Spirituality, religions and fundamentalisms

"Spirituality is awareness of the water in the ocean, and religions are the currents in the ocean that fish can choose to swim in to go faster and further than they otherwise could. Fundamentalisms are aquariums that keep fish confined." – Roger Wolsey

I think it is an apt description of the nature of spirituality, religions and fundamentalism. It reminds me of a similar parable by Anthony de Mello about a fish wanting to find the ocean, and going about asking where the ocean is, until one day it realises it is already in the ocean. That is to me spirituality - an awareness of the water in the ocean. 

Religions to me, on the other hand, are subjective mental constructs and spiritual practices meant to help people become aware of the water in the ocean - to realise God or Divine is already in us, with us, around us and as us, in the here and now. 

Finally, fundamentalism is creating walls of an aquarium, as the quote says, and limiting the divine to a particular time and space and to a particular creed for an elect group of fishes that like to feel exclusive to experience that oh-so-elusive divine that comes once in a while and disappears when they think they miss it.

 

the TRUE SELF (the Divine, God within) ~John O'Donohue

"So, we first need to recognize our false self, then comes the struggle with our false self; and then... may it be an opening of our heart to allow the blossoming of the TRUE SELF (the Divine, God within)" - Sigrid Marshall

"Often we can't feel the presence of God because we don't let ourselves alone." ~John O'Donohue

I agree that it is in stillness and silence of our solitude that we become more aware of the presence of God or the Divine within us, as the verse goes, be still and know I Am (God/Divine). As the post mentioned, it may involve an initial struggle within to recognise our false self and comes to terms with our false self, and as we open our heart to embrace the totality of who we are, we allow our true self (God or the Divine within) to blossom. This reminds me of the enlightenment scene in the movie "Little Buddha" which illustrates how Prince Siddharta eventually conquered his false self (known as mara or the tempter) while meditating under the bodhi tree, and awakened to his true self. Similarly Jesus wrestled with his false self (or the devil) in the wilderness and prevailed, not giving in to the temptation to do something prove that he is the son of God because he has learnt to be still and know he is God incarnated, and his true self cannot be taken away or changed by doing or not doing anything.

John O'Donohue's quote is also remarkably true because it is usually when we are alone that we commune best with God through listening to the still small voice within us. It is unfortunate that in mainstream or evangelical Christianity, the followers are not encouraged to spend time alone as much as they are encouraged to "go to church" and "be in the presence of God" because the preachers would quote Jesus saying "when two or three are gathered in my name, there I am". However Jesus was not referring to a church building or organisation when he said that, and he was simply referring to his manifestation in terms of a collective body of Christ made up of people that is not confined to any particular location or religion or belief system. So this mistaken idea of "going to church" to be "in God's presence" has become a bondage to fear for both the preachers and the church goers to perpetuate the weekly system of church programmes in the name of God because they might be afraid if they don't go to the Sunday service, they may "miss God's voice" or God may not be pleased with them, and so on. Yet Jesus himself often spend time alone in nature to be with God/Divine, and the bible recorded he heard God's voice audibly not in a synagogue but in nature places, such as by the river or on a mountain, declaring he is God's beloved son in whom he is well pleased. Similarly when we are alone, we will hear the still small voice affirming our belovedness and innocence and divinity as pertaining to our true self. Love is who we are.

"5 lines worth erasing in your life" - Jim Palmer

5 lines worth erasing in your life:
The line between "sacred" and "secular"
The line between "us" and "them"
The line between "divine" and "human"
The Line between "God" and "life" 
The line between "the pretend you" and "the real you" 
Jim Palmer 

Yes, we are all one and connected to the Divine and to one another, so there is no separation or duality. All life is sacred, and we are both human and divine. 

 

A deep unmovable sense of peace

“No matter how much drama others are into, you can see them as the creative expression of the same one Source from which all has sprung. When you are in that holy space and you begin to look at things with new eyes, there will come a peace that the world does not know, but a peace that you know very deeply within your soul, a peace that you yearn for, a peace that says, ‘I am okay no matter what happens in my life, no matter what drama, no matter what seeming loss or abandonment, no matter what seeming wrong choices have come, I am okay. I am divine. I am loved. I am love walking on two feet, and I will be that sun —s-u-n— the Light of the world.’ "

Oakbridge University ~ Jeshua Online ~ Message of the Day~

Yes, when we are resting in the Source, we are experiencing a deep unmovable sense of peace, knowing we are loved and we are divine.

The Divine is beyond any label or myth or name

After coming to see the bible as a collection of myths and legends, I feel a sense of aversion whenever I come across blogs or comments that still hold on to the idea of Jesus as a historical figure, and talking about sin and hell. In my mind, I was basically cursing and swearing at such religious ideologies.

I actually think it is very normal to react like that. To me, this belief system is unfortunately not only based on ancient mythology, but also creates divisions among people, discriminating against those people who do not profess to follow "Jesus", and propagating the illusion of separation.

That's the reason I have decided to read the book "Who was Jesus - fingerprints of the Christ" by D.M. Murdock. It was written by the same author whose books were used as a basic resource to produce the movie "Zeitgeist", which sought to debunk the whole Jesus hoax. My curiosity has been stirred to want to find out more about how the whole Jesus myth came about, and what motivated the early century writers to come up with such a compelling myth. My conclusion for now is that it was meant to serve the purpose of rebelling against the Roman authority back then. It would no longer serve that purpose in our day and age.

People are awakening, and leaving the institutional church for good. Hence, evangelical preachers are getting nervous. Even progressive christians appear to be making last ditch attempts to "save" the idea of a historical Jesus, and tries to make him the ruler of everything through their latest books and blogs. But the truth be known, the Source or Divine, as I understand it, is beyond any label or myth or name. As long as people are attached to a person or deity or ideology or label, they are still bound in some ways to pledge allegiance to a particular group or dogma or denomination. This mindset goes against the grain of universal love and unity and brotherhood.

Thoughts on Devotionals

I usually don't read the devotionals nowadays, since much of it I have already read before about our original blueprint in the image and likeness of God, so at the most, it may serve only as a reminder, if we need reminders of our true identity.

Other than that, I have moved on beyond the separation mindset of mainstream christian theology, and the concept of "sin", which to me is an outdated religious concept that doesn't apply to any one of us at all, as it is only used in the context of the Jewish culture and mindset. As shared with you before, the bible may contain some spiritual truths I can learn from, but it is not the absolute truth.

The truth is within each of us, and we can learn from any other sources or books that dispel the illusion of separation, and point to our innate innocence, and our value and dignity as human beings (or spiritual beings on a human journey). Native American spirituality, and some aspects of Taoism, Buddhism, paganism and new age, etc, all convey a similar message that we are all one, and the divine is in us.

How Great is the Divine

The Divine was expansive, but religion was reductive. Religion attempted to reduce the Divine to a knowable quantity with which mortals might efficiently deal, to pigeonhole it once and for all so that we never had to reevaluate it.
With hammers of can't and spikes of dogma, we crucified and crucified again, trying to nail to our stationary altars the migratory Light of the world.
~Tom Robbins

 Yes, the Divine is expansive and cannot be contained within the restrictive confines of religion. The expansive nature of the Divine reminds me of the Universe, which is also ever expanding. So are we, for we too are the Universe, and we are ever on a journey to know ourselves. The more we know ourselves, the more we discover there is so much to know, for there is an infinite depth to our soul. We are deep calling unto deep, and marvellous co-creators with greatness, power, beauty, wisdom and love within us that is endless. Hence, religion can never be able to do justice to the wonderful Us/Divine with their dogma. God/Us are like the new wine that cannot be contained in old wine skins, and we are like the unending spring that flows unceasingly with rivers of life.