Mystic Musings: Lent 3/04
“A good gauge of spiritual health is to write down the three things you most want. If they in any way differ, you are in trouble.”
Jalaludin Rumi, 13th century Sufi poet
I was reading a devotional recently where the writer referred to “faith spaces” and asked about what feelings emerged when entering a faith space. Of course, I assumed that what she meant was physical spaces dedicated to worship and religious life. But I took the question at face value so I could discover what it revealed about me. It didn’t take long before I was able to say, “I don’t see faith as a space, but as an orientation on life. Everything is affected by the “lens of faith” by which I look at life and the world.
Photo by Li Zhang @sunx
I think one of the reasons that I fell in love with the study of religion has to do with its basic root meaning. Religion comes from the Latin root religio which is formed from the verb religare. The literal meaning of religare is to bind fast, reconnect or integrate.
Christians, Jews, and Muslims are all monotheistic religions which means they hold to the belief that there is only one God. Underneath that belief is the assumption that all of life is somehow rooted and connected to this one God-experience. Although some modern spiritualities don’t claim a belief in God they often do speak of drawing closer to the Oneness. Different words, same reality.
In the Christian Scriptures, Matthew 6: 24 reads, “You cannot worship two gods at once” and then goes on to say, “You cannot serve God and mammon (money) too.” On the surface it appears that Rumi may be too rigid and flirting with sort of a cult consciousness. But I think he is right—either everything we do somehow points to the same spiritual reality or we risk schizophrenic lives where we act one way during the day and another during the night.
A religious life is an integrated life.
Sit quietly. Breathe deeply and try to get in touch with the full scope of your life. Ponder these questions as you breathe:
Is your life in alignment with your values?
Does it feel more integrated (one cohesive sphere) or dis-integrated (separate spheres)?
Do you find yourself having to switch allegiances depending on your context?
Have you ever felt that you were living two lives trying to keep two parts of you happy?
What is the one reality that ties your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves together?