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The Spiritual Essence
| The Spiritual Essence Community Counts |
by Rev. Jane Dwinell
One of things we all can do for our health is to join a spiritual community. I can hear some of you saying, “But I hate organized religion!” and I do, too, even though I serve a Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I believe that having a solitary spiritual practice is not enough. Using Buddhist language, we each need a sangha: a community of like-minded seekers from which to learn and with whom to share.
Finding a spiritual community is not easy. Many of us have been torn apart by the negatives of the religion of our childhood, telling us of sin and damnation for the feelings that are so much part of who we are. The last thing we want to do is to risk walking into a church or synogogue and be told, again, that we are bad people. But, these days, nearly every faith has a liberal wing in which bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender and questioning people are welcome.
Where to begin? Consider what beliefs you hold now. Are you a strong atheist or agnostic, or do you hold a clear sense of a Holy One, God or Goddess? What touches you spiritually – silence, music, nature, inspirational words, prayer? Do you like to sit or do you like to move?
Visit several houses of worship and try them on for size. Find out what spiritual practices touch you and make sense for you.
Scotty McLennan, the author of Finding Your Religion (and cartoonist Gary Trudeau's college roommate), tells the story of his worldwide spiritual quest, which brought him back around to his childhood faith. He recommends that those on a spiritual search do take the time to revisit their childhood faith (if you had one) and make peace with it. It may touch you now, as an adult, in ways that it didn't as a child. I recommend Scotty's book – it is both lively and interesting reading. It may help you decide what faith is right for you.
Whether you choose a Christian church, a Jewish temple, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, a Buddhist sangha, or a Pagan circle, you will find that being part of a community is fulfilling and, also, hard work.
You will be touched spiritually by the rituals and practices of your community. It will be a place to relax and be wholly yourself. It will also be a place to test your practice, to test your inner development, and to test your vision of the holy. There will be people you do not like. There will be people who will push your buttons. There will be people who choose to interpret the same faith in a very different way.
This is the beauty – and the challenge – of spiritual community. To be able to grow deeper as a person you will not only have to learn meditation or prayer practices, church dogma or principles, but also how to be in right relationship with others at a time of challenge and conflict. You will be called on to take a risk – to learn how to speak the truth in love, and how to become a more authentic human being. If you stick with it and truly learn how to be in community – for better or for worse – your spiritual life will deepen, and you will find a greater peace.
The Rev. Jane Dwinell serves the First Universalist Parish of Derby Line, VT and lives on the shores of beautiful Lake Memphremagog with her partner, Sky, and children, Dana and Sayer.