The Complete Crystal Guidebook Blog Uma Silbey |
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A Practical Path To Personal Power, Self-Development And Healing Using Quartz Crystals |
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A New Spirituality for a New Era This entry was posted on 12/6/2007 5:31 PM and is filed under On The Crystal Path.
At the end of every year the Pope writes a many-paged document for
his to Christian followers providing guidance for the year ahead and
for years to come. This year, I was struck by the universality of what
he was saying, and how applicable his message was to anyone's spiritual
path, not just Christians.
Pope Benedict's main point is that the new christianity, or charismatic, born again movement is missing the boat by focusing so narrowly on one's own, personal salvation. I was struck by his insight as he continued by reminding people that basically we are all connected with each other and with the environment, that we don't stand alone. He urged Christians to realize, then, that since we don't stand alone, our spirituality must be centered beyond ourselves. It must include all people, not just ourselves. I think that this applies to all religions. It is time for us all to realize our interdependency, and then to do what we can for each other. Not only with our religion, but in every part of our life. As the Pope reminded us, early Christianity was communal. People shared what they had. So, too, must we begin to experience the world as a large community. As spiritual people, we must help to ensure that everyone is fed, clothed and housed, not just ourselves. Like the early Christians, we should all share our resources, whatever they are, with each other equally, so that we all can live with less fear and tribulation. Perhaps in this new year, it's time to realize that our own salvation or enlightenment isn't something to be attained while ignoring the world, but instead is to be realized through our enlightened activity in the world. As the Dalai Lama suggests when saying that his religion is kindness, perhaps, if nothing else, we can begin by being kind to each other. Perhaps we can begin to realize that we are all just as important as each other, that no one is entitled to more than another, and we can begin to treat everyone with respect as an equal member of the world community. If we had any doubt of the truth of the Pope's words, we have only to look to current environmental studies to graphically realize our interconnectedness with life. Our way of living seems to have drastically affected all aspects of the planet...the other living beings, the oceans, the air and the water. It is only if we begin to think in terms of a planetary community that we can begin to reverse these negative impacts. Not only do environmental studies illustrate our interconnectedness, but also chemistry and physics. We are so interconnected that we share the same chemistry...the same elements...not only with other life forms, but with the very earth upon which we walk, the soil, leaves, stones, the air, the water, the gases. We are all a mixture of space and form. On this level, too, we are all connected. A Peruvian Shaman with whom I once studied, used to remind us that we are all actually "star children", that our Earth is a star just as those we see in the sky. Not only do we live on a star, but since the earth is of the same elements as the other stars, and we are of the same elements as the earth, then we are of the same elements as the stars. We are not only "earth dwellers", but also "star dwellers". So for this new year, let's forge a new path. Like the early Christians, let's share what we have and consciously turn our backs on the narrow notion of personal enlightenment or salvation. Let's open up our hearts, widen our horizons and seek the salvation of the world community in any way that we can. |
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