled in me priceless values. My parents emphasized education until it was drilled into my psyche. On the flip side, I was fed a lot of half-truths, partial truths, and altered truths by so-called well-meaning people. Ignorance, closed-mindedness, pride, & arrogance are likely some of the causative factors. Therefore, I impersonated what a Christian should look and act like based on deficient information. There was no valid connection between the worldly me and my higher self. I impersonated what a Christian should look and act like, but I had no real relationship with my Creator. I prayed to a God I was told to pray to quoting the prayers I was taught to quote. Like a soldier taking orders from his commanding officer: You do as you are told and trained to do whether you are feeling it or not!
Out of Nowhere
I am not sure what event triggered my self-realization, yet it was life-transforming. The process is nowhere near complete rendering an ongoing journey. A crucial part of my being that was sleep woke up and jolted me to the core. Sadly, many people live their whole lives and depart without recognizing that crucial element. My recognition of that element catapulted my mind to a higher wave length. There was a burst of clarity illuminating my understanding of almost everything.
One major area of enlightenment is human sensuality--the mother of physical intimacy. The religious forums that dominate the media treat it like it is nonexistent (unless a scandal hits the news) or something to shun from discussion. In contrast, sensuality should be celebrated and promoted within a God-ordained context. Consequently, inner eyes open, new ideas blossom, paradigms shift, and higher consciousness ensues.
Spiritual enlightenment brings about intelligence and inner peace. It is not about being a Biblical scholar or expert on religious topics because I am neither--far from it! I started this blog not just to disperse information, but to gain knowledge and expand my horizons. It is truly about making a connection with God who leads us to connecting with deeper aspects of ourselves. Those deeper aspects make up the true self...not our careers, bank accounts, personal possessions, or physical bodies.
Our Eclectic Universe
The physical universe is evidence that the Creator loves diversity. A child of the universe, planet Earth, clearly follows suit with its potpourri of life forms. Within the same life form is remarkable variation ( different species of fish, plants, human racial groups, etc). Does it not stand to reason diversity is expressed on every level of existence/consciousness? It does not matter if you are Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, etc. because you are a different expression of the same universe. Different cloths of fabric are required to construct the quilt. I discovered that all religions contribute knowledge and perspectives that are necessary to complete life's masterpiece. It seems as if everyone has a piece to the puzzle of the universe that may never be fully explained on this realm.
The paths we choose to take to self-realization are possible through the gift from God called free will. I have discovered there are far more similarities than differences between the major philosophies that lend more support of each other than contradiction. Besides, I dare to count the numerous contradictions that exist just within the Christian faith. Historical and present events demonstrate other religions are plagued with the same multiple interpretations/variations. At one time, the news was flooded with horror stories of conflicts between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims...there is only one Quran is there not??? No one, no science, no religion has escaped the divisiveness of multiple perspectives. Conflicting interpretations give birth to confusion, disbelief, and disillusionment.
One will be greatly distracted if not focused on their own inner voice. It's the God inside of you and me. Ultimately, that is the key: Hearing your own inner voice because once that occurs everything else falls into place.
"The most fatal illusion is the settled point of view. Since life is growth and motion, a fixed point of view kills anybody who has one." Brooks Atkinson, Drama Critic
Science has proven that everything in the universe is actually energy vibrating at different frequencies. The science of chakras has always stirred my fascination and interest. However, the Western world often thrust me in circles of rigid people who shunned Eastern-based spiritualism. It was my decision to acquire a level of spiritual maturity where I was willing to broaden my scope of how I viewed the universe. The feeling of understanding a different system of knowledge might some how complete the life puzzle was always lingering. Have you ever allowed your religious/spiritual views to hinder you from investigating others? Do you consider yourself open-minded believing all religions, at the least, offer a piece to the puzzle or are you totally convinced your spiritual views are the only reality and everybody else is crazy? How do your views impact how you interact socially with individuals of different belief systems?
Over 4000 religions have been identified on the planet earth as of 2014. Among the world religions, only 15-20 have been identified as major (based on the extent of membership). I was surprised to find that Atheism is considered a religion. I always viewed Atheism as the absence of religion (I will discuss that in more detail in a future post). See chart on Major Religions of the World Ranked By Number of Adherents on ChartsBin.com. One can easily find a potpourri of statistical data that confirms the majority of the world population is religious (adheres to a specific belief system). Wikipedia states, "A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence." In other words, religion gives us an organized format to explain why we exist, the purpose for our existence, and how to go about fulfilling that purpose. Most religions are supported by ancient writings explaining the origins of that belief system, eg., the Tanakh of Judaism. Ancient doctrines serve as a guide for our behavior and performing designated rituals. More specifically, religion dictates social behavior and expresses itself via ritualistic practices. In my opinion, it gives people hope based on faith, direction, and purpose...something meaningful to strive for.
Religion has been blamed for much of the conflict and chaos in the world as it impacts how humans view and interact with each other. How can that be when it is meant to promote clarity and enlightenment? There is no denying that a substantial amount of the hatred and violence we experience, observe, or hear about is based on religious differences, distortion, and misinterpretations; Slave owners in the historical United States used the Holy Bible as their justification for cruelty to African Americans. There are Muslim extremists who use the Quran as justification to hate and slaughter Christians. Tribal warfare is rampant in certain parts of the world due to clashes in beliefs and culture. The Vatican has been accused of distorting the church system to suit their own personal agenda. Based on those realities, some have come to the conclusion that religion is not a good thing.
What is your opinion on this topic? Do you agree or disagree with the impact religion has made on history as well as current events? If you do not agree with the manifestation of religion, then what do you propose as the explanation for the human journey? How do your views impact solutions to world problems and social dilemmas we presently face?
