Religion and Sociatry

[Bud Weiss]

I love Holly Near's song I Ain't Afraid:
Some lyrics give you the idea:

"I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

I ain't afraid of your churches
I ain't afraid of your temples
I ain't afraid of your praying
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

verse
Rise up to your higher power
Free up from fear, it will devour you
Watch out for the ego of the hour
The ones who say they know it
Are the ones who will impose it on you"

On 1/10/09, Connie Miller <connie at souldrama.com> wrote:
>  Dear Crystal; Well said.
> I agree - as we all well know, the need for belonging is a universal
> trait.We all want to be seen, to belong and to be heard. The fellowship of a
> group today is important to remove the "I" from the ego because today in our
> Western world, we seem to think that our recognition comes from competition;
> from acquiring and hoarding more material possessions and from excelling in
> this world. When we join with others who are trying to grow spiritually we
> have a different set of values; compassion, giving, generosity of the heart,
> service, truth, time and support. Joining a group is a very important and
> dynamic process for spiritual growth. There is no more "I" but a sense of
> we. It is in a group that we begin to see ourselves in relationship to
> others. What seems to hold religions together more than anything is the
> sense of community and relationships-that they are a large family rather
> than a large belief system.There is acommon interest and they know that they
> are linked to something more important than the ego and personal opinions.We
> need to begin to connect to other people who are on a conscious spiritual
> path.The fellowship of like minded people attracts grace for when we are
> around people who are committed to spiritual awakening, we begin to resonate
> at the same energy level.
>
> Connie Miller TEP, LPC. NCC
> http://www.souldrama.com/
> The International Institute of Souldrama
> 620 Shore Rd
> Spring Lake Heights
> NJ 07762 USA
>
> 1-800-821-9919
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CGayle [mailto:cgayle at zipcon.com]
> Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2009 02:55 PM
> To: list at grouptalkweb.org
> Subject: Religion and Sociatry
>
> I don't think religion is the problem; it's people. Religion does not
> function without the people who sustain it. It's how people operate within
> it and how open to change social structures are...or what kind of leadership
> can navigate change in large systems.
>
> We need ritual for life, for the spiritual experiences of life...for rites
> of passage, for seasons of the year, for the mysteries of life and death,
> for spiritual practice...religion can offer a structure for these practices.
> Every culture in the world has come up with it's structures for attending to
> these spiritual aspects of life. Fighting over it is an old us-them dynamic
> that is part of humanity's evolutionary challenge, a challenge that goes
> beyond religion. But when religious institutions do it, the hypocrisy is
> painful, and it can do damage to us spiritually, personally and
> socially...in a place we do not expect abuse or hurt, like we do not expect
> it in our families....but alas, there it is. Our religions need healing,
> just like our families do.
>
> The cultural conserve keep some religions stuck in the dark ages. They do
> not renew, become closed systems and become corrupt, become split (eg
> antiabortion people wanting to kill; or hating the other...contra to all
> spiritual messages).
>
> >From my experiences within the Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities,
> there are continuums in each from the extreme cultural conserved, or
> fundamentalist, to progressive, to those wanting to bring in creativity,
> healing and spontaneity. I think the continuum is a universal human
> dynamic...and is the path of change. And as change progresses, the conserved
> hold on tighter to the old (and the system becomes ill). The pendulum swings
> back and forth, and each time swings eventually for further progress.
>
> Today I met with a woman rabbi of a diverse congregation of over 400
> households to find out about her vision, b/c when I have visited the
> congregation several times recently, I was shocked (pleasantly so) to
> experience people as very much more welcoming, the community in dialogue in
> deep and personal levels in services and a smaller group I attended, and a
> renewed openness to spirituality that had not been there before. Her vision
> and leadership has had an impact in many ways. The change from a closed to
> an open system turns out to be from the past year the community being in
> dialogue about "what does it really mean to be welcoming?". It didn't just
> happen. There was intervention...and a process in community that took some
> time, not just a sermon on being welcoming. I was so impressed. Here is one
> example of sociatry.
>
> Cynthia
>
>
>


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