Thursday, January 15, 2009

Creator's Wagon

Years and years ago, when my children were small, I filled out a census form.  In it, one of the questions was about my religion of choice.  I said I practiced Spirituality.

The lady who picked up my form glanced through it to make sure it was filled out correctly.  She noticed my preferred practice during the course of my life...and she told me it was not a religion. She told me I was required to choose one of the religions listed.

I refused; I had been baptized Lutheran, but my baptism was the last time I visited this Church...how could I call myself Lutheran? And I was not agnostic, and I was not an atheist, and I was not just "other"...I wanted to explain what "other" meant to me.

But I was young, and she was older and in a position of authority, to my inexperienced eye. And she said...The religion you are baptized in, is what you are.

I swallowed and said...OK.

Years later, with miles of experience and hard fought-for snippets of Wisdom under my belt, if I was in a similar position today...I would not have changed my stance, in the face of authority.

I practice Spirituality. There is no argument. It just is.

I have studied various forms of Spiritualism ( the definition here being the supernatural or the supramundane...Merriam-Webster) including Tarot, Mediumship, Wicca, Reiki, Healing Touch, Shamanism...only stroking the surface of each.

But I have learned a few things along the way...I have taken out of each pathway a little knowledge, something relevant to my life. My way of being.


When I say I practice Spirituality, the key word being practice, I listen to my Soul, my intuition. My guiding force...and sometimes forces. I practice being aware of the messages received from the Universe, I practice gratitude each day for where I currently am, in this life. 


I practice receiving Love; giving it away, thereby opening to others, often strangers, just to see the smile appear in an otherwise dour personage.


I practice being aware of my thoughts...my mind, which can lead me to unwanted jungles...I practice turning negative barbs into opposite, positive ones. I practice being in the moment...the right now, catching myself as I stray to the unknown future with its hazy, worrisome outlook.



And I practice...each day...turning over my problems or worries to Creator, Spirit, the Universe, Mother Earth, God or Goddess. I find it so easy to live like this...understanding and believing in a Higher Purpose to my woes and sorrows...in this life. Understanding each experience can be turned into a pool of Wisdom, if one is open enough to be aware of the Eddies suddenly appearing within the River of Life.


Practice, practice, practice.  I make mistakes, I miss reminders, I shrug off miraculous events...I can send out negative energy in such great amounts Tree Beings shiver in their roots. Ask anyone.


During those times, I have taken control and have forgotten a Higher way.  But I liken it to falling off the wagon...I can catch up to that wagon, get back on...and be welcomed. Again and again.


And suddenly, in this World, have you noticed how the practice of Spirituality is quickly becoming mainstream? When I was young, before the Internet became a part of my journey through life, I rarely found anyone who believed what I recognized as being true.


Whatever I am, whatever label is placed on my beliefs, whether governments believe Spirituality can be practiced or not, the word defines how I try hard to live, mostly.


Unless I fall off Creator's wagon.




14 comments:

  1. Lovely post, as always. I also love all the spirals!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. You seem to live life intentionally, with purpose and recognition of the spiritual (however that is defined). Seems to me this attitude includes parts of many religious teachings but cannot become its own else it would be just like the others' in proposing a one size fits all belief system. I would hope, and believe, that we each must develop our own attitudes based upon our own lives. Odd coincidence: I was also Lutheran until the church chose to barely endorse my stand on not killing others when I was drafted for Viet Nam. It was a namby pamby statement of: well we teach adherence to government dictums but on the other hand, the boy must follow his heart. Yeah, and what commandment is that??
    I suppose that my bent is toward Buddhism if anything. They leave others' alone and teach that we must each seek our own path. Sounds like a plan to me.
    I am glad you introduced this topic. I could go on forever, and may on a future post.

    About the numbers and eight taken eight at a time: I am pretty sure that would be 8! or eight factorial which is 8X7X6X5X4X3X2X1.
    Ask Graham if he agrees on this . . .

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous5:23 p.m.

    Haha, Creator's wagon, I like that. You may like this quote from Rumi:

    Come, come, whoever you are.
    Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving — it doesn't matter,
    Ours is not a caravan of despair.
    Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times,
    Come, come again, come.

    Thanks for sharing, let's hope that those census forms are not gathering info for another Burning Times. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks again, Marion, for a thought-provoking post. I think my spiritual path is kind of in limbo right now. The trail ahead is not worn enough for me to see it. I guess I am just wandering around in the wilderness, content at times to make my own way rather than following the paths trod by others.

    I was never baptized although I attended a baptist church at my mom's insistence until I was a teenager. Later, I found Unitarianism and that is what I most identify with but even here I am lapsed.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hear! Hear! Well said!
    You continue to inspire, you really do.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Livia,

    I love those spirals, too. I've downloaded all the ones Clip Art has up!

    Goatman,

    What a co-incidence...I barely know anyone that is Lutheran. And I know very little about their doctrine. Namby pamby is the word, I think, especially in your case. I'm sorry you went through that.

    I studied Buddhism for awhile, but could not totally relate; it was not quite what I was searching for. Bits and pieces of many beliefs make up my life these days...very eclectic!

    Graham agrees, and tried very hard, lol, to explain it to me, but a kind of fog descends over me when numbers are involved!

    Miruh,

    I keep running into Rumi on the Internet; I must read more of him. I can totally relate to the piece you left. As a matter of fact, I have printed it out and have placed it close by...just as a reminder.

    Sheila,

    You remind me of me. So many times I have wandered through that Forest, breaking my own path, which was certainly more difficult than following the well-maintained ones. Brambles and brush impeded the way, but every so often I'd find a clearing...a meadow...where things would become suddenly more comprehensible. I hope you've found your meadows.

    I like Unitarianism, what little I know of it.

    Susanne,

    Thank you, Susanne...I hope your son is better and that you are enjoying the beginning of 2009!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous9:11 a.m.

    Hello there.. You may now submit your blog to our newly created PR 3 Blog Directory.. Have a nice day! Keyworddir.info

    ReplyDelete
  8. You are a wise, old soul Marion and I agree with your views. Sorry that I have been gone for so long but had to move, health issues, the mundane world. And here waiting are my blog friends; bright stars in the celestial sky.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Marion,

    Just wanted to stop by and thank you for checking on me. I see you are still expressing yourself with such poetic prose.

    I've never had to ponder what to check in such a box, since I am Baptist by choice, but I agree 100% with your right to refuse to consider yourself Lutheran, just because someone wet down your head as a baby.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful post. Marion you have traveled far.

    I too and have developed into a more spiritual person. Sadly I do not work on it as hard as I should. There are to many unsettling outside influences which tend to throw me off track.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous9:40 p.m.

    Hello.. Do you know how to Add Adsense Code Inside Single Post Only in XML Template? Visit your blog to learn how.. Have a nice thursday!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous2:44 p.m.

    Hi Marion - I suspect you are not 'falling off the wagon' at all. That negative energy which terrorizes the trees is probably energy you have long stored within - perhaps for many lifetimes - and are now releasing. This may be one of the most important parts of your practice.

    And as for shrugging off miraculous events, OK so you are doing it, but you are *noticing* you are doing it. So you haven't really 'forgotten' after all!

    Yes, it's interesting what you say about spirituality becoming 'mainstream'. I think it is true, though it's not often remarked upon. I am surprised how often I come across spirituality-type ideas in popular culture, for instance: in movies, in pop songs... I often wonder if the writers are consciously aware of the ideas they're putting forward. And yet at the same time, it goes entirely unrecognized on an 'official' level. The word 'spirituality' could still raise eyebrows on a census form today. It is a quiet, undercover revolution, but one which is growing in power every day. (I suspect it may even have had a hand in electing a US president...)

    I am receiving wonderful healing energy from your blog today, as I often do. Thank you! That quiet revolution again...

    ReplyDelete
  13. Keyword,

    Thank you!

    Princess,

    I'm glad you're back. I hope life is smoother now!

    DB,

    How lovely to see you. Your blog is one I check regularly...you are a very courageous woman!

    Jackie,

    I know exactly what you mean. It is so easy for me to get derailed.This way of life, however, is mostly the way I live, what I strive for.

    Hapi,

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous9:53 a.m.

    Hey! Someone in my Myspace group shaгеd thіs website wіth us ѕo I
    came to look іt οver. I'm definitely loving the information. I'm booκmarkіng and wіll
    be tωeeting this to mу fοllowers!
    Exceρtional blog anԁ superb style and deѕign.


    My blog ... tens unit

    ReplyDelete

Google