There are several people I know who really struggle to connect with my personal beliefs with God, especially when it comes to prayer, faith, and signs of God’s presence. How do I know this? Because a good number of my blog articles that have dealt with this subject have challenged their own set of beliefs enough to leave me comments that often felt as if my own set of beliefs were under attack. And frankly, it is this very thing that I judge is at the core of why our planet is filled with so much darkness, hate, and negativity right now.
I have said this before and will probably continue to say this over and over again for years to come and that’s my belief that every single individual on this planet is on their own uniquely-tailored spiritual journey. Unfortunately, religion has gotten in the way of that and caused far too many divisions, factions, and separations between people who otherwise might love each other unconditionally.
I often wonder if people forget that it’s human beings who made religion. Take Christ for example. He did everything he could to show how all the religions during his time were filled with a bunch of rules and people who weren’t even following them. He tried to show how none of that mattered and that what truly mattered was just to love and accept each other unconditionally. But one thing he never did say is “Hey, I’m Christ and let’s create a religion called Christianity and once you do, then you can all follow me through another set of rules that will put the rest of the world’s religions and beliefs down as being wrong!”
Just like I’m quite sure Muhammad didn’t say “Hey, let’s create the Muslim religion and tell the rest of the world it’s the only correct one and oh, let’s also kill a bunch of people in my name while we’re at it to cleanse and rid the planet of the people who don’t believe in me!”
And well, I’m also pretty positive that the same is true with Abraham and Moses when it comes to the Jewish religion that was created long after they lived on the earth, or Siddhartha, when it comes to the Buddhist religion that was formed years after he had lived on our planet as well.
Each of these blessed men walked their own uniquely-tailored spiritual journey and did their best to share what they learned on them with others, all in the hopes of just bringing a little enlightenment to the bountiful suffering on this planet. Yet, it’s man who took their testimonies and made them into something else, leading to the creation of one religion after another where division became more the norm than unity on this planet.
Sadly, this still continues to this day…and is precisely what I believe leads one person after another to attack others for their spiritual beliefs, when they’re different from their own.
I wholeheartedly believe that Christ’s, Muhammad’s, Siddhartha’s, Moses’s, Abraham’s, and many other spiritually-enlightened men’s words throughout our planet’s history have been totally warped and taken far out of context from their original intent. And because of it, has led so many to attack each other, rather than just accept that maybe it’s ok to have whatever our spiritual beliefs are.
Look, I have plenty of friends who believe quite the opposite of what I do, from people who practice Wicca in nature, to those who regularly chant the Gohonzon in Nichiren Buddhism, yet I accept them all and see the beauty in it all too.
But, there was a time when I didn’t, where I personally attacked anyone who had a different set of beliefs than I. And why I did this was simply out of fear. Fear of something I didn’t understand. Fear that maybe I didn’t have all the answers. Because isn’t that ultimately man’s greatest weakness, the fear of the unknown?
The fact is, none of us truly know what’s beyond here without a shadow of doubt. And as we suffer in our pains of life, we cling to some sort of dogma in the hopes it helps to overcome that fear of the unknown. And it usually does, that is until someone comes along and proposes something that sheds a new light, one that’s different from our own.
But, the next time this happens, YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE.
You can keep doing what you’re currently doing. Keep attacking each of those new lights that come your way. Keep making every attempt to snuff them out, and know in doing so, it’s coming solely from fear. And also know in doing so, your very actions are only going to engulf our planet in more darkness, hate, and negativity.
OR…
You can embrace each of those new lights that come your way and see if it’s meant to be a part of your own uniquely-tailored spiritual journey. If it is, incorporate it into your life, but if it’s not, simply bless it for others to connect with, and remain open to the next one that comes along. And know in doing so, you’ll be increasing our level of unconditional love and acceptance of each other on this planet.
I truly pray you’ll choose the latter…
Peace, love,light, and joy
Andrew Arthur Dawson
