This may be a necessary place of transition for some
people. We go from innocence, being
sweet kids, to being cynical. Can we transcend
and include, getting to a level beyond nastiness and sarcasm? Can we get to a place of deep appreciation of
each other? Appreciation for where each
person is at this very moment?
Wow, doesn’t sound very American, does it?
The vast majority of us are born sweet.
There are the somewhat more difficult children from birth,
and, perhaps, even there are the rare monster Damiens, such the child from the movie
“The Omen.” Can there be some who are
born psychotic killers? I believe so, as
do some others.
But, I have to note that my wife, a nurse, who has helped
birth hundreds of newborns, disagrees with me on this. She says they are all born sweet.
Again, most of us are born sweet. And then we go through stages where we are
less sweet, before we return to being sweet again. The terrible twos, teenager-hood (or is it
teen-anger-hood?).
Today I want to contemplate what we label as an adult. How often people go through a stage of cynicism
and sarcasm. A level that many of us get
stuck within, perhaps because we think it is cool. We can be witty. And, perhaps, our friends expect us to be
witty and hard-edged. Maybe it is a
survival mechanism that some of us may need at a certain time in our
growth. Perhaps this is the level that
we, and our friends, define as being an adult.
I have argued that with each level of development you must
transcend and include the prior level, but you still have access to any lower
levels (see Ken Wilber’s work).
When you move past the initial level of innocence you don’t
return to that prior level, you transcend that next level of cynicism, which we
might we might label as sophistication, and then become stable at the next
level of “innocence.”
Some people mistake this higher level of “innocence” as
returning to a lower level of innocence.
That is the Pre-Trans fallacy that Wilber writes about.
You may move to a place where you can drop the sarcasm and cynicism,
maybe it just doesn’t seem cool or witty anymore. Oh, you can always drop back down to that
level if it is called for under certain circumstances. Or, maybe when you get triggered. But, if given the choice, you don’t need that
part of you anymore. It just is not as
much fun as is being truly present, compassionate, and loving.
There is an interesting parallel in spiritual growth.
We may start out with some level of belief in a G-d and
practice within a formal religious practice, often without question. Then some of us look carefully at the
religion and its beliefs and practices, and note that there is something wrong.
Something is missing for us.
Maybe we then become agnostic or atheistic. We reject all spirituality because our
religion just doesn't make sense anymore.
Perhaps our religion excludes women, or homosexuals. Maybe our religion tells us that everyone who
is not part of our religion will go to hell.
Yet, we can see that our beautiful saintly friend of another religion,
or of no religion, is far more likely to get to some sort of heaven than are we.
Perhaps, when these teachings fail to make much sense, we might
abandon the whole religion.
Then, perhaps, after spending some time without religion, we
may feel that something is still missing for us. Perhaps we start to read spiritual literature,
or we spend time with other religious groups.
Perhaps we take an entheogen and see the connection between all things,
maybe we see Source clearly. Perhaps we
take up a meditative practice and see Source.
Perhaps we touch Source and realize we are nothing but Source.
I think that is why non-denominational spirituality is
growing so quickly. The old religions
often are places for people to meet, and there may some ethnic and family
connections, however, the deep spiritual feeling may no longer arise from this
formal religion.
Many people never need to leave their religion of origin. They adapt to it. They find their deep spirituality within that
religion, despite some deficits within those religious teachings. Huston Smith writes beautifully about the
beauty that can be found within each of the traditional religions.
I liked the show “Book of Mormon.” The South Park guys really gave The Church of
the Latter Day Saints a great way out of their interesting beliefs with a line
about how the villagers always knew that all religious stories were just
metaphors.
There is no reason to change your religion or your
spirituality if you are happy.
There is no reason to change your sarcasm or cynicism if you
are happy with that state of being. Although,
I would encourage someone to take a second look at the passive-aggressive
nature of this mode of being in the world, and ask if it is possibly harmful to
yourself or others?
But, if something is missing for you, then explore on! There is so much out there to learn and
experience. Just follow the three
Commandments, in strict order:
1-There is
only one Source.
2-Love everything.
3-Enjoy yourself.
Deeply enjoy being where you are right now, and cherish your
changes as they unfold in your life!
No comments:
Post a Comment