Consciousness, Spirituality and Religion
Consciousness is an energetic, interconnected state of being. There is only one consciousness and it is universal. Spirituality is an understanding of, connection with and living of a conscious life. Religion is submitting to the control of someone else’s limits on your spirituality and consciousness. Consciousness is highly spiritual and transcends the controls of man-made religion. Every being, every plant, the earth, the wind, fire and water are part of consciousness. Teachings of ancient indigenous cultures refer to that consciousness with various terms, such as “spirit.” Those cultures understood that living as one with consciousness, with love and acceptance of all beings is the best path toward inner peace. They lived connected, conscious lives without man-made religion. Control is the root of all that is evil and the antithesis of loving consciousness. Religions that seek to control your connection to, and understanding of consciousness are themselves evil institutions, succumbing to pride and greed, while accepting lust for innocent children as tolerable. People who portray themselves as leaders of society and government but seek to divide and exclude other beings as not worthy of love and acceptance are driven away from consciousness by false teachings. Some of those teachings are rooted in interpretations of religious texts. Those leaders, who do not embody a spiritual lifestyle, are easily recognized by their tactics of fear and blatant hypocrisy. Many use religion as a controlling motivation but do not practice what they preach. The pinnacle of consciousness is oneness and understanding the value of all life. Taking the life of another being for sport, pleasure, greed and control through man-made laws or to impose religious beliefs is wrong. One who seeks to justify such behavior must ask inwardly, what was the root cause. Was it your actions and beliefs, or the actions and beliefs of another being that placed you in a position of control over their life and death? Embracing a role of judge, jury and executioner, regardless of justification, is contrary to the nature of consciousness. The nature of loving consciousness is connection and introspection, resulting in avoidance of violence. The nature of evil is fear and judgment, resulting in desire for violent reactions. If all life is accepted as sacred, the path toward inner peace becomes clearer. Choosing to judge others by ones religious beliefs, pulls one away from the consciousness and breeds inner turmoil. Acceptance or judgement is a choice but others are not bound by that choice. Live the consciousness. Accept all beings as deserving of your love. Resist division and exclusion by species, race, class, beliefs and man-made borders. Connect regularly with the natural elements of earth, wind, fire and water. Protect Mother Earth and honor the circle of life. Resist divisive beliefs and trust your inner wisdom enough to question anything you are taught. Do what is right and just for all. Find the courage and conviction to seek the truth beneath every issue that gives you pause. That truth will be rooted either in love or control. Love is of consciousness and control is of evil. Any true messenger of light, past or present, who is closely connected to consciousness, would only purvey a message of love, oneness and acceptance. Whether or not your concept of consciousness includes beliefs in storybooks and mythological figures, the most important part of your journey is living consciousness through oneness with all, love for all and acceptance of all.