spiritual transitions, why and how: religions, deities, spiritual concepts

[belenen]

icon: "nascent (a painting by Michael Whelan of a person with long flowing hair and large breasts sitting naked and cross-legged inside a green egg, which is being held against the sky by giant blue hands with pointy nails)"
darkestgarden asked me to describe my spiritual transitions: how did you transition from one spiritual phase to another? what thoughts and

Comments

[delicatexflower]

I've never felt angry or embarrassed or anything for having believed something spiritual that I don't anymore: my old beliefs are the fertilizer for my new ones and I don't think it would have been possible for me to get to where I am without having believed those things

this is so humbling. i love how instead of having regret, you use your past experiences--as you call them your "fertilizer" -- you use it as a tool for growth. we as a society question every little thing we do, but it's touching(feels more awe-stuck!) to see on a deep level how profound you are in your spirituality.

[belenen]

I think it is really important to be able to critique everything, including one's beliefs <3 glad this resonates with you!

[smokedriftedby]

this was very profound for me to read (as someone that is on a spiritual journey right now). thank you for taking the time to share this with your humble readers.

like the comment above mine, i was struck especially by the last paragraph. i've often been made to feel shame for things that i've believed just because another person feels shame for their beliefs.

[belenen]

so glad this resonated with you!

[raidingparty]

Not as applicable to spirituality, but there are so many regrets! But now, if I can turn them into fertilizer... that's a fantastically freeing metaphor.

[belenen]

yesssss! *beams*

[raidingparty]

For more synchronicity, the reply made me think about this post again, so I mentioned it to my partner. She said she had just been thinking about how "bad" experiences and "mistakes" still mean something and can be useful, and then when I came over to talk about this it seemed like ridiculously serendipitous timing.

[belenen]

lovely! thanks for sharing!

[author_by_night]

Hello! Found you from the frenzy.

Your Pastor was way off base there. I'm sorry that happened to you. It's sad that they've gotten worse; did he convert (in a sense) to a stricter form of Christianity or something? It's just so strange to me that, assuming I'm understanding, they went from being relatively progressive (anti-racism and so forth) to the exact opposite. :/

I found this entry interesting. I certainly don't view any belief system as shameful, unless other people are being hurt of course.