Resolution of Super Hero Delusions
I’m done. Wonder woman has officially left the building. It has taken far more energy than I am willing to expend any longer to try and “save” people. At one point in my life that exercise took the form of proselytizing people towards a religion to which I no longer ascribe. At another it was sharing hard earned pearls of wisdom only to find out that those with whom I shared it could not appreciate the sage nor the journey it took me to get there. Now I over-stand that what people most often need to be saved from is themselves, but the only people that can rescue them, is them.
Recently, I had an interesting discussion with a person whose perspective was purely religious. And while I respect that journey, as it was the route that I also came through to get to the place that I am today, it served neither of us in our attempt to communicate effectively on the topic at hand. In her mind, she was attempting to “reason” with me based on her understanding of the Bible. What she did not understand was that my perspective was based off of conscious enlightenment and experience of which theory and doctrine could no longer withstand. To be both (spiritually) conscious and religious is an oxymoron – these two concepts are diametrically opposed. One allows for the freedom to discover a truth that is always constant and pre-existing (generally) within yourself. The other limits the understanding and ties one to the idea of truths as they are deemed by physical sources and material resources from without. We can understand this a bit better by examining the definitions of these two words:
Conscious (Adjective): Perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of thought or observation. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscious)
Religion (Noun) An organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, and rules used to worship god or a group of gods. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion)
The etymology of these words clarifies their meanings even better.
Conscious (Latin): knowing, active and awake (www.etymologyonline.com)
Religion (Latin; Religare) To restrain or tie back (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion)
It is important to note that a simple understanding of word roots will remind us that “re” means to do again. The word ligare by itself means to bind. Therefore, religion means to bind again. The implication is that prior to the condition of being bound, one was free, and this freedom was someone known. It suggests a pattern of binding and loosing time and again by the one who is experiencing it. When we consider that being conscious is a state of mind whereby information is actively engaged in an “awake” state to ascertain what is fact, we would be remiss to not understand and acknowledge that the opposite would apply for one who is engaging that same information from pre-established beliefs alone. They would then be “asleep.”
These things, however, are not something that one can truly teach a person. Try as you might, but in vain you will labor. Each of us has a purpose in life and it requires a unique journey. Sometimes, however, we go through valleys on that journey in which we find that others have also gathered and are resting. Instead of passing through – collecting the experiences and learning the lessons that afford us the ability to progress – we get comfortable and we begin to become one of mind with those we met on that timeline. I’ve been there and done that.
I hold three degrees’ in theology, and I can’t for the life of me understand why I still have these pieces of paper framed on my bookcases. All of my years in school and the many years that I served others in church and without can’t compare to anything that I’ve learned alone in the quiet of night with nothing but time and intent to be still and know the Creator. No longer confined to the pages of a book or the limited understanding that can be derived from such or those who attempt to teach it, the Creator can be seen in all and in all life can be understood: The difference between the moth and the butterfly is the light to which they are attracted, one false one real. A seed will show you that death is a requirement for living, but also that nothing truly ever dies. Seasons will teach you that life is cyclical, and the sun and the moon will teach you its rhythms. Tall trees and green grass, the melodious singing of birds, and the sound of the ocean all remind us that in nature we find harmony and balance – without it there is chaos and constant internal conflict. Everything speaks of the Creator and in this awareness we begin to know that which we have always known – about ourselves, others, and the Creator of all who is known by many names. Understanding that cannot be done when the mind is “tied down,” but can only occur in a state of consciousness:
Consciousness (Noun) (Latin): internal knowledge; The state of being aware. (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?a...)
As spiritual beings housed shells called bodies, we cannot be made more spiritual by rituals or observances. Only can we become keenly aware that we are spirit beings and learn to nurture that which is, not attempt to become. We came into this world in the image of the Creator who is a spirit.
In as much, the only true prison is that of the mind, and the mind is imprisoned at the will of the one who holds the keys. Religion is a choice of the will. Free will is a gift from the Creator. Be it far from me to ever try and take that from anyone. In as much, I have retired my “super she-ro outfit.” I have no argument nor fight for such things any more. The walk that the Creator has for me, is for me, and I have to give all of my energy in that positive direction. I will continue to share some things and others may glean from my journey. However, to teach in the manner that I have in the past with the imprinted idea of saving others or bringing others to a “saving” place that I have come to or gone through, I shall not. I have come to understand that I can only truly speak words that may spark a thought in the minds of the hearers. That thought may or may not cause them to begin to want to take that proverbial key, put it in the lock, and turn it. If they choose the courageous act of turning that key, they instinctively begin to remember what they already knew and begin to teach – to save — themselves.
