Nature, Religion and Divine Light

It has been a rather sunny last few days of April and sitting in the sun this afternoon got me thinking of our spiritual relationship with nature and with the many faiths we follow. I came up with some simple spiritual principles of many of the worlds religions that, to me, seem to be a primal spiritual concepts and subconscious need of humanity. The need to be part of the divine and to see the divinity of the natural world.

This is a a very basic and general mystic view of underlying spiritual principles of most, if not all the worlds religions and dose not necessarily include the theology and tradition of scriptural based faiths. However the concepts are there in those faiths and theologies.

1. The Sun and Light is the focus of either spiritual metaphor or actual worship, for example, seen in the direction of worship toward east and the sun rising. Also the Father/Sky god is always observing.

2. There is a divine Mother or sacred motherly woman who brings life to the light of the world or is the life of the Earth its self. (Isis berthing Horus, Holy Virgin Mary and Jesus, Myths of Inanna and Dumuzi, Elysian mysteries, Attis and Cybele...)

3. There is Dankness and Balance of both light and dark night and day is almost always a spiritual concept of most faiths.

4. The dead or ancestors are never forgotten or gone from us and have become part of something bigger than us and are borne into a form of immortality and new life within nature.

5. The presence of Spirit or the Divine is in all things and in us.

Something to think about I guess when you next sit in the sun on a sunny day. This is not meant to discredit any faiths but to show that it is a basic human spiritual need to see the natural world as the movement and dance floor of the divine. That these concepts have always been part of continuing and renewing religion since the first humans had the inclination to see divinity, one of those things that have been with us always. "As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be..."

For Mystic Christians

I found this lovely site on mystic Christianity centered round a Christian natural spirituality and thought I would share it here. Hope you enjoy it. In a way this site reminds me of St Francis of Assisi prayer, Canticle of the Creatures.

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,

all praise is yours, all glory, all honor,
and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.

No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

All praise be yours, my Lord,

through all you have made,

and first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day;

and through whom you give us light.

How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor;

Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

All Praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon

and the stars; in the heavens you have made them,

bright, and precious, and fair.

All praise be yours, my Lord,

through Brothers wind and air, and fair and stormy,

all the weather's moods,

by which you cherish all that you have made.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,

so useful, humble, precious and pure.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom you brighten up the night.

How beautiful is he, how cheerful!

Full of power and strength.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through our Sister

Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us,

and produces various fruits with colored flowers

and herbs.

All praise be yours, my Lord,

through those who grant pardon for love of you;

through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy are those who endure in peace,

By You, Most High, they will be crowned.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death,

From whose embrace no mortal can escape.

Woe to those who die in mortal sin!

Happy those she finds doing your will!

The second death can do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks

And serve him with great humility.

Obsessions with Spirituality, The Catholic faith and the Anglican Communion

This is a brief personal explanation of my obsessive nature with spirituality in general and my passion for Catholic Christianity and the Anglican Church/ Church of England. I have been very spiritually minded for as long as I Can remember. My family are Presbyterian being of Scottish heritage I guess that makes sense. My uncle is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church and me and my brother were Baptized/ Christened at the Presbyterian Church of South Africa. Trinity Presbyterian Church in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1985.

My mother has always had a diverse spiritual nature her self, and I blame her for mine! My Grandmother also had a very mixed spiritual upbringing. My Grandmother was sent to a convent school in Zimbabwe in the 1940s and she developed a passion for the Catholic tradition and she tells us that she wanted to become a nun but her Mum would not have it, obviously being a very protestant Scottish woman! Any way, My mother would take us to many different churches on most weekends and the ones I remember the most were the Saturday services at the local Seventh day Adventist Church in Zimbabwe. My Mum soon got baptized with them and we became regular members, my brothers and I were dedicated by them, so started the second stage of our spiritual upbringing. My mum was not very absolutist or fanatical in her faith and most weekends we would go to SDA on the Saturdays and then with a friend of my Mum's to a Pentecostal church called Rhema , on Sundays. Holidays were usually at Presbyterian churches.

When my Dad died and my mum remarried spirituality was almost forgotten in our family and we carried on quite well till moving to the UK. My Mum found her faith and started reading her Bible. We were visited by Jehovah's Witnesses now and then and this I think got my mum back to her faith. I began to take more of an interest at the age of 12, and started sitting in with my mum when the JW's were round. However I was not interested in their teachings as I became fascinated with St Swithen's Church in East Grinstead and found my self joining their choir and eventually being conformed. I loved my time there. So many great memories and Spiritual connectedness with friends in the choir and with the beauty of the church icons and Christian faith; there was a real mystic presence there, one I still feel in most C of E churches. A divine presence that fills me with peace and energy and a feeling of connectedness. I Was conformed in 1998 at the age of 13 and loved every minuet of it. I started becoming more and more spiritually aware of things, at one point I wanted to become a priest when I grew up. But I found doubts and confusion setting in and began taking in a new  interest in the teachings of JWs, in hindsight I wish I hadn't. However I did and was baptized at 14 and was an active member till I was 15 and realized I was gay. I left JW, as I no longer agreed with their teachings and started seeing some very obvious unbiblical and even unchristian teachings going on.

I was encouraged to join a Gospel church by some friends from school but my indoctrination from JW was hard to overcome and I soon lost faith in all Christian denominations. I did however have some very interesting spiritual experiences and began to see the biblical explanation for traditional Christian faith and theology. But my path was leading a different spiritual direction and I started embracing alternative spiritual practices on my own. I started with Modern Wicca and Witchcraft and this has always been a fulfilling path for me. I have grown to include a more personal slightly polytheist path and have become more mystic and eclectic in my spiritual views and practice, including Buddhist and Hindu spirituality in my life.

 I decided one Sunday to return to an Anglican Church and take communion and I did,  I had a very interesting experience, a sensation of electricity running through me and a warmth moving over me from my feet up, probably means I'm completely delusional but it was a deep experience and I have been obsessed with every aspect of the Anglican Church since.  Not only that but I have come to a better understanding of the nature of catholic tradition in the Anglican communion and its basis can be found in the bible, contrary to what is misunderstood by many.

Throughout all this though the Anglican Church has always given me a spiritual sense of connectedness and a feeling that it will always be part of me spiritually. From this I have learned to see the Truth of the Church's heritage and history in scripture and to see that it is one of the few Christian faiths that is fully connected to it's tradition and history and yet sill is open to growth and new insight. The Anglican Church, in my view is a Traditional catholic church that is one of change and constant renewal with the Spirit of God through the Gospel of Jesus. I love the diversity and its Unity. In my view the Anglican Church is a reflection of the Holy Trinity, a unity of diversity in its persons but One in its nature and spirit. This needs to be celebrated more in media and in local communities. I can't say I am a Christian,(due to doubts) but I can say I have faith in the Anglican Communion and in its spiritual growth in Jesus.

Spiritually speaking, I will always have an inclusive mystic path to follow but I will never deny the spiritual connection and faith I have in the Anglican Church, its Catholicism and the Christian gospel it teaches.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me."

- (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Modern Polytheism Creed

I wrote this out of inspiration from the Catholic creeds. I love the Church creeds and find them amazing pieces of writing to read as well as being uplifting decelerations of Christian faith. I am in no way trying to be derogatory to the Catholic Creeds and they have my full respect and sacred admiration. What I have done here is to take inspiration from the beauty of those creeds and apply them to a modern polytheist frame work. It is purely for my own creative gratification and not in any way meant to be an insult to the Church or the creeds. Here I am trying to use the same language for a more mystic modern pagan polytheism, inclusive of the divers traditions of modern spirituality. I hope and pray it is received with an open and spiritual mind and response.

I will include some calligraphy and typographic art work on this creed and the Christian ones at a later time. Other wise I hope this is an uplifting piece of prose for any modern polytheist who may read it.

 

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A Pagan Polytheist Creed

I Believe in Many Gods the Netjer, the Aesir,Vanir the Olympians, the Titans, the Pantheon, the Deva’s and Devi’s, the Kami the Lwa and Orishas and many more. All Unique, individual, Powerful and Almighty forces of nature, united by their nature and known by the titles of Goddess and God.

I Believe in all things visible and invisible. In Universal Divine energy, the Source, the Spark of Life and the formless unity of the Gods known as the Great Mother and the Great Father, or simply God/Great Spirit and by their unity are the Creators of Heaven and Earth, Gods and Humanity. I Believe in the Spark of life, which is the magic in us all.

I Believe in the Communion of Ancestors and the blessing of life, by the power of the Gods, that they have given us.  I Believe in the Mysteries, the secret understandings, the Occult, hidden in the darkness and the light and reveled by the Gods and spirits to the dedicated and devout.

I Believe in the Holy Power of Nature, the Sacred Temple of life, death, our hearts and homes. The freedom of intent and the balance of all things, the ever ancient and ever renewing, mystic cycle of life and the interconnectedness of all things.

Praise be to all Gods and Ancestors, Amen

Eastern Rite Anglicanism

I think this is a fantastic development within the Anglican Communion. It is a perfect example of the growth and continued development of the Anglican Tradition and its diversity of spiritual understanding.

What this means for the Anglican Churches is the option and inclusion of the beautiful and mystic Byzantine/ Eastern Orthodox liturgy in church worship. It is an attempt to bridge the gap between the western and eastern catholic/orthodox traditions of the Christian faith. I support it. The eastern rites are also compatible with Anglican theology as they are Patristic practices, and in some areas share similarities with Anglican teachings.

In my view this should be a welcomed development within Anglicanism and to a further extent all Traditional Christian liturgies should be freely accepted and used in accordance with church Tradition and Scripture.

If you support this join the Face book group and sign up to their newsletters. I have.