Religion, Jaguars and Squirrely Things - Essay

Religion, Jaguars and Squirrelly Things

Religion alone will never get us where we want to go, will never alone be the catalyst for the full expansion of our souls. Many religions and denominations within seem designed primarily to placate and comfort in order to gain converts. They kowtow to the fear that current threats can easily provide, ramp it up and get emotional buy-in that takes the form of a frenzied self-righteousness. But we came to this place and plane with abilities far greater than a system with those characteristics can augment. 

The nature of the Universe – hence the nature of Creator - is primarily to goad and challenge us, creating opportunities for growth custom-tailored to the needs of our souls which become evident through careful acceptance and analysis of our individual suffering through relentless self-reflection. Nature, the only thing we can access that was created by God, does not tolerate stagnation, nor would our souls in their pure forms request it. 

But our souls are coupled with bodies in this existence, and sometimes our bodies or our egos do need a break, do need respite. It’s ok as long as we know we are doing it. It's analogous to skipping a payment on a loan. One still has to pay it, just not now. And that may be all the relief a person in that type of distress needs. However, we become spiritually lazy when we seek respite for too long or in unhealthful ways. We cease to ask ourselves hard questions because that would challenge the peace we have come to love and, to an extent, depend upon as an addiction. But it is a false peace, one that primarily blames circumstances and others for our pain and places hope for peace outside of ourselves on the shoulders of a God who is separate from us, rather than working with the Creator of Earth, Heaven and our Souls to gain it in the one place we can ever find it: this present moment; which is never accessible if we do not accept not only the difficulties we encounter but take personal responsibility for them wherever it exists.

There is an archetypal creature within Incan spirituality with which most of us are familiar. It is the jaguar. Her job is to hunt down the “reasons” for our spiritual dysfunction so that we can identify and process them. "Reasons" of this type are squirrelly creatures that would rather not be found. Their lives, metaphorically speaking, depend on it. But jaguar is relentless. She will find them if we ask and allow her to look. The pain we feel when we begin to see where our perceptions have created our own suffering is analogous to these creatures dying, for Seeing is the first step to Healing. So it is a precious pain, one that is associated with life and light rather than death and destruction. Painful, but bearable.  Barely.  

If that is too earthy and you prefer a more Christian approach, Jesus will do the same thing because all true spirituality operates under the same principles. But it requires deep humility (deeper than we are usually wont to go on our own). Humility in practice includes in this instance an ability to let go of false peace and ask hard questions of ourselves. Otherwise not even Jesus is able to help us in this manner. We are to take responsibility where we can and search for it if it is not immediately apparent. We are to leave judgement to God. We are to reach out in compassion, go the extra mile and bring healing wherever possible, seeing and seeking unity above all else. This is how Jesus lived.

Many religions do not preach this Gospel. They instead fulfill the words of Isaiah: “speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits.” Members place the blame on others first, itching to pick up a gun and be a part of the “solution”. This is not the way of Jesus. The LDS have it spelled out even clearer, with a story within the Book of Mormon (Alma 24) of a group of converts to Jesus that buried their weapons of war in the earth rather than shed the blood of their brethren. Wherever you kneel in relation to Jesus, my committed Christian friends, I challenge you to bring your substantial, soulful gifts to your churches, to illustrate a spirituality within them that is based on compassion and a sense of wonder as I have described.   

I am nobody special and don’t pretend to be anybody special. But I am an observer of the human condition from a (now) uncommon perspective that has practical validity and that works with all religion on the level of the mythic providing a perspective that is sorely needed. I respect many that call themselves Christian and consider myself a follower of Jesus, albeit a very non-conventional one. I want to help if there is anything I can do, whether it’s a personal conversation, a written debate or as a sounding board. I humbly suggest that we are missing something here and that the answer will not be found by hashing over our already present perceptions and beliefs, or simply try harder in the same ways we always have. Nor is it necessary to give up religion to find those answers, only to question the way we use it.

We are a species in profound pain. It does not have to be this way. We are as close to the path of healing as we are ready to be. I am certain of it.