Sacred Earth, Primal Us.

After about a month of diligent reading , I have finished Huston Smith's "The World's Religions".  It's a great book, by the way.  I have never sat down and read or studied anything about Islam or Confusianism and have only recently (in the last year or so) read anything about Buddhism, Taoism or Hinduism.  I've been studying the later because of my practice of yoga and have found that my life has greatly benefited by studying these three.  Judaism and Christianity I know very well because of how I was raised.  Mr. Smith writes about all of these religions, and it has been very, very good.  But of all the religions Mr. Smith writes about, it was the last group that has really got me thinking.

The primal religions, those of the aborigines, the American indians, the African tribes and others see everything as being sacred.  Profound when you think about it.  Sacred because everything is connected and interdependent.  And because of that interdependence, the ideas of good and evil, that we see in other views, doesn't exist.  Why don't we, the modern, civilized people think like that? The primal people are right, we truly are all connected.  If you don't believe that, consider a few things.  When you walk into a room and turn on the lights, who is making sure you have electricity to have light? Who made the lightbulb and the wires and the switches?  We've depended on someone to do that for us.  What about the lightbulb itself?  Who thought of that idea?  Who designed the generating plant?  Who built the turbines?  Who mined the coal?  Who made the machines that mined the coal?  This could go on and on and this is just one thing, electricity.  Think about the food you eat.  Think about the job you have.  Since we are all connected, committing what we call evil was never even considered by the primal peoples.

I've heard people and myself say, "I've done this on my own.  I didn't need any help.  I've pulled myself up by my boot straps."  Really.  Who gave birth to you?  Who educated you?  Who fed and clothed you as you grew up?  See my point?  We haven't done anything on our own, we are all connected, we are interdependent.

The indians understood their dependence to the earth and to each other.  They understood how important the earth was and is and the people on it.  It's the only earth we've got and we are all we've got. We depend on it and each other for everything.  It and us are sacred.  You know, all the holy books of the world are just that, books and we've got a bunch of them to choose from.  They are sacred because we say and think that they are.  And then from these so called sacred books, we've got tens of thousands of interpretations of what we think they mean.  So how sacred are they?  How much Truth is in them?  I don't know, but ultimately, the earth, it feeds us.  The earth, it shelters us.  The earth, it clothes us.  None of the sacred books can do that.

Maybe we should become primal once again.

A Holy Rogue

I've never really blogged before, unless you count posting on Facebook.  That, I have done way to much, but has ultimately, led me here.  Why blog?  Well, I think I have some things to say, some things to share about the things I love.  I have no delusions that I have any special insight into anything that I will blog about, but there are just some things I love, and maybe you, the reader, love these things too.

For instance, I love to read.  I read for pleasure like most people do, but my pleasure in reading is to gain knowledge.  So, I don't necessarily read novels. The novels that I have read, really don't seem to teach me much.  There are exceptions though, particularly when it come to John Steinbeck.  I've read all of his books.  I like his characters because they remind me of people I know or have known.   I read to learn, to grow, to ultimately be a better person, because I think the more you know the more complete you can become.

My latest list of books started with questions about my faith, religion, and Christianity.  I find myself being frustratingly religious at times, but ultimately spiritual.  What I mean is that for a long time I have searched for God and meaning in the traditional ways that most westerners search: in church.  As hard as I've tried, I never have fit into the church; never felt like I really belonged there.  I've struggled with the teachings.  And, for good reason, what I've been looking for isn't there.  There is a fellow by the name of Rob Bell to thank for revealing that to me.  Rob has written some books that I have read and certainly recommend:  Velvet Elvis, Sex God, and Jesus Wants to Save Christians.  He is also the maker of a series of video shorts addressing various spiritual/religious subjects called Nooma.  I recommend every one of them.

Rob has a substantial reading list himself (look on the Nooma website), which I have bought and read (most of them) too.  So what have I discovered in all this reading?  Pretty simple really.  The Bible is not inerrant as I was raised to believe.  Simple, but profound and very, very liberating.  Liberating in that through years of attempting to resolve conflicts within myself about the contradictions I had discovered are now validated by people who would know.  Profound in that I will never accept any teaching ever again without validation.  And profound in that it has led me away from today's church.

I don't know about you, but I want to live a life full of peace and love.  I don't want to live in fear.  I don't want to live in condemnation. That's what I see in the church:  fear and condemnation.  I see the teachings of Jesus being ignored or changed.  I don't want anything to do with it.  I've had to learn how (and am learning) to live a life full of peace and love.  I've had to learn how to love myself again.  How am I doing it?  Several ways.  First, I have removed myself from the people, places and things that project the opposite.  I have decided to surround myself with the people, places and things that are positive, those full of peace and love.  That doesn't mean I'm living the life of a monk; negativity is still around but...  Second, I have changed my practice.  I don't take anything personally.  I don't make assumptions.  I discern rather than judge.  I am mindful of the very moment I am in.  I don't live in the past.  I don't live in the future.  I am grateful.  I practice flexibility in my body (through yoga) and I practice the possibility of the same idea of flexibility in other areas of my life, especially relationships.  I practice loving myself (rather than loathing myself as is the Christian practice). I practice acceptance.   I choose a spiritual life rather than a religious one. I see that spiritual life extending well beyond the confines of just one view.  I am a bit of a holy rogue searching for what truly matters.

Here's more of my current reading list (partial):

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
The Bible:  A Biography by Karen Armstrong
Worlds Religions by Huston Smith
The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings by Thich Naht Hahn
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Love Wins by Rob Bell