Springtide

One of the organizations Rachel and I have been involved with is Springtide. It is a group conducting polls of people ranging from teens to people in their 30's. Much of the polling is around the role of religion in the modern world. It seems like people are leaving the secular brick and mortar church and becoming more involved with spirituality.

One of the results is that people are exploring a mix of different religions and cultural views; this will broaden one's horizons. When people see the variety of beliefs it makes them think, "Maybe there isn't just one absolute truth."

This kind of insight tens to emerge subtly and nudges people to a more open and diverse application of spirituality that extends beyond one's religious perspective.

When I was in seminary, the first year courses involved the exploration of different faith traditions. We immersed ourselves each month with a different faith. It was at that point that I discovered that there were not only many paths on the journey home but also the fact that I like more than one path home.

Growing up I was heavily involved with Catholicism. I went to twelve years of Catholic school. I thought there were three genders - men, women, and nuns! When the nuns stopped wearing the traditional habits, I was blown away that they were women.

I was the altar boy who served daily mass at 6 AM - every day. I was dedicated and thought for a bit of going to a Catholic seminary. Then I joined the Mormon religion. Again I was heavily involved from teaching men's Sunday school to serving in the Young Men's Presidency helping lead the program. I was at the temple often and would take the youth on Saturday to peform 50 baptisms for the dead.

Then in Seminary I fell in love with Buddhism. It resonate with me and to this day I do daily Buddhist spiritual practices. So the attendance at Sunday services is falling away as people realize there are so many places to worship. All of them are pathways to home - to the mansion in the sky.

Add to that results as youth look for spiritual food religions present restrictive practices. If you pick a course of worship, so many others are eliminated. It is the classic us against them approach.

I even find listening to Joel Osteen is listening to mostly self-empowerment on love and the flow of God through us. It is a different and attractive approach.

So it takes me to my personal belief. All of our spiritual work here on Earth is around developing a personal relationship with God, which is our vision of spirit. It is a grand adventure exploring expansion of spirit and what God means to us. It is important we don't stop this exploring to find our current view of God. What have you learned today about God and spirit? Keep looking and learning............