| The One True What? by Kathleen Marquardt "I've got the one true religion and there isn't any other. Anyone who says there's others is just talking through his hat. I've got the one true religion -- Jesus told me, so it's true: I've got the one true religion and that's that." You've got the one true religion? Well, I'm happy you're contented, But I always have to wonder, what about the other guys? -- The ones who know that Jesus told them they've the one true religion, So they know as sure as you do theirs is right and yours is lies. Have you ever stopped to wonder when you're looking at a poodle? Have you ever stopped to contemplate a collie or a pug, A basenji, Lhasa Apso, a Dalmatian or a dachshund, How they all look rather different, and yet every one's a dog? So I wonder as I think about the one true religion, And consider the diversity from pedigrees to mutts, How come Jesus never told us and how come we never worry, Is there a one true dog? -- Now, wait a minute for your Buts. And then I think of flowers and of grass and trees and shrubs, Do you see the many ways the leaves arrange themselves to grow? Do you suppose the roses know within their deepest souls That they're the one true plant, no matter what the others know? And the one true food, there's another question there. (If Jesus says it's Brussels sprouts, I think that I'll convert.) We have broccoli and peaches, we like chocolate, bread and meat, And perhaps a balanced diet, even spiritually, won't hurt. Well, I dreamed I had a vision: I saw God was like a city, And religions were the pathways leading to that Light divine. As I gazed in awe-filled wonder at the glories of creation, Came a Voice of deep compassion, saying, "All these paths are mine." That edge between I'm not sure what set me off when I wrote these lyrics about 10 years ago, but it clearly had something to do with that edge between religion and spirituality. My background and "filters" are, you can perhaps tell, Christian. (Or as author Anne Lamott said, noting the distinction between being a Jew and being Jewish, not so much Christian as Christianish.) I asked a few people for their thoughts on this topic. The most succinct answer: "Religion is man-made; spirituality is God-made." I see religion as an attempt to define the Source of all that Is and our relationship to It (and by extension, to each other and to Earth). When we define, we also tend to confine, and begin believing in our definitions instead of remaining porous to continuing experience. We go through developmental stages spiritually and morally just as we do in cognition/perception. Many people stay in one of the middle stages of logical/moral/religious development, and it's here that we can become devoted to the structure of a religion rather than to the vibrant living Presence of Spirit. A colleague once said, "I just want to believe what the Bishop tells me to." That struck me as amazing, because at the time I was wallowing in doubt about how anyone "knew" anything of a religious nature, and who could possibly be "knowing" enough to direct another's beliefs? That may have been the impetus behind those verses. When my boyfriend moved away, I wondered what to do with Sunday mornings other than eat pancakes. Ah: Go to church. My assumption was that a non-denominational church had a greater chance of being "spiritual" than what we call an "organized religion." Looking at the ads in Saturday's paper, I thought I'd found one: "Community United." But just below that listing was one closer to home, so I thought, "Tomorrow I'll go to Kenwood Community United Non-Denominational Church." Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be Methodist! I doubted I was Lutheran any more, but I knew I wasn't Methodist. "Oh well," I figured, "if they're spiritual people, it won't matter." It didn't. Welcoming atmosphere, no pressure. I go there every Sunday. And I'm still not a Methodist. When I presented my "spiritual journey" at Adult Education, I felt a little shy about revealing some of the non-ordinary experiences I've had as a healer, and was relieved to find that several members had their own ineffabilities to share. They tend to be the ones I consider most spiritual, those less devoted to doctrine and more nurtured by indwelling Spirit. I think many religions have sprung from the direct experience of the Sacred. The experiencers attempt to codify their revelation to help others replicate it. I love the story that John the Baptist had belonged to the Cult of Osiris, where applicants were buried in the sand until they had either a near-death experience -- or actually died. "When John baptized people," the storyteller said, "He held people under water for a long time." Nothing beats direct experience! During one of the floor processes in my energy-work training, I had a sense of the sky opening up and three beings telling me how Earth works: We make a choice; there are consequences. Observing those consequences with compassion invites new choices. The sense of grace and compassion accompanying this visit illuminated some of the verbal underpinnings of religions. "Neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities....can separate us from the love of God." Kathleen Marquardt, M.S., LPC, of Energy Work/Energy Joy, is certified in Reconnective Healing® and in Integrated Awareness®, and works with a generous spectrum of healing influences. She has been doing energy work and hands-on healing for about 10 years, finding her background in counseling and psychotherapy a helpful adjunct to spiritual work. Contact her at 5225 N. Ironwood Road, #216, Glendale, WI 53217, or call (414) 962-4244. Copyright © 2004 Kathleen Marquardt |
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Sept 2004 |
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