False Spirituality
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 1:36AM "Beware of False Knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance"~ George Bernard Shaw
I am a true believer that we all find our various paths to the same source. Recently I was confronted with an interesting dilemma. I, over the past year, have spoken to many organizations around the country and have always been very well received. I have been blessed to meet many fantastic people of varying beliefs. In my personal belief system, there is room to love and accept anyone else’s beliefs. I also am very much in the mindset that I can respect them if they do not agree. During this past year I was with a group who had many different beliefs, but every one of these beliefs had a very esoteric base. When a new person who had a very practical side confronted them on their beliefs (in a constructive fashion), they decided that the person was no longer welcome.
“Be curious, not judgmental.” ~Walt Whitman
I find this kind of false spirituality disturbing. To be spiritual is to be accepting not excepting. When people sit on their faith as a discriminating pedestal then I have to wonder such things as would Jeshua have done the same? To proclaim a spiritual nature and to exclude someone because of a belief other than your own is to be based in fear. As I travel about the country, I speak to groups and am told that I make a difference. At these groups I meet some people whose beliefs are far from my own. Many are so far away from my own that I know I would never agree with what they say. I still would never exclude them from my meetings because anyone who tests your faith is doing you a great service. If someone grates upon your personality it is because they are showing you a side of yourself that needs work. Usually that side being exposed is a fear of being wrong and thus not loved.
“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.” ~Bernice Johnson Reagon
The issue I see in the exclusion of such people is that you would be putting on blinders to learning more or even seeing a broader possibility. This is the same thinking that created the crusades and almost every war the planet has experienced. It is a fear based reaction. False spirituality is a failure to live lovingly. It is judgmental and uncaring. I welcome people in my life who have a brutal honesty to them because I always know where I stand and I am always reminded of my faith. I Love them for it. I welcome the lively conversations and, as I told my assistant Holly many times, I enjoy the challenges. I grow spiritually with every one.
“Judge not lest ye shall be judged,” is a great statement from Jeshua. It tells you that if you judge, people will look at you more closely as well. Think of this though: If you judge, are you not judging yourself as judgmental? Is judgment a place of Love? To be judgmental is to be unloving. God is LOVE. I am saddened by the group’s choice, because I feel that the teaching I brought to them fell on deaf ears. No one is more important than anyone else. "Love one another": that is all Jeshua asked. I pray that this group will find their way back to a truly loving and accepting place. I hope that they will see Love for Love and find their way home again.
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” ~Jeshua
Fear 
