PHOTOS Liza Horan
The paradigm for my faith has evolved more in definition and language than meaning, I’ve come to realize.
First I was religious. I believed in a monotheistic God.
Then, for a long time, I was spiritual-not-religious. I learned all organized religions teach the same message through different prophets. One’s disposition is determined, almost exclusively, by birthplace. I wondered, What baby chooses its birthplace?
Now I characterize my faith in terms of the energetic. We are individualized earthly instances of consciousness; we come from a collective creative energy that can be regarded as an indestructible, everlasting intelligence. Call it “divine” or “God” or “the universe,” if you like. I call it “the nature of reality.”
In this energetic understanding of the nature of reality, there is no inherent good or bad, it is all about the context and the meaning we (as humans) place on it. Energy is a vibration, and positive intentions and emotions resonate at a higher level, whereas negative, base thoughts are lower.
As bioelectric beings here on Earth, we were born knowing we are part of that connectedness, but we forget along the way; usually around the age of seven, when we form our personalities and start reasoning. The Enlightenment, like the Ancient Greeks, allowed for reason and the mystical as one; but The Industrial Revolution beat out of us this notion, instead favoring the physical world over the non-physical. Scientism and Consumerism became the new beliefs, as we disconnected from natural mysteries.
This served that powers-that-be in society: By convincing us we are merely machines born with original sin who have to earn worthiness through production and performance. (Robert Holden does a wonderful job of explaining this through his work, informed by study of a range of theology, from The Mystics to Joseph Campbell.)
Now, many people don’t realize or admit we are more than blood, bones and brain: We’ve forgotten that our body is equipped to perceive knowledge beyond the physical, and that consciousness is non-local (the brain is a receiver not a generator of consciousness). There’s a large scientific evidence base for this*, and there is room within this paradigm of faith for spirits, souls, angels, extra-terrestrial intelligence, and other natural intelligence/energy.
“Nature is the only truth.”
These words arrived to me in April 2021, while walking an unpaved road back to a rented cottage on coastal farmland in the Borders county of Scotland. The sun was descending, the sheep on my right were gathered around the hay, and the cows at left had retreated to rest. I was just returning from a walk for a couple of hours where I wandered through a dewy green wood, filled with lots of gnarly tree trunks, and a burn. Yes, I left a token as gift for the fairies.
That statement that presented itself to me was straight from a higher, sacred, all-knowing place. I’ve since spent much time pondering this “download.” All we have to do is look to the natural world to understand the cycle of life and the miracle of it. If we can each manage our own selves to this cycle, rather than the one imposed on us by modern society, we’d be less sick, angry and sad. (Yes, I know it’s a challenge!)
Thankfully, more and more people are realizing our true nature: That we are part of a conscious universe, and we are equal and interconnected. That we are more than machines in “meat suits,” as I’ve heard it said. This worldview is gaining traction as a revolution against the 2,000+ years of conditioning that some are more equal than others, and that those anointed directly by God are closer to Heaven that the rest of us mere mortals.
[Out-on-a-limb side note: Having studied world religions in high school and college, and later through my own readings, I know that prophets from all wisdom traditions were in sync. They were teachers, healers and pacifists; nothing like the so-called religious armies who kill in the name of their God over yours or do bad things to the vulnerable. I consider organized religion, at its most extreme, the first governmental structure created to suppress the masses. It accelerated a societal system based on the “haves” and the “have-nots,” which is the opposite of original prophets’ messages. Please know that when disciples finally wrote down the passed-down oral teachings of the prophets, it is said to be decades or generations after Jesus lived, as an example in the case of Christianity’s Bible, and the texts were subsequently heavily censored to serve the Church’s leadership position. For instance, do you know that there is a Gospel of Mary? And that the King James version of the Bible was written by the very same UK king who wrote “Daemonologie” that sparked the infamous wave of persecutions of men, women and children in the name of witchcraft? What a power move!]
Outdated Ways Threatened
So here we are, experiencing both the tortures and the inspiration of the old world system clamoring to hold onto its power (by enslaving us through tech, economics and limiting beliefs). We are witnesses to this planet-wide transformation, and something else is bidding to come forth. It is not about power and corruption; it is about laying down arms to bond through empathy, realizing that we have more in common than not. This is a movement being led through a desire to understand, connect and collaborate.
To get back to our nature. And the nature of reality.
Today I witnessed an example of the tug-of-way at play, though it’s just one of many.
An email from Religion News Service reported that the Vatican has rejected a proposal from the German bishops calling for laypeople, including women, to present a sermon ~ not the homily, which would remain the domain of ordained ministers.
Most unfortunately, the editor wrote a misleading headline that sensationalized the story, which is a disservice to the reader and the topic. It’s misleading because the proposal distinguishes between a sermon and a homily ~ making room for both during a mass ~ and it’s not just about women.
RNS’ Claire Giangravè reports, “…the Catholic German news site Katholisch.de reported that Wilmer had proposed to the Vatican that laypeople be allowed to make a ‘Predgit’ (a broader German term for sermon) during Mass, while the homily would remain exclusive to ordained ministers.” The story goes on to mention that Pope Leo has elevated women’s roles within the church, but that the limit has been reached for now, and this proposal rejection solidifies that stance.
A few points strike me:
~ This is a missed opportunity by the Pope. To invite a sermon by someone from the congregation, in addition to a priest’s homily, is additive. It does not harm the established way, but offers a fresh angle for peer engagement and relatability.
~ Lay people (women, in particular, as the article makes a point of stating) don’t need approval from the Vatican to “preach.” They’re doing it every day, whether they’ve taken vows or not, on Instagram, YouTube, Substack, in schools, in home, in businesses, etc. They are not going quiet; the volume is rising, and there are eager listeners. The Church is not the authority it once was for mainstream society.
~ The world is watching as the Vatican contemporizes; and this German proposal shows an inability to innovate in Rome, in my opinion. Hopefully Germany will continue model innovation.
~ A tight grip on the old (in this case man-made rules that are so removed from Jesus’ way) prevents expansion. New ways need to emerge now. Only loosening a grip on the old power constructs will allow light and freedom to ease in and shine brighter.
*Related Reading
Free course by the Institute of Noetic Sciences ~ Noetics 101: The Science and Experience of Interconnection
MindstreamConnect.com ~ My editorial package on parapsychology research.
Frontiernet.org ~ Research on the science of consciousness and spirituality, written up as a resource for journalists to cover this area.
Please note: I'm not critical of religion, just the exploitation of it to gain power and control.
I think part of waking up is realizing the power of women, which has been suppressed in order for the patriarchal system to thrive. As we learn, grow, and step into the empathy of the matriarchy, which puts children and community at the forefront, things will shift back toward a more natural progression that centers on the natural world.