From Shel Silverstein:
There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long.
"I feel that this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong."
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend,
Or wise man can decide
What's right for you -- just listen to
The Voice that speaks inside.
* * *
From Wolf Walker:
There is nobody external who can heal you,
change who you are or the things you've experienced.
It has to come from you..
You have to make that choice.
* * *
From Letty Cottin Pogrebin (in Getting Over Getting Older:)
We read books and consult experts, looking for answers 'out there,' …
before we discover … that meaning is made, not found,
in the CRUCIBLE OF ONE'S OWN WONDERING SOUL.
* * *
From JUNG:
You are your own best authority.
* * *
And a TOUCHSTONE developed from by Baptist heritage:
LEND A DEAF EAR
TO ANY PROFESSIONAL RELIGIOUS GURU
WHO TELLS YOU
WHAT YOU MUST BELIEVE.
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Friday, March 15, 2019
WHAT HELPS YOU MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT?
What helps you make it through a very cold night?
Chances are, a very nice, warm comforter or QUILT!
But I am thinking about those times when we are caught up in the recognition that life is difficult and can be scary hard; what about those times when our demons are attacking us in the middle of the night with all those "what if" questions, trying to provoke an anxiety attack? Where do we turn for help?
For me, it is prayer … my spirituality, and that is why I refer to my spirituality as a "patchwork quilt."
My beliefs have changed over the years, and continue to do so; that is why the image of a patchwork quilt works for me. As parts of my spirituality become worn or no longer meaningful, I remove and add new patches as necessary according to what works for me.
A recent weekly e-mail from the Christian Century [3/07/19] contained a post from Barbara Brown Taylor taken from her new book, My Holy Envy of Other Faith Traditions. In teaching Religion 101 and researching world religions, she realized that the various teachings caught her attention (but) "finding these things attractive did not mean it was time...to start making a quilt of spiritual bits and pieces with no strong center."
Despite my high regard for Dr. Taylor, that is exactly what I have done, and will continue to do.
As she notes in this excerpt from her new book, "God created humans exactly the way we are, with freedom to choose good or evil." And then she adds, "No one can do our choosing for us."
No one can be responsible for my spirituality but me. I must decide what is true for me: what is BS and what resonates...what is true for me. That is the only reason that I remained associated with the Baptist tradition for so long, as the early Baptists insisted in the right of each individual to interpret their own conscience under God. Each of us has the RIGHT, and yes, the RESPONSIBILITY, to decide for ourselves in matters of faith and spirituality. Existentially, we actually have no other option for we must live our own life.
And for those religious professionals who insist that we cannot just pick and choose what we would believe, I would observe that in my experience with people, that is exactly what every one actually does.
Chances are, a very nice, warm comforter or QUILT!
But I am thinking about those times when we are caught up in the recognition that life is difficult and can be scary hard; what about those times when our demons are attacking us in the middle of the night with all those "what if" questions, trying to provoke an anxiety attack? Where do we turn for help?
For me, it is prayer … my spirituality, and that is why I refer to my spirituality as a "patchwork quilt."
My beliefs have changed over the years, and continue to do so; that is why the image of a patchwork quilt works for me. As parts of my spirituality become worn or no longer meaningful, I remove and add new patches as necessary according to what works for me.
A recent weekly e-mail from the Christian Century [3/07/19] contained a post from Barbara Brown Taylor taken from her new book, My Holy Envy of Other Faith Traditions. In teaching Religion 101 and researching world religions, she realized that the various teachings caught her attention (but) "finding these things attractive did not mean it was time...to start making a quilt of spiritual bits and pieces with no strong center."
Despite my high regard for Dr. Taylor, that is exactly what I have done, and will continue to do.
As she notes in this excerpt from her new book, "God created humans exactly the way we are, with freedom to choose good or evil." And then she adds, "No one can do our choosing for us."
No one can be responsible for my spirituality but me. I must decide what is true for me: what is BS and what resonates...what is true for me. That is the only reason that I remained associated with the Baptist tradition for so long, as the early Baptists insisted in the right of each individual to interpret their own conscience under God. Each of us has the RIGHT, and yes, the RESPONSIBILITY, to decide for ourselves in matters of faith and spirituality. Existentially, we actually have no other option for we must live our own life.
And for those religious professionals who insist that we cannot just pick and choose what we would believe, I would observe that in my experience with people, that is exactly what every one actually does.
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