Beginning the Journey

When I first began my spiritual journey more than twenty years ago it was initiated because in some core part of me I felt that there was an emotional void in my life, even though I was in a strong relationship with my husband. I felt a deep inner yearning but not anything for which I could identify a specific need. My family hadn't had a religious upbringing and in fact I had never entered a church until I was part of my sister's wedding when I was 21. Prior to this occasion the only religious information I had encountered was a beautifully illustrated picture book which my mother had provided and which included many stories from the bible, and a year of scripture classes at school.

Eventually there came a time when I became aware that for some reason I needed to make a connection with God. Attempting to appease my yearning at this point in time didn't continue for long as I again became embroiled in drama which my Ego-Self created to prevent me from recognising the illusions established as part of the 3D existence.  It was only after my beautiful angel (son) was born that I decided to seek more spiritual guidance. I joined a friend at her church and willingly made my communion with God. The Pastor's wit and humour was enjoyable as he brought the Gospel in to the 21st Century setting. It was only when I was required to commit to a study group and read sections of the early scriptures that I began to question the dogma being presented. My final rejection of this aspect of religion occurred when I was expected to accept that my son had been born of Original Sin. How difficult was it for me to feel obligated to accept this requirement when I could sense the presence of pureness existing deeply within my child? This initiated my final decision to close my religious aspect of Heaven on Earth.

Another friend had recently become committed to religion but his interpretation of the Bible was based on God choosing to smite all Heathens to ensure that they were unable to enter Heaven. His beliefs were based on prophecies written in the Old Testament. My belief was, and still is, that God/The Creator is Love and He/She does not judge or choose one group of people in preference over another, whether they believe in a Supreme Being or not. This belief does sit more closely with the New Testament but the whole interpretation of these concepts confused me so much that I was unsure about where I could turn to continue on my path of righteousness.

It wasn't long after this that I happened to be driving home late one night and listening to the radio when the host began to conduct an interview with Bishop John Shelby Spong. It was fascinating to hear this gentleman of the cloth question beliefs of the Bible surrounding the conception and birth of Christ. His book he was promoting was, 'Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism'. The next day I bought myself a copy of this book and read it from start to finish several times.

Spong's research and postulations from these findings resonated deep within me. My knowledge and understanding of his interpretation of these concepts provided me with a feeling of freedom and rejoicing. It was the sense of  being uplifted that enabled me to move beyond many of the fundamental concepts that are included in the Bible. I was again questioned by another religious mate as to whether I was just going to take out the good parts from the Bible and ignore the punishment and smiting that would be wreaked upon my soul if I chose to do this. My response was - "You bet!"

This became the beginning of my path on my journey towards enlightenment.