Such an interesting article , and interesting responses. I personally hate satnavs. I find them distracting and annoying. Maps, on the other hand, show you exactly where you are and give alternative routes. I once got caught in traffic at Stonehenge and turned off on a country lane, parked up with my map, and found a perfect route for me, maybe not the quickest, but pretty countryside and enjoyable views. Maybe there is a use for them, but it would always be my last choice. With religion I think we have to be careful, because it is all coming through the consciousness of a man/men. God ought to be experiential and sadly the church doesn't really teach that. In fact if you attend services, I find there is little or no quiet time, so you cannot connect. Unlike the Quaker services, where silence really is golden, and people speak only if they feel called to do so. Of course the church wants us to look outside of ourselves, to them as a higher authority. This is why so many turn from religion. My mum spent 18 months in hospital as a child, and when she returned to school was beaten by the nuns, because she couldn't keep up with the lessons the other children were familiar with. It turned her against the church. Yet with all the abuse we have seen, from priests to children, gurus to children, exploitation from those we feel should know better , are we surprised that they have allowed their human desires to be stronger than their connection to the Divine? They learn much of what they teach by rote, not by real connection. So can they lead the way for us? Perhaps, but only by showing us a map. They cannot take the path for us. And if that path is going in the wrong direction for us, then we must choose for ourselves.
This is a huge subject, Abby. Recovery from toxic spirituality under the guise of Christianity has been a lifetime practice for me. I give most of the credit to Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr whom I consider a prophet for our times and a doctor of the RCC. I still consider myself Christian but only as far as I follow Jesus’ example since Jesus never established an organization. The word church simply means a called-out assembly of people - in other words, a group of people meeting for a purpose - like for a party. I love that Jesus was baptised in the Jordan by his cousin, provided wine for a wedding, asked a lame man if he wanted to be well, was transfigured into a bright white light and hid himself in a piece of bread. Even the Catholic church teaches on paper that the individual conscience is the highest authority - so where it all went wrong I believe has everything to do with the church becoming an institution/organization, embracing the inherent errors of a hierarchical structure rather than maintaining an open circle of friends.
I love the analogy of a potter’s wheel for spiritual formation, we being the clay on the wheel, that God has a hand on the inside of us (the Spirit and our conscience) as well as a hand on the outside forming us (traditionally the church). But God precedes any church - always has. And our spiritual destinies have always been in our own hands.
A few years ago, a good friend of mine took me to a restaurant in another town. And at the time we entered the city she told me that she didn't know exactly where this restaurant is...
Immediately I felt an absolute inner knowing coming up, and told her how to drive, even though I have never driven myself to this restaurant!
The words popped up in my mind; go left, then right, by the roundabout third left etc... I even knew when we were approaching a roundabout!
I told her that I didn't know and yet did "know". But she stayed silent, not being able to comprehend.
And since then I use my inner compass, and sometimes with some help from my guide😁♥️.
You really need to be very quiet, and trusting your inner compass. If I panic (highway stress with bad weather, too busy, unknown roads etc.) I can trust the guidance of my guide, and I must say, he is of very good help!
It was interesting for me to note the fear and panic that arose in me as I read this. After the abuse I suffered at the hands of the 'church' the words church, christianity and god trigger a trauma response in me. I found I was holding my breath and didn't breath until I read your last paragraph. I feel mainstream religion has tried to cull our innate connection to the divine that is in us. I feel that they want us to look outside of ourselves for guidance instead of looking inside and connecting with the divine spark, our higher self, and our intuition. They seem to want us to believe that we need a middle man, and certainly don't seem to encourage us to be in communion or connection with our own divinity. Not sure if this makes any sense.
Such an interesting article , and interesting responses. I personally hate satnavs. I find them distracting and annoying. Maps, on the other hand, show you exactly where you are and give alternative routes. I once got caught in traffic at Stonehenge and turned off on a country lane, parked up with my map, and found a perfect route for me, maybe not the quickest, but pretty countryside and enjoyable views. Maybe there is a use for them, but it would always be my last choice. With religion I think we have to be careful, because it is all coming through the consciousness of a man/men. God ought to be experiential and sadly the church doesn't really teach that. In fact if you attend services, I find there is little or no quiet time, so you cannot connect. Unlike the Quaker services, where silence really is golden, and people speak only if they feel called to do so. Of course the church wants us to look outside of ourselves, to them as a higher authority. This is why so many turn from religion. My mum spent 18 months in hospital as a child, and when she returned to school was beaten by the nuns, because she couldn't keep up with the lessons the other children were familiar with. It turned her against the church. Yet with all the abuse we have seen, from priests to children, gurus to children, exploitation from those we feel should know better , are we surprised that they have allowed their human desires to be stronger than their connection to the Divine? They learn much of what they teach by rote, not by real connection. So can they lead the way for us? Perhaps, but only by showing us a map. They cannot take the path for us. And if that path is going in the wrong direction for us, then we must choose for ourselves.
This is a huge subject, Abby. Recovery from toxic spirituality under the guise of Christianity has been a lifetime practice for me. I give most of the credit to Franciscan Fr. Richard Rohr whom I consider a prophet for our times and a doctor of the RCC. I still consider myself Christian but only as far as I follow Jesus’ example since Jesus never established an organization. The word church simply means a called-out assembly of people - in other words, a group of people meeting for a purpose - like for a party. I love that Jesus was baptised in the Jordan by his cousin, provided wine for a wedding, asked a lame man if he wanted to be well, was transfigured into a bright white light and hid himself in a piece of bread. Even the Catholic church teaches on paper that the individual conscience is the highest authority - so where it all went wrong I believe has everything to do with the church becoming an institution/organization, embracing the inherent errors of a hierarchical structure rather than maintaining an open circle of friends.
I love the analogy of a potter’s wheel for spiritual formation, we being the clay on the wheel, that God has a hand on the inside of us (the Spirit and our conscience) as well as a hand on the outside forming us (traditionally the church). But God precedes any church - always has. And our spiritual destinies have always been in our own hands.
A few years ago, a good friend of mine took me to a restaurant in another town. And at the time we entered the city she told me that she didn't know exactly where this restaurant is...
Immediately I felt an absolute inner knowing coming up, and told her how to drive, even though I have never driven myself to this restaurant!
The words popped up in my mind; go left, then right, by the roundabout third left etc... I even knew when we were approaching a roundabout!
I told her that I didn't know and yet did "know". But she stayed silent, not being able to comprehend.
And since then I use my inner compass, and sometimes with some help from my guide😁♥️.
You really need to be very quiet, and trusting your inner compass. If I panic (highway stress with bad weather, too busy, unknown roads etc.) I can trust the guidance of my guide, and I must say, he is of very good help!
It was interesting for me to note the fear and panic that arose in me as I read this. After the abuse I suffered at the hands of the 'church' the words church, christianity and god trigger a trauma response in me. I found I was holding my breath and didn't breath until I read your last paragraph. I feel mainstream religion has tried to cull our innate connection to the divine that is in us. I feel that they want us to look outside of ourselves for guidance instead of looking inside and connecting with the divine spark, our higher self, and our intuition. They seem to want us to believe that we need a middle man, and certainly don't seem to encourage us to be in communion or connection with our own divinity. Not sure if this makes any sense.