"Anti-Evangelism" - NOT!!

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Randy Shreve, One of Thousands of Spirituality Coaches on Noomii.

There are a LOT of voices out there in the religious recovery community! Which ones will be of most help to YOU early on in your own Spiritual Shift? The answer isn’t so easy, and you will eventually have to make up your own mind (a foundational theme in Spiritual Shifting that will reprise over and over in this wonderful, eclectic, scary, and delicious journey!)

Some “anti-evangelism” websites hosted by people who have left their former faith/religion are, in their tone and delivery, pretty blunt and heavy handed. Be warned. These people are sincere in their desire to bring some sanity back to a world fraught with religious madness, and they certainly mean well. However, some are just plain pissed-off about their former religious experience, and are mad (as hell??) about what happened to them. Some good information can be found on these vitriolic sites. But, even if you aren’t particularly bothered by curmudgeonly cynicism, be very careful with your educational choices. I think material of this negative tenor is best taken only in small doses. Why?

Someone once asked Mother Theresa if she would consider going to an ANTI-war rally. She neatly declined. However, she did say she would consider attending a PRO-peace rally. Stop and let that idea sink in for a minute… If you think this philosophy is a minor splitting of hairs, think again! These are totally polar-opposite views and are completely different in terms of their affect upon your personal energy and outlook.

Basic Law of Attraction (LOA) principles teach us that what we focus on E-X-P-A-N-D-S. If we place a lot of emphasis on getting rid of that-thing-we-don’t-like, we are therefore focusing on that-thing-we-don’t-like, and we are engaging attractive forces that will result in even MORE of that-thing-we-don’t-like! This principle applies to a lot of noble-sounding topics including: “the war on drugs,” “stamping out homelessness,” “the crusade against poverty,” and the list goes on. Of course we all want to improve the world! But the way we go about doing so, and where we place our focus while in the process of initiating change makes all the difference.

The anti-evangelism theme is one of those areas where, in my opinion, the focus is on the wrong end of the equation – it’s simply an extreme imbalance. (Isn’t “extreme imbalance” one of the root causes that led us to this place of questioning our faith in the first place?!?)

Place your focus on this singular area: taking care of yourself by learning, growth, and personal expansion! You probably spent a lot of time in the past being “spoon-fed,” by (uncritically) taking in what spiritual authority figures had to say at face value. But now, look for voices of alternative views that you find personally nurturing, and whose delivery and content resonates with you on a deep level. Determine whether or not the material makes sense in your own mind.

Also, here is a point of practicality to add to the discussion: how do you FEEL physically when you read what these people have to say, when you are exposed to their attitude and energy through their writing style? Does it give you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, or does reading certain material feel more like a fresh breeze on a cool spring morning? Always go with the fresh breeze! The 13th century Sufi poet Rumi said: “the body is an astrolabe of the spirit.” (The astrolabe was a precursor to the sextant, a device used to determine a sailor’s position at sea utilizing the stars.) Your body is a very sensitive and helpful scanning instrument (Star Trek’s Mr. Spock would have loved a “tri-corder” that worked this well!) You can fully trust your body’s sensitive reactions. Yes. You. Can. Follow it!

The bottom line: you are in the process of re-engineering your spiritual life (no small task!) There will be a lot of exciting discoveries in the journey (and probably much LESS emphasis on the destination.) Don’t make the mistake of “out-sourcing” this all-important task to someone else! Slowly, eventually, with great deliberation, soul-searching, and painstaking research, you WILL enter a comfortable place of satisfaction. You will feel grounded in your newly hatched viewpoints on life and living. No one is going to take this project more seriously than you. All along the way, you are gaining valuable tools to assist you in determining what YOU now believe!

Eventually, this may or may not involve a traditional faith. It may or may not involve forms of non-traditional spirituality. It may or may not involve any kind of belief-system at all! The point is that it’s up to YOU! Your opinion is just as valid as the opinion of anyone else. Revel in that. Celebrate that. Never forget that. You can trust yourself NOW. You can appreciate yourself NOW. You can love, honor, and adore yourself NOW.