Simply Spiritual Stories
Spirituality Is Sexy
Yes, I consider myself a very spiritual person, in spite of and because of the fact that I was brought up Catholic and left the church when I was 17. I don't have much interest in organized religion now, though I have read about and explored many different religions. My expression of spirituality expresses itself in all my activities, everyday. Gardening and writing, walking, yoga, working, eating and cooking, going to the ocean, dancing, singing, spending time with my boyfriend, being a complete and utter fool for no reason at all -- these are my expressions of spirit.
I remain conscious of my soul and I'm learning to trust a voice that is compassionate and loving. Spirituality to me is learning to allow my soul to be my connection to LIFE. I am learning to let go of the negativity which has defined my thoughts about God in my lifetime.
Life's still messy, but somehow the mess doesn't bother me so much. It finally has a balance. The duality of good/evil has fallen away in my beliefs and I now see a world of my experience where good and evil are interconnected and a reflection of each other.
Spirituality is not something I do, it is more a place I go, inward and upward. I don't need a building, I actually prefer to connect with spirit while outside in nature.
There are no rules, there are only truths as we live them. Contrary to what I was brought up to believe, spirituality is very sexy.
Michael
Eleanor Roosevelt, Higher Power
I was your stereotypical wounded recovering Catholic for my first three decades -- suspect, if not contemptuous, of all things religious -- and an increasingly messy drunk (no coincidence) until a little over nine years ago when I came out and got sober at the same time (whew!). My severe allergy to things religious made my initial recovery a bit dicey -- a higher power (HP) of some sort was strongly suggested -- but I managed to find my way through it by making Eleanor Roosevelt my HP for my first year or two. Goddess bless her, she worked!
Now, while I still adore Eleanor, I have an HP that works for me, and while I have no idea if it's a he/she/it, I do know that this source has absolutely nothing to do with the God of the Roman Catholic Church, as I understood Him. Good thing, since maintaining a conscious contact with my HP is the only thing keeping me sober some days, and the judgmental R.C. God of my childhood just wouldn't cut it for this recovering dyke.
The only thing that I do now as a spiritual person that I did as a Catholic-in-training is pray -- there the similarities end. I engage in spiritual practice -- prayer, meditation, and so on -- every day, not once a week, and feel much more connected than I ever did in church. As a result, I see spirituality and religion as two very different things. One of the many slogans I heard from other recovering alcoholics that may explain my experience best is this: "Religion is for people who fear hell; spirituality is for those who have already been there."
No doubt I've been to hell -- alcoholic, trying-to-be-straight hell, to be specific -- and my spirituality has helped lift me out of this dreck and into a life beyond anything I ever imagined in the pews of my hometown church.
Thanks for this opportunity to share my spiritual experience -- those "religious" types who say we're all going to hell are a little late, where I'm concerned: Been there, done that. Thank Whomever!
Ann
Spiritual Discovery
I struggled for years with religion, professing that if there were such an entity as "God," s/he certainly wasn't a loving entity. After all how could so many bad things happen in this world? I think most of us have been there. I was so angry and had grown up knowing only of the Christian faiths as a possibility for my belonging. I was angry because I knew there was something I was missing. I dredged through so many books for knowledge, including reading the ENTIRE Bhagavad Gita. Here is where I found my place: Eastern Thought.
American religion had taught me that you could profess to be a religious and good person, go to church, and commit whatever evil you like outside of that. God was presented as a human form and would punish me for my wrongs. Through the study of Eastern philosophies, I discovered that "God" was not a human at all. I see God (I don't even like to use that term) as an energy from which all life came, and to which all life will go back. At some time, everything was One. I believe that our goal in life is to make our way back to this One, to our original Home.
This is how I have come to realize my spirituality. I do not practice religion, and my spiritual path is not a visible one, e.g. church attendance, professing to be a ___whatever. I do not harm any creature if at all possible, and I am a vegetarian, for all of creation is a part of me, and I am a part of that creation. I meditate daily, and I love to discuss spirituality with others, because it is a huge part of my life. These are the things that I do to bring myself closer to the One most call God. These are the things I do to make my journey home. And all of this makes life on this earth so much easier, because I am not in control. Regardless of how difficult things get, I know that everything will be OK. This is only temporary.
Notice that homosexuality did not come up at all? I am simply a woman giving love to a woman. Things would be no different for me spiritually if I were heterosexual. True love can never be sinful or wrong. It's that simple.
Tara
Spiritual Recovery
I knew I was gay when I was about 4 years old. I was never in any conflict about what my sexuality was. The only problem was that I could never share who I really was with my family -- my mother being Catholic.
I grew up hearing that being gay was a sin and that all of us would burn in hell for all eternity. There were times that I fully believed that, and many other times when I didn't. I couldn't conceive of a God that would punish those that he brought into existence for being
the way that He made them. For I never doubted that I was born gay.
Anyway ... many years went by with me flip-flopping on the whole idea. I went through many of the things that, unfortunately, too many of us go through -- a serious drinking problem, shooting myself in the head with a 22 pistol, and other intense self inflicted physical, mental, emotional and spiritual torture.
It wasn't until I got into recovery for my alcoholism 4 years ago that I truly realized that my concept of God loves me for exactly who and what I am -- which is a pretty great guy, who just happens to be gay. I believe that if he didn't I would have been dead a long time ago.
Today I embrace my homosexuality. I no longer hide who I am from anyone, including my family. I am a truly happy 27-year-od man and spirituality (not religion) is a daily part of my life. I just wish that other gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people could believe that their God, who or whatever that is, loves them too. I know many who do feel that way -- and I assure you that the peace that comes from that is worth more than anything in the world.
Sincerely,
Wallace Marsh
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