SPLITTING HAIRS

    It is time for mankind to experience a spiritual awakening. On some levels, this is already happening but on others, many are still in spiritual infancy. Many people stick to their religious practices as if they were the only way to God. There is nothing wrong with praying five times a day or going to mass every Sunday or celebrating certain holy days. But when these things become a prison the boxes us into a cemented routine, they can become a hindrance. For example, we see many Christians fretting and spreading the word of fear about such holidays as Halloween. They claim that it is the devil's holiday and no one should ever celebrate it. Then there are the Muslims who want to celebrate Christmas, and some do, yet others are afraid to do so because they were told that they should only celebrate Islamic holy days. Who gave them these rules? And who should dictate the events of someone's life but their own conscience and God speaking to them through such?

    There is nothing wrong with any holiday, and just because one celebrates it, does not mean they have to buy into the religious ideas around it. A holiday or holy day is what you make it in your heart. For example, for many years, Christmas has been a time for me to commune on a deeper level with the angels. This is because when I was younger, I had a life-changing encounter with an angelic being during that time of year. An individual should be free to live and enjoy their lives as they see fit; and there is nothing wrong with putting certain events into your own spiritual or religious perspective. You will hear some groups say that they do not do certain things because a certain prophet or holy man in their religion did not do them. I have heard many Christians say that people should not celebrate Christmas as Christ's birthday because Jesus never told us to do so in the Bible. And I've also read more than a few articles that said Muslims should not celebrate birthdays or Halloween because Mohammed did not celebrate them. This is poor reasoning; of course Jesus didn't celebrate Christmas because it was not brought into being until after his death. And Mohammed never celebrated Halloween because he probably never heard of it back in his day. And who's to say that Jesus or Mohammed never celebrated a birthday? To think that we will find the answer to everything in the universe in our holy books is unrealistic. If we were to adopt such thinking one could say, that neither Jesus nor Mohammed ever drove an automobile, so we should not either. That just doesn't make sense.

    I use the example of holidays and holy days in this article, but the tentacles of apprehension seem to reach into every aspect of some peoples lives. They worry about how to pray, where to pray. Some consider it sacrilege to worship on Sunday and believe that the holy Sabbath is on a Saturday. Others worry about what kind of movies they should watch and music they should listen to. Some individuals wear make up and jewelry, yet other groups consider these things sinful and not modest. The list could go on and on ad infinitum... But the time must come, when we all realize that these exterior things do not make us righteous or unrighteous. They do not make us favored or unfavored with the Divine. It is what's in our hearts and minds that counts with God. Are we loving and decent people? Do we try to be honest and do the right thing in every circumstance? Do we help those in need when we see them? Do we have a strong belief and love for the Infinite Spirit of the universe? We can adhere to all of the religious rules that we want, but if our hearts and minds are not in the right place, then it is all for nothing. We must get passed this nonsense that says it is what we do, how we pray, what we eat or what we wear that opens the way to heaven for us. Nothing could be farther from the truth, it is what is within that causes heaven and earth to meet in our everyday lives... everything else is just splitting hairs.