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Structure and Classification
This article was sent to me by Maxine who at this point is not able to access the Portal for some reason. Andrey is sorting it out. I felt that Maxine would love to share this will you all.
In Love and Light
Ursula
STRUCTURE AND CLASSIFICATION
I have
always resisted being put in a box, when it comes to my spiritual path, for a
number of reasons.
My primary resistance is due to the fact that I do
not wish to be limited in any way in my pursuit of truth, as it pertains to who
I am in relationship with the All.
Secondly, I have never felt a
resonance with sterile ritual or rote prayer, which is what I encountered in
most of the religious services I have visited upon my journey.
All
religion started as a mystical experience by some individual and then humans, in
their attempt to capture the event, in their effort to duplicate the epiphanies,
set up structures.
These structures, are ultimately doomed to fall short
of the teachings of the masters they were established to honor, because they
seek to bring into intellectual terms that which can not be experienced
intellectually.
Before long, in any structure, the original teaching is
forgotten and the structure itself becomes the object of worship.
Listen
to what Abraham Maslow has to say in his book Religions, Values, and Peak
Experiences:
"Most people lose or forget the subjectively
religious experience, and redefine Religion as a set of habits, behaviors,
dogmas, forms, which at the extreme becomes entirely legalistic and
bureaucratic, conventional, empty, and in the truest meaning of the word,
anti-religious. The mystic experience, the illumination, the great awakening,
along with the charismatic seer who started the whole thing are forgotten, lost,
or transformed into their opposites. Organized Religion, the churches, finally
may become the major enemies of the religious experience and the religious
experiencer."
What happens with structure is that it naturally
develops its own consciousness, its own sense of importance. This self-identity
oftentimes becomes more significant than the reason the structure was created in
the first place.
Personally, my spiritual journey is more closely
aligned with the objectives Joel Goldsmith discussed in The Infinite
Way:
"Illumination dissolves all material ties and binds men
together with the golden chains of spiritual understanding; it acknowledges only
the leadership of the Christ; it has no ritual or rule but the divine,
impersonal, universal Love, no other worship than the inner Flame that is ever
lit at the shrine of Spirit. This union is the free state of spiritual
brotherhood. The only restraint is the discipline of Soul; therefore, we know
liberty without license; we are a united universe without physical limits, a
divine service to God without ceremony or creed. The illumined walk without fear
- by Grace."
I do not intend to be critical of church. Church as
community has infinite value.
What I repel is structure which I deem as
counterproductive or inhibiting.
Ultimately, this spiritual journey is
about complete and total surrender to our Source. Structure helps some get
headed in the right direction, and I applaud it for offering that support.
Once we grow beyond that elementary support system, however, the journey
is an individual one. It is for this reason I resist classification into some
Religious Box.
Box.
Hi All,
Sorry about the funny spacing. I copied and pasted and when it came up on the screen, it had changed the spacing. I tried to edit, but it went back to the original when I pushed the edit tab and then went back to the strange line spacing again.
Love
Ursula
Ursula, that was a very thoughtful examination of the scope of religion, both positive and negative, in many people's lives. As someone who has "tried on" several religious structures over the years, I agree with almost every point. While the structures have in their way been very helpful in directing me toward the goal, ultimately it's the structures themselves that bog people down spiritually. And the sad thing is, those who build the the big structures - the isms, not the individual beliefs - have known exactly what they were doing. So I too have major problems with organized religion.
officially I'm a Baha'i, but I'm completely inactive. I believe in the revelation but not the structure. Lately, I've learned things that have me considering formally renouncing my membership. Even if I do, I will be eternally grateful for things I learned as a Baha'i.
It isn't just religion, of course. Our educational system is entirely defined by "boxes." In legitimizing the drugging of unruly students on a large scale, administrators have found a deadly-efficient tool for shoving kids into boxes. Remember the hoax "Bonsai Kitten" website? That's a good metaphor for public education's vaunted structures.
I do believe the influence of the organized religions of the past are fading, which is in harmony with the march of history. The Baha'is believe that one day the whole world will be believers and that the world will be governed by the benevolent theocracy of the Universal House Of Justice in Haifa, Israel. That remains to be seen, many years in the future. It's true that the Baha'i Faith is more holistic and gentler than most of its predecessors (that is, the way most of its predecessors have come to be practiced). It is, however, too structured for me, by far.
If we can achieve a more holistic and individual approach to both education and religion, we can rise from the mess that we've made and make advances that are now mostly just pipedreams. That's the focus of my passion for Indigos, and it's why religion makes me itchy too.
8-D
Ursula, thank you for passing this on from Maxine. Hope she can get back on the portal real soon. Her post surely articulates the experience of many of us. Dave is right on when he observes that the structured religions have served many of us as we started the journey back to Oneness. For many, if not most, however, the walls of the boxes begin to block passage on to further growth of understanding and spiritual experience,
JoyAnna
Thanks Dave and JoyAnna for your comments.
Yes Dave, i have a huge issue regarding the drugging of children. I was lucky to be an older mom and when my daughter was born I knew she was 'different'. Even though at that time I did not have all the knowledge I do now, I instinctively knew that I just had to be "there" for her and to allow her to be herself. By the end of this year she will be fully qualified and have passed her Board of Psychology and will be working with children. She knows enough to be able to work outside the box, but had to get the degree to enable her to have credibility. I am glad that more and more of us have broken the walls of the boxes and have started the domino effect.
Love and Light
Ursula
For many, if not most, however, the walls of the boxes begin to block passage on to further growth of understanding and spiritual experience
Thanks for highlighting an important point! There are those for whom the structures of religion provide a pathway unerringly toward the Divine, keeps them focused and empowers them to shine. The life of St. Francis has always inspired me. I can think of others whom I've personally known. Some of these ultimately gave up that struggle and stepped out of the box when they found their empowerment and spiritual potential limited by the structures they served.
8-D