Articles from the Religious Research Journal

A Word of Encouragement

by Tom Hemphill

Many people have shared with us in the past couple of years that there is great upheaval in their lives. Sometimes this change is serendipity, accompanied by pleasant benefits. Far more often it feels like a major crisis. Many spiritual people are facing break-ups of marriages and other long-term relationships; others are facing unemployment or recurring unemployment. Such crises are difficult for anyone at any time. This is no less true for people on the spiritual path.

If this is happening to you or to someone you love, I would urge you to remember that we who are on a spiritual path in the Year 2002 are, in fact, the pioneers. We are experiencing upheaval and massive change now precisely so that we will be able to assist others as they go through it in the years ahead.

The major changes coming to Planet Earth and the human race require a break with the past. Not only old relationships and occupations which tie us to the past, but also old ways of looking at ourselves and understanding life - all of this must be transformed. Often the loss of something near and dear to us may be the break which we need to experience in order to clear our minds, open our eyes, and enable us to respond to the greater life which God offers us and calls us to. 

This certainly does not mean that all of our past is a mistake; rather it simply does not serve us in the future. Like a snake shedding its skin, or a caterpillar changing into a butterfly, the usefulness of that which was in the past is in the past. What we are to become requires something new - a new skin or a new way of being alive. 

I know this can sound trite or simplistic. I do not mean it that way. Yet, I am certain of this: virtually no one who is active in spiritual work today is having an easy time of it. As Dr. Carol Parrish says, the spiritual life is a sacrificial life. We who are the pioneers - and, if you're reading this Journal, count yourself in - must do the hard work of preparing ourselves to close the commitments, attachment and diversions of the past in order to be able to take on the challenges, vocations and blessings which await us. There is no other way.

This does not mean that every spiritual person must go through a divorce, nor that every job you may hold is wrong for the future. I am only observing that there is an exceptional amount of change - difficult, confusing and often painful change - going on among people who seek to live with spiritual clarity, and to lead others in developing spiritual awareness. I believe it is directly tied to the major changes which humanity is going through and will go through. It is not that where we have been is "wrong." Rather, it is simply that where God is leading us, there is much, much more - more growth, more healing, more service and ultimately more joy as well.

Your own situation will feel unique. Each marriage or long-term friendship which comes to an end, each bout of unemployment, each experience of loss and uncertainty leaves us feeling stranded, unsure of ourselves, unclear where to turn. It doesn't feel like part of a greater pattern when it is my personal loss. Being part of a divine process doesn't change the fact that crises like divorce or unemployment are truly painful and frightening. Still, I remind you that many, many of us, especially those who are now in their forties and fifties, seem to be going through similar experiences of rapid and difficult change in fundamental ways.

What should you do if this happens to you or to a loved one? Try to develop some perspective, some detachment as you or they go through it. I don't suggest this as an "escape;" life's turmoil's must be experienced, of course. But a corner of your mind and heart can cling to the knowledge that there is Goodness purposed in this experience, that your soul has chosen this path and these growth experiences, and that God is leading you through it. Moreover, all who are involved are wrapped in the compassionate love of the Holy Spirit, Sancta Sophia, the Goddess - however you relate to the feminine side of God, that powerfully nurturing love is there. 

After all, this process is part of your birthing, part of your metamorphosis, part of your growing into a much more capable god-child here on earth. You know how human parents are devoted to the well being of a newborn baby. How much more so must the loving nature of God be devoted to you and to your well being!

Also, I encourage you to find a friend to talk to about the spiritual perspective of your experience, as you go through it. In the depths of what feels like pointless suffering, it is so very hard to cling to your faith convictions. A good and wise friend with whom you can be completely straight is a wonderful blessing. 

There was a time when the spiritual path was necessarily lonely. There were so few people genuinely reaching for deeper spiritual truth, and seeking to live out their truth. Franklin Loehr, founder of Religious Research, often identified with the eagle; eagles don't flock - they live and fly alone.

Those days are past, my friends. As one spiritual leader has written, "The days of the lone wolf are over." It is time for us to increasingly find each other, to forge friend-ships and partnerships, to work together in teams and in companionship. Perhaps you are leaving your old commitments and relationships, in part, to enable you to reach out and find the new relationships and commitments that lead you - and many others - forward into a more glorious future for humankind.

Good luck, and God bless you.

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