Some Thoughts about Spirituality

Although I talk about Buddhism as an active source of spirtuality in my life, I stop just short of claiming it. When I pray, the idea of a benevolent patriarchal figure looking down on me seems practically burned into my psyche--perhaps due to my attendance of Grace Evangelical Lutheran church EVERY Sunday as a child living at my dad's house, or perhaps due to the influence of my Grandpa and Grandma--members of their Detroit Church of Christ Congregation for over 50 years.

But...though I can't outline my spiritual manifesto, there are certain things that I know I believe. Like, I believe it is important to acknowledge a power in the universe that is larger than myself but that includes me, all of me. And, I also believe that things happen for a reason--though that reason may not be apparent when we would most like, and though the reason may change as we change. I guess related to that, I believe that we are all here for a purpose....

Okay, even as I type, I can feel myself drifting into a smarmy pseudo-religiocommentary. I'm half expecting to accidently refer to you as "thou."

But seriously, I do think we are all here for a purpose--probably, multiple purposes. In my own life, I define my purpose (when I'm thinking about it clearly) as doing good work. And since I fail quite often at that, I believe that we are also here to learn.

I believe in Karma...though there are clear parallels to this in the Bible (Whatsover a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Ga. 6:7).

But then again, I'm also a product of The Farm, the "Largest and Longest Running Intentional Community" in the United States. Here's a quote from Stephen Gaskin, the leading mind behind the creation of The Farm:

"We all start with undifferentiated energy, and then we hold an idea of our self, and if we lose that idea of our self we start to die. That's what happens to people, they lose their idea of themselves, and don't create themselves good enough to make it anymore. We're each one creating our own self and our whole universe. Saying things like that is like throwing a rock out somewhere and listening for an echo. It really is, because like when I say that you are all gods creating your own universe then there's implications that should arise in your mind, like this is the universe that you're creating right now... see. Here we are. This is your creation... each one of you. Each of you creates all this."

Coming up as a kid, I was liable to have my parents tell me that I was "being too into the juice" (the juice being the collective energy present at any time). My mom and stepdad also talked a lot about positive and negative "vibes."

The idea of "energy" being all around us and a part of us is central to my idea of spirituality.

Anyway, those are my random thoughts on my higher power.