Preparing For Ascension (A Study Course)
Part 10, Religion and Spirituality
by Mary Mageau
October 1, 2010
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‘Understanding the power of beliefs and the power of the mind, both individually and en-masse, is the most pressing and crucial issue for humankind to grasp.’
~ The path to Empowerment, by Barbara Marciniak ~
We are living in a time of shifting paradigms. Many of the established religions and churches are currently witnessing an erosion of their membership, as people look elsewhere for answers to their contemporary problems. Pamela Richardson suggests that, ‘Churches are empty for a simple reason. Informed people know that God operates an open, real-time, 24/7 free communication service across the entire cosmos. No elaborate buildings, man-made beliefs, rituals, hymns or fancy dress are required for access.’ While the traditional religions continue to lament their decline, the roots and branches of a vibrant new spirituality are forming everywhere. Another soul pathway is being chosen and experienced by many persons world-wide.
This new spirituality is expressing itself in the following ways: caring more actively for the environment, exploring Eastern religions and the practice of meditation, espousing social justice concerns, balancing male and female energies in all aspects of decision making, seeking a more abundant economic system for all, and employing peaceful negotiation as a counter-balance to warfare. The new spirituality is growing steadily and powerfully today as our established cultural, political and economic systems all appear to fail us. Because our contemporary experiences of alienation are so overwhelming, a deep desire for a strong personal connection to a sacred presence within us and to nature itself is driving these changes forward.
History reveals that during times of great change people head for the two extremes: either seeking the security of religious fundamentalism or a deeply personal spiritual experience. Without membership lists or even a coherent philosophy or dogma, it is difficult to define or measure the new spiritual movement. But in every city, many who seek greater insight and personal growth now cluster around metaphysical bookstores and internet websites, a spiritual teacher or an education/meditation centre.
This new spirituality is in a class by itself. Unlike most established religions it has no holy text, central organization, formally constituted clergy, no geographic centre, creed or dogma. It is a free flowing spiritual movement, a network of believers and practitioners who share somewhat similar beliefs and practices. Book and magazine publishers and a plethora of web sites take the place of a central organization. Seminars, conventions, books, informal study, prayer and meditation groups all replace traditional sermons and religious services. These new practices are often freely grafted onto whatever formal religious faith is still adhered to. In the coming new age we may witness the fusion of spirituality with science and the unifying of the major religions. This will be achieved by re-focusing on the simple but profound truths that are commonly held, while pruning away the man-made dogmas, cultural symbols, beliefs and rules that divide and separate us. Many old outmoded teachings are already being discarded. The love-based empowering religious beliefs will be retained while the fear-based controlling concepts will fall by the wayside. In future, the religions that survive are those that are willing to expand their philosophy and theology to incorporate the higher Creator truths. But before considering this further, let us first define a religionist and then a spiritualist.
A religionist is a person who follows a codified doctrine or dogma in blind faith without questioning it. The religionist also obeys a set of rules or a text (the Bible, Torah, Koran etc.) to guide one’s every move. In the world of a religionist, the Creator is viewed as an all powerful male being, singular in itself, who rules over human awareness and watches every move to judge the worthiness of each participant. Those who are designated to speak for this power determine that which is right or wrong. The religionists believe that the Creator will do everything for them and if they give their best, their reward will be to ascend into heaven where joy and beauty abound.
A spiritualist is one who realizes that human society is in a constant state of evolutionary change, thus he or she must continue to resolve the possibilities that every new opportunity brings. As each life experience contains a learning lesson, the self-imposed beliefs of others must not be allowed to dissuade the potentiality of one’s evolution. To the spiritualist, the Creator is the Omni Presence of all light in creation and is held within each human and all things that exist. It’s not enough to know that God is in everything, but that God is everything. In order to return to the fullness of the Creator’s Light, the learning of all lessons must be experienced with every possible encounter met and completed. Each one must develop fully and evolve through the awakening of the love essence within.
The religionist believes in the ‘Spirit of One,’ the acceptance of a fixed belief as the universal ideal for all. Against the walls of established dogma new experiences, awareness and teachings frequently collide thus new insights are excluded. While these people worship, study and strengthen their minds, obedience to the rules and defense of the walls becomes their purpose. Militancy is their virtue and evangelizing for converts their activity. Fear and prejudice against others frequently results. The motto of the religionist may be, ‘Only we have the truth.’ Because of their rigid adherence to a set of fixed and unchanging beliefs, their minds will continue to remain tightly closed.
The spiritualist believes in the ‘Oneness of Spirit.’ The new spirituality is the opposite of established religion in that it is holistic rather than dualistic, incarnational rather than transcendental, inclusive rather than patriarchal, and democratic rather than hierarchical. Since each human soul is known to be a particle of the Creator’s Light we must return to a remembering that all was brought to life in love. One believes and knows that separation from the Creator’s essence is only an illusion. We then understand that we have never left the Creator’s Light because we are that very Light ourselves. The spiritualist will not impose a set of beliefs upon another as it is believed that the Creator wishes to experience infinite variations on the theme of spirituality. The motto of the spiritualist may well be, ‘Let all the flowers bloom in their individual truth and beauty.’
The Buddhist concept of the Middle Path is very consistent with the new spirituality that is emerging today. The middle path is inclusive of the opposites without being controlled by one or the other. It values both extremes, the positive and the negative. The new spirituality that is seeking to manifest is a challenge to the consciousness of people who are caught up either in the old religious dichotomies, or in reactions against the old style religions. The traditional religious dichotomies describe reality in terms of right and wrong, good and evil, with specific belief systems clearly defining which is which. Those who take the opposite stance of discrediting these views, maintain that there are no such objective standards, or at least not in the way they are traditionally defined.
Instead the new spirituality avoids any judging of opposites and finds value in all expressions of life. It understands that whatever exists is part of the whole, and therefore is meaningful in terms of potential learning for us humans. Much of what people see as wrong or evil is a great challenge to our selfishness and ignorance, urging us toward compassion and understanding. It is not a matter of identifying what is wrong and trying to eradicate it, but to discover what the lessons are and then learn from them. Through our learning we are then capable of expanding our consciousness and being of greater service to others.
The Great Creator, our Father/Mother God, does not care which religion we practice or what we espouse as our personal beliefs. We are known to God only by our radiance, and by the love/light we freely give forth. This is determined by our love for the Supreme Being, our desire to personally know the Creator, an acceptance of the intrinsic goodness of humankind, and the priceless values of love, harmony and service to others.
In our daily lives many of us freely assume our own co-creative powers and honor our own creations by choosing to experience different journeys on the Earth plane. And within the great Creator’s light of which we are all a part, and there is only the unity of love, then we might perceive this experience as a matrix in space and time wherein humanity is encouraged to experience and play out every possibility. A new sense of responsible freedom will emerge as we acknowledge the Creator’s respect for the free will decisions of all its creations. And so the choice of the religionist is one journey and the choice of the spiritualist is another. In our Father’s house there are many mansions and the focus and experiences of either journey can be freely chosen for the particular growth possibilities each provides. Neither one journey is better than the other as all paths hold the potential to lead us to the fullness of the Creator’s light and love.
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Questions For Your Journal
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1. Do I manifest ways of acting or presenting myself that foster a deliberate sense of separation between me and others persons or groups of people? Name several.
2. What beliefs do I hold that feed my sense of separation? Where did they come from: family, church, friends, the media, or others? Write down my findings.
3. While I am not required to ‘like’ or choose to associate with everyone I meet, am I able to respect these persons by extending kindness and courtesy to them?
4. Am I able to see the good in those around me while allowing them to choose and follow their own path?
5. Am I able to set my personal boundaries by not allowing others to deter me from following my own path?
Mary Mageau * My new FREE e-books are now available for download on the internet through Richard Presser’s website * E-book 1, Preparing For Ascension * E-book 2, Preparing the Body for Ascension * E-book 3, Journey Into Meditation * E-book 4, Our Chakra System – A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness * ( link to my four free e-books: http://www.thecominggoldenage.com/Preparing_For_Ascension.htm ) I have removed all copyright restrictions so the material can be freely shared. *
