This is something that a lot more people are saying. There is a rise up from, or a move away from, religion as more and more people are seeing the flaws in all of the dogma that comes along with said religions. I have noticed, however, that people are not able to see the dogma in whatever form of spirituality they are choosing instead. Now, understand that I see dogma everywhere, even within myself. This is something that I struggle with all the time. I don’t want to be pushing my views on others any more than I like having them try to push their views on me. So I think a LOT about this sort of thing. And in that thinking I have made a few observations about the dogma of what people often refer to as “spiritual”, so I thought that I would share that with you.
“If you are Spiritual, you are not a rational thinker.” This one bugs the heck out of me. The reason for that is that I consider myself to be spiritual and yet I love science and rational thinking. It is entirely possible to have it both ways. Yes, the rational mind will look for “evidence”, and yet science is just now beginning to catch up to the many things that spiritual traditions have spoken of for thousands of years, such as the exchange of energy that happens with every encounter between people, and with trees and animals. So no, I don’t buy into all of spirituality as being “non-rational”, it is simply accessing the stuff that science is now only beginning to form equipment that can read and prove the existence of said stuff.
“If you are Spiritual, you should not eat red meat or any animal bi-products.” This one makes me laugh. If this were true we would not have survived the Ice Age because there would have been basically NOTHING to eat. But instead we had to eat the livestock that was available. This helped us to sustain human life on earth. Nobody who ate meat were instantly non-spiritual. They would give thanks to the spirit of the animal that was killed for the act of “sacrificing itself” so that our kind could survive. Yes, many might find that to be screwed up. But this is not unlike saying Grace at the table, even if you are a vegitarian or vegan. Also, there is life force (scientifically proven) and consciousness (also scientifically proven) that flows through all plant life on this planet. So in order for ANYONE to eat, SOMETHING has to die. That is the long and short of the cycles of life. It does not disqualify anyone’s spirituality.
“In order to be Spiritual, one must practice Yoga.” I shake my head. I like the practice of Yoga. But I was spiritual way before I ever introduced that into my daily routine. Yoga itself has become somewhat elitist in its approach. For example, if you don’t do Yin Yoga you are not doing Yoga correctly. If you do not practice Hot Yoga you are inadequate in your routine. Hogwash! Yoga is about the individual, and their own personal and private connection to the energy that flows through their temple bodies, and how that connection serves to also uplift the conscious mind. It is personal, and it is nobody else’s business how that is accomplished.
“Women are far more Spiritual than Men.” Yes, I have heard that one on several occasions. My eyes roll so hard I almost give myself a migraine. One’s gender (or even gender identity) has NOTHING to do with one’s connection to Spirit. Spirit does NOT CARE what form of physical temple your soul occupies. It cares that you make the effort to connect. That’s it. Saying that it is based upon gender is exactly the same as saying that men are more intelligent when it comes to mechanics and plumbing. ANYONE can learn about how to connect spiritually just as anyone can learn how to connect to the workings of an engine or a toilet.
“Everyone needs a Spiritual Community.” Have you ever heard of the expression “lone wolf”? Many people are solitary practitioners of spiritual practices. Do you need a community to pray to whatever god or goddess with which you align? No. Do you need a community to feel the presence of Spirit in your heart? No. Community serves many other aspects of what we find to be enjoyable as human beings, such as social gatherings and celebrations, but it is not a necessary aspect of being spiritual. In fact, I have found that the solitary practitioner tends to be a stronger person within than one who is codependent upon a community.
“Everything that is Spiritual needs to be free.” In essence I can agree on that. However, there are many forms of healing that fall into the category of “Spiritual”. So are the healers supposed to starve to death and not be able to put food on their table because they are not allowed to charge a reasonable fee for the work that they do, just as any doctor or accountant can do? Think about this. The most important of all practices, the healing of the people, is considered to be somehow tainted if there is a fee charged. Money does not corrupt. People corrupt. And this is one way in which people have corrupted the entire system. In saying that healing that is spiritually based is not worth paying for, what they are saying is that it is useless. This is a lie. And people who think that charging a fee for a service is corrupt need to look at their own means of income and apply the same standards to that. Starve to death? I don’t think so. Oh, but they can always find a job doing something else and then do that for free. Nope. If you want quality, you are gonna have to pay for it and you are gonna have to have someone who does this for a living and therefore has practised for years and perfected their technique. To do that, one must allow their life work to become their healing practice. Anything short of that is simply amateur. So if you think that a healer can work a full time job AND do healing work on the side, I suggest that you shake your head hard.
These are but a few of the ridiculous things one will encounter along the path of spirituality. I suggest that you take them with a grain of salt and connect with spirit in whatever way suites you, regardless of the thoughts or dogma that others embrace.