April 10: Day 100

STONE TWO CONTINUED
 
Open: I partake of spiritual wisdom and knowledge from a variety of sources and open myself to different insights.

Instruction: Open to other teachers.

Part of the problem of only adhering to one spiritual or religious path is that we are often taught by only one religious leader. The minister, priest, rabbi, or other religious leader becomes our primary source of information about The Divine and all things religious. Many religious organizations are so structured that when one religious leader leaves and another comes to take his or her place, it doesn’t make much difference in the teaching. The religious organization’s colleges, universities, and seminaries produce cookie-cutter leaders who carry the same messages and do very little straying from doctrine. I could never imagine the church I grew up in sharing spiritual wisdom from any other religion except their own. I could never imagine them inviting a religious leader from another religion to speak to their members on topics that had not been approved. What is it that they have to fear? Are they afraid of losing people? Are they afraid of giving their members another perspective and other choices? Are they afraid that they might be wrong and that they might be leading others, and themselves, astray?

I don’t know the answers, but I do know that my life was enriched when I allowed other religious and spiritual teachers to share their wisdom, knowledge, and love with me. At first, I was only open to those who called themselves Christian teachers, but I discovered that those whose teachings resonated with my soul were open-minded thinkers who didn’t disparage other world views simply because it didn’t come from their particular holy book. Later, I discovered other teachers who were not Christian by name but whose teachings lined up with much of what I thought to be the best of Christianity. Before long, I concluded that there was much to be gained from the best of the best, and there were enough similarities in the teachings of other world religions that I could safely venture out on my own to discover the many varied ways in which The Divine has reached out to us in every nation and culture of the world.

Today’s Assignment is to take a moment to do a mental inventory of the things you have learned from one religious belief system. Are there other things you have learned along the way from other sources that have enhanced and clarified those teachings? Can you find similarities and differences and discern what makes more sense to you? Can you trust your intuition to guide you?