SPIRITUAL SHOPPING
A handful of good reads for your spiritual shopping. ‘Be Here Now’ by Ram Das, ‘Man’s Eternal Quest’ by Paramahansa Yogananda, ‘The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali’, ‘The Bhagavad Gita’, ‘Living Buddha Living Christ’ by Thic Nat Hanh, ‘Jesus Calling’, and more Thic Nat Hanh, pocket sized.
I come from a Catholic family. I had my first communion, studied the catechism, was confirmed, chose my favorite saint, memorized prayers, went to mass, took communion, went to confession, and on and on…. These were all things that were expected of me as a child because both my parents were also raised in Catholic families.
I didn’t “get” the teachings of Jesus Christ when I was younger, probably because they were force fed to me and catechism was boring, like algebra. It wasn’t until later, in early adulthood, when I really began to love and understand Christ. I think it was Kazantzakis’ book, The Last Temptation of Christ, that really turned me onto Jesus and the benefits of learning his Gospel. The book authenticates his humanity, his life as a man, a man with a profound gift to share, but still a man, with flaws and unhealed wounds, a man searching for clarity, freedom, and love. When I connected with Jesus on this level, Jesus the man not Jesus the deity, my spirituality blossomed and there was no turning back. From here I began to explore other gospels, other religions, and other prophets and spiritual leaders.
I’ve endearingly called this “my spiritual shopping”. I have found beautiful nuggets of wisdom and guidance from a myriad of great religions. Of course there is also a variety of dogmatic and useless garbage that comes along with every religion too. This I leave behind, but I’m careful to pick out the auspices that really shine to add to my collection of understanding.
There’s nothing wrong with praying a rosary and praying a mala. They both do the same thing for your spiritual growth and wellness. They’re both beautiful traditions with profound benefits.
So I have developed my own “religion” per se, but it’s a “non-religion”. There are no rules, no limitations, no boundaries. I pray and give thanks in countless ways, and I’m always re-inventing the ways that I apply my non-religion. This approach to acknowledging Spirit (God, Allah, Universe, or I often call it ‘Sweet Divine’) came as a result of my deep exploration of many religions and many teachers. Spirituality is a journey, and in my opinion, one that should be launched in the expansion of self discovery, using the faculties of one’s unique and individual perspective. This is not to say that spirituality doesn’t serve an extremely important role in community and kinship because it certainly does. But acquiring a truly heart based faith in ‘The Sweet Divine’ through a myriad of resources, experiences, and teachers is a pursuit worth taking first on one’s own.
Our world is so abundant and our species so resourceful. Why not compose a tradition that is unique to you? Our paths to understanding and connecting with that which breathes life into our awareness are limitless. So go shopping, pick and choose the teachings and experiences that you resonate with. Explore the stories that make your heart sing, or create ‘aha’ moments for you. Examine the works of many masters. Climb a mountain, pet your dog, sit in a meadow, ride a horse, play with your kids, pray a mala, pray a rosary, gaze into your lover’s eyes, meditate, cook…do whatever makes you feel connected to spirit and you fashion your very own, personalized, non-religion.
Namaste, Blessings, Vaya con Dios *
