Last week we left off as I headed to do a presentation on spiritual wellness. This is the labyrinth where we joined together for a small but delightful retreat.
Welcome to my new series on spirituality and developing inner power. It is my intention to help you gain clarity and strengthen your inner resources during the next 12 weeks using introspective topics and journaling prompts. I also hope that we can begin to build a tribe of spiritual champions!
Core spiritual principles are similar across religious traditions. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the purpose of the universe and usually involves ritual observances with a body of people who adhere to the same beliefs. Spirituality is a little more vague and less well defined but pertains to something not physical, but incorporeal. Religion can be more dogmatic than spirituality, but, there are basic, common principles: love, kindness and gratitude, to name a few.
For the next 12 weeks I will write posts designed to help clarify your spirituality but I don’t plan on discussing religion. By defining and strengthening your spiritual practice you will increase your sense of inner power. Inner personal power is increased through making small, positive changes in attitude and perception. All of the activities require clarity of mind; therefore, the series will also include mindfulness and awareness practices and prompts.
The results, of course, will be up to you! If you work through the 12 weeks with me and participate in all the activities, you will experience a shift; hopefully it will increase the quality of your spiritual practice. Change requires continuous and diligent practice to make progress over time. Most of us mortals, me included, lose interest or motivation, and quit the practice. As long as you have the willingness to continue on and work through your obstacles, ultimately never ceasing the effort over the long haul, you will get results.
You can’t know where you are going unless you know where you are!
If I were a songwriter, this would be the title of my theme song. When I was employed as a therapist, my first meeting with a client required making an assessment. I asked a variety of questions related to why they came in and what was going on that was difficult or challenging them. Then I would get a history and make a diagnosis.
I want to help you decide where you are, and provide a tool for gaining perspective on your spiritual history. Our first activity will be to create a spiritual timeline.
To begin, get a piece of paper and something to write with. If you are creative and would like to collage, paint, draw or otherwise embellish your timelines, then please do. Otherwise, you can keep it simple. If you have a journal, you can use that. Or, you can dedicate a new journal specifically to spiritual practice and continue on after the 12 weeks are over.
Turn the page horizontally and draw a line across the page. On the left side of the page, write the year of your birth above the line. Below the line write a description of the religious orientation of your family of origin.
For instance, I was baptized into the Episcopal Church. We attended church regularly as a family. I was confirmed at age 12 and wore a white dress for my first communion. Spend some time thinking about what you were taught and what you learned as a child about religion, if anything. Not having a faith or practice as a child can affect you as well. Make notes below the line regarding your religious origins.
Return to the line and make an X or a short vertical line and mark the age or year when you first started asking Big Questions like, “Why am I here? What does it all mean? Where is my place in the world?” Or, perhaps you stopped going to church or experienced some spiritual change. Mark that and make notes about that time period.
I was 15 when I started to consider the size of the universe and realized that I was a very small part of it. I really wondered what it was all about but I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I felt scared and confused.
Again, return to the line and mark the next significant stage in your spiritual growth. As a flower child of the early 70’s, I was influenced by the culture and politics of the times. Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll was a popular slogan that intrigued me. The mystical Carlos Castaneda books were very popular then and I read the first four of the series. I started to explore new realms of thought in college, in class and outside of class. My mind expanded in new directions and interesting ways from age 18 to 22. I experimented with a lot of new behaviors during this time.
When I was 22, my first love died unexpectedly and I became much more interested in spirituality and life after death. It was 1975 so there wasn’t as much information available as there is now. I read Edgar Cayce books and whatever else I could get my hands on. I was devastated and lost, emotionally and spiritually.
At age 28 my spiritual pendulum swung out of control as a result of a Women’s Issues class I took while working on my Masters in Counseling. I learned a new slant on religious history thus igniting a feminist rage stage that burned out of control for quite a while. I started reading the emerging female spiritual leaders of the time: Starhawk, Z Budapest, Anne Kent Rush, and Anne Wilson Schaef. I fell in love with earth-based spirituality and have never lost my love of nature. I was ecstatic to discover the Goddess. For the first time in my life, a Divine image looked like me.
Motherhood at 35 calmed me down and grounded me in new ways. My second child was born shortly after I turned 38. For many years I was absorbed in raising my family. At age 42 I discovered a program of recovery that changed my life again. I started learning the tools I needed for creating a more joyous life. I began to experience clarity of mind and serenity for the first time.
As a lifelong student dedicated to learning, and as a lifelong seeker, I branched off yet again. In January 2011, at age 57, I took refuge vows and became a Buddhist in the Tibetan tradition. Lama Thupten told me after I took my vows that I would now be a Buddhist in all my future incarnations. Apparently there is no turning back! This tradition offers explicit directions for experiencing peace of mind and psychological health. It is often referred to as a religion but I think of it more as a practice.
I share my own timeline for a number of reasons. It’s eclectic and varied, and reveals why I draw on so many different traditions and at the same time look for similarities. It also reveals how I have changed dramatically throughout my lifetime. I believe I am in my “Third Age,” that this last portion of my life is bringing together many skills and experiences that I can share with others. My path has not always been as illuminated as it is now.
Also, in sharing my own timeline, I can see how much I’ve changed. What I emphatically believed in my 30’s isn’t what I now believe as I approach 60. I know that I am growing in wisdom, which is incredibly exciting. There ought to be some kind of pay off for getting older!
Creating your own spiritual timeline using whatever is pertinent to you will bring you in to the present. If you see future spiritual developments emerging, you can jot those down as well. Be sure to make note of your feelings in each stage. Next week we will focus on letting go of the past so that we can stay in the present.
What does your spiritual timeline reveal about you?
Did you stop growing somewhere along the line? Or, was there a time you started to grow and change?
Did you move away from your family traditions or incorporate them?
Are you discovering new spiritual ideas that energize your inner life?
What are your current challenges spiritually?
In order to build a community around this topic I’m providing a private space for comments and discussion. Spirituality is sacred. We need a safe space to be able to talk openly about what’s in our hearts and souls. This space will be open for lively discussion but not to arguments about belief systems. We will be focusing on spiritual principles not religious dogma. If you want to comment publicly on the topic, that’s great too!
You can access the private page by filling out the form below. Once you have opted in, you will receive the password to the page.
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Dolly Garland
June 11, 2012 at 2:11 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Everything begins with awareness. I completely believe that. That’s the only way to begin conscious growth, no matter which area we are focusing on.
I’m intrigued by this concept of Spiritual timeline. I will try that in my journal, and see if I come up with answers that I think, or if there is something else I have forgotten about.
Dolly Garland recently posted..Hand-written Journaling versus E-Journaling
Loran Hills
June 11, 2012 at 3:49 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I hope you find the timeline useful, Dolly.
Lori Lynn Smith
June 11, 2012 at 10:57 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
hhmm yeah I am not sure what my time line would look like, that is definitely an interesting topic to follow.
I have some downtime coming up that might be a really good thing to focus on …
Lori Lynn Smith recently posted..Passionate and Fully Self-Expressed
Lana Phillips
June 12, 2012 at 11:07 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I had never thought of doing a timeline for spiritual matters, because my spiritual journey has always seemed anything but linear. I’ll be curious to try it and see if I can make any sense of the path I’ve taken in this way. Thanks, Loran!
Lana Phillips recently posted..Meet Some of My New Friends!
Loran Hills
June 12, 2012 at 1:54 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The path is more spiral than linear, but is is easier to make notes on the page with a line. I hope you gain some insights either way, Lana.
Gin
June 12, 2012 at 4:59 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I didn’t realize you’d taken refuge vows! I really don’t know what’s involved with that, but I know it must have been an important step along your spiritual path. I’ll need to write a timeline for myself – right now it’s all in my head, but it’s something I think about now and then, sort of doing a mental ‘looking back’… and there have been two times in the past year that I’ve written an abbreviated version as part of a class (or something along those lines).
Gin recently posted..i wish to delight in…
Loran Hills
June 12, 2012 at 5:09 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Refuge vows are a commitment to follow the teachings of the Buddha and you become a member of the community of other Buddhists. There are many levels to it all. It is an important step!
The benefit of putting it all down on paper is that you can view the process and changes in your spiritual development.
Gin
June 12, 2012 at 5:30 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks for explaining more about refuge vows! There aren’t many Buddhists where I live, but I met someone who is a Buddhist at a local shamanism workshop I attended recently.
I’m thinking what I might do for my timeline is use sticky notes or some sort of taped paper so that I can have some layering, because there’s definitely been some layering and overlapping…
Gin recently posted..i wish to delight in…
Loran Hills
June 12, 2012 at 5:40 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Good idea! There is always layering and overlapping involved. It could make an interesting painting too!
Jo
June 13, 2012 at 1:43 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Loran, this is a brilliant idea. I know my own spiritual path has been rather meandering – and at times I wandered off it entirely – so it’ll be so helpful to track how it unfolded. Thank you for your guidance. Namaste.
Jo recently posted..Soul Path guest post on the spirit that moves me
Loran Hills
June 13, 2012 at 4:14 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Jo, I hope the exercise provides you with some clairity!
Pam Belding
June 14, 2012 at 5:35 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Loran, this has been a very helpful practice!! Going thru my own timeline helped me to see how my spiritual path is getting brighter as I get older. It seems that the epiphanies and realizations are coming faster. Although I don’t really know what to expect next, I’m looking forward to whatever is coming around the bend! Thanks again for doing this series!! xoxoo
Pam Belding recently posted..I’ve just seen a face
Loran Hills
June 14, 2012 at 6:33 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Pam, I am so glad this has been a helpful tool for you! Hooray for bright epiphanies!!
Dominee
June 15, 2012 at 8:02 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
What a great exercise. Thank you for sharing your journey as well. I remember last year when I first heard of refuge vows from you. The whole Buddhist philosophy is so interesting and that really started me on learning about it, so thank you for that! Your journey in all aspects is so beautiful and powerful.
Loran Hills
June 15, 2012 at 8:17 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Dominee, we have both traveled far since we first met! Your journey has been wonderful to behold.
Margaret Krubsack
June 18, 2012 at 2:53 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Writing my spiritual time line was an enlightening exercise. I enjoyed the self reflection noting my change. I have been liberated as I have grown spiritually and moved on from the rigid religious system in which I was raised. I look forward to investing more energy into spiritual growth. Dear Loran, thank you for your writing prompt, and caring.
Loran Hills
June 18, 2012 at 9:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks, Margaret. I think I am at the point where I can’t stop writing about this! How convenient I created my own platform.
janet
June 19, 2012 at 12:28 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
being Filipino, I grew up catholic but hated it! I always thought the idea of some God in the sky was silly. I had a hard time believing in God from a very early age.. We stopped going to church when I was 8 and still I would try to fit in to Christian (Baptist) youth groups and just never ‘got it’… but by the time I was in middle school I was clearly agnostic and then atheist in HS/early college. I had an interest in Buddhism though, but ultimately rejected it thinking the principles were too hard to follow for someone still undergoing the tail end of teen angst. I had a spiritual awakening (reawakening?) after I broke up a 5yr long relationship in my mid twenties. I started to believe in “God” by the time I was 27.. But know in universal force/energy… I am more of a pantheist and recently took refuge too.. after having gone to buddhist meditation retreats.
janet recently posted..Oh My God Look What the Cat Dragged In
Pam
July 25, 2012 at 4:52 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I fnally got started and have journalled 3 pages .My timeline shows from being a little girl I felt the connection to spirit in nature .As a child growing up in the countryside I would sit for hours sharing the space with a tree ,feeling it’s strong quiet wisdom ,paddling in a stream was like dancing with little fairie/woodland spirits and I felt the presence of mother earth through me barefeet .I was a child of the universe from birth .Family religion was C of E but apart from church weddings /funerals no one bothered .I was in the church choir for 10 years but still felf something was missing in church that I found in nature..When I first heard of Louise Hay on Oprah and began to read about spirit,universe ,loa i felt I was on the right path but have kept so much inside up to recently .I feel connected to Mother Earth,Goddess,the moon ,tides,seasons,I’m coming back home to where I started as a child .It is filling a deep need and opening up my creativity .
My biggest challenge is where I live ,even keeping my beliefs etc to myself I feel like a fish out of water .I need to live in an area where it is safe to be myself – a Goddess – a Pagan ? I don’t know what I am but I know for sure being in nature is my place of connection and where I would love to get married again and be sent on my next journey .For so long I have hidden so much of me ,thank you Loran for this space to share ,love Pam
Loran Hills
July 25, 2012 at 7:22 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Pam, I feel the same way about nature. I’m so glad you are coming in to your true nature and shared here!
Always with us | The Pagan Village
November 21, 2012 at 7:19 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
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