Spirituality of the Individual

Baptism

Walk me to the water
and let me drown.
Leave me falling under,
to consume the shades of brown,
and watch as winter fades away,
while the whirlpool swirls round.

My words, they make no sense,
but I don't really care.
My soul is free to walk the earth,
and I'll find my Father there.



Being Spiritual
Whenever we discuss being spiritual, we think of New Age spirituality; we never think of Christianity.

This is because Christianity is assumed to be traditional (ancient), and full of ritual. Anyone who isn't a Christian, and has never experienced God in that way will have a difficult time associating Christianity with spirituality. But the two are not mutually exclusive, just as they are not mutually inclusive.

I have led a very spirit-driven life. But here's the kicker: I don't go to church. I don't talk to God a lot, unless I'm forced, and like everyone on earth, I try to do things my own way first, and even sometimes when I fail, I still ignore God's offers of help. I have this deluded idea that my way is better than His, and therefore He can go suck an egg. But the trouble with this kind of thinking is that all it does is lead you in circles; you never really reach your goal, and the Lord just sits and waits until you get tired of running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

I definitely have my head cut off and buried much of the time, but there are those times when I have had deep, meaningful talks with the Lord, and he has shown me things that some may not be able to conceive. I know many, if not most, of those reading this are not Christians, but this is something that is on my mind and heart, and I wanted to say it and send it out into the ether. Just the same, though, I choose not to put specific instances here. Suffice it to say, I have had intimate conversations with the Lord, and I always came out of them feeling better, for the most part.

The Headless Chicken
But if that is the case; if we leave our conversations with God feeling fulfilled, then why do we choose to ignore the Lord when we have a problem? It makes no sense. I talk to the Lord, and I feel fulfilled, but then when push comes to shove, I push and shove Him away. Why? I don't know. I think part of it might be my own human baggage, but I know I'm not the only one. So what's the common denominator?

The common denominator is that we associate God with the Church, and the Church with something negative. When we think of the Christian Church, we think of hurt, pain, and inconsiderate attitudes; we think of arrogance and a sense of superiority. I'm not saying this to accuse and blame the Church as the sole reason why people turn away from a spiritual connection with the Lord, but it is a strong factor.

My point in bringing this up is not to say, "Hey, look at me, look how in tune with the Spirit I am!" or to say "The Christian Church is a douchebag!" or anything like that. My point is to say, "Yes, there are personal, Spiritual experiences to be had out there with God, as a Christian, even if you may have been hurt by the Church before." You don't have to be a part of a New Age group to experience spirituality.

I know I'm not perfect, and I don't always try as hard as I should. But I am human, and a sinner, just like everyone else. And I am not writing this so everyone and his dog should jump on my bandwagon, or so that everyone and his dog can attack me and what I believe. I have no sources of information to prove my point; I have only my own experience and the experience of those around me to draw my conclusions. And my conclusions are that we are a society who fears God. We are afraid of Him, and what He might represent, and we pull away because He is associated with the Church, and maybe the Church has hurt us, and so we decide that we don't need him, and by running around with our head cut off, maybe we can convince ourselves that we're not really dead.

-Izzy